Hi everyone! This week I have experienced the closing of the bones ceremony, guided by two very special women in my life. I will explain my own experience, but if you would like to know more about this lovely ritual that closes your gestational cycle, I encourage you to look for more information online and ask around if any of your friends or acquaintances know about it.

The women who guided me through the process were Alba (my friend and doula who was present during the labor of my baby Leah) and Inma (also a friend who guided my mother blessing during my pregnancy). When they arrived, we first had a nice tea and chatted a bit. They brought such warm feminine energy into the house. We then continued preparing the area with a nice soft mat (we used my kid’s play mat) and made a little altar with special items I wanted to have nearby. I brought the little pieces of umbilical cord I still have of my little ones, a positive pregnancy test, and the beautiful necklace I have with all the amulets I received during my mother’s blessing from all the important women in my life. They had brought herbs and flowers for me to put in an iron pot while kind of chanting and honoring my uterus. After which it was filled with hot boiling water. This was going to be used as a Yoni steam. I undressed and sat on a log above the steaming pot. It smelled absolutely lovely. Alba and Inma covered my eyes with a mask and then put blankets over me. It allowed me to immerse myself in the experience, connect with my uterus, and reconnect with the memories and information that live inside me about my ancestors. My mother, my grandmothers, and all the women that played important roles in my life. I was confronted with myself, my inner child. I saw her for who she was, as she was me. I hadn’t changed, it was always and will always still be me. That epiphany was transformational.

Once we finished the yoni steam, I laid down upon various long cloths, completely naked. They started binding first my head, so I couldn’t see. They were chanting various beautiful songs while binding the rest of the cloths around my body tightly. Then they covered me entirely with another cloth. At first, it felt really nice, but after a while, I could feel emotions being released. My body started freaking out, I started feeling hotter and hotter, and it took a lot of willpower to not scream. The fight/flight mode had been activated, and it felt exactly like the transition into active birth. Once I realized this, I understood what I was going through. The feelings of panic started fading, and a happy energy came upon me. Exactly then, without any words being exchanged, the three of us started laughing hysterically. Alba and Inma stopped singing, they were tearing up with inexplicable laughter. Slowly but surely, they started untying me, thus with no hurry at all I came back to the here and now.

“The hips are known to be the area of the body where unresolved emotions and trauma are held, this causes blockages of energy channels and closing the bones can help to release these emotions.”- Karla Lina @agapelovedoula

To finish, I had to draw a card from the deck called “Lo Divino Femenino”. It was no coincidence I took out a card which could not have represented better what I had experienced. Anandamayi Ma, The mother full of happiness. The card read; I am my own guru. I know the part of my being that will never change. I got goosebumps upon reading these words. It was definitely representative of what I had just experienced. What a lovely way to close this cycle of my life. I opened the portal of birth to bring to life my beautiful daughters, and now it was time to close it. To give space for new portals in my life to open, and to honor my womb for the divine energy it gives and the incredible miracles it produced.

I thank Alba and Inma for guiding me so well, and for filling the experience with so much joy. It is utterly important to have women present who make you feel comfortable and at ease. When I first heard about this ritual, I thought of it as a nice extra, just like the mother’s blessing. Now I see that both are equally important and recommend it to every mother.

Hope you liked to read about my experience. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions.

Lisa Doula.