Mother honoring ceremonies & belly binding
Mother Honoring Ceremonies
Every mother deserves to be honored and supported with each child she carries. These ceremonies provide the opportunity to hold space for the mother in a deep way so that she may feel warmed, empowered, celebrated, relaxed, so that she may feel the joy of it all, and the hardship. These ceremonies provide a space to celebrate, and to heal, regardless of how long ago she birthed or carried her child. There is a deep beauty when a woman opens and allows herself to be seen, heard and bowed down to.
In several cultures around the world mothers are celebrated and nurtured for up to 40 days, sometimes longer, during the "Golden Month" or postpartum times. These beautiful traditions allow the mother to gently transition into her new role, to heal from the birth, and bond with her baby recognizing that the first 40 days influence the next 40 years and shape her experience as a mother for the rest of her life.
Often called "Mother Roasting," the term comes from Ayurvedic traditions with the wise insight that mama has had the heat of baby in her body for around 9 months and to help gently ease her through the postpartum transition heat is re-introduced back into the body. These are a few of the practices within each ceremony.
Birth Story Sharing –
Listening intently and without judgment allows the Mother to share and process her birth, to feel honored, to ask questions and gain insight and perspective from a knowledgeable and neutral heart centered person while also addressing and beginning to work through trauma, if need be. Story sharing is done with a ceremonial foot bath to cleanse unwanted energy and emotion and a foot rub with my homemade salve, a gift for her to keep.
Warming practices –
When baby is born heat leaves the body leaving an open, vulnerable area in the Mother’s belly. Gentle warming techniques such as warm stone and herbal bundles, belly pastes, warming oils gently massaged on the arms, legs and tummy, warming teas, moxibustion and steams help make the transition easier and provide an opportunity for gentle healing.
Closing Ceremony and Meditation –
This is where Mama is honored, deeply. Stones are placed around her to aid in Chakra balancing and healing as she is led through a loving meditation. Each part of her is thanked and “closed” by tying beautiful cloths around her, closing her birth journey. Everything is done in the “Beauty Way” merging practices from all around the world as well as my own insights and intuition.
Belly Binding –
There are so many benefits to belly binding, some of which include; using the relaxin in the body and assists in abdominal wall retraction (diastasis recti), supporting the womb after birth speeding the retraction process, improving circulation, relieving excess gas and fluids that have accumulated during pregnancy and birth, help women get back to their pre-pregnancy shape by burning fat and cellulite, and supporting the spine and posture realignment. The belly is traditionally bound 2-3 days postpartum and worn for up to 10 hours/day for 40 days. The unique benefits of belly binding in comparison to store bought bands include being able to bind the hips, which have expanded and are delicate after birth, as well as being able to change the size every day as mamas body continues to transform.
