Cierre de Caderas: Completing Cycles, Freeing Minds, Healing Bodies with a 'Closing the Bones' Postpartum Ceremony

It’s not a secret if you know me that I’ve had the immense privilege of traveling a lot for work, pleasure, and education. Possibly the most significant place I landed was in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, where I worked as a midwife with the brilliant women of Casa Aramara, the city’s only independently-operated birth centre. Aside from the typical midwifery work of attending prenatal appointments, births, and follow up postpartum and baby appointments, I had a few jobs that were required of me. Some of these I’ll write about later–maintaining the herbal apothecary was particularly rewarding–but in this post I’ll focus on the postpartum ritual of cierre de caderas. Literally meaning “closing the hips” this ritual is sometimes also referred to in English as “closing the bones.” It is a centuries-old practice that involves warming and wrapping the subject (in this case, postpartum birth parents) in the traditional women’s textiles of the area, which are called “rebozos.”

The rebozos themselves are steeped in tradition and meaning. They are hand-woven textiles that show the region-specific weaving techniques and patterns that are passed down from grandparent to parent to child through generations for centuries. They were introduced to Mexico and Central America by the Spanish Conquistadors (colonizers) who told the Indigenous women that they were now Catholic and obliged to cover their hair for modesty. Being eminently practical, they didn’t just use these long, broad scarves just for modesty; they used them for carrying food from the market, for carrying babies on the hip, and for wrapping the abdomen (a place of spiritual significance and vulnerability) during ceremonies. They are worn as sashes often with the regional traditional dress now and in the past. They are a common gift at weddings and women are often buried in their favourite rebozos. Sometimes a beautiful rebozo was handed down through many generations. In short, they are culturally significant among many Indigenous groups in Mexico and Central America. 

A cierre de cadera, as it was taught to me by the midwives of Casa Aramara, consists of three parts. The first part involves warming the recipient’s body in what they call a “vaporización,” or “mini-temazcal.” A temazcal is the Mexican name for what is usually referred to as a “Sweat Lodge” in English. What we do in the cierre uses a handful of carefully selected herbs steeped in a large pot of boiling water. This water is then added to either a bath or used for the steam. The recipient sits naked (wrapped in a light sheet/sarong) on a birth stool (or just a low stool with as much as their bottom exposed as possible) and they are wrapped front and back in large heavy blankets that go from their neck to the floor to create a little tent. Then the pot with the boiled water and herbs is placed under the recipient’s bottom with the lid on, and the blankets are arranged so that no steam may escape. Next, the practitioner instructs the recipient to reach down and crack the lid open a tiny amount to let a small amount of steam come out–not too fast–we don’t want any scalding to happen.

Over the next thirty or more minutes, the recipient will gradually uncover the pot according to their comfort level. The result is that they become thoroughly warmed and humidified, to the point of becoming very very sweaty. While the warming is happening (either with the steam or in the bath), the practitioner(s) sit at the feet of the recipient and talk about the cycle that is coming to a close. For postpartum parents, this usually involves a discussion of their emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual journey of pregnancy, recounting their birth story, and how they feel as a new (or new again) parent. Often there are emotions of joy, tears, and frustrations vented, and insights revealed.

Once the steam has had its peak effect and begins to cool, the second part commences. The recipient comes out of the steam tent and is given a dry sheet to cover themselves as they move to the massage table or mat. They now receive a thorough, relaxing full-body massage that culminates in what could be considered an ‘abdominal massage,’ but is much more intuitive and energetic, according to the traditional beliefs of the Indigenous people in Mexico. The purpose of the massage is to be sure the abdominal organs have returned to their pre-pregnancy places, the uterus has shrunk to its non-pregnant size, and the energetic centre of the person is not too weak. 

Finally, the last part of the ritual involves wrapping the rebozos. Depending on the practitioner, they may use five or seven rebozos at significant points. My mentors taught me to use five rebozos that wrap the head, arms and chest, hips and pelvis, legs, and feet. We start at the head and give blessings and benedictions to the recipient based on each location: eyes and mind for the head; heart, lungs and arms for the torso; creativity, passion and womb for the pelvis; stability and movement for the legs; roots, support, family for the feet. Then the recipient is held in this very snug embrace for as long as they feel it is beneficial, usually 5-15 minutes.This is the final closure of the cycle the recipient came to complete. Once given a signal, the practitioner will begin to unwrap the rebozos in reverse order, from feet to head, each time with a new prayer or benediction for the new cycle the person is embarking upon.

Wrapping the abdomen and bones of the pelvis are not unique to Mexico, postpartum rituals from a variety of cultures around the world understand the benefits. Emotionally, energetically and physically speaking, the process of giving birth is an extreme opening and exposure. The postpartum period is the time when the body heals and closes itself. In many cultures, it is considered vitally important that the “opened” body is not exposed to too much cold or activity, and if the body isn’t sealed during the postpartum healing time the birthing person can be susceptible to illness and chronic discomforts. This is the same understanding that the Nahua and Huichol people that trained me in this ceremony hold. 

Once complete, the recipient usually reports a new sense of grounding, clarity, and energy to move confidently forward in life. For these reasons, my mentors believe it is an important ritual to offer anyone in times of transition. As such, we have provided rituals to people changing careers, getting married or divorced, at menarche, menopause, or after completing cancer treatment. It is a powerful and very healing spiritual medicine with a very enjoyable physical benefit alongside.

A note about cultural appropriation–if at all possible it is going to be best for a person interested in receiving this service to seek out a practitioner of the culture these practices originated in. I am aware of other cultures engaging in similar practices as well, so maybe your traditional culture “closes” people as well after giving birth! My mentors at Casa Aramara were adamant that I continue offering this ritual even after I returned to Canada, because they believe so strongly in its power to heal, and its necessity in the postpartum period. Therefore, I offer it at a cost to individuals here in Toronto, but I will never take money from an Indigenous person of Turtle Island for a cierre de caderas. I have been asked to teach the ritual as well, but as I myself am not Indigenous, I am currently (November 2024) working on arranging a workshop with a practitioner from Mexico who currently lives in Ohio. I will support, but she will be the teacher. Email me (doula.christy.to@gmail.com) for details which will be forthcoming!