Ritual

You don’t have to choose between the mundane and the sacred.

Anything can be made ritual. The everyday. The craft of something special. The liminal, the process, the journey. Everything that occurs in that space is the magic, with intention, transforming, and holding space for how we came to be. We learn, honour, grow, and maybe retreat, it’s not necessarily about becoming the thing, but maybe more about what we’re going to take with us and what we learn in the end.

SERVICES

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SERVICES 〰️

Bone Closing

Rest, nurture and recovery for after birth and beyond

A ceremonial and healing bodywork practice for the seasons of life we find ourselves in.

Traditionally a post natal massage and hip binding practice that honours the journey of pregnancy. Holding the birther and closing the body both physically and energetically.

I sought instruction in the South American tradition from Ecuador, passed to me through Sophie Messager, author of Why Post Natal Recovery Matters in 2018.

Care of new mothers and those that birth in traditional ways can be seen in cultures across the world, all sharing bodywork and/or binding practices along with heating/steaming techniques, nourishment and rest. From sarashi post natal binding in Japan, the Ayurvedic practice of udara veshtana, the Malaysian bengkungm, a variation of which which is also found in Africa (bengkung), the hot stone practices of the Cham peoples of Cambodia, along with the Cerrada ceremonies of Central and South America using the Mexican rebozo that I share with you and many many more. All warming, all acknowledging of the space left and the effect of the elements on the body.

All cultures have traditionally held the understanding of the deep physiological need of people in their postpartum. Of Rest, nurture, recovery and community. Maybe our own techniques here on these islands were crushed underfoot in the scramble to own, oppress and possess the people and resources of another through colonisation and capitalism. In my Irish grandmothers midwifery books from the 1930’s, there is a note of binders required in the puerperium (period directly after birth) I’m going to keep looking…

  • The truth is it can be for anyone! Traditionally it’s been a ceremonial and healing practice for those post birthing, whether this is within the first 40 days or even if we’ve consciously reached the end of birthing after our children reach a certain age. Maybe a way to close your surrogacy journey. Or even post baby loss, or the conclusion of IVF, post surgery, with the physical changes that may come to our bodies with transition or with the completion of our passage through menopause.

  • Performed on the floor, It consists of a warm oil massage of the abdomen (skin on skin) and I also use fabric (a traditional Mexican scarf called a rebozo) to rock you gently, and then to bind and close the pelvis. Initially, after chatting we’ll set some intentions together, and if you feel comfortable sharing your birth story with me there is space for that. We’ll then rock, massage, and bind the body with wrappings. There is then a period of supported rest.

    On a physical level, the gentle rocking helps mobilise the joints, bringing ease to the muscles, fascia and fluid of the body. The wrapping invokes a sense of integration.

    On an emotional level it may provide a space to simply rest and be held exactly as we are.

    On a spiritual level it can also provide a closure, a space to bring things that we are maybe ready to integrate.

    Your baby can be present, you may like them close by with a relative or friend, or you may relish the space alone, and we can of course stop for feeding as you need. We’ll need space on the floor for a yoga mat and for me to kneel and stand alongside you.

    Treatments last 120 mins

  • As with everything I do there is a sliding scale please choose your range between £75 - £120 depending on your resources, and if there is someone you know of in our community that would benefit from this work, but to who the price is a barrier, please get in touch.

  • I come to your own home, providing everything we need. I currently serve my local community in East Kent.

  • Yes. Absolutely.

    You can purchase a gift card through me and I can arrange a time that’s convenient direct with the recipient.

I found my way here, through my own need to try and understand how I felt post the birth of my own child. I felt open in a way I never had before and in so many layers of my being… and as a bodyworker I sought my answers through the body.

In acknowledgment of these practices away from source culture 10% of the cost from each massage will be donated to Black Mothers Matter a UK based advocacy and educational CIC. Black women in the UK have more than four times the risk of dying in pregnancy or up to six weeks postpartum compared with white women.

Race or ethnicity should not be a standalone risk factor during the perinatal period.

I am trained, fully insured and hold an enhanced DBS.

I CALL ON ALL THE HEALERS NOW, THE MIDWIVES AND CUNNINGFOLK FOLK BEFORE ME, AND INVITE THEM BE WITH US HERE. ONCE AND STILL MAYBE PERSECUTED FOR THIS TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY HEALING, AND I HONOUR THEM, FEELING THEIR CHANNEL THROUGH ME

What People Are Saying

“The closing of the bones with Hayley was such a lovely, nourishing experience.

It felt like the perfect way for me to mark the end of the fourth trimester and hold space to acknowledge what my body had experienced during pregnancy, birth and early motherhood.

I practice yoga with Hayley and her classes always feel like a wonderfully nurturing and nourishing space and having Hayley facilitate this in my own home felt like I was doing that for myself too. I returned to my baby feeling calm, grounded and proud of what we are achieving together”.

SS, Canterbury

“I think every new mother deserves to experience this ritual.

Having just birthed my first baby I wanted to honour my body and thank it for how it had served me during my pregnancy and into motherhood. Hayley created the perfect setting to do just that and more. The time we spent in this space allowed me to reflect and celebrate my transition into motherhood and I thank Hayley for giving me an opportunity to give back to my body in this way”.

HT, Whitstable

COMING SOON COMING SOON COMING SOON COMING SOON

Seasonal Offerings

By the sea. Deep and experiential anchors to the land, each other, and our history of fire gathering

Tempering the dark with firelight and finding an alchemy at the shoreline in the heat and cold water, Letting them metabolise the barriers that keep us apart.