2 day closing the bones workshop near Cambridge Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th of November 2023
£349.00
2 days closing the bones training with Sophie Messager in Great Abington, near Cambridge on Saturday the 4th and Sunday the 5th of November from 9h to 5h30.
The booking fee includes a £50 non refundable deposit. In the unlikely event that the course needs to be cancelled (such as sickness), all fees will be refunded.
In the event of late (less than 2 weeks notice) cancellation or non-attendance at the workshop without advance warning, all fees are non-refundable.
12 in stock
Background
Everywhere around the world, there used to be a period of about a month after birth during which the new mother was taken care of completely. Members of the community used to take charge of the household (chores, older kids etc), make sure the mother rested, provided specific nourishing foods, and well as give or organise some postpartum specific bodywork. It was a ubiquitous practice in every continent (and still is in many parts of the world today). This used to be part of Western culture too.
I published my book, Why postnatal recovery matters, to encourage a movement towards returning to a nurturing postpartum. In the book I distilled the principles of a nurturing postpartum into four simple pillars: social support, rest, food and bodywork. Out of the four pillars, bodywork is the most neglected one. One of the most special forms of postnatal bodywork I know is the closing the bones ritual.
Closing the bones is a nurturing massage ritual which involves using a rebozo shawl to rock and bind the mother's body, together with a specific massage of the abdomen, hips, chest, shoulders and arms. It is designed to help healing, realign and balance a new mother, as well as help her return to her centre, both physically and energetically.
I believe that by allowing more new mothers to experience this type of nurturing ritual, we can transform the experience of new mothers, in terms of recovery, but also make it once more something that they expect to be receive post birth. I created this course to share this important knowledge and to spread the knowledge to as many people as possible.
What does the workshop includes?
- History and background of closing the bones and how and who I learnt it with
- Practical tuition on how to give a full body rebozo massage, abdominal massage and closing ceremony with rebozos.
- Learning to create ceremony, ritual and sacred space as part of this ritual. Knowing how to hold space for whatever needs to be expressed. This is a creative and sacred process that adds much to the experience for both you and the mother.
- You will not only learn this technique in depth, and leave able to offer it to your clients, but you will also experience for yourself how nurturing, powerful and deeply healing this massage and ritual is, as well as learning to provide it as part of a ceremony.
- Plenty of time to ask all the questions you have, and reflect on what you have learnt
- A small, intimate group of no more than 12 students.
- An extensive, unique and detailed handout which includes a mix of traditional wisdom and scientific evidence. Each technique is accompanied by a description, a picture, a tutorial video link, and its effects on the various joints, muscles and organs explained by an osteopath
- Access to a private Facebook group for people who have done the closing the bones training, where you can share knowledge and connect with an vibrant group of over 500 like minded people.
Who is this course for?
- This course is for birthworkers, perinatal educators and therapists, and for anyone who support women and families during the postpartum.
A bit of background about me, your course instructor
- Having worked as a doula from 2012 to 2022, I also have a diploma in antenatal education and spent several years teaching antenatal classes. I have been facilitating workshops for birth professionals for over ten years. I know how present information in a way that is entertaining, easily to follow, and which allows students to learn easily and enjoyably, as well as apply what they have learnt in the class.
- Prior to being a doula, I gained a PhD in Physiology of Reproduction and spent 20 years working as a biology research scientist.
- I am also an energy healer and drum healer.
- I am the author of the book Why Postnatal Recovery Matters, published by Pinter and Martin, and translated in German and Italian (and soon in French). Learning this massage was instrumental in opening my mind to our lack of postpartum care and to writing the book.
What makes this workshop special?
- I offer a unique blend of scientific, theoretical, spiritual and practical experience.
- As well as history and science, in the workshop I share stories from my clients, from mothers and birth professionals, which help illustrate aspects of the massage, as well as give you plenty of practical ideas to make it work for you.
- I have given this massage to hundreds of women and trained several hundred professionals in giving it. I also co-created a new version of this massage, called the postnatal recovery massage, with an osteopath, and I have been teaching a version of the massage online to over 250 students.
- You will leave the course able to start offering closing the bones to your community straight away.
What is the investment required?
- The workshop cost £349.
Some examples of what people have said about this workshop:
- Amazing, I loved, loved, loved the course, the venue, the women, the ceremonial yet down to earthness feel, the course has stoked my heart. Well instructed, nicely paced, nice balance between instruction, demonstration and practice. A really wonderful day.
- I really enjoyed the day. An excellent facilitator allowing knowledge to flow through the group with ease. The day was very well divided between theory and lots of practical. I look forward to practising and developing my skills.
- A wonderfully informative and nourishing day. Perfect size group and atmosphere, and I loved your teaching style. You shared your knowledge and experience but also allowed the group to flourish and share viewpoints and experiences
- Wonderful. I hadn't anticipated the level to which I would experience the day. I can't wait to incorporate this into my practice.
Practicalities of the workshop:
- Each day runs from 9h to 5h30pm
- We will be practising a massage which covers the pelvis, abdomen and chest so please wear comfy clothing (soft trousers/leggings/jogging bottoms etc are comfier than jeans for this, and if you wish to keep your bra on, then a soft bra is preferable to a wired one)
- We love babies and children, which is why we have to say with a heavy heart that they are too distracting for this workshop. During this course we spend a lot of our time practising a massage in pairs, so babies would need to be put down and would get fed up and upset, and this would impair the learning for yourself and the rest of the group. You are welcome to bring a baby if you can bring another adult with you who can look after the baby and entertain them for the day or who can stay nearby with your breastfed baby until s/he needs a feed.
- Refreshments: Tea, coffee, drinks and snacks will be provided at the venue. There will be a longer break for lunch. You will need to bring your own packed lunch, or some food to share.
Here is a video showing what the massage ritual looks like:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vi_2WP3cEt0
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