Ancestral Womb and
Postpartum Care Progam

In partnership with Community Roots Midwife Collective and Drylands Agroecology Research (DAR)

In collaboration with HAFN and DAR, Community Roots Midwife Collective’s Ancestral Womb & Postpartum Care (AWPC) Program—an Indigenous-led partnership—centers Indigenous peoples and people of color to revitalize traditional Indigenous midwifery, postpartum and healing ceremonies, and nourishing collective rematriation within Colorado. Our offerings, guided by our communities and Concilio, include Closing of Bones/Cerrada de Caderas ceremonies, First Moon: Coming of Age Circle, knowledge shares, and a medicinal garden.

AWPC Concilio

AWPC operates through the leadership of an organically formed Concilio, a consensus-based decision-making model of communal governance. Our Concilio is a non-hierarchical “council” that is predominantly Indigenous. There is no one person in a leadership position, rather we invite collective caretaking and power distribution to disrupt colonial structures of hierarchical leadership.

Collective Governance

The Concilio

AWPC operates through the leadership of an organically formed Concilio: a consensus-based model of communal governance rooted in collective caretaking, shared responsibility, and the distribution of power.

The Cerrada de Caderas (Closing of the Bones)

An ancestral practice that supports the postpartum body, spirit, and energy field. This ceremony includes:

An herbal bath to invite the spirit back into the body
Abdominal massage to tend the womb and support healing
Closing of the Bones with Rebozos (traditional woven scarves) to energetically and physically close what was opened during birth
Fire and sacred instruments to regenerate and rebalance the physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies

In many traditions, Cerradas are offered in a Temazcalli. We currently offer Cerradas in-home or with the support of a cedar sauna seasonally, with hopes of building a traditional Temazcalli in the future.

Financial offerings and additional funding help support those who wish to receive the ceremony yet are unable to pay. We have an application available for every participant to help navigate the financial aspect.

We recognize the lineage of these traditions (Mesoamerican) and center the voices and teachings of those carrying it from their origins.

Ask Questions about a Cerrada

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People participating in a group meditation session in an outdoor covered wooden porch surrounded by greenery. Some people are lying on mats with others sitting or kneeling nearby.

A diverse group of women and children outdoors in front of trees and a hill, smiling at the camera during daytime.

People practicing a seated massage in a cozy outdoor patio with brick walls, hanging plants, and comfortable seating.

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People practicing yoga or meditation on a porch or outdoor deck, sitting on mats with some personal belongings nearby.

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A group of people sitting and lying on the floor under a wooden porch, listening to a woman standing and speaking in front of them. The porch has hanging plants and a brick wall in the background.

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A group of people gathered on a covered outdoor patio, sitting on chairs and cushions, listening to a woman speaking. The setting includes trees, plants, and sunlight, with various drinks and personal belongings on tables and the floor.

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A group of children and a young woman are gathered outside around a blanket laid on the ground. The children include a blonde toddler with a pacifier, a girl with long dark hair, and a younger girl with curly hair. The young woman is wearing a black

Group of people gathered outdoors under a wooden roof, sitting on cushions and stools, with trees and a clear blue sky in the background.

Group of diverse women gathered outdoors on a wooden deck, some seated and some standing, with trees, string lights, and a wooden fence in the background.

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Quotes from previous clients who received a Closing of Bones

"This ceremony was immensely healing for me after enduring two difficult miscarriages over the course of just four months. I expected to be filled with grief during the ceremony and instead received a clear message that I had grieved enough and I then allowed joy to come through! In the last five days since the ceremony, I have felt an incredible shift in my energy. I feel my body gaining strength and my creative energy returning. During the ceremony in my home, Lo and Christina made me feel deeply safe, secure, held, and connected."
"This ceremony was so powerful for me. My intention going into the ceremony was to bring the chapter of loss and struggle with fertility to a close and to emerge from the ceremony into a new chapter, a new story. The ceremony itself was so perfectly aligned with this. Being cleansed by the plants, having my womb space honored and tended to, being bound and emerging from that chrysalis - it was as if the metaphor that I was holding was being acted out in real life. I have felt the impact rippling on many levels of my being. I am so grateful that this resource exists within our community as I feel that these healing ceremonies work on very deep levels and can't be replaced by anything else. I feel very cared for, put back together with love, and happy to walk a new walk, tell a fresh story, and welcome my little one into my womb. I am filled with gratitude."
"It was a profound journey of accepting and integrating deeply the loss of my pregnancy at 24weeks. It was like a portal experience, where the energy moved both in my womb and on many levels of my being from the rough winter of grief and raw pain to a fresh, peaceful spring-time of renewal. The container created and held by Mariamor and Lo was powerful, intimate and oh so tender. They invited the angels in, and I felt transported from being in one place at the start of the ceremony, to a new place within myself, afterwards."
"The Cerrada is powerful medicine, perfect for healing in the tender postpartum time. Not only was it rare and helpful to have the dedicated space to care for my own wellbeing after birth, but I was nourished by the plants, connected to wisdom and beauty in the songs, and physically supported by the massage, wrapping, and faja. Lo and Felicia offered gentle, loving care, and because of their skill there were times I felt the earth mother herself was holding me. After the ceremony I have felt more connected to my inner self, more able to access the support of the earth, and more attuned to the wisdom of mothers before me. This connection is something every mother needs! Thank you for carrying the knowledge of the Cerrada ceremony and offering it to the community!"

First Moon Ceremony

First Moon is our coming-of-age circle for young people of color, guided by Indigenous adult leaders and held as a sacred, celebratory transition into adolescence. We welcome youth entering or moving through puberty—including those who haven’t begun bleeding—to connect with ancestral knowledge, body literacy, practical skills, and community care. Circles meet monthly with separate cohorts for ages 9–11 and 12–14.

This offering is free of charge to families. Our 2025–26 cohort is currently closed. For more information, please email Josie, First Moon Co-Lead, directly.

Contact Josie

AWPC Garden

Our Medicinal Garden nourishes our relationship with the Earth and the plant beings who generously share their wisdom, teachings, and medicine with us.
The garden is guided by our Concilio member Christina Lopez and her family at their home, the Cavez Homestead. The garden is also supported by our friends at DAR and our AWPC cohort. This land is home to many of the plants that are essential to our Cerrada de Caderas offerings and teachings year round.

Knowledge Shares

We offer seasonal gatherings which bring together our larger AWPC community. During these gatherings, teachings are shared by guides among group and guest teachers from local and greater communities.

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A woman standing in a garden holding a basket of fresh herbs, with a cloudy sky and green fields in the background.

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A green plant with white flowers and broad leaves set against a blue sky with clouds.

White daisy flowers with yellow centers growing in a garden bed with soil and green leaves.

A woven basket filled with freshly picked chamomile flowers, featuring white petals and yellow centers.

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We hope to receive additional funds and support to build a traditional Temazcalli, bring elders to share more of these sacred teachings, and to support the community in receiving Cerradas.

We are open to receiving financial donations, to directly fund these sessions

on an individual or monthly basis.

These offerings can also be offered at home.

If you are interested in learning more about these ceremonies or to learn the craft yourself, you can also reach out to join the next cohort trough The Community Roots Midwife Collective website

Donate Here