Rebozo
Rebozo Closing Bone
Rebozo Closingbone Workshop
Lecturer: Akiko Kimura
Sunday, March 30, 2025
Opens at 9:40, starts at 10:15, ends at 17:15
in Kawajiri Public Hall, Kumamoto
Capacity: 12 people
Rebozo
What is a rebozo?
Rebozo has healed people through the ages
The word "rebozo" is a general term for a large, shawl-like piece of cloth. It has traditionally been used by birthkeepers in Central and South America, including Mexico and Ecuador.
It has a history of being widely used for relaxation before, during and after childbirth, as well as for easing labor pains and back pain, by gently wrapping, squeezing and rocking parts or the whole body, sometimes firmly, and sometimes firmly.
Midwives who have inherited the rebozo and its uses are actively working to spread this wonderful wisdom so that more women around the world can benefit from it. The support techniques using the rebozo are collectively called the rebozo technique.
Rebozos have played an important role in the care provided by doulas in the West for the past few decades. If you have never experienced them, take this opportunity to learn more and use them in your daily life.
◆Participants will be given a certificate of completion.
講 師
Akira Kimura
Akiko Kimura
Birth Doula
Born in Tokyo. Graduated from Rikkyo University's Faculty of Letters.
Master's degree in Medical Anthropology from the University of Edinburgh.
Director of Doulaship Japan.
She has lived abroad for 20 years, living in eight cities, and is a birth activist who has established pregnancy and childbirth support communities in various regions while continuing to support mothers and children in each country.
Her words and actions open up, heal, and empower femininity, leading many women to live joyful lives.
She is the first in Japan to hold a birth doula training course taught by a Japanese instructor. She is a mother of two children.
Birth Doula
A doula is a professional who provides ongoing support during labor, birth, and after birth, helping to maintain the physical and mental well-being of mothers and children.
Our main role is to accompany women and their families during labor and delivery, provide physical and mental care, improve fetal position, provide massage, and provide necessary information.
We maximize the woman's innate ability to make childbirth a positive experience through non-medical methods.
By building solidarity with surrounding medical professionals and families, we protect women's human rights and autonomy, and increase their sense of satisfaction with childbirth and child-rearing.
Doulas, who developed in the West, have become central figures in spreading harmony of care to women around the world, along with midwives.
As an essential worker, we collaborate with various perinatal medical professionals,
Our activities are expanding beyond childbirth to include child-rearing, perinatal loss, and end-of-life care.
[The significance of treatment using Rebozo]
This deeply healing treatment focuses on the abdomen and lower back (and upper body if necessary). The entire body (shoulders, torso, back, lower back, arms, and legs) is relaxed in a rebozo, gently wrapped, and then slowly unwrapped. This is more than just physical care; it sometimes serves as a rite of passage. The cocoon is an important stage in the process of a caterpillar transforming from a chrysalis into a butterfly. Experience a unique time and space that allows for healing self-transformation. As the wrappings that have been wrapping you begin to unravel, we will examine together what we are able to share with each other.
Content
・History of the Rebozo
-Need for non-medical care
- Techniques for different parts of the body using rebozo
・Sternum closing
・Upper body oil massage technique linked with rebozo
What you will learn in this workshop
◆Learn practical rebozo techniques◆
・Basic rebozo techniques such as wrapping, tightening, shaking, and lifting the cloth ・The effect of closing the bones on the spine and body ・Compassionate care that allows women to feel connected
[How to use Rebozos]
・As a treatment for relaxation before, during and after childbirth, for labor pain and back pain relief, and for stress and menstrual pain relief. ・As a form of therapy. ・For daily maintenance for family and loved ones. ・As a rite of passage at life's turning points (first menstruation, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, moving, changing jobs, menopause, etc.). ・After spontaneous miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, and hysterectomy.
You will be given a certificate of attendance at the end of the course
This seminar is recommended for:
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I am interested in traditional body and mind care using fabrics.
Specializing in women's health and wellness care
I have attended a rebozo training course before but would like to relearn it.
I want to learn practical rebozo techniques
I want to learn bone closing therapy
Are you interested in or want to learn about doulas?
I want to acquire the wisdom to enhance the body's inherent vitality.
Comments from workshop participants
The fabric relaxes the body
This experience reconnected me to many different things.
Deep, deep
It melted my mouth.
Respect for the fabric, the traditions and the people.
I learned something important.
The world of possibilities for fabric suddenly expanded.
I would like to give back this knowledge and experience.
thank you very much.
- Held in Kanagawa Prefecture
It was a rebirth experience for me, where I felt like a fetus in the womb, floating in space, being hugged tightly, and enveloped in a sense of security.
I'm sure this is the ultimate healing experience for those who don't like oil treatments, marma points, or massages.
It's fun to rebozo, thank you very much
- Midwifery Kumamoto Prefecture
About your rebozo
At the workshop, we will also be learning practical techniques, so we ask that each participant bring two rebozos.
During the actual rebozo treatment, we often use seven rebozos. It is best to prepare seven rebozos, but if this is difficult, we will sell or lend them out on the day of the workshop.
We recommend purchasing rebozo fabric from workshops that continue to use traditional methods, as a sign of respect for Mexico's indigenous people and the artisans who preserve traditional methods.
We will purchase them in bulk from a workshop in Mexico for those who need them and sell them on the day of the workshop.
The rebozos that we plan to purchase at this workshop are from Oaxaca, a region of Mexico where traditional midwives and workshops still exist, and a portion of the sales will be donated to support the areas where the rebozos are made and the activities of traditional midwives.
The standard length of the cloth is about 250cm and the width is about 70cm.
It is also very interesting that the size is the same as a Japanese hakama obi.
Although rebozos are a traditional part of Central American culture, I hope that through this learning experience, we can also awaken and deepen the culture of using Japanese fabrics as cloths for carrying and carrying babies, as well as for assisting in childbirth.
If you have a single-piece baby carrier, handwoven shawl or blanket, or large sheet cover, please bring it along with the rebozo cloth.
◆ Pre-order ◆
Rebozo
Price: 7,500 yen per ticket (planned)
This price includes shipping from Mexico, customs duties, and fees.
This rebozo was ordered directly from a workshop in Mexico.
The handover is scheduled for the day of the workshop.
* Numbers are limited, so please apply early.
Expanding Rebozo Techniques <Book>
A workbook explaining the rebozo technique will be on sale on the day. Authors Thea van Tuyl and Mirjam de Keijzer visited Japan in 2017 to hold a rebozo training seminar organized by Doulaship Japan. The two authors learned about the rebozo from Mexican midwife Naori Vinaver. It carefully and with illustrations introduces content rarely seen in Japan, including the practical use of the rebozo throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period, detailed movements for specific body parts, emotional care specific to the perinatal period, applications during labor, and the use of the rebozo on the baby. The workbook has been published by the translation team of Doulaship Japan, of which Akiko Kimura is a director.
Expanding Rebozo Techniques (Japanese version)
Price: 5,600 yen
Doulaship Japan details page
https://www.doulashipjapan.org/books
◆Please order using the application form↓
Kumamoto Venue: March 30th (Sun)
Kawajiri Public Hall
4-8-25 Kawajiri, Minami-ku, Kumamoto City, Kumamoto Prefecture
Parking available ● Sanko Bus Kawajiricho (Old Road) - 5-minute walk from the stop ● JR Kawajiri Station - 15-minute walk (2 stops from Kumamoto Station) If you are using JR, we will pick you up at Kawajiri Station. Parking available for 20 cars 20 minutes from Mifune Interchange
Rebozo Closing Bone
Sunday, March 30, 2025
<Venue> Kawajiri Public Hall, Kumamoto
Opens at 9:40, starts at 10:15, ends at 17:15
Participation fee: 36,000 yen
<Capacity> 12 people
<Target audience>
Maternal and child advocates, birth attendants (midwives, doulas, etc.), and those whose life's work is women's care and therapy.
Or those who want to deepen their learning and become involved in these fields in the future.
*This seminar is for women only.
◆Notes◆ Please check
*Payment can be made by Paypal (credit card) or bank transfer.
* Once payment is complete, your application will be considered complete.
◆ Cancellation Policy ◆
The workshop will be held with a limited number of participants. In order to cover the instructor's fee and travel expenses, we will charge the following cancellation fee to avoid making it difficult to invite other participants. Please understand this before applying.
Free cancellation one week before the event
3 days before the event: 50% of the participation fee
Please note that if you cancel on the day of the event or without notice, 100% of the participation fee will not be refunded.
Yukiko Kojima, Representative of Placenta Mothers Network
Email: ena.mothers@gmail.com
Instagram: ena_mothersnetwork
