Stephanie Garcia, LPC
Rebozo Healing
If you are curious about other ways of healing outside of Western talk therapy, I'd like to share with you a method of caring for and healing the body that I learned about working with a beautiful textile called the Rebozo. This way of healing was shared with me by my teacher Irasema Reza Bailey a doula, bodyworker, and trauma informed practitioner, who is the founder of the Birth Comadres in Austin, TX. I have been practicing rebozo healing for the past three years and I am happy to provide this care to clients who are interested in holistic healing through Traditional Mexican Medicine.
What is a Rebozo?
A rebozo is a beautiful MexicanTextile, that is traditionally hand woven.
Historically, the Rebozo has been worked with in a multitude of ways including as a way for mothers to carry their babies, a way to gather and carry materials for harvest, in body work, and as a way to adorn the body, just to name a few.
The rebozo comes in various colors and patterns and has fringe detailing on the ends. Pictured on the right is myself and my comadre working with several Rebozo's to support community members at the Downtown Austin Public Library.
How do you work with the Rebozo for healing?
My teacher passed down this tradition of working with the Rebozo from her family, where the Rebozo was a tool that was worked with to care for one another in their community. In the Mexican culture, the matriarchs of the family would work with the Rebozo for healing to support their families when they experienced physical or emotional traumas.
One of the most healing aspects of Rebozo healing is that, with consent, it provides the person receiving care with safe and loving physical touch. Often Rebozo healing involves working with the Rebozo to rock, stretch, and provide compression to the body. This type of care not only allows the person receiving the session to feel comforted and nurtured, it also helps move stuck emotions that live in the physical body out by tending to the places where these experiences and emotions are held.
If you are uncomfortable with receiving Rebozo healing care through touch, but still would like to work with the Rebozo, I am also happy to support you with working with the Rebozo on your own body.
How Do I know if the Rebozo is a good fit for me?
If you are looking for healing support outside of traditional talk therapy, Rebozo healing may be a good fit for you. Touch is a powerful co-regulating tool. This coupled with the movement the Rebozo brings can support folks who are holding trauma's or stuck emotions in their body.
Sometimes we are not even aware of all that our body holds onto. We put strain and impact on our bodies naturally by just going about our day. This is reason alone to support our bodies with restorative movement and care.
If we have experienced something in our life that was emotionally or physically difficult, sometimes we hold onto these things in our bodies unconsciously. The Rebozo is a wonderful tool to support us so that the impact of those events do not remain "stuck" in our bodies which can lead to further dis-ease.
What Does a typical Rebozo session look like?
A typical session is 60 minutes and will begin with me asking you if you have any pain or injuries that would be for helpful for me to know about.
We will then begin with a short meditation to support you to relax and I will again ask for consent before beginning to work with the Rebozo on your body. Most of the touch you will receive will be with the Rebozo as the tool between my hands and where I am working. I will never touch any part of your body that you do not feel comfortable with.
I will verbally walk you though each part as we work from the head down to the feet, and if I notice any discomfort will be sure to check in. You are also welcome to communicate with me as much as you like during the session and I encourage you to let me know if you are experiencing any discomfort.
At the end of a session you will be wrapped Rebozo's while we conclude with another short meditation, before I unwrap you and the session is complete. We will have a debrief at the end of session to check in about your experience and what I noticed while working with the Rebozo on your body.