Rebozo Mexicano
A witness to life’s transitions
WELCOME TO REBOZO REBITH SESSIONS WITH KATE BRINCH SAND
Un Apapacho — a hug for the soul. Rebozo is not a tool unique to motherhood. It is culture, support and care. Often wrongly described as a scarf or a shawl, a Rebozo is neither and it is both.
Adequately described, rebozo is a textil, a cloth, a tool that can be used in so many ways, and this is why it comes in various lengths, textures, colors a materials. Rebozos can be used as shawls and scarfs, but that is just two minor possibilities from the ample uses this wonderful Mexican tool has. While mothers are some of the most common owners of rebozos, and receivers of this seemly magical benefits, rebozos do not discriminate in age, sex or purpose. ​
From rocking bellies in pregnancy, holding hips after birth, wrapping small humans or fully grown adults; rebozos are there from the beginning of life to the departure of the human soul in the last resting place. Their use is so versatile as is their texture and color. Carrying a child, an adult or a heavy load of logs or foods. Silk elegant shoulder covers, humbling wraps to keep one’s head covered in church, tight belts around the hips or waist to keep a recovering body contained.​
Strong maneuvers performed by men whose ability to manipulate easily compare to the maneuvers of a chiropractor; gentle rocking waves that give similar results as a craniosacral session. A tight container, an energy cleanser, a carrier, a cover, a belt or a rope like tool. All this and more is the meaning of rebozo. ​
To use it, thorough training is expected and deep respect for our culture is necessary. A rebozo is not just a textile, it is a cultural staple of an innately supportive society, the keeper of a million possibilities, the giver of an apapacho that can heal your body and soul, and hold through its containing qualities the implicit vulnerability of one’s life transitions.
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Kate Brinch Sand
Rebozo use in boywork: A little background
More info coming soon
Rebozo Bodywork and expectations: ceremony or treatment
Whatever reason brings you to a rebozo session, you are bound to experience a wonderfully relaxing tool that can provide both a tight grip as well as a soothing swing to address muscle an joint tension, as well as nervous system release all at once, without cracking one single bone. Rebozo, when performed accurately by a trained professional is much more than just “a closing”.
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Famously launched as a “birth and postpartum tool” of sorts originally provided by Mexican and Central American midwives to the local women, and later on sold as a popular treatment within birthing communities worldwide, Rebozo is not exclusive to women nor to motherhood. Rebozo is also not exclusively performed by women. As a matter of fact I learned some of the best techniques of this tool from a male therapist teacher who took advantage of his larger and more solid frame to perform maneuvers that a woman might struggle to hold.
And so we learn the difference between Rebozo as a massage for therapeutic purposes for all bodies; and Rebozo as a tool to perform the traditional “cerradas” which can be ceremonial or not.