Join Partera Tema Mercado in Baja, California, for a 4-day workshop immersing in ancestral postpartum practices. Reconnect with age-old wisdom in this transformative retreat.
"Embracing the Sacred: A Journey into Postpartum Sealing"
Embark on a journey of ancient wisdom and profound reverence with our Postpartum Sealing Retreat – a timeless ritual known by various names such as Cerradas, Mother Roasting, and Bone Closing, echoing through the annals of diverse cultures worldwide.
These sacred ceremonies, steeped in tradition, hold the power to encapsulate the essence of postpartum care, passed down through generations like whispers of ancestral memory. Inspired by the timeless practices of my grandmothers and guided by a tapestry of oral traditions, teachings from esteemed elders, and modern insights gleaned from my studies in midwifery, this workshop is a harmonious fusion of the old and the new.
Within the gentle embrace of this sacred space, we honor the profound journey of the birth giver and the newborn, acknowledging the thresholds crossed and the cycles completed. Each sealing ceremony marks not just an end, but also a new beginning – a transition encapsulated in the loving embrace of tradition and ritual.
As a partera, I have witnessed the transformative power of cerradas, not only in the context of childbirth but also in moments of loss, transition, and rebirth. These rituals extend beyond the postpartum period, encompassing the myriad cycles of life – from the dawn of motherhood to the twilight of menopause, from the healing after loss to the liberation from past traumas.
Join us as we delve into the heart of postpartum cerradas, where ancient wisdom meets modern insight, and the sacred dance of life unfolds in all its beauty and grace.
What is included
This 4 day immersion will be held in Escondido, California at the beuatiful Cactus Blossom Retreat Home. Home cooked meals will be provided during your stay . Guest Maestras will partake in knowledge shares.
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Four days of hands-learning
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Room, board and meals
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3 Guest Maestras
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communal learning
Who is this workshop for ?
This workshop is specifically for birth professionals or bodyworkers who are actively serving postpartum families.
I am calling in a diverse group of professionals who are deeply committed to birth givers and to the continued cultural preservation of this work. The workshop and retreat is a living, breathing circle of knowledge sharing . Everyone in our circle will have something to contribute. I will be carefully screening each applicant with this knowledge sharing circle in mind. I encourage you to be open and authentic in your application process. I have no doubt that our circle will be just as it needs to be. I'm looking forward to welcoming you there.
Cactus Blossom Retreat
our learning space
We’ll be gathering at the beautiful Cactus Blossom Retreat — a quiet 4.5-acre sanctuary nestled in the mountains of Escondido, surrounded by blooming cacti, soaring hawks, and ancestral avocado groves. Just 40 minutes from the San Diego airport, it’s the kind of place that invites you to slow down, listen inward, and reconnect with your purpose. This land holds us gently while we remember, restore, and root into the medicine we carry.
How do I register?
There is an application process before you can enroll to attend. Due to the intimate nature of the workshop and the very limited enrollments (limited to 16 participants), I will be screening everyone.
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Submit your application (may skip with invitation)
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You will receive an invitation to enroll within a week if selected
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You will have 1 week to put down a deposit and enroll
Read the Welcome & Terms & Conditions
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Welcome & Details
FREE PREVIEW -
Join the Postpartum Sealing Retreat Group Chat
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Terms & Conditions
FREE PREVIEW
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What is the Closing of the Bones Ceremony- Prerecording
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About this course
Postpartum Sealing Workshop Testimonials
What former participants have to share...
Completely exceeded my expectations.
I am presently unearthing how this experience has deeply shifted my outlook on how we love and show up for each other as mujeres, mothers, and caregivers. I feel such a profound honor and responsibility carrying these seeds of knowledge I was able to gather during our time together.
Excellent Teaching
The workshop is a thoroughly experiential and sensuous training! For me, the markers of a good learning experience include telling (through theory), showing (through demos), feeling (through practice), and processing (through sharing, crying, laughing). Tema included all of these components with gracious expertise. The workshop is wonderful for both community members who are looking to support birthing people in their life as well as birth workers who have been immersed in the calling for many years.
Postpartum Sealing retreat was a life changing event
I was going to learn, grow spiritually, which I did, and expanded my knowledge of healing my postpartum clients. What I didn’t know was that this workshop was also an invitation to experience my own healing. Now, I not only have tools to care for my clients in a wholesome traditional way but also an understanding and the knowledge of what this caring feels like for myself.
Inspiring & Truly Magical
Inspiring and truly magical. I would say that its a safe space to learn and to practice and not feel judged. The practices I learned were very valuable and the content of the workshop and flow was smooth.
Brought me back to my roots
It exceeded my expectations, I did not expect to feel such strong emotions and inner realizations.
Amazing, healing and beautiful!
Amazing, healing, beautiful and opportunity to connect with yourself and gain hands-on tools to use in your birth work practice immediately. A wonderful experience all around.
I like Tema's Teaching Style
I like the way that tema teaches. Something that really drew me in was her teaching style. Her class has a flow to it and she makes that happen through her respect for the work along with the things that arise throughout the class such as questions, thoughts and experiences that are shared by her students. She has many teaching tools she uses such as storytelling, touch and song that allows you to pick up the material with your whole body. I loved each moment and I had the opportunity to learn from her.
I feel more connected to my ancestry and this practice
The postpartum workshop/retreat with Tema and our incredible group was an opportunity to lean into indigenous roots and knowledge for healing practices, but also to understand our own calling to this work. Staying in the beautiful home with the group and building a safe container together was healing by itself. Each of guest teachers, as well as Tema, were genuine in their presence and each of them truly a wealth of knowledge.
Exceeded Expectations
I have been trying to describe how life changing the workshop was for me to friends and it’s hard to put into words. So far, I have been saying that yes, it was full of hands on learning and information but even more it was an invitation into first honoring the medicine in our own lives. Our workshop honestly exceeded my expectations! I really enjoyed that the whole day was filled with learning and intention. But at the same time, we free flowed with the energy of the day.
Follow my Heart
I am definitely integrating all that I learned in my current practice as a doula, herbalist, and bodyworker. Many people in my community are benefiting from the knowledge Tema shared. What the journey also offered me was an opportunity to reflect on my own path. Since then, I've decided to follow my heart and apply for a midwifery program. I am so grateful for all that Tema offered us at the retreat. It has literally shifted the course of my life so that it is aligned with my heart.
Workshop Facilitator
Maestra
Partera Tema Mercado
Tema Mercado is a Xicana Licensed Midwife in California and Partera Profesional Certificada in Mexico , mother to six children and a grandmother. She believes that birth work can change the world and has dedicated the last 11 years to birth and reproductive justice on the U.S Mexico Border serving families on both sides of the border. Tema was born and raised in San Jose, California and spent her adolescence in Mexicali, Baja California. Her midwifery practice and overall work in the community stems from a social justice and heart perspective. Tema is a traditional singer and story teller, these two gifts led her to share her voice as a speaker and facilitator. She believes that knowledge sharing is essential for the preservation of cultural healing arts. To find out more about Tema and her work, you can visit her website http://www.lamatrizbirth.com/ and her IG page @matrizmidwife.
Email
Guest Maestras
Solidarity requires community
It's a honor for me to be able to invite my community. I welcome the local birth workers who have supported me along the way with their teachings, presence and unique medicine way. This retreat could not be complete without the presence of these guest maestras who will join us each evening to supplement our workshop with their knowledge and medicine. I know that you will fall in love with their teachings the way that I have over the years. Please read below and get to know them .
Sewa Yuli
Chef
Sewa Yuli founder of Mi Xantico is a traditional holistic practitioner, community-based cook, full spectrum birth keeper rooted in anti-oppressive values. Their focus is centered on traditional indigenous practices, reproductive autonomy, preservation of ancestral foodways, and food justice advocacy.
Through Mi Xantico, they emphasize on making culturally relevant food and healing modalities accessible, centering communities of color using food education and connection to land-based ways to empower and self-determination.
Guest Maestra
Meztli Torres
Metztli Lopez Torres was born in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. She got her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Anthropology in 2006 and her Master’s Degree 2010. Since 2004 Metztli has been working professionally in topics related to pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum with an emphasis in Traditional Mexican Medicine, Traditional Midwifery of Mexico, and Feminism. In 2013 she founded Luna Mamá Healing Services, her current business with the intention of returning to traditional and indigenous ways related to childbirth, motherhood, and care of the female body in her beloved Xalapa.
In the summer of 2014 she moved to the USA with her family. She is the mother of 3 children and lives in Kumeyaay territory. Currently she is serving families in San Diego and virtually around the world as sobadora, birth keeper, traditional Mexican postpartum care provider, lactation educator, and educator.
Guest Maestra
Elyde Arroyo
Elydé Arroyo is a community – rooted birthworker, educator and advocate dedicated to reclaiming ancestral practices and cultivating spaces rooted in accessibility and care.
With a deep commitment to reproductive and healing justice, Elydé weaves cultural wisdom, trauma informed care and grassroots organizing into every aspect of their work. They are the founder of The People’s Holistic Clinic and Community Birth Work School which provides culturally relevant education, mentorship, and healing-centered learning for emerging birthworkers of the global majority.
Through years of experience supporting families and budling community-based programs, Elydé remains passionate about transforming birthwork into a space of liberation, dignity, and collective care.
Paulina Jimenez
We are honored to welcome a sobadora, doula, and chocolatier from Toluca, in the ancestral lands of the Matlazinca, Otomi, Mazahua, and Nahua peoples of central Mexico. Raised by her grandmother, who healed with plants and prepared hot chocolate for family celebrations, her path has always been rooted in a deep love for nature, culture, and tradition. For over two decades, she has studied Traditional Mexican Medicine, Indigenous languages like Nahuatl and Mayan, and the sacred ceremonies that connect us to land and lineage. Her devotion to original seeds—especially maíz and cacao—reflects a profound understanding of how these ancestral foods nourish both body and spirit.
Thirteen years ago, while pregnant, she began crafting her own chocolate from the seed when she couldn’t find sugar-free options to support her postpartum healing. What began as a personal need blossomed into a sacred practice—developing recipes that honor the postpartum journey and support others through nourishment, ceremony, and remembrance. Today, she brings her wisdom to our retreat to share the sacred stories and healing properties of cacao and maíz in the postpartum time.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
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Do you offer any scholarships?
Yes, I do. For this workshop however I am only making one scholarship opportunity available. Scholarships are exclusively reserved for members of Unveiling the Journey a Mentorship for Aspiring Parterx.
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Will this workshop be in English?
Yes, all instruction by me will be given in English. Our guest maestras might choose to share in Spanish and I will make a translator available if the group need ones.
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When will you have another Postpartum Sealing Retreat & Workshop?
I hope to offer one every year. I will make those dates available to the people on the waitlist first. I will announce the dates with at least a 9-month notice. Getting on the waitlist is the best way to secure your registration. You can access the waitlist application by scrolling up.
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Can I take my child/s with me?
Babes in arms are welcome!
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Can I attend and stay somewhere else?
Yes. You may choose to rent your own hotel, Airbnb or stay with relatives nearby. However the pricing will not be reduced.
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Is this a BIPOC only event
No. It is open to all birth and bodywork professionals.
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I will be newly postpartum, can I still attend.
I do not recommend attending this workshop while you are in your 4th trimester. While it may seem that this would be a perfect place to be held, it can move and bring up so much for all of us. Each application will be reviewed and evaluated one a one on one basis.
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My question is not listed here...
If you still have questions please email me directly at [email protected].