Initiation into the art of Sobadas
A 4-Day Immersion into Abdominal & Womb Tending
19–22 November 2026 · Northern Rivers, NSW
There are ways of tending the body that have been carried from woman to woman, through hands, stories, relationship and generations.
Sobada is one of these ways.
Join Daniela Ekman Perez for an intimate four-day immersion into the art of touch and the ritual of tending the navel, abdomen and womb.
Daniela shares this practice from teachings she has received through Mayan and Andean traditions, with deep gratitude and reverence for the parteras tradicionales, Abuelas and teachers who have entrusted their wisdom to her.
This gathering is an invitation to slow down, to listen with our hands, and to remember ways of caring for the body that honour its innate intelligence.
The Navel as Centre
Within Mayan cosmovision, the navel — Mux'u — holds profound significance as a centre of connection and power.
To learn sobada is not simply to learn a massage technique.
It is to cultivate a way of listening.
Through touch, presence and relationship, we begin to listen to the language of the tissues, the abdomen and womb.Meeting the body not as something to correct, but as something deeply intelligent.
Sobada can become a meeting place between the physical, emotional and spiritual: a way of tending the body while honouring the stories and experiences it carries.
Four Days of Ceremony, Practice & Remembering
Over our four days together, we will enter into a ceremonial and experiential space.
We will explore the foundations and hands-on practice of sobadas, with particular attention to the navel–abdominal–womb connection. We will work with the elements and explore ways of creating sacred and intentional space for tending another.
Our time together will also include an introduction to yoni steaming and working with plants, alongside conversation about lineage, reciprocity, consent, boundaries and the responsibility that comes with receiving traditional knowledge.
There will be space for practice, receiving, integration, sharing and rest.
More than learning a sequence of movements, this immersion is an invitation to cultivate the quality of presence from which we touch another human being.
With our hands we will pray, listen, and remember.
Who Is This For?
This immersion may particularly speak to birth and postpartum doulas, birth workers, bodyworkers and holistic practitioners, as well as women who feel genuinely called to deepen their relationship with sobada, traditional ways of tending the body and ancestral care.
Your Facilitator — Daniela Ekman Perez
Daniela was born and raised in Venezuela and has devoted many years to accompanying women and families through fertility, pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
She is a mother, birth guardian and childbirth educator, with a background in lactation support, perinatal care, Aware Parenting and traditional approaches to women's wellbeing.
Her own journey has brought her into relationship with parteras tradicionales and teachers from Latin America, through whom she has been learning the art of sobadas, temazcal and traditional ways of tending women through the childbearing continuum.
Daniela approaches this work as both practitioner and continuing student. Her intention is to share what has been entrusted to her with humility, while honouring the women, communities and living traditions from which these teachings come.
She is the founder of Tejedoras del Nacer — Traditional Birth Tending & Ancestral Wisdom, a school devoted to remembering the wisdom held within our bodies and supporting its continuation through relationship, reverence and reciprocity.
Reciprocity
An essential part of this offering is remembering where these teachings come from.
A percentage of the proceeds from this immersion will be given in reciprocity to support parteras tradicionales in Guatemala.
This is one small way in which we can allow the teachings we receive to continue nourishing the women and communities who carry this wisdom.
Dates & Schedule
Thursday 19 November
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Lunch and dinner included
Friday 20 November
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Lunch and dinner included
Saturday 21 November
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Lunch and a light snack included
Sunday 22 November
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Lunch and a light snack included
Northern Rivers, NSW
Exact location shared upon registration.
Accommodation
Please note that accommodation is not available on site.
There are beautiful places to stay and camp throughout the surrounding Northern Rivers. We recommend looking around Brunswick Heads, Ocean Shores, South Golden Beach, Crabbes Creek and Burringbar, depending on the final workshop location.
An Intimate Gathering
To preserve the intimacy of the work and allow time for hands-on guidance, spaces will be intentionally limited.
We welcome you to come with an open heart, willing hands and deep respect for the lineages that have carried these ways of tending from generation to generation.
A 4-Day Immersion into Abdominal & Womb Tending
19–22 November 2026 · Northern Rivers, NSW
There are ways of tending the body that have been carried from woman to woman, through hands, stories, relationship and generations.
Sobada is one of these ways.
Join Daniela Ekman Perez for an intimate four-day immersion into the art of touch and the ritual of tending the navel, abdomen and womb.
Daniela shares this practice from teachings she has received through Mayan and Andean traditions, with deep gratitude and reverence for the parteras tradicionales, Abuelas and teachers who have entrusted their wisdom to her.
This gathering is an invitation to slow down, to listen with our hands, and to remember ways of caring for the body that honour its innate intelligence.
The Navel as Centre
Within Mayan cosmovision, the navel — Mux'u — holds profound significance as a centre of connection and power.
To learn sobada is not simply to learn a massage technique.
It is to cultivate a way of listening.
Through touch, presence and relationship, we begin to listen to the language of the tissues, the abdomen and womb.Meeting the body not as something to correct, but as something deeply intelligent.
Sobada can become a meeting place between the physical, emotional and spiritual: a way of tending the body while honouring the stories and experiences it carries.
Four Days of Ceremony, Practice & Remembering
Over our four days together, we will enter into a ceremonial and experiential space.
We will explore the foundations and hands-on practice of sobadas, with particular attention to the navel–abdominal–womb connection. We will work with the elements and explore ways of creating sacred and intentional space for tending another.
Our time together will also include an introduction to yoni steaming and working with plants, alongside conversation about lineage, reciprocity, consent, boundaries and the responsibility that comes with receiving traditional knowledge.
There will be space for practice, receiving, integration, sharing and rest.
More than learning a sequence of movements, this immersion is an invitation to cultivate the quality of presence from which we touch another human being.
With our hands we will pray, listen, and remember.
Who Is This For?
This immersion may particularly speak to birth and postpartum doulas, birth workers, bodyworkers and holistic practitioners, as well as women who feel genuinely called to deepen their relationship with sobada, traditional ways of tending the body and ancestral care.
Your Facilitator — Daniela Ekman Perez
Daniela was born and raised in Venezuela and has devoted many years to accompanying women and families through fertility, pregnancy, birth and postpartum.
She is a mother, birth guardian and childbirth educator, with a background in lactation support, perinatal care, Aware Parenting and traditional approaches to women's wellbeing.
Her own journey has brought her into relationship with parteras tradicionales and teachers from Latin America, through whom she has been learning the art of sobadas, temazcal and traditional ways of tending women through the childbearing continuum.
Daniela approaches this work as both practitioner and continuing student. Her intention is to share what has been entrusted to her with humility, while honouring the women, communities and living traditions from which these teachings come.
She is the founder of Tejedoras del Nacer — Traditional Birth Tending & Ancestral Wisdom, a school devoted to remembering the wisdom held within our bodies and supporting its continuation through relationship, reverence and reciprocity.
Reciprocity
An essential part of this offering is remembering where these teachings come from.
A percentage of the proceeds from this immersion will be given in reciprocity to support parteras tradicionales in Guatemala.
This is one small way in which we can allow the teachings we receive to continue nourishing the women and communities who carry this wisdom.
Dates & Schedule
Thursday 19 November
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Lunch and dinner included
Friday 20 November
9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Lunch and dinner included
Saturday 21 November
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Lunch and a light snack included
Sunday 22 November
10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Lunch and a light snack included
Northern Rivers, NSW
Exact location shared upon registration.
Accommodation
Please note that accommodation is not available on site.
There are beautiful places to stay and camp throughout the surrounding Northern Rivers. We recommend looking around Brunswick Heads, Ocean Shores, South Golden Beach, Crabbes Creek and Burringbar, depending on the final workshop location.
An Intimate Gathering
To preserve the intimacy of the work and allow time for hands-on guidance, spaces will be intentionally limited.
We welcome you to come with an open heart, willing hands and deep respect for the lineages that have carried these ways of tending from generation to generation.