Today we’d like to introduce you to Kirstin Ford
Hi Kirstin, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Exalting mothers and the metamorphosis of motherhood was first an invitation into the darkness. I began contemplating Motherhood many years ago. I was working in TV and Film as an actress when I found a tumor on my thyroid. This catalyzed a deep initiation within me as I considered a future life as a mother and healer in my community. My exciting life as an artist crumbled, but the healing arts welcomed me. I steeped myself in reiki trainings, sound healing education, somatic experiencing and parallel fields that acknowledged that our physical well-being was inextricably linked to our spiritual well-being.
The birth of my first son in 2021 was a metaphorical forest fire for my soul and irrevocably altered my path in life and work. Although radically different from my tumor, this forest fire was also redemptive. At the moment his head emerged, I sat engulfed in sacred flames. Refusing to flee, I let the flames swallow me up and knew it was my birthright to be here. To be altered. And from this, Altared Mama, would eventually be born. Altared Mama is a collection of ceremonial offerings and ritualized support for mothers all along the Motherhood path. My intention is to tend a women’s soul as she dances between realms and carries life onto the Earth. These practices, prayers and protocols focus on centering the Mother – a different energy from the apex energy of our masculine culture that tends to place the most sacred people and objects above others. In the spiral of life, the Mother is naturally and necessarily the starting point from which all else unfurls. How she gives births matters. How her children are born matters.
In November 2023, I gave birth to my second son. It was even more beautiful and healing than my first in many ways. With my first, I needed the fire to transform my fears. This time I walked with fire in my palms smiling as I made my descent. I danced, hummed, roared and, in those final moments, transcended time and space to bring him/us here.
It wasn’t until I gave birth that I realized how tragically lacking our culture is in Rites and Ceremonies for Mothers. We have nowhere safe or sacred to process conception, pregnancy, labor and postpartum in meaningful ways. We’re often left with open wounds (literally) in our bodies and (figuratively) in our hearts. My work is the answer to that deep yearning a mother feels to be held the way she holds her children while also giving her space to process and integrate massive downloads. There is a golden thread of wisdom woven throughout matrescence and my work involves holding her hand and her heart as she unravels the knowledge and embraces her power.
As the tapestry of my life continues to weave, I see the warps and wefts come together in ways my mind could never have imagined and my heart always seemed to know. Today, my formal education in Ayurvedic Health coupled with on-going trainings in herbalism with Aviva Romm nourish the roots of my business. And I nourish the roots of my family with daily practices and rituals that create a sense of safety, joy and wonder about life for my young boys.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Motherhood is the ultimate lesson in duality. Only herein lies the possibility that two mutually exclusive things may coexist – giving you the choice to find harmony or live with dissonance. Every possible impediment has come up from very real life daily struggles like sick kiddos and a leaking roof to existential struggles like “does anyone even care that I’m doing this?”
As a projector, I’ve found it painful to step out of my cocoon and place my precious life’s work on display. In truth, my work has profoundly changed the lives of everyone who has experienced it, myself included.
My biggest challenge is almost always myself though. I don’t run my business like a business person. I’m not trained to and the world we live is not congruent with my approach to business. I don’t advertise or market myself. I am found through word of mouth. And thank god for those kind words. The people I’ve worked with have, without exception, been the most wonderful humans. My clients become medicine for my soul as much as I have been for them.
I may not scale my business like a Harvard business school graduate or have thousands of followers on social, but I know my impact is felt and that sustains me. This season of my life is busy with babies and home. My slow growth is a welcome reprieve from hustle life. I was raised in the garden and on the earth making hustle life a very foreign concept thankfully.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As a Ceremonialist, my work is entirely focused on bringing reverence into Motherhood. I lead women through Rite of Passage Ceremonies during the major life-changing transitions of motherhood. Womb Blessings during conception and IVF transfers, Mother and Baby Blessings during pregnancy, Birth Portal Closing Ceremonies after giving birth and even Milk Ceremonies to honor the end of the breastfeeding journey are examples of ceremonies that I offer. As a Wellness Guide, I blend ceremony with ancient healing practices, modern science and divine feminine wisdom. I gather from many systems of medicine and energy healing to bring about a sense of healing, power, purpose and sovereignty. Rooted in deep kinship with the Earth, I introduce herbal wisdom and allyship to each client.
My offerings are bespoke and, for many, an entirely new way of approaching motherhood. Our culture is slowly shifting to see the power and healing we all receive when women and mothers are held sacred. I’m honored and privileged to be leading this wave of change with many other women’s healers, birth keepers and women’s health providers. When you work with me you are guaranteed several things…to feel seen and held without judgement, to feel beautiful and sacred in your fullness and to be accompanied on your journey as you welcome both the dark and the light in a spiral of healing energy.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
Nature has always been a tether for me in this life. My earliest and most cherished memories are on the earth, in the trees and touching plants. Running through the maize fields at my maternal grandmothers home, huddling next to my mother planting hostas in the spring, hearing the lapping water on the lake’s shore during a family road trip are just a few of the moments that capture my heart in childhood. My clients receive these sensorial experiences as they are are bathed in sound healings and guided shamanic meditations or during somatic reiki sessions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kirstinbford.com
- Instagram: @altaredmama
Image Credits
Natalie Costello, April Trettel
