Your Neighborhood Death Doula

You, your family, your friends, and your dead all deserve a funeral or a memorial. And even in the midst of a pandemic, we can create one. Here are some Why It's Important things to consider, and an introduction to How The F*ck do we do it right? Plus, Your Neighborhood Death Doula shares a Mary Oliver blessing--maybe one you would even want to use in the service you're about to plan.

This episode, we chat about expressing our anger or listening to the anger of others. We then share a short guide to channel what anger we're feeling (or anger we're witnessing) into a prayer or a spell to directs us toward the change we want.

Perle Crownover guides listeners in the Body Mapping art directive that she shared in The Science of Art and Denial. Templates for this practice can be found on the website. You're invited to listen to your own music in the background, pausing the guide, reflecting, taking as much time as you need to explore your art.

We begin to explore the "stages" of grief with Art Therapist Perle Crownover, who tells us how art therapy works (and why it matters!), and what's happening to our brains in denial. She introduces us to the art directive of body mapping and how it can bring us into awareness of what our bodies are feeling when denial and disassociation are forcing us to be in survival mode. Make sure to listen to Part II of this episode for the guided directive!

Acupuncturist Nirva Parikh shares her knowledge of anger in Chinese medicine, the use of anger in movement and social justice work, and shows us a few acupressure points to use at home to help lift anger up to the surface, or help cool it down.

Acupuncturist Nirva Parikh shares her knowledge of community acupuncture, emotions in Chinese medicine, and acupressure points you can do on your own to alleviate some symptoms of sadness. (Plus! A visual guide to these points can be found on the website: www.yourneighborhooddeathdoula.com)

A little practice to shake, stomp, and dance out the stuck energy (very possibly: rage) in the body, brought to us by the Center for Mind body Medicine. Very fun. Highly recommended.

We interview Rev. Maggie Burbank-Yenoki, whose work at the bedside of those dying began with the collective grief of 9/11. She offers us gems on grief, rage, and opening the heart through it all. Rev. Maggie currently works as a death midwife with Opening Death's Doors. She serves as the minister for Monte Vista Unitarian Universalist Congregation, and is my teacher and mentor at All Path's Divinity School.

We practice some skills for dreaming, so that when our beloved dead do appear in our dreams, we know how to work with them. Plus, a short daydreaming meditation for you to on your own to talk with your dead now.

We cover the basics of building an altar memorializing your beloved dead, and a simple candle + paper burning ritual for you to practice at your altar (if its safe!)

A meditation practice that weaves your grief in with the grief of others, hand-in-hand with expanding our compassion.

Writing as a tool for healing and letters to keep the communication rolling between you and your dead.

Breathing technique from the Center for Mind Body Medicine to bring ease into the body

How do we mourn in the middle of a pandemic? Your friendly Neighborhood Death Doula talks about the complications of loss in the midst of big time sadness, and offers up a few practices to pay attention to your grief.