Ep 05: Deep Breaths

Kate Vosti joins a conversation with the Embracing Grief Podcast.Don't let the length of this conversation scare you off! There is rich discussion throughout.  Hear Kate's story as she relates her experiences with medical surgeries, scoliosis, death of her father, loss of a home, and most importantly how all of these moments in her life have brought her to her current work- helping people move energy through the body to find healing and empowerment.Kate shares her lived wisdom and expertise in psychosomatic education, dance, movement medicine, leadership studies, and buddhist philosophy.  Recorded 4 Oct, 2022Connect with Kate @rhythm.roseor through her websitehttps://www.rhythmrose.love/

Trish and Lori catch up for the first time in over a month.  Trish shares the unexpected solitude she experienced over the holidays. She talks through how she's working through the emotions and processing the events over the last 6 months with her hip surgery, returning to work, getting through the holidays, and in some ways sitting in a victim mindset.  With her Law of Attraction Planner in hand, Trish is looking at what she wants to get out of this new year.  She's getting back into the routine of things by starting a "75 Medium" routine.Lori spent the holidays with her family in snowy northern NY.  She reflects on her trip and what she's realizing about what happens when she gets out of her routine.  Like Trish, she's dusted off her Law of Attraction Planner.  (not a sponsor- yet.) While getting back into a routine is important, she's also aware that a "75" program doesn't quite fit what she needs in a day.  She's creating her own checklist of "75-ish" with more water, walking, reading, and journaling.The challenge for this episode send a text to three friends:This feels like a weird question to ask, but I was challenged to ask others.  What do you admire about me? Or what unique gifts do I have? Thanks in advance for being part of my growth journey.Would you like me to do this for you, too?

Trish and Lori look ahead to the holidays and discuss how they are including their children in celebrations.  Choosing what to continue to do for holiday traditions can help you include your loved one in the celebration, but not all traditions feel 'good' to continue.  Trish shares an excerpt from Mark Nepo's The Book of Awakening.  A resource she utilizes regularly.

We're so excited to share with you an interview we did with Stephanie Sarazin. Stephanie's a writer, researcher, and experiential expert in ambiguous grief. Her work began with her own experience of midlife trauma, which sparked an ambitious journey spiritually and around the world to understand name and heal the grief she found within her. Her efforts reveal the first of its kind definition for ambiguous grief, whereby grief is the onset of a loss of a loved one who is still living.  And where in the experience of hope presents as a stage of the grieving process. Stephanie's work brings new resources. To reframe disruptive activating events as gateway to discovering your highest self. Stephanie's also the founder of RiseUprooted an online resource center for navigating ambiguous grief, a grief educator, and a TEDx curator in her community. She's a graduate of Michigan state universityand earned her master of Public Policy from the University of Chicago. She's an avid reader, recreational runner, aspiring camper lives in North Carolina, where she is training to Trek to the. Mount Everest base camp.Her book, Soulbroken: A Guide for Your Journey Through Ambiguous Grief As published by Balance,  and imprint of Grand Central Publishing. It launched October 11th, 2022. And it's currently available at Barnes and noble, Amazon, or your favorite independent bookseller. We hope you enjoy this real, relatable, and inspirational conversation with Stephanie Sarazin as much as we did.Follow Stephanie's JourneyIG: @Stephing_ThruLI: Stephanie Sarazin

Trish and Lori wanted to get this episode out to you in light of the US Thanksgiving Holiday. November is filled with significant dates for both women as they wade through birthdays, death days, and holidays.Lori talks about her experience taking her sons to their first KidznGrief Support group.  She was surprised to hear another surviving-spouse-solo-mom discuss the emotional impact of Veteran's Day.  Once again, it was a reminder that you're not alone.  Veteran's Day continues to be one of those days that grief shows up significantly for her.Trish recounts the November dates that keep showing up for her- and the emotions that well each time she sees the dates on paper.  Healing from hip surgery, Trish relays the lessons, emotions, and grief that's showing up while being at home for the longest amount of time in 7 years.What both women have learned is to create new traditions that work for the family of now as opposed to trying to recreate the traditions of the family that once was.  Trish is reminded of The Think Like a Monk Book by Jay Shetty utilizing the idea of flipping the script through this emotional time of year.Be sure to listen in for the hosting hack for grieving families or hosts that are inviting bereaved guests.As always, you are the best part of the podcast.  And you are not alone.

Trish talks about her recovery from a successful hip surgery.  She talks about lessons in patience, persistence, and vulnerability.  She connect the dots between healing physically and healing in her grief journey.  Lori recalls a moment that required stillness.  She chose to completely change up plans for the day when her grief overcame her.  Recognizing Halloween memories tied into a party she was planning to attend, created an opportunity to practice all that she's learned.  The entire experience allowed her to see all the growth she and her family have made in processing their grief.Journal Prompt for this week focuses on self-awareness: Where am I now? What do I need? What happens when I push the limit? 

Today, Trish and Lori take some deep breaths sharing all the life work that's coming up: solo-parenting teenagers, creating positive habits, building awareness, facing emotions, and reaching toward goals.  All of this with the added layer grief.The women work through these real life scenarios using inquiry, reflection, reframing, asking for help, check-ins, and lots of deep breath resets.It's complicated.  It's real.  It's what happens when two women get vulnerable while embracing grief.life 

We are so excited to share our first podcast interview, and it's with an amazing human.  Reid  Peterson achieved Master's degree in Transpersonal Psychology. And is certified in Death and Grief studies by the Center for Loss and Life Transition.After losing his biological father to suicide in 2006 and his stepfather to cancer in 2016, Reid felt a calling to help the grieving find peace and purpose after loss. The Grief Refuge App was born.   It can be best described as a compassionate companion for your grief journey. We were really impressed with the tools that we found on the Grief Refuge app and have enjoyed the content that Reid puts out on IG.  Learn more or Connect with Reid Website: https://www.griefrefuge.com/ Podcast: Grief Refuge Instagram: @GriefRefugeAppGrief Refuge App: https://www.griefrefuge.com/app

Hips Don't Lie TakeawaysAllowing the presence of enjoyment without letting fear take overTrish's and Hip Pain- Can’t go on like normal; breaking up big tasks intoResource: Louise Hay Heal Your Body Prioritizing social and relationship connections over fear and shameJournal Prompt: What CAN I do? How CAN I? These small things are wins!  Grieving takes practice.  When we repress our grief, emotions, stresses, and traumas, our body takes on all that we 'push away'.  Trish and Lori speak to moving through the emotions of grief and the importance of release.  Given Trish's significant trauma and grief, it's interesting to read about the scientific research about how emotional trauma is connected to the hips.To learn more about the scientific relevance and research in the connection between stored stress, anxiety, and trauma and the body, read  Why We Hold Trauma in Our Hips—And 4 Ways To Release It . For a more robust, somatic yoga sequence, try Hips: Releasing Stored Trauma | Trauma Informed Yoga Instructor, Hannah Uiri

Grief comes in many forms and for many reasons. This week Trish discusses what' surfacing in regards to her upcoming hip surgery.  She talks about how she's approaching her ever growing to-do list as her mobility has decreased, and she shares a story about purchasing a cane for walking assistance.Both women discuss the connection between the body, trauma, stress, and emotions- especially in relation to the hips.Lori and Trish share the effects of their growing work in gratitude and their growth in showing up for connections without self-judgement.  As always, there's solo-parenting  escapades, lots of love, and lots of laughs.  Looking to connect with the Embracing Grief podcast?  Send an email to [email protected] you enjoy this episode? Be sure to give us a 5 star rating!  Write a review stating what you enjoy most about this podcast!