Unwinding Life- Death Doula & End of Life Services

22/12/2023

25/03/2022

Check out this informative event!

08/09/2021

Beautiful wisdom ✨

✨Expected Death ~ When someone dies, the first thing to do is nothing. Don't run out and call the nurse. Don't pick up the phone. Take a deep breath and be present to the magnitude of the moment.

There's a grace to being at the bedside of someone you love as they make their transition out of this world. At the moment they take their last breath, there's an incredible sacredness in the space. The veil between the worlds opens.

We're so unprepared and untrained in how to deal with death that sometimes a kind of panic response kicks in. "They're dead!"

We knew they were going to die, so their being dead is not a surprise. It's not a problem to be solved. It's very sad, but it's not cause to panic.

If anything, their death is cause to take a deep breath, to stop, and be really present to what's happening. If you're at home, maybe put on the kettle and make a cup of tea.

Sit at the bedside and just be present to the experience in the room. What's happening for you? What might be happening for them? What other presences are here that might be supporting them on their way? Tune into all the beauty and magic.

Pausing gives your soul a chance to adjust, because no matter how prepared we are, a death is still a shock. If we kick right into "do" mode, and call 911, or call the hospice, we never get a chance to absorb the enormity of the event.

Give yourself five minutes or 10 minutes, or 15 minutes just to be. You'll never get that time back again if you don't take it now.

After that, do the smallest thing you can. Call the one person who needs to be called. Engage whatever systems need to be engaged, but engage them at the very most minimal level. Move really, really, really, slowly, because this is a period where it's easy for body and soul to get separated.

Our bodies can gallop forwards, but sometimes our souls haven't caught up. If you have an opportunity to be quiet and be present, take it. Accept and acclimatize and adjust to what's happening. Then, as the train starts rolling, and all the things that happen after a death kick in, you'll be better prepared.

You won't get a chance to catch your breath later on. You need to do it now.

Being present in the moments after death is an incredible gift to yourself, it's a gift to the people you're with, and it's a gift to the person who's just died. They're just a hair's breadth away. They're just starting their new journey in the world without a body. If you keep a calm space around their body, and in the room, they're launched in a more beautiful way. It's a service to both sides of the veil.

Credit for the beautiful words ~ Sarah Kerr, Ritual Healing Practitioner and Death Doula , Death doula
Her original video link is here ~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7mG0ZAym0w

Beautiful art by Columbus Community Deathcare
Always With Love

01/09/2021

A Canadian Institute for Health Information report found that most Canadians with a terminal illness would choose to die at home if they could access palliative care, but only 15 per cent are able to do so. Community paramedics aim to be part of the solution.

20/06/2021

It’s a hard and complicated day. Sending love. Also sending a reminder to send love to those you know who may be having a hard time today - it’s probably a lot more people than you’d think ❤️

14/06/2021

🖤

11/05/2021

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You're probably so used to me talking to you about death and dying and saying you're gonna die! 💀Well, today I want to talk about life. Ya know the very thing that makes dying even possible?

I know that sounds backward but I read somewhere recently that the odds of becoming alive was something like 1 in 400 TRILLION! There was basically zero chance that you'd be born, and yet here we are. 🤸🏿‍♀️✨

So when the end of our life comes maybe we can spend some time celebrating that it existed at all, rather than just mourning the end of it. 💜✨🎉

What do ya think?

06/05/2021

From Jay Shetty’s book- Think Like A Monk
✨💛

11/04/2021

Are you living with dying in mind?
Are you waiting for the right circumstance to go after what you want in this lifetime?

Contemplating your end of life can help with clarity and insight to choose how you spend the time you have left.
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06/04/2021

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What does “being alive” look like to you?
Are you living it?

One of the main fears of death is a fear of a life not fully lived. It sounds somewhat like this: I don't want to die because I haven't yet...(fill in the blank).

Where in your life are you not living life fully and thus afraid to die as a result? What's in the blank for you? 💜⏳✨

04/04/2021

All the feelings.
Yes it is absolutely ok to touch your loved one through the dying process. If you need support to feel comfortable to do so, reach out to a doula or palliative care worker and we can give you the practical advice to soothe your concerns.
Check out this beautiful story from my instructor Alua ✨✨

Recently I was working with a woman and her daughter was actively dying. She was in her mid fifties or sixties, and her daughter was in her thirties or so. I left them alone for the evening since the mother felt comfortable that she would be okay for the evening.

I sleep with my ringer on when a client is actively dying. The mom calls me in the middle of the night to ask if it was okay if she got into bed with her daughter. And mind you, this is a child that she carried in her womb, had given birth to and nurtured as a child, had taken care of for her entire life. To me, it highlighted the fear that exists in the dying process, and also the tenderness that’s available when we’re willing to open ourselves up to it.

Just the fact that she even thought she had to ask permission to hold her child while she was dying. I felt so honored to be able to give her that permission, even though it exists inherently, but to be able to say, “Absolutely, yes. You should do that. Yes, you can do that.”

The system is so broken.

19/02/2021

Simplicity... that pretty much sums it up.

29/01/2021

Aquamation! It’s so great to see these ideas fully in action and available.

What do you think of turning your body into plant fertilizer?
Would you consider it as an alternative to burial or cremation?

The team’s all here! [Side note - this unmasked group shot was made possible thanks to the magic of photoshop.] This phenomenal group of people has turned an idea into reality, and their ingenuity, dedication, and heart is an inspiration.

The first ever Recompose location has been operational for just over a month now. Ten individuals have been laid into Recompose vessels and begun their transformation into soil.

Learn more about our team, our process, and our vision for the future of death care at www.recompose.life

24/01/2021

“If I take death into my life, acknowledge it, and face it squarely, I will free myself from the anxiety of death and the pettiness of life-
And only then will I be free to become myself.”
Martin Heidegger
🍂

09/01/2021

More words for when “how are you?” doesn’t feel like it fits.

Lovely reminder from on ways you can check in with your grieving friends besides asking how they are doing. I find myself doing it too, and then listen as friends sigh before looking off into space to try to figure out how to answer my question. And then I try another question. Pick one of these and use it! 💜✨

Artwork: Keeley Shaw Art

03/01/2021

A Death Doula is a non-medical person trained to care for someone holistically - practically, emotionally, and spiritually - at the end of their life.

Here are a few services a Death Doula can support you with:

💜 Creating a comprehensive end of life plan that is suited to your unique humanhood (You want a confetti canon to spray sparkles as you take your last breath? You got it!) and carrying it out.
💜 Advocating your wishes to medical staff and family members
💜 Providing support to your family and helping to wrap up affairs
💜 Helping to ease any anxiety or fears that you may face at the end of your life
💜 Making suggestions to provide physical comfort

Do you have a Death Doula in your end of life plan?

30/12/2020

💙🌈
Grief can be a bit lighter if you’re not facing it alone.