How do I make medicine of all this grief?
This is a course for those whose hearts are broken open by personal, collective or ecological loss. For those who are struggling to find grief support that is effective and soul-nourishing. For
those who want to cultivate supportive presence with themselves and for
others in the transformation that grief invites.
For those who desire meaningful ways to be in relationship with grief as a sacred practice.
This is a course for people who seek connection with the wider field of relations that life is made of, including their ancestors, to support healing. For those who seek to reclaim personal ritual arts and ancient ancestral connections for life-affirming grief expression. For those that want to support their deceased loved ones transition well into a healthy ancestor. For those who know the importance of grieving as salve for their own heart, and for the wider healing needed in our world.
This is a course for those who want their grief to be an offering that supports life.
Grief
is relational and a learned skill, yet for many,
cultural teachings for healthy grieving have been jeopardized by
legacies of
oppression and other historical disruptions.
We can re-learn the skills of healthy grieving through deepening into embodied practices, cultivating ritual skills, and nurturing relationships with our wise and loving ancestors.
In this 8 week online course, we delve into the foundations of grieving that lead to transformation and healing. We cover somatic practices to support healthy grief expression, different styles of grieving, and personal and cultural relationships to grief. We explore ritual skills and practices to support the movement of grief as an offering. We enter into connection with ancient loving ancestors, calling in their support in moments when our hearts are broken open. We deepen into cross-cultural practices that support grieving, including reclaiming ancestral practices and healing inter-generational grief.
When is the course?
The course starts on Sunday, April 21st, 2019 with the first lesson released, and ends Thursday, June 13th, 2019 with the last community call. Students have access to the course content for one year afterwards.
How is this program structured?
There are 8 lessons, released each week on Sunday afternoons 5:00pm PST. Each lesson consists of a video teaching, guided practice, reflection questions, and additional resources for deepening your practice and skills.
There are four live 1.5 hour Zoom community calls, every two weeks on Thursday evening 5:00pm PST (May 2, 16, 30 & June 13, 2019). Each call will consist of a ritual opening, deepening into teachings, experiential practices, and time for Q&A. The calls will be recorded and made available afterwards.
The course includes an online "submit a question" space for any questions that arise as you move through the course. All Q&As will be made anonymous and compiled in a communal sharing platform as a resource for all students to learn from.
Optional student-led small groups will be set up for those that find this type of engagement helpful for their learning and integration. Group process reflections will be offered to support group discussions.
A private Facebook page will be available for you to connect with other students and share.
What will I receive?
Will the content be relevant to me?
I welcome folks of diverse ancestries, faith-based traditions and lived experiences. This course is a trauma-aware, ritually safe and inclusive framework focused on embodiment for healthy grieving and reclaiming ritual and ancestral connection as sources of support. Students will have the flexibility to explore what strategies work for them personally and opportunity to nurture their own ancestrally and culturally relevant grieving practices.
What does this course cover?
Lesson 1 - Foundations of Sacred Grief
Lesson 2 - Personal and Cultural Relationship to Grief
Lesson 3 - Ritual Skills for Grieving
Lesson 4 - Ancestral Connection & Support
Lesson 5 - Cross Cultural Grieving & Reclaiming Ancestral Practices
Lesson 6 - Gateways into Grief
Lesson 7 - Grieving and the Rite of Passage of Death
Lesson 8 - Inter-generational Grief and Cultural Healing
Course Accessibility
Cost - The cost of this 8 week course of $225 USD (~$295 CAD), paid by credit card or debit.
I am committed to keeping this work accessible and I offer a number of scholarship spaces at $185 and $145. All options have payment plans (for an additional $5).
Please reflect on your access to financial resources, while recognizing the systemic barriers to resources for folks who are coming from current and/or historically marginalized populations, such as queer and trans people, BIPOC, First Nations, and people living with disabilities.
If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly by email: shaunajanz@gmail.com.
Pricing options and payment plans can be chosen at the bottom of this page.
Learning - this course is a mixture of video content, written content, PDF handouts, optional small group sharing, and live conversation calls. At this time closed captioning is not available.
Shauna is dedicated to tending belonging in our world, within ourselves,with each other, and with our other-than-human relations. She creates space for reaching into the rough and beautiful places that are a catalyst for transformation and healing, personally and collectively.
For over a decade she has been guiding others in healing and wholeness through individual, family and community grief support and ritual, trauma-informed training, group process, and more recently, ancestral healing. Discover more here.
She is a teacher with Ancestral Medicine; a trainer with BC Bereavement Helpline; and the education director with Learning Through Loss. She is founder of the Victoria Holistic Death Care Gatherings, and co-visionary for the annual Deathly Matters community conference.