Last week was the ten year anniversary of the passing of one of my good friends. Her name was Marilyn and she was born with a rare heart condition. Doctors said she likely wouldn’t make it past two years old and she made it to 27 years old, classic Marilyn. ‘Oh yeah, fuckin watch me’. She traveled the world, toured with her boyfriends band, did all sorts of things I’m sure were ill advised by her doctors. But she sure lived her life to the fullest. She was a great friend, huge sports fan, massive music lover, so loved by so many and such a little spitfire, barely over five feet and hilarious. I spent the day of her anniversary at the beach with my boyfriend and one of my best friends talking about her and some of our fun memories, took a shot of Jameson in her honor, shed some tears. Ten years later it still breaks my heart to think of all the life that was taken from her and all the cool things she would be doing now. But I’m so grateful for all the cool people she brought into my life and for the gifts the grief gave me. It really does expand your heart in the biggest ways and make you prioritize things differently, notice things a little more, savor things a little more. And for that I’m grateful that the grief doesn’t go away. It’s always with us just like she is 💛

Mothers Day can be heavy for so many of us. Reminders of what was or what could have been. Whatever this day means for you, I hope you took a little time this weekend to take care of your heart and remind yourself that you are loved, cared for, safe and worthy just as you are 💕🌷

Yesterday was the 5th Annual Grief in Public Day, Hallelujah! Our society is so grief phobic. So ready to hide it away and swallow it down. Brush it under the rug. Don’t talk about it too much or for too long. Fuck that. Toxic af. So let it be a day for grief to be seen as a part of everyday life. (Cuz it is, for better or worse) Not pushed down, hidden, carried quietly and saved for lonely corners. A day for grief to be recognized as a sacred and unifying experience, one that is present all the time, all around us. Instead of trying to make it smaller, we should try to sit with it, to sit with each other a little more. To see it, and each other just a little bit more. 🖤✨

Grief can manifest in so many physical symptoms for so many of us. We have most likely experienced this many times in life where anxiety, stress, heartbreak and grief show up in our bodies in the most subtle or loudest of ways. We probably already know this to be true from our own experiences, but it is so validating to see so much research now confirming what we know to be our bodies innate wisdom. This short article from UCLA Health shares some of this research. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/how-does-grief-affect-your-body What are some ways that grief or stress manifests in your body or has in the past?

Hello Santosha community! My name is Elena and I am a Certified Grief Coach, mental health advocate and fellow griever. As you may have noticed during your grief journey, we live in a very grief illiterate society. We often have a hard time figuring out who, when and where we can talk about our grief honestly and transparently. We may feel like we're making other people uncomfortable even bringing up our passed loved one, talking about our feelings about our grief, being honest when we're having bad days or about what we need when we're grieving. Why is it that something that literally every single person on this earth will go through can feel like the most isolating and lonely experience when you are the one going through it? It can make you feel crazy. It can make you feel like you must not be grieving the right way or something must be wrong with you. In reality, we really just exist in a society that doesn't teach us how to support eachother in grief and makes us ill prepared to do so. So here we are. This is my mission. To help normalize these conversations, to give us tools to better show up for ourselves and our loved ones during times of grief, to break stigmas around grief and mental health conversations, to build an inclusive and welcoming community of people who feel free and safe to share the realities of grief in all its ups and downs, raw and real and unfiltered. On good days and bad, to show up for eachother. So let this forum be just that. Feel free to introduce yourself and share as little or as much as you like about your loss and grief journey experience. I will be sharing updates on upcoming support groups, events and offerings, posting occasional prompts, articles, quotes, ideas, things you can use to journal on in your own time, just take time to think about or meditate on, or post your thoughts here in the comments. To get to know your heart and walk this journey with you in this sacred time of grief is my greatest honor, and I look forward to getting to know each and every one of you and your unique and sacred stories.