“[Grief is] really almost like a relationship. It's not, ‘Here's this chapter of my life, here's this season of my life. Here's this thing I have to focus on now or get through now;’ [Instead] it's this enduring relationship that you're always in. And, it changes over time, just like the real relationships in our life change over time and things come in and out and circumstances shape them in different ways.We're always carrying our grief and as we go through our life, our relationship is going ...
Mar 07, 2023•32 min•Season 4Ep. 76
Welcome to the Breathing Wind Season 3 finale. In this season, we explored joy in context of grief. In other words, how does joy show up for us in the wild? How is joy an act of resilience? What if joy is unexpected? How do we embody joy? This episode is a collection of some of our favorite moments from the season. If any of these excerpts sound particularly resonate, be sure to check out the entire episode, found on breathingwind.com . Links to individual episodes can be found in the show notes...
Dec 17, 2022•37 min•Season 1Ep. 75
"While I never know what it's like to celebrate the holiday season with my aging mother, I've come to appreciate her presence in my life in a way that makes sense to those who savor Christmas, keeping their decorations up long into the new year. She's in my warm, salty tears that still flow at times. She's in the cold autumn fall. When I see the leaves begin to submit to the painting of the forest with radiant acceptance, she's really everywhere I go. I do not need a holiday to remind me of my g...
Dec 06, 2022•25 min•Season 1Ep. 74
“There really is not a timeline. You do not know how long it may take. It's a journey and it's something you carry, not much different than love. I really think that, just like love doesn't have a timeline, why would grief?” — Kendra Rinaldi In this week’s episode, Kendra Rinaldi , grief coach and podcast host of Grief, Gratitude & the Grey in Between , talks with producer/host Sarah Davis about the humanity our loved ones bring, her unique views on grief and death, how her healing came thro...
Nov 29, 2022•40 min•Season 2Ep. 73
"Grabbing those moments and claiming them for yourself so that you have a bit of goodness and nourishment to support you as you go on the sometimes really hard road of grieving…that’s really important.” —Oceana Sawyer In this week’s episode, Oceana Sawyer speaks with producer, Sarah Davis, about the themes that surfaced and shared some of our favorite moments from her miniseries. The Possibility of Pleasure miniseries hosted by Oceana Sawyer, explores grief through the senses, which will conside...
Nov 22, 2022•17 min•Season 3Ep. 72
“There's just something about the air. If you live by the ocean, there's a saltiness in the air. You can smell the fruit every morning as you walk the streets, depending on if it's a market day or what's in season. So it really grounds you and places you in time, space, memory, where you are, who you're connected with, and what's happening.” — Roshni Kavate In this week’s episode, Roshni Kavate speaks with Oceana about how the sensuality of food-ways, family homes and locations can mix and mingl...
Nov 15, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 70
“My grief is the one at the wheel.” — Karine bell In this episode, Karine Bell speaks of several significant life transformations for her — birth of her daughter, death of her mother and father. In each, she emphasizes the conditions she had to feel safe in her grief and the layers she experienced. The Possibility of Pleasure miniseries hosted by Oceana Sawyer, explores grief through the senses, which will consider how utilizing any six senses (taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing, imagination) c...
Nov 01, 2022•42 min•Season 2Ep. 70
“ We have to be very awake in a really deep, rooted way…And listening with not just our ears, but all of our senses really.” —Melanie DeMore, on singing for people at the end of their lives. This week’s episode features a conversation between Oceana Sawyer and Melanie DeMore, three-time Grammy nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director and vocal activist. Oceana and Melanie talk about her experience as a threshold singer, as well as how she was called to do this work with her un...
Oct 18, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 69
“ Joy allows you to open up a little bit — expand just a little bit — and reach for something maybe that you couldn't see before.” —Oceana Sawyer In this week’s episode, Oceana Sawyer and Sarah Davis talk about Oceana’s background, her guests for this miniseries, as well as some of her thoughts on joy and grieving. This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled The Possibility of Pleasure , hosted by Oceana Sawyer. The Possibility of Pleasure miniseries explores grief through the sen...
Oct 04, 2022•24 min•Season 2Ep. 68
“When I just let myself surrender and fully feel the grief, there's a certain point where my body knows that it can't take anymore. I often feel a rebound — and sometimes that is in the form of humor or other lightness — but I've also found that, when I don't just let myself fully feel, it doesn't happen.” Dara Kosberg In this week’s episode, Dara and Sarah recap the miniseries and their views on humor and grief. You’ll also hear excerpts from previous episodes. This episode is part of a Breathi...
Sep 27, 2022•15 min•Season 2Ep. 67
“One of my teachers says that all emotions contain their opposite. So when I'm willing to be with the grief, I have access to joy again. Instead of this armoring that comes very natural to us, we do our best to remain to find the willingness to open in an undefended way.” — Vinny Ferraro In this episode, Dara and Sarah talk with Vinny Ferraro about the training program, A Year to Live, emotional opposites and armor, insight meditation and how his practice has shifted his relationship to grief. V...
Sep 20, 2022•35 min•Season 3Ep. 66
“We often feel like maybe it's a betrayal of our grief to feel joy or that there's no room in grief for joy, or that it means, if we're grieving the loss of somebody who died that we loved, maybe we're not loving or honoring their memory enough or whatever the stories are that we tell ourselves. But we need joy to hold the heavy and the sad.” Naila Francis In this episode, Naila talks with Sarah Davis, producer, about her miniseries, joy as resilience, and the ways that resilience appeared in he...
Sep 06, 2022•28 min•Season 3Ep. 64
“I understood really early about when you go through extreme grief, that there's loss in different kinds of ways. It’s not just the person that passed away…It’s all the threads that hold you close.” Colleen Attara In this episode, Naila talks with Colleen Attara about her early experience of grief and how that’s informed her journey as an artist and educator; her willingness to embrace joy in the midst of transformation; and the gift of being a caregiver to her mom, which inspired her altered bo...
Aug 23, 2022•46 min•Season 3Ep. 64
" So it's not [about] bypassing the grief, or bypassing any of it. It's about creating space for it, holding it, seeing it, recognizing it, having a conversation with it, you know, and really honoring it. And knowing that underneath that is this place for you to access your joy as well." Simone Baker This episode is part of the Breathing Wind miniseries titled Joy as Resilience , hosted by Naila Francis. The Joy as Resilience miniseries explores why embracing joy is not frivolous and how cultiva...
Aug 09, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 63
"I think you really have to have the sad to also appreciate the beauty." Moon Fang This episode is a part of the Breathing Wind miniseries titled Joy as Resilience , hosted by Naila Francis. The Joy as Resilience miniseries explores why embracing joy is not frivolous and how cultivating it can help us weather challenging times and open our lives to greater connection and purpose. In this episode, Naila talks with Moon Fang, Southern California-based death doula and enthusiast about their work in...
Jul 26, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 62
" Personally for me, joy is my inherent nature. I really do feel it to be the essence of who I am and how I move through the world, which is interesting because so much of the work I do is around grief and loss and dying. And yet those experiences and journeys are so much more expansive than we might believe them to be, and are capable of holding joy, too, and many other positive emotions that we might not associate with them.” Naila Francis This episode is the trailer for the Breathing Wind min...
Jul 19, 2022•4 min•Season 3Ep. 61
" So they experienced this death. And then they all have to band together – ‘we're still going to make everything happen.’ That's kind of how I felt after my dad passed away; I'm just going to do everything that I need to do." Angela Tabora This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Grief and Humor , co-hosted by Dara Kosberg and Sarah Davis. The Grief and Humor miniseries explores how humor allows people to get closer to their grief, explore it and better understand it, by creat...
Jun 28, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 60
"…you have to find the humor. If it's not in their death, it's maybe something in their life.” Erin Lim “My dad used to say that laughter is the best medicine…. I feel like it balances you out as well because you can't have the grief without the joy.” Angela Tabora This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Grief and Humor, co-hosted by Dara Kosberg and Sarah Davis. The Grief and Humor miniseries explores how humor allows people to get closer to their grief, explore it and better...
Jun 19, 2022•37 min•Season 3Ep. 57
“It feels like a wilderness exploration journey where, yeah, some parts of it we know and love. And some parts of it, we just don't know enough. And it's always a bit of a discovery. And the weather's always going to be different.” — Duncan Cheung This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Inner and Outer Wilderness, hosted by Duncan Cheung . The Inner and Outer Wilderness miniseries explores the wonderment of and between the wilderness out there and within each of us. This is th...
Jun 02, 2022•19 min•Season 3Ep. 58
" No one can avoid negative stuff happening. Negative stuff happens all the time on a lot of different levels, whether I got gum on the bottom of my shoe, or my father died, right? And everything in between. We can't control that. And again, nature is the perfect metaphor for this – being out in the wilderness helps cultivate your ability to stay with your strong, resilient, loving wise self. And to let that core part of you lead." Wendy Rolón This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries ...
May 17, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Season 3Ep. 57
" When we give ourselves some space to just be, that's where those quiet little moments [of joy] can pop up alongside the grief." Lindsay Joy Taylor In this bonus episode, Sarah talks with Lindsay Joy Taylor, grief advocate and founder of The Joyful Jewelry Box, about her mom, inspiration behind the remembrance jewelry she creates, Mother’s Day and toxic positivity. The Joyful Jewelry Box is memorial jewelry to honor loved ones and keep their memories alive. When Lindsay was only 13 months old, ...
May 08, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 56
“Out there, we are not our Mercedes or our home or our job or our degrees. We are just us. And it's enough.” Karen Najarian This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Inner and Outer Wilderness, hosted by Duncan Cheung. The Inner and Outer Wilderness miniseries explores the wonderment of and between the wilderness out there and within each of us. In this episode, Duncan talks with Dr Rick and Karen Najarian about the full expansiveness and joy of the wilderness, Karen's experienc...
Apr 28, 2022•55 min•Season 3Ep. 55
“So, in the pursuit of healing, joy is kind of a natural byproduct of that for me. But it takes a tremendous amount of work and awareness to recognize joy when it's present, because it's not always sunshine and rainbows and unicorns and hippie dippy stuff. Sometimes joy is just the absence of despair, that can feel tremendous — especially coming out of these really deep, dark and long periods — where it just feels like slog of moving through things to just be on the other side of pain. Just the ...
Apr 12, 2022•41 min•Season 3Ep. 54
"Be fully there. Breathe it in, listen to what the winds have to say. What the birds have to say, what the water has to say, and (this sounds so crunchy granola) it really boils down to that simple thing: it's just being there. And when I'm there, I'm here. I'm fully present in the moment, in time and in space. And when I sit after a long, grueling hike, and I sit whether it's next to a beautiful lake, sunny weather, cloudless skies, or if it's hailing and storming above me, and I'm back with ha...
Apr 05, 2022•39 min•Season 3Ep. 52
"The undercurrent of the Camino is pilgrimage; it's walking in some spiritual way and being willing to rely on the kindness and support of others. You're removed from everything that you know. It's not your language, it's not your home, it's not your community. It's not your anything. And yet you put yourself in that situation, expecting that there will be some sort of transformation, change, shift, or whatever that comes from this endeavor.” Diane Wyzga This episode is part of a Breathing Wind ...
Mar 24, 2022•45 min•Season 3Ep. 52
“Chemo was really hard. But there were really good days too – they weren't the best feeling healthy days – but there was something that happened on those days. You suddenly have the shift in perspective of appreciating the smallest things, because when you have something that's knocking you, sideways, weekly – I was having chemo every week for 12 weeks – when you have a good moment, the world is more colorful, and everything becomes more incredible. And I got to push my kids on a swing and I was...
Mar 08, 2022•39 min•Season 3Ep. 51
“The joy was not just in the simple stuff — like a good cup of coffee and being being mindful and present — but experiencing joy, looking for joy, and having a hand in it. And knowing that does not have to be completed necessarily by somebody validating it.” -Dr. Jason Ridler This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Finding Unexpected Joy, hosted by Sarah Davis. The Finding Unexpected Joy miniseries explores the idea that joy can happen in the midst of grief, and that maybe we ...
Feb 22, 2022•38 min•Season 3Ep. 50
" Everyone goes through their own grief in their own way. And to know your own allows you to respect that of others, gives you the opportunity to respect that of others. " Colleen Stobbe This episode is part of a Breathing Wind miniseries titled Finding Unexpected Joy, hosted by Sarah Davis. The Finding Unexpected Joy miniseries explores the idea that joy can happen in the midst of grief, and that maybe we don’t know yet what might come out of our grief journeys. In this episode, Sarah talks wit...
Feb 08, 2022•24 min•Season 2Ep. 49
"Joy is who we are when our hearts are at their wildest. It's the integration between our doing and our being." - Duncan Cheung "Humor has always allowed me to get closer to my grief, explore it, and better understand it by creating a gateway into the hard feelings that isn't so scary, so heavy. And when I'm deep in my grief, humor lets me come up for air, and then go even deeper." - Dara Kosberg "Happiness comes from the things that happen to us. But joy, I believe, is a state of being that we ...
Feb 01, 2022•9 min•Season 3Ep. 48
This season, four hosts covered healing from very different perspectives. This episode is a compilation of a few conversations they held. Wendy Rolón, death doula and bereavement counselor, hosted the first mini-series called “Transforming Grief.” The guest featured in this episode is Christine Kovach, bereavement counselor with Mission Hospice. In their episode, they covered grief counseling, healing through expressive arts, and the hope she sees in her work. Ken Breniman, Licensed Clinical Soc...
Nov 30, 2021•56 min•Season 2Ep. 47
