Breathing Wind

“What first started as a necessity of what I was going through, really evolved into this larger calling and feeling like, Why stop here? There’s so much to uncover.” ~ Brianna Hernández

Hi! Guest host Julia Mark here.

In this third (and final!) installment of the Doors to Grief miniseries, we’ll hear from the artist, curator, educator, and death doula Brianna Hernández. It was a joy to talk with Brianna about her journey, and what motivated her to create art around grief and dying.

While our society often frames death in a dreary light, Brianna’s installations are vibrant, thought-provoking, and deeply intentional. Through her many roles, she encourages people to ask questions about death and dying, reminding us of the agency we have in planning for life’s inevitable close.

During this episode, I ask Brianna specifically about two of her installations. You can view photos of those exhibits here:

* Útiles Curativos (Brianna’s exhibit about caregiving)

* Aquí Descansamos (Brianna’s exhibit about alternate memorials/green burial)

I hope you enjoy learning about the creative doors to grief that Brianna Hernández has opened through her work!

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About Brianna Hernández

Brianna L. Hernández (b. 1991) is a Chicana artist, curator, educator, and death doula guided by socially engaged practices. In the studio, she creates multi-media installations focused on end-of-life care, grief, and mourning rituals based on lived experience, cultural research, and collaborations with peers.

In developing as an artist Brianna credits her late mother, Sylvia D. Hernández, as her most significant mentor and inspiration for the creativity, resilience, and compassion she demonstrated throughout her life.

Hernández has participated in residencies at MacDowell, The Watermill Center, Santa Fe Art Institute, The Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts, SPACES, and Farwell House. She proudly serves as Director of Curation and Board Secretary of Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation. Additionally, she is the Board Treasurer at Walker’s Point Center for the Arts, and Committee Member for the Gente Chicana/SOYmos Chicanos Arts Fund of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation.

Brianna's websiteBrianna’s Instagram

Mentioned in this episode

* Útiles Curativos (Brianna’s exhibit about caregiving)

* Aquí Descansamos (Brianna’s exhibit about alternate memorials/green burial)

* Día de los Muertos

* Going With Grace death doula training

* Luna Peak Publishing (books supporting cancer and grief communities)

* Trends in obituary publishing

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“Your body already knows how to ride the waves. I think we’ve gotten so used to only trusting our minds and not trusting our bodies to do what’s good for them, and I think our body has a deep knowing.”

~ Erin Collins

Hi! Guest host Julia Mark here.

In this second episode of the Doors to Grief miniseries, we hear from the insightful Erin Collins about her journey to becoming a breathwork guide and sound healer.

Erin Collins offers both a scientific and spiritual perspective on how breathwork can be used as a tool for releasing stuck emotions. Our personal stories about navigating grief are woven throughout.

Whether you’re a breathwork enthusiast or wondering (like Erin’s grandfather), “Now, why would you need to teach someone how to breathe??” I hope this episode opens new doors for you.

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About Erin Collins

Erin is a breathwork meditation guide on Vashon Island near Seattle, WA. Through years of training in mental health and certification as a breathwork guide, Erin comes alongside you to provide loving support as you meditate deeply through conscious connected breathwork. Her presence is gentle and supportive, guiding you to self-knowledge, empowerment, and deep healing.

www.ResonanceVashon.com

Mentioned in this episode (and related links)

* “What Is Breathwork?” (via the Cleveland Clinic)

* A style of breathwork called Transformational Breathing

* Radical Acceptance as described in Dialectical Behavior Therapy

* Article discussing how animals release energy after truama

* The Grieving Body (interview with author Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor)

* Research on the power of sound to heal

* Exploring anger and grief

* The 5 Stages of Death by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, which was later formed into the concept of “5 Stages of Grief” (which are definitely not linear!)

Other Breathing Wind episodes related to somatic practices and processing emotions:

* The Body is Everything

* What Feels Safe

* Trauma, Grief, and Emotions

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“In this movie you've got this guy who's, by all accounts, trying really hard to just keep everything together...That ends up being a much more potent thing for communicating this message than something that's more directly trying to address grief.”

- Andrew Clinnin

Hi, Julia Mark here. I'm honored to share the first installment of my Breathing Wind miniseries called “Doors to Grief.” In this episode, I talk with Andrew Clinnin about how Asteroid City—a visually playful Wes Anderson film—became an unexpected lens for understanding his experience as a young widower.

I know today’s guest, Andrew Clinnin through the online grief group he formed via The Dinner Party. Andrew he has created a wonderful space for people in their 20s and 30s who have experienced partner loss. It was a privilege to learn more about his unique journey.

Whether you’ve seen the film or not, this episode offers a fresh perspective on how stories—both on-screen and in our own lives—shape the way we grieve and grow.

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About Andrew Clinnin:

Andrew Clinnin lives in San Francisco, trying to survive outside his natural midwestern habitat. He’s most often spotted mumbling to himself behind his work computer, camera, or sewing machine. Andrew’s wife Ellen was a stage actor and playwright who died in 2022 after two COVID-cursed years with gastric cancer. But she doesn’t want us to remember her by that last bit.

Mentioned in this episode:

* Asteroid City

* Sarah’s conversation with the co-founder of The Dinner Party, Lennon Flowers on Apple Podcasts and Spotify (Season 1, Episode 13)

* doesthedogdie.com: a database of categorized content warnings for movies, television shows, books, video games and more!

Like this episode? Show it some love.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app. Leave a rating or review.

Connect with us on social media: Instagram

Sign up with your email address for updates about the podcast and additional grief resources. We respect your privacy.

“We need to stay open to this very natural response to how we experience the big losses changes in our lives. And if we can do that — it doesn’t come at once, it doesn’t come in big ahas — but there there is transformation, and there’s healing and wisdom and creative inspiration and new perspectives. There’s so much that we have access to that we may never be moved by or never encounter if we avoid or shut down our grief.”

~ Naila Francis

In this farewell episode, Sarah and Naila revisit the emotionally rich journey of their podcast, celebrating the support and community that has been built. They share poignant clips from past episodes, including conversations with guests like Benjamin Gunning, Lennon Flowers, and Naila Francis, reflecting on themes of grief, resilience, and creativity. As they pass the torch to new potential host Julia Mark, they discuss their future creative endeavors and express deep gratitude to their listeners. The episode emphasizes the importance of allowing grief to be a shared, evolving conversation.

Show notes

Mentioned in this episode:

Episode 2: Never Alone with Benjamin Gunning

Episode 13: The Space to Be Messy with Lennon Flowers

Naila’s first appearance on the podcast, interviewed by Deborah Szeto

Episode 77: Honoring the Full Range of Grief with Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

Episode 82: Surfer Dan Fischer is Shaping an Active Grief Memorial through One Last Wave Project

Episode 84: Love is the Mother of Grief with Nnenna Freelon

Episode 68: The Possibility of Pleasure with Oceana Sawyer

Season 2 Trailer: What is Healing?

Season 3 Trailer: What is Joy?

Throwing the Bones with Dr. JoAnne Dodgson

“I've been very present to the fact that there have been these huge, huge joys. But every time I meet a huge joy, it just drops me deeper into the grief, which is part of what I always say about grief.

The more you open yourself to the joy, the more you open yourself to the grief and vice versa. So that kind of feels like where my journey has been this summer.”

~ Naila Francis

In this episode, inspired by our conversation with grief activist, author and podcast host Lisa Keefauver, we reflect on where our journeys have taken us these last few months, including the grief we’re both living with. As we invite you into these personal experiences, we share the ways grief continues to surprise and teach us — and how challenging it can be to lean into those lessons that come ‘round again and again. Given all the wisdom Lisa shared with us from her new book, “Grief is A Sneaky B***h” (also the title of her podcast) in the previous episode, we also explore some of the threads that most resonated with us, especially the value of seeking support, which can be tricky to do when you’re the one often giving it. We’re so grateful for Lisa’s work challenging conventional narratives around grief. And we invite you to consider the narratives you hold around loss, how they might be impacting you and how you care for yourself and others in times of grief. 

To find out more about this episode, listen to the episodes referenced, and subscribe to the newsletter, visit the show notes.

“So if our narrative understood that it's emotional and cognitive and physical and spiritual and relational, how might we attend to ourselves differently?  How might we attend to other people in our lives differently? How, if we believed it as a culture, would we institute policies and systems that attended to grief differently?”

- Lisa Keefauver

In this episode, we talk with Lisa Keefauver, grief activist, author and podcast host of “Grief is a Sneaky B***h,” about grief as a multidimensional experience that encompasses more than death and more than our emotions. With compelling insight, compassionate warmth, the truth of her own lived experience and her background as a narrative therapist, Lisa shines a light on some of the stories, beliefs and habits that cause us more suffering as we grieve — while also offering tips and suggestions to help soften grief’s hard edges. She talks about the vulnerability and bravery of inviting in support and candidly shares her own struggles with receiving care. In fact, Lisa is nothing but candid throughout this entire episode, as she reflects on grieving and being grateful for her late husband Eric, her journey with breast cancer and what grief has taught her about living a fuller, richer life. You’ll probably want to listen with a journal or come back to this episode again, as, with fall right  around the corner, it feels like a timely roadmap to help us all navigate this human experience with more grace for ourselves. 

To find out more about this episode, listen to the episodes referenced, and subscribe to the newsletter, visit the show notes.

“As a death midwife, one of the things many of us do is work on legacy projects with people who are dying and their loved ones, and yet sometimes I think it's really not up to us to know what our legacy is. I can hope it will be this particular thing, but at the end of the day, the people we leave behind are the ones really making the meaning and interpreting our lives for us.”

~Naila Francis

Welcome to our celebratory 100th episode of the Breathing Wind Podcast, where we reflect on some of the recurring themes around grief that have shaped the podcast since it began. We revisit key moments in conversations with a handful of guests that touch on navigating life transitions with openness, the intersection of grief and joy and what it means to leave behind a legacy. As we share from our own grief journeys, we note how challenging it can be to embody emotional self-awareness, the surprising parts of ourselves that show up in the midst of profound change, and whether it’s truly possible to know the impact we leave behind. We do know, however, that this podcast has created a virtual community, and we remain grateful for you, listeners, as well as the growth we’ve experienced, and the future of our shared journey.

To find out more about this episode, listen to the episodes referenced, and subscribe to the newsletter, visit the show notes.

“I think some of the clearest decisions I've ever made have come in the aftermath of grief.” ~Naila Francis

In this episode, we look back on our enchanting and insightful conversation with Mara June, an educator, facilitator, community weaver, writer, caregiver, death doula and community herbalist. Reflecting on her deep belief in the creative energy inherent in grieving, we discuss grief’s transformative power in our lives and some of the ways we’ve been creatively called to change how we show up in the world. For Sarah, that included re-evaluating her career and the work she was doing, and for Naila, transformation came in waves affecting many areas of her life. As we’ve done across several episodes, we circle back to the presence of joy as part of grief and in particular how grief opens us up to feel more alive by giving us access to the full range of our emotions. We also acknowledge, with gratitude to Mara for naming this, numbness as part of grieving, and explore the idea of bringing tenderness and beauty to death, even in challenging circumstances, as Naila was able to do at her dad’s deathbed, and as Sarah has continued to do by nurturing a connection that was meaningful to her own father. We hope this conversation invites you to make a little more room for your grief and to be gentle with all the changes your journey may be calling you to. As always, we’d love to hear what moved or resonated with you, and we thank you for allowing us to be companions on your journey.

To find out more about this episode, listen to the episodes referenced, and subscribe to the newsletter, visit the show notes.

"In allowing ourselves to feel our grief, or to feel present with whatever is coming up for us — not excluding our joy —  that's actually helping us to feel more deeply in all of these areas in our life. And I think that is part of the enchantment piece for me...When we feel more deeply, then we can also feel enchantment and wonder and awe and all of these other things as well."

~ Mara June

In this episode, death doula, community herbalist, educator and writer Mara June invites us to consider the ways grief calls us to change who we are and how we move in the world. Framing this “undoing” as liberating, they share grief’s potential to make us magicians, opening us up to mystery and wonder and bringing us more alive. We also talk about their own journey with grief and loss, how they came to community death care, and how we can bring moments of beauty and tenderness to the end of life. Noting that we have never grieved alone, Mara speaks to the wise and nourishing role of plants in tending our grief, introducing us to some of their favorites. (Hint: if you’re not into chamomile, you will be after listening!). And of course, we couldn’t leave this conversation without talking about their spells and their deeply affirming memes and social media posts, which you’ll definitely want to check out for yourself. We learned so much in this conversation and also shared some sweet moments with Mara when they turned the mic on us. May it inspire you, too, on your shapeshifting journey through grief. 

To find out more about this episode, listen to the episodes referenced, and subscribe to the newsletter, visit the show notes.

In this episode, inspired by our powerful conversation with communal grief tender and song circle leader, Alexandra “Ahlay” Blakeley, we discuss our own experiences with song circles and how they impacted us — as well our thoughts on community grief spaces in general, and how grief support is so much broader than the stereotypical basement circle for story sharing that people are used to. We share our “safe” places to cry and reflect on the varied responses we receive to working in the grief space — Naila with her workshops and classes and Sarah when she tells people she co-hosts a podcast about grief. Our dads also make an appearance when we start talking about what our beloveds leave behind, and what we do with their “stuff.” And there’s that prophetic dream thread that we just couldn’t ignore after Ahlay shared two incredibly vivid dreams with us in our conversation with her. Have you ever had a dream that’s informed your path? We’d love to hear it or anything else that strikes a resonant note with you from our time together.

To find out more about this episode, listen to the episodes referenced, and subscribe to the newsletter, visit the show notes.