Do you know Krystal Marie Capizzo? She is an inspiring licensed massage therapist from Michigan who experienced multiple losses over the past few years, found solace and understanding through the Grief Massage education she received from Jennica Klemann, and went on to create her own soulful Grief Bodywork modality.

In this interview, Krystal shares about her own grief journey, what she learned in Jennica's class that helped her most, how the concept of disenfranchised grief applies to her work, and why she is so passionate and commited to serving grieving clients in her community.

She also shares about her latest project - developing a Grief Bodywork training program as well as an educational training about grief for medical workers.

I thoroughly enjoyed being in Krystal's presence for this interview. She has such an open heart and such a beautiful perspective on grief and massage therapy.

Find Krystal:

Facebook - Willow Roots Holistic Healing & Krystal Marie LMT

Instagram - Willow Roots Holistic Healing & Bodywork_by_Krystal_Marie

Resources Recommended by Krystal:

Grief Educator David Kessler's "Tender Hearts" Community

Book on Pet Loss "And I Love You Still" by Julie Ann Corbin

Jennica Klemann's Class "Caring for Grievers With Confidence"

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This episode is brought to you by The Institute for Grief Massage Inc.

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Did you know that our unique time and place impacts how stressful grieving can be? It's true.

In the dominant North American, Western culture (especially in the US where Aimee lives), grievers can often feel misunderstood, isolated, and even shamed by societal expectations that:

-they should grieve faster

-that they should have a "positive" mindset about their loss

-that they should get "back to normal"

Aimee shares her least favorite statement that our society often burdens grievers with ("You need to let this go") and how it is an example of cultural grief-stress.

She also shares some personal experiences of having grief invalidated by our society and shares her thoughts and opinions about how we as Grief Massage practitioners can be counter-cultural by creating safe spaces for grievers and by advocating for truly compassionate grief care.

When we exist, when Grief Massage exists, we are asserting that:

-grievers deserve safe spaces to be honest about how hard loss actually is

-that grief is not a problem to be "fixed"

-that grief is sacred and our humanity needs to be honored

This episode is the seventh in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.

This episode was recorded in response to section 7 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 7 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class).

Listen along and please join Aimee for all of the upcoming 30 episodes featuring her responses to the learning sections of Class 1. Once we have gone through all sections of Class 1, we will also be recording episodes based on Classes 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series

Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org

Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

TW: AImee discusses a personal suicide loss in this episode. Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

Did you know that grievers experiencing any type of loss, ranging from the death of a loved one to a job loss, often experience cascades of activating nervous system events (stressors) due to loss reminders?

Loss reminders can range from smells that recall elements of the loss, visual cues such as seeing someone who resembles the one who died, sounds (hearing something that reminds them the loss occurred or music that brings up feelings about the loss), and even environmental cues such as going to the grocery store and seeing a loved one's favorite foods that no longer need to be purchased.

Loss reminders are common after a recent loss but can also occur years down the road. Aimee shares some personal loss reminders that occurred recently for her, 15 years after the death of her mother, as she was going through some of her mother's personal belongings recently. She shares how it impacted her body and nervous system (and how she used gentle touch to cope and ground).

This episode is the sixth in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.

This episode was recorded in response to section 6 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 6 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class).

Aimee also shares how a snowglobe can be a beautiful and helpful metaphor for the way that loss reminders "shake up" a griever's nervous system.

Listen along and please join Aimee for all of the upcoming 30 episodes featuring her responses to the learning sections of Class 1. Once we have gone through all sections of Class 1, we will also be recording episodes based on Classes 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series

Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org

Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

TW: AImee discusses a personal suicide loss in this episode. Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.

Did you know that some forms of grief-stress are actually natural, human, and intricately related to our ability to love and form attachments? It's true.

Aimee calls this inherent grief-stress. In this episode, she shares her thoughts about this primal impact of grief and why Grief Massage is so important in offering care and comfort to humans who are navigating a significant loss.

She also references recent brain research on grievers that has shown certain parts of the brain (such as the hippocampus) take a significant amount of time to re-wire and build new maps of reality after loss, which can explain some of the inherent grief-stress that results from loss reminders and moments when our brains are unable to fully accept what has occurred.

Read about this recent brain research in the beautiful book "The Grieving Brain: The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss" by Mary-Frances O-Connor

This episode is the fifth in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.

This episode was recorded in response to section 5 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 5 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class). Please note that the recorded segment may be a little hard to hear, you may want to adjust your volume during that part of the episode.

Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series

Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org

Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Did you know that change is stressful? Most humans have noticed that!

What many of us have not yet realized though, is that the stress of change can relate to loss.

After all, loss creates change.

"Stress is the result of change" according to the authors of "The Relaxation and Stress Reduction Workbook" (Martha Davis, Elizabeth Robbins Eshelman and Matthew McKay) and in this episode Aimee talks about the term she coined has describe the impacts of loss on griever stress levels: "grief-stress".

In this episode, Aimee also highlights how Brian Luke Seaward, author of "Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-being" talks about stress management as a life-long process. Aimee gets emotional talking about, in her own life, walking with grief and integrating loss has also been a life-long process.

She encourages Grief Massage practitioners to think about how their presence in a griever's ecosystem of support can help the griever feel supported and able to meet the stress of their loss.

This episode is the third in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.

This episode was recorded in response to section 4 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 4 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class). Please note that the recorded segment may be a little hard to hear, you may want to adjust your volume during that part of the episode.

Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series

Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org

Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Did you know that you, as a Grief Massage practitioner can be a source of "Assisted Relaxation" for your grieving clients? You can.

By creating a warm and welcoming haven...by sharing your nervous system state of calm and grounded presence...by welcoming grief with an open heart...by offering touch that soothes on a level deeper than words...

You can be a respite and a sanctuary for grievers who desperately need a safe place to land, a compassionate corner of the world in which to collapse and "just be" with their grief. 

This episode is the third in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.

This episode was recorded in response to section 3 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 2 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class).

Aimee also shares her own thoughts about how touch can affect grieving clients on a primal level. She references knowledge gained about the brain's response to loss (and to massage) from Jennica Klemann's practice presentation "Caring for Your Grieving Client in a Massage Session", which will be featured at the 2024 AMTA convention.

You are encouraged to learn more about Jennica and her 3 CE class "Caring for Grievers with Confidence", as she has much to share on this topic.

Learn more about Jennica here: https://griefreliefwithjennica.solutions

Instagram: @griefreliefwithjennica

Facebook: @griefreliefwithjennica

Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series

Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org

Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Did you know that you as a Grief Massage practitioner can be an advocate for grievers simply by talking about Grief Massage with healthcare professionals? It's true.

That is because healthcare professionals such as counselors, physicians and nurse practitioners/nurses likely see many patients/clients who are being affected by loss. When you raise awareness of grief as a healthcare issue due to loss as a major stressor (which is how Aimee recommends you connect the dots between grief and massage therapy), you can plant seeds that may impact how healthcare professionals think about grief and its impact on their patients/clients.

This episode is the second in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.

This episode was recorded in response to section 2 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 2 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class).

Aimee also shares her own thoughts about how talking about Grief Massage can elicit fearful reactions from folks who are uncomfortable with the topics of grief and loss (and shares some personal experiences being avoided at health fairs when advocating for Grief Massage) and shares why it was important for her learn not to take it personally when she felt "rejected".

She recommends that Grief Massage practitioners start their advocacy and awareness raising work by getting in touch with grief-focused health professionals (such as grief counselors or hospice social workers) first, and gain some experience and confidence before contacting traditional healthcare professionals to talk about Grief Massage.

Listen along and please join Aimee for all of the upcoming 30 episodes featuring her responses to the learning sections of Class 1. Once we have gone through all sections of Class 1, we will also be recording episodes based on Classes 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series

Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org

Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Did you know that simply talking about Grief Massage can change the world? It can.

That is because every conversation you have about Grief Massage raises awareness of this important emerging modality. Every time you connect the dots between grief and massage therapy, you plant seeds for a future in which Grief Massage is a standard form of care.

This episode is the first in a unique series in which Aimee goes through her 40 hour "The Joy of Grief Massage" online course as a student and reflects on each section.

This episode was recorded in response to section 1 of the 30 total sections in Class 1: Grief, the Body and the Nervous System. You will hear a short 1 minute snippet of Section 1 (listening to the snippets featured in these episodes is not a substitute for taking the class).

Aimee also shares her own thoughts about why talking about Grief Massage was difficult for her in the beginning of her Grief Massage work and advocacy (back in 2007) and why it was important for her to gain experience with clients and find language to describe this work to others.

She also shares an interesting fact from the Class 1 that she had forgotten about since recording it back in 2019: according to Richard N. Bolles (the author of "What Color is Your Parachute?", the ideal length of time to spend answering an interview question ranges from 20 seconds to 2 minutes. Aimee believes we can apply this wisdom to how we talk about Grief Massage and how we answer questions about our work.

Listen along and please join Aimee for all of the upcoming 30 episodes featuring her responses to the learning sections of Class 1. Once we have gone through all sections of Class 1, we will also be recording episodes based on Classes 2, 3, 4 and 5.

Learn more about our fully recorded, self-paced 40 hour Grief Massage training course on our school website: https://the-institute-for-grief-massage-inc.thinkific.com/courses/class-1-grief-the-body-the-nervous-system-article-series

Follow our Grief Massage work at our website: www.griefmassage.org

Stay in touch on Instagram: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Find us on Facebook: @theinstituteforgriefmassage

Does grief actually affect the physical body? What are grievers experiencing when they share that their loss is impacting them physically? How can massage therapists be of the highest service to grievers seeking massage therapy?

In this episode, Aimee explores common physical responses to grief, shares several related personal experiences as both a hospice grief counseling intern and Grief Massage therapist, and offers insight how massage therapists can shift their mindset around service to grieving clients.

TW: AImee discusses a personal suicide loss in this episode. Contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline if you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support.