on loss + birth | winter 2022-23
snowy greetings all,
Merry Imbolc season to my fellow paganish Scottish and Irish mutts out there! This time of year marks the halfway point between Winter and Spring, an embodiment of both death and birth. The cycles of life have been a source of inspiration and curiosity to me since childhood, and I try to bring this dedication to the transitionality of nature to my practice. A new way I’ve folded this into my skillset recently is through completing Samantha Zipporah’s online course in Pregnancy Release Support, so I can more intentionally hold space for others who have experienced pregnancy loss via miscarriage or abortion. I’m so grateful to Samantha for her beautiful work of passing along tools of care for those of us who are AFAB and have undergone these somatically and spiritually complex experiences. Please keep me in mind as I explore how I might offer this kind of care in the future.
These winter months hold much memory of loss for me personally. It feels like a bunch of little damp moments of sorrow speckled across all of January and February. But this year it’s negative spaces are glistening with the sparkle of new projects in motion. It’s fun and perplexing! I’m trying to be here for all of it. I’m here for pain and what it has to say and teach. I’m here for the part of me that needs to slow down, while another part is simultaneously ready to run the races. It’s all true and both are possible. Our bodies are not simple and that’s okay. Our bodies are complex and they are worth feeling. Maybe we don’t need to stop or run, but just attune lovingly to each moment.
“Do not think of it as pain, think of it as an interesting sensation that requires all of your attention.”
“ For life and death are one, even as the river and sea are one.”
BIZ NOTES
NEW RATES + MINI SESSIONS
Please take note that as of January my rates are raised by $5.
Also, since posting this raise at the beginning of the year, I’ve decided to readjust 30-minute therapy to it’s previous rate of $55. These mini sessions are great for targeted work such as neck pain, headaches, flare-ups and other regional treatments. I hope that I can provide more 30-minute sessions as a way to accommodate more of you lovely folks into my schedule as needed.
30 mins $55 | 45 mins $75 | 60 mins $90
90 mins $120 | 2 hrs $150
I L L U M I N A T I O N S
Fair Folk Podcast, Wolf Milk: February Almanac
Learn a bit about Imbolc (February 1st-2nd) and beautiful folk belief on wolves, Candlemas (February 2nd), death and birth.
…
NOTO Botanics, Deep Serum
A hydrating oil serum that’s great for extra protection and moisture in the wintertime. I love to use this product on myself for face and neck Gua Sha or lymph drainage. It smells warm like summer with its soft n bright notes of grapefruit!
…
painting: Baby by David Onri Anderson, 2018
M U T U A L A I D / community investment
This past November-December I gave a percentage to Agraria Center for Regenerative Practice in Yellow Springs.
A couple of friends and I are co-founding a new local project (yet to be announced), and I will be contributing resources towards this in the coming months. Will keep you posted when we’re ready to share!
godspeed to you all in the cold dawn of spring,
yours in health,
Zoey Bryant, LMT
