Episode 41: Shaina Garfield - Weaving Death Into Life

Shaina Garfield is a death doula, grief guide, ceremonialist, and the founder of Leaves With You. With her devotion to the sacred continuum of life and death, she extends compassionate support to all beings navigating the dying and grieving processes. Her mission is to cultivate a profound connection with the Earth and the Divine, fostering harmony within the web of life.Shaina’s approach is deeply rooted in ritual, which she believes is essential for transforming grief, reclaiming spirit, and honoring the profound mystery of death. She offers group and individual grief sessions, hand crafts natural macrame coffins, plans and facilitates pre and post death funerary rituals, and more. Her services are not only for the dying but also for those who experience losses of all kinds throughout life.Beyond these services, Shaina provides an array of nurturing offerings including Blue Lotus Ceremonies, Rose Healings, and Sound Healing. Through her heartfelt work, Shaina Garfield is reshaping the way we honor and embrace the cycles of life and death.Shaina is facilitating a grief retreat in Woodstock, NY at the end of September. If you resonate with her words in this podcast and feel the call to honor and release your grief, check out the retreat here.Instagram and all episodes(00:00) Arriving in NYC for Art School(02:45) Moving from City to Forest and Back(04:10) Choosing Design to Reconnect with Nature(06:12) Creating the Biodegradable Coffin(08:26) Chronic Lyme Disease Diagnosis(11:20) Physical Symptoms and Walking with a Cane(14:03) Navigating the Diagnosis Process(15:52) Holistic and Indigenous Healing Approaches(19:18) Vision Quest: A Four-Year Ceremony(22:40) Surrender and Healing Through Acceptance(26:35) Living with Pain, Living with Joy(29:40) Advice for Others on Healing Paths(32:50) The Coffin That Traveled the World(36:28) Death Practices Across Cultures(39:55) What a Death Doula Does(43:16) Collaborative Coffin-Making with Families(47:20) The Baby’s Death and Forest Burial(51:04) Offering the Body Back to the Earth(55:32) Letting Death Deepen the Love of Life(61:07) Relationships Over Productivity(65:28) What Comes After Death(69:50) Knowing You’ve Found Your Soul’s Purpose