apanii butterfly
Growing resilience and healing through
Mindful GrievingYoga Therapy Programs
Welcome. I’m so glad you’re here.
It is no mystery that we all have grief. We do in some shape or form, especially now. It’s inevitable and a fact of life. The flipside to the joy coin. The two, grief and gratitude, pain and joy, yin and yang, light and shadow, intricately woven together dichotomously. Each Grief is a part of life whether we want to greet it or not. Grief comes in many forms. Name it. Pandemic. Relationships. Divorce. Aloneness. Addiction. Suicide. Disease. Death. Loss of a Loved One. Loss of a Pet. Loss of Identity. Parenthood. Depression. Climate Grief. Societal Grief. This list is in not exclusive and is in no particular order. There is no hierarchy. Each form of grief or loss are valid, they matter, and evoke feelings, emotions, and can form obstacles in our lives. Grief can feel absolutely paralyzing and can also be a liberator.
Grief is a remarkable and profound teacher.
Our modern culture has lost touch with the way in which we work with our grieving hearts. And now, as we contemplate the trajectory of our self, culture, and planet, we can come together and work with our truths, our thoughts, feelings, emotions, sensations, share in circle and witness each other to alchemize, metamorphize, transform our experience into Love. We can distill our full spectrum experience that is unique to each of us in story, yet share a common thread of humanity as we grief as one. When we come together this way, sharing ourselves and shining light on our shadows, practicing with self-awareness and authenticity, we have the potential to come out the other side so we can notice our patterns, and recognize the love and freedom that exists in the present moment of our lives. We have the potential to build resilience in community and heal.
It is with this spirit, the spirit of Transformation, the curiosity for evolving, for dreaming onward for ourselves, that I bring you this offering of Apanii.
Apanii. Butterfly. (ah-buh-nee) Let us tether our practice to the beautiful gift of the Blackfeet people, their indigenous word, Apanii, Butterfly, a powerful spiritual symbol for grief work and transformative healing practice.
“I was lucky to be part of Jen’s first series, during the first Covid winter. Jen created a space to deeply discuss grief and then practice yoga through supportive poses. I was able to move through the rest of the week more freely, less burdened. The series was reassuring, knowing that each week in the safe space that Jen created, we could share and work with some of our deep sadness. I had relationship with most of the other women before our group, but our sharing helped enrich our ties and our friendships..”
— Pam G.
“The love received from this experience supported me in all ways and in turn lifts the collective community, and the next circle of community, and the next and the next…”
— K.P.
“I was impressed with Jen’s guidance and navigation from our first gathering. She brought calm and wisdom and Compassion, along with real listening that set the tone for me to feel safe and heard, seen and held. I quite honestly went into this with a bit of anxiety and mental mental note to myself that there was a back door escape. But, very quickly I sensed that this would be a very powerful experience for me that I dare not miss. I am so thankful for this group and the ways our lives may shift, heal, grow, or just be.”
— H.P.