Seattle Widow Resources Blog -
More Helpful Info from
An Ordinary Widow
More Helpful Info from
An Ordinary Widow
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5/21/2026 Modern Grief Therapies - YogaHow can yoga benefit widows?
This is the question I put to Ariel Young, a registered yoga teacher at Seattle's Yoga on Beacon, when I learned that a yoga workshop for grievers was taking place last month. Ms. Young started with explaining what yoga is. “Yoga literally means ‘to yoke’ in Sanscrit, as in ‘yoking’ oxen together to pull a cart. It is often translated as 'union.' Union of the mind and body, of breath and movement, but most importantly, union of Atman—your individual consciousness—with Brahman, the eternal, unchanging 'That' from which all existence proceeds and eventually returns. The course of life often separates us from this natural state of union into which we are born." What about its applicability to grieving individuals? “The immense disruption of a death loss can leave us feeling profoundly disconnected. The practice of yoga—particularly restorative yoga, where the body is fully and effortlessly supported by gravity and props—is the journey back to that state and beneficial to the bereaved.” For many years, talk therapy and group support were the only resources that were perceived to be helpful to widows. Modern therapies such as yoga, however, are gaining more visibility. In the greater Seattle area, there are more than 150 dedicated yoga studios, several of which include a focus on grief in their practices. In addition to yoga classes, the owner of Yoga on Beacon, Danielle Fraser, supports periodic workshops such as the recent "Yoga for Loss" offering. For more information about Yoga on Beacon, click HERE. Besides teaching yoga, Ariel Young is also a licensed independent clinical social worker and certified grief counselor. She has openings for therapy clients and specializes in issues of chronic illness, loss, and grief. Both in-person and telehealth appointments are available. For more information, click HERE. “Modern Grief Therapies - Yoga” is the second in a series. To read my blog post “Modern Grief Therapies – Art,” click HERE. Copyright©2026 Seattle Widow Resources. All rights reserved. 2/4/2026 Modern Grief Therapies - ArtWhen my husband died over a decade ago, local resources for widows largely centered on talk therapy and grief support groups. Back then, I don’t remember hearing about offerings such as art therapy, etc., in spite of the fact that creative arts therapies have been around for decades. In recent years, though, they have increased in popularity.
As part of my ongoing search for resources for widows and in response to a recent loss, last weekend I attended a one-day workshop that focused on creative ways to process and express grief. As a writer, I have found putting pen to paper to be quite cathartic; however, art, dance, and drama are definitely not within my comfort zone. Thus, I was pleasantly surprised to find that a lot of stress and sorrow was relieved during the creative arts workshop. I left with a feeling of peace about my recent loss and an appreciation for the compassionate souls who bravely shared their own stories as we collectively expressed our grief through creative arts. If you are a fresh widow, you may not be familiar with the newer therapies that have arisen in the grief space. In the next few blog posts, I will attempt a brief explanation in plain language of a number of therapies I have learned about in recent years. Today’s subject is art therapy. Art therapy is usually led by someone who has been trained in psychology and art. Credentialed art therapists possess a Masters degree. An ATR credential means they are “art therapist registered.” If their credentials are ATR-BC, that means they are also “board-certified.” The Art Therapy Credentials Board oversees board certification nationally of art therapists. Grief counselors, death doulas, and other practitioners who are not art-therapist credentialed may incorporate various art therapy techniques into their practices but cannot call themselves “art therapists.” Expressing emotions through painting or drawing, making memory boxes, or creating collages are just a few approaches a counselor might use in treating a client. During a session, the grieving person uses art materials (paint, clay, pencils, mixed media, or many other items) to create something that represents what they are feeling or experiencing. The therapist or counselor may offer guidance during this process. The focus isn’t on creating a “work of art,” but on how the process of creating art itself may aid the griever in dealing with stress, trauma, or other emotions. The meaning of the final piece may be known only to the griever, or they may be asked to share and discuss it with the facilitator and/or others in a class or workshop. Research has indicated art therapy may help with processing trauma, stress reduction, and other benefits. Neuroscience researchers assert that art-making enhances brain function and emotional regulation. An interesting review study can be found on the following NIH/National Library of Medicine web page: Role of Art Therapy in the Promotion of Mental Health: A Critical Review - PMC The American Art Therapy Association has a comprehensive Fact Sheet about art therapy. Click on the link below. What is Art Therapy? - American Art Therapy Association In the Seattle area, a few options for art therapy include: Art Therapy PNW, which offers individual and group therapy, workshops, and, in some cases, remote sessions. Protea Wellness features multiple therapists specializing in art therapy. There are also various individual licensed therapists who offer art therapy. Psychology Today has a list that can be found using the link below: Find Art Therapy and Psychologists in Seattle, WA - Psychology Today Widows can also Google “art therapy for grief in Seattle” to find an art therapist or a counselor who incorporates art therapy into their practice. Many practicing artists use their art techniques to process their own grief and share their grief story with others. (An example would be Death Dancer’s remarkable “Perspectives on Death, Dying, Loss and Living” exhibit during the Fall 2025 Olympia Arts Walk.) In my next post I will talk about dance/guided movement therapy for grieving individuals. Copyright ©2026 Seattle Widow Resources. All rights reserved. 9/29/2025 Spotlight on Death DancerIn the short time that Death Dancer has been operating in Olympia, it has already made a significant impact on the South Sound community.
3/26/2025 Spotlight on Return HomeI recently toured Return Home, a local facility that offers natural organic reduction (NOR) as an alternative to traditional burial and cremation.
NOR is one of the “green options” that is garnering more attention as ecological death care has become more popular in recent years. It is also sometimes referred to as “body composting.” Return Home has trademarked the term “Terramation” for their process, which they describe as “gently and naturally transforming human remains into soil.” I was met by the pre-planning manager, Jake Miller, who graciously gave me an hour of his time to take me on a tour of the facility and answer my questions. Prior to joining Return Home, Mr. Miller spent nine years working in a traditional funeral home offering burial and cremation, so he was well-versed in all forms of death care. Return Home opened their Auburn facility in mid-2021. In the beginning, their clientele consisted mostly of farmers and ranchers, who by virtue of their lifestyle and work were attracted to the idea of becoming one with the earth after death. By 2023 Return Home was able to offer more services beyond Terramation™ only and their clientele expanded substantially. A cozy waiting room and a large “laying-in” space were added, where families and guests (up to 200 people) can hold a funeral service or celebration of life for their loved one. Since approximately half of the families reside outside Washington state, live-streaming is also available via Zoom. I have previously written about the NOR process in general (click HERE), but the following is a brief summary of Return Home’s process once they have received a person’s body.
Return Home is unique in that it provides services at no cost when the individual who has died is a child aged 17 and under. They also connect families and friends with grief support services and resources. Their General Price List (GPL) is provided on their website (returnhome.com) and to those who visit the facility in person. Similar to traditional funeral homes, costs will vary depending on the services requested; however, a price range of $5,450 to $7,000 can be expected. I found their GPL to be very straightforward, which widows will appreciate given that sometimes funeral home “packages” can be confusing to compare. Return Home is a licensed funeral home and employs two funeral directors. I will also mention that during the short time I waited for Mr. Miller upon my arrival, at least four staff members stopped by to ask if I was being taken care of. I appreciated that. Return Home is located at 4146 B Place NW, Auburn, WA 98001. Phone number is (206) 888-4663, and email address is [email protected] Copyright ©2025. Seattle Widow Resources. 12/12/2024 What the Heck is a "Death Cafe"?As part of my quest to identify resources for Seattle area widows, I recently attended my first “Death Café” in Olympia. My goal was to find out if these unstructured discussions about death and dying would have any benefit for those who have lost a spouse.
My conclusion? It depends. First, some brief background:
The meeting I attended was held in a conference room that quickly filled up with nineteen attendees plus the facilitator (fourteen women, including me, and five men). Most appeared to be over the age of sixty, but there were a handful of younger folks, too. The facilitator asked us to take a deep breath and settle into our chairs. He spent a couple minutes talking about the history of Death Cafés, reviewing the guidelines for the discussion, and asked us to share what brought us to the meeting. He then asked if anyone had any subject they’d like to discuss. One participant shared that she had attended a local three-day grief retreat that had a profound (positive) effect on her. A number of attendees asked follow-up questions and information was shared about grief events, speakers, and books that might be of interest. Although grief had been the first topic, there were many other topics discussed during the 90-minute meeting. With no set agenda, folks were free to bring up whatever was on their minds. The importance of advance directives, burial options such as human composting and scattering ashes, concerns about older individuals who might pass away while living alone, Washington’s Death with Dignity Act—these subjects were all discussed and provided ways to exchange experiences and information with the group. The tone of the meeting was upbeat and matter of fact, not depressing. The facilitator knew when to step in and steer the conversation into new directions and had some wonderful quotes that he interjected at appropriate times (such as Confucius’s famous statement, “We have two lives, and the second begins when we learn we have only one.”). I had no way of knowing if any attendees were fellow widows, or what other death losses anyone had experienced unless they brought it up during our brief introductions. So why did I reach the conclusion that “it depends” on whether a Death Café might be helpful to a widow? I think it depends on where you are in your grief journey and your unique way of dealing with your grief. For some fresh widows, it might be too distressing to hear some people speak about death in a way that can seem too detached when the searing pain of losing your spouse is still so acute. In early grief there are so many triggers that we are unaware of until we experience them, and you need to know what you can handle. On the other hand, I have also known widows who said they felt uncomfortable in traditional grief support settings but wished there was somewhere they could talk about grief and death. You may be a widow who feels more comfortable in a setting where there is a little emotional distance, such as a Death Café meeting. There were quite a few individuals at the meeting who did not choose to speak, so if you did decide to attend a Death Café, know that you do not have to talk and you can also excuse yourself for a few minutes if you need a moment alone. Experiencing widowhood can cause some of us to become much more focused on the subject of death itself. This new preoccupation can be disconcerting to friends and loved ones, so I can envision how attending a Death Café might be one outlet for sharing your feelings, experiences, and concerns about what is inevitable for all of us. Even if you are not in a place right now to benefit from attending a Death Café, you may want to consider doing so at a future time. There are more than a dozen Death Cafes in the greater Seattle area. You can go directly to the Death Café website (click HERE and select “Find a Death Café”) or you can do a Google search and include your specific location. (Not every organizer uses the main website to list their meeting times and location.) If you are not a widow and you are reading this blog post, I would not hesitate to encourage you to think about attending a Death Café. We need to normalize discussions around this topic in our society. Copyright ©2024 S. Larkin/Seattle Widow Resources 8/17/2024 Spotlight on Help TextsWe live in a world where more and more communication is taking place via text. While the SeattleWidowResources.com website primarily focuses on traditional local grief support resources, some widows may be interested in knowing about other options.
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