Return from the Underworld
a 12 Week Somatic & Soul Journey to Soothe Deep Ongoing Grief
Immerse in an independent 12-week journey, merging ancient wisdom with modern research to cultivate practices that bring solace and healing. We start September 8th.
"What a deep and transformative experience. I have so much more body awareness now and I think it was really important for me to realize that I’d never really come out of a long-held trauma response. It was so great to have the support to acknowledge and release what I needed to.”
~Louise
When life tosses us headlong into the depths of grief...
Where can you go?
The despair and loneliness can feel like an inescapable darkness.
It cannot be fixed, there is nowhere to go, and all we can do (barely) is surface occasionally to breathe.
It’s a time when you yearn most for embrace and understanding.
Yet, even those closest to you may not fully grasp let alone know how to solve all of those unanswered internal riddles of…
“how do I heal from this.”
Though you would never choose this situation, even in this difficult time,
you have choices.
There is somewhere for that grief to go.
Processing grief requires skill, and a map of the terrain.
Envision a 12-week guided journey, delving into the depths of your own underworld, but with support.
In one version of the Greek myth of Persephone, Hades abducts her and imprisons her in the Underworld against her will.
Her story often portrays her as a victim, with her return to her natural home attributed solely to her Mother, Demeter’s fierce care and devotion.
However, during her time there, she honed remarkable skill and prowess, embracing this new place as her second home where she would reside for half the year. As Queen of the Underworld, she brought love and compassion to this otherwise desolate place.
When we lose those we deeply love, our task is to acknowledge that a part of us will now dwell in the Underworld, at least part-time, and to infuse this place with as much love and compassion as possible.
You NEED & DESERVE the space to fully grieve.
Throughout history, humans have undertaken this transformative path, creating intricate rituals and customs to honour the profound significance of grieving, rather than seeking hasty relief.
It’s not just okay, but essential, to confront certain aspects of your grief alone.
In solitude, you can explore those echoes of sorrow that only you can hear and feel.
In this 12 week journey, you’ll have the opportunity to reclaim agency in your journey of grief.
WHEN YOU FACE YOUR GRIEF, YOU INTEGRATE THE FULL EXPERIENCE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN, TO BE ALIVE, AND TO LOVE. THAT’S WHY THE ONLY WAY OUT IS THROUGH.
The tools & practices in this course are based on my over twenty years of experience supporting 1:1 clients & facilitating grief support groups.
"I'm still using so many of the tools you taught me months later. Like the crumbs dropped in the fairy tale, these tools have helped me moderate the journey, and find my way back home."
~Belinda
"This was the first time I had done any type of grief work. I found it really helped me to feel and express my grief. It also helped me to learn that it is a normal & valid thing to feel grief for things in my own personal life but also grief for the world."
~BN
"Thank you for helping me learn & remember how to sing & dance in the rain storm of deep grief. I’ve been able to deepen my practice of gratitude & self-compassion, and the somatic practices & journal prompts have been invaluable. Thank you for bringing the sacred back into the scared. You are a powerful badass warrior of the Dark. Thank you, thank you, thank you 💙🙏🏻🐋🌊"
~RH
“Slow down! Don’t waste a perfectly good heart attack!”
Words once spoken by my teacher Francis Weller, to a client of his who was rushing to heal just enough to get back to work after experiencing cardiac arrest.
Our society is built upon oppressive systems that gain from our tendency to rush and overlook the experiences of our mind, body, and soul.
Despite our profound discomfort with pain and sorrow, grieving is an inevitable part of the human experience.
Yet, we have to learn how to face our own lingering grief.
Here are things you DO NOT have to do right now...
(some of which you may have heard from well-meaning friends and family):
- "Just get over it already"
- "Simply move on with your life"
- "Get back to work or the way life was before"
- Downplay how you’re feeling because others have had it “worse.”
What Research on Grief and the Treatment of it Teaches us...
Feelings of depression, numbness, burnout, overwhelm, mood swings, and changing emotions are expected responses to unprocessed grief.
And rushing to “move on with your life” can inflict further pain and keep that despair trapped.
In 20 years of experience, I have yet to see someone heal by being told to “get over it.”
“Grief, I've learned, is really just love. It's all the love you want to give, but cannot. All of that unspent love gathers in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in the hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.”
~ Jamie Anderson
I invite you to embark on this journey...
Return from the Underworld
a 12 Week Somatic & Soul Journey to Soothe Deep Ongoing Grief
- Learn how to enter and tend to your grief in a deep, meaningful & transformative way.
- Strengthen & tap into your capacity to live in harmony with the emotional ups & downs of your day to day life.
- Learn to hold and stay with yourself in the most tender and vulnerable moments so that, even when alone, you won’t feel consumed by it all.
- Learn the skills to hold space for the deepest depths of emotion coming your way - your own and that of others - while also experiencing being held by nature & Spirit.
- Learn to walk the middle path - to build your instinct to be present with your grief while staying tethered to the joys available in everyday life.
Pricing Details
Enroll in this 12-week independent-study experience where you’ll receive weekly lessons taking you through grief practices informed by ancient wisdom, research, and 20+ years of practitioner experience.
investment: $333 USD
we start september 8th!
What is Included:
- Receive two emails per week with your video lesson and weekly practices
- 24/7 access to a dynamic online community forum where you can ask questions, share your story and receive support
- Weekly writing prompts to support metabolizing your grief
- Guidance & reminders to fit practices into your daily life
- Regular email schedule to help you feel on track and fully supported
Thanks Josea...
“I'M STILL USING SO MANY OF THE TOOLS YOU TAUGHT ME TO HELP KEEP MYSELF AND OTHERS SAFE AS WE ENTER THESE DARK WOODS OF GRIEF. LIKE THE CRUMBS DROPPED IN THE FAIRY TALE, THESE TOOLS HELP PACE US, MODERATE THE JOURNEY, AND FIND OUR WAY BACK. AT THIS AUTUMN EQUINOX OF BALANCING ON THE BRINK BETWEEN THE LIGHT AND DARK, WHAT BETTER TIME TO EMBARK ON A JOURNEY IN COMMUNITY TO LEARN WAYS TO GRIEVE, TO LEARN WAYS OF WORKING WITH ALL THAT IS CAST INTO THE SHADOW.”
~ BELINDA WHITE
What will you gain?
NURTURE YOUR NERVOUS SYSTEM
Build resilience, resource & capacity in your nervous system so you can handle big waves of emotion and allow your grief to move through your body in a way that is gentle yet brings relief
DEVELOP LIFELONG PRACTICES
Build personal practices you can use now & throughout your life to support you through not only grief but also life’s regular challenges.
BUILD NEW NEURAL PATHWAYS
You’ll learn tools that will support rewiring of new neural pathways to support healing & recovery from the chronic stress state that can encompass deep grief.
PRACTICE SOMATIC EXPLORATION
Soothe acute emotional pain, whether from a recent event or something that happened 40 years ago but still lingers as unprocessed grief. When we work with embodied practice the changes in our neurocircuitry are long lasting & deep.
RECONNECT WITH YOUR OWN INNER COMPASS
Deepen your relationship with your body’s innate health & healing capacity by reconnecting with your own inner guidance system - the subtle cues your body is offering you in every moment - and learn how your body can become your ally in healing rather than a painful burden.
Your Guide on this Journey
Josea Tamira Crossley
I have over 22 years of study and experience and have been facilitating Grief Ritual and Process work for the past 6 years. My work is grounded in training in Somatic Therapy, Attachment Theory, Healing Sexual Trauma, Deep Nature Connection, Visionary Craniosacral therapy, SER, Shamanic Study, Holistic Nutrition and Yoga.
I have trained with Francis Weller (author, Wild Edge of Sorrow), Mariah Moser (Relational Somatic Psychotherapy), Peter Levine (SE), Diane Poole Heller (DARe), Irene Lyon (SmartBodySmartMind), Elizabeth Claire Burr (CST, SER & Vijnana Yoga) & 8 Shields Institute.
I believe firmly in the intertwined health of individual, community & ecosystem. As the world falls apart around us, we need each other more than ever. If you feel called, I am so looking forward to meeting you in retreat.
When you face your grief with the right support, you integrate the full experience of what it means to be human, to be alive, and to love.
That is why the only way out is through.
faq
This course is a 12 week guided journey that is delivered via email which will link you to video lessons, practices & journal prompts for you to follow over the next 12 weeks. You will also be able to access everything (including the online forum)
There are no refunds offered for any of our online programs. We do our best to keep our programs as accessible as possible, so this program is priced 5-10x lower than many comparable options, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t full of powerful life-changing material.
When you sign up for this course, we ask that you make a deep level commitment to yourself and the process. One step at a time, staying with it. There is no rush, and you cannot fall behind. And although we encourage commitment & consistency, if your process gets interrupted by the unpredictable happenings of life, you will have lifetime access to work through the material as well as to download all of the practices and recordings, and you can always sign up to receive the 12 weeks of email prompts again, no charge.
This kind of deep work doesn’t transform us overnight – it is a long slow process, and it needs to be that way. Striving to speed through healing usually creates more nervous system dysregulation. Sometimes when we’re in the depths of despair it can feel like we will never have a different experience. You will, but it won’t happen overnight. You need to give it time and commitment, just like anything we want in life. So when you sign up for this course, we ask that you make a deep level commitment to yourself and the process. One step at a time, staying with it.
You cannot possibly fall behind. Once you sign up, you will have lifetime access to the course, the practices and the online community forum (as long as you abide by the community forum guidelines) so can return to any lessons that you miss and work at your own pace. While we do recommend following the 12 week timing and staying as consistent as possible for the most potent transformation, even if you only ever do the first few modules you will still receive a huge benefit!
The online community consists of a blend of folks like you, who are completely new to working with me as well as folks who have been working with me for years and are deep into the work and their own process. It is a place to ask for support and share and be witnessed in your experience and process. You can share as much or as little as you like, it is not a required part of the course but simply an added bonus that you are welcome to participate in if you feel it supports you. It is also a place to ask questions about any of the practices or teachings. Josea & other folks from our team are usually in the forum several times a week and will respond to all questions, but if you ask a question please do not expect an immediate response as we also all have other work and lives we are tending to.
The online community forum is a place for discussion, questions & to share your process and be witnessed & supported by our team, as well as other participants. It is not a place to promote your or other people’s business or events, or to criticize the program, team, or other participants. If you share posts or comments of this nature, they will be immediately removed, and you will be given a warning. If it happens more than once you will be removed from the forum. All technical/logistical questions or feedback about the program(s) should be directed to info@throughthedarkwoods.ca
With major or sudden loss, it can take time before you can speak without breaking down in tears. Over many years of facilitating grief support groups, I’ve observed a consistent theme of cultural shame around grief & tears. So of course, being seen in the depths of grief can feel almost TOO vulnerable in the beginning.
People can benefit from some solo process work before attending a support group or even speaking with friends and family about their experience.
That’s why I’ve designed this 12 week course to assist you through some gentle yet incredibly supportive practices you can do in the sanctuary of your own home.
This course is intentionally priced very low for the value you will receive. Many courses of similar value are priced at 5-10x the price. We do this in order to make it accessible to as many folks as possible from all income levels. What this also means is that it doesn’t create enough revenue for us to offer scholarships at this time.
I do offer grief counselling & support and also have several grief counsellors on my team who have trained with me. For more info & to apply for 1:1 work, click here.
Have questions that aren’t answered on this page? Contact us HERE.