Grief coach and death midwife providing compassionate presence and holistic support for the journey of grief, loss and dying

 
 
 
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grief coach

In our grief-avoidant society, we’re rarely allowed time and space to fully grieve our losses. Many of us aren’t even aware that our grief needs and deserves this kind of attention and care. And we don’t know how to be present to our grief when we’re not even sure we can trust ourselves or life anymore once our world has been shattered by loss. Yet as little as 2% unresolved grief can affect every area of our lives. It is possible to tend our sorrows without being overwhelmed by all we feel, to learn to carry our grief with greater gentleness and compassion for ourselves and to create the conditions that allow us to move with our grief instead of society’s dictates to move on.

I offer nurturing space and guidance for your grief journey, granting you permission to feel what you feel and grieve at your own pace while supporting you with tools, practices and a safe container to help you feel less overwhelmed, despairing, lonely and stuck. Here, you’re invited to slow down, nourish yourself, speak your truth and honor your loss(es) in ways that keep you connected to your loved ones while learning to live alongside your grief.

 
 

death midwife

Of the life passages we experience, birth and death are the only two we share. Yet one is celebrated, the other denied and feared. In a culture that struggles to even talk about death, dying well is not something we think about or know how to do, often leaving our end-of-life care to the medical-industrial complex and funeral industry. But there are alternatives to how we approach this rite of passage.

I provide non-medical, holistic guidance and support for people who are dying and their loved ones. Holding space to help you consciously navigate this sacred threshold with less fear and regret, and more ease, connection and peace.

 
Death Midwife
 
 

 
 

people who are looking for:

 
 
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alternatives to
traditional end-of-life planning & care

 

tools and space to safely express & move through their grief

 
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a greater sense of peace, ease, purpose & joy in life

 

 

“It’s often said that you don’t know that you are drowning until someone tosses you a life preserver….well I knew that I was drowning in grief and realized that the preserver that I had been using for years just wasn't enough. That’s when I found Naila.  I have walked with grief for a long time but I was looking for someone with compassion, heart, grace and understanding to help me learn to let go of the heavy load. I am so grateful that I connected with Naila. From the first email exchange to the weekly calls, I feel seen, heard, understood and supported without judgment. If you are looking for someone to support you along your grief journey, I couldn’t recommend her heart more.”

- Gail Anderson

Naila is truly a light in the darkness and a comforting, fearless companion when you are in the darkest moments of grief or when the anger and sorrow takes over. I can’t recommend Naila’s services as a grief coach highly enough. I worked with Naila after losing my dad and mother-in-law within 12 months, and the grief felt utterly overwhelming. Naila helped me to listen to and hear myself and begin to meet my needs during a time of caring for so many others. She provided a judgment free weekly call, check ins and extra support around difficult holidays and anniversaries, and helpful writing prompts, mediations and visualizations, and the kindest normalization of grief. She taught me that grief isn’t something you ‘get over’ but a continuation of the love you still have and can grow for your loved one who died. Naila is an absolute gem of a person who changed my life.
- Natalie Krak

I deeply appreciate the time I had in my sessions with Naila. Grieving can be so difficult and so lonely. Naila showed compassion, curiosity, and challenged me when I needed to be challenged. I highly recommend allowing Naila to be part of your grief journey."

- Dan Packel

“Naila has a true gift for creating sacred, open, and nonjudgemental space through her sessions and offerings. Naila met me where I was at with support that ranged from creative expression, ritual, and discussion. Through the ever-changing emotions that showed up through my grief, Naila was present and flexible as a compassionate witness. The insights she shared were exactly what I needed to integrate new wisdom and embodiment. Important to me was also Naila's validation of my complex grief. My sessions with Naila have transformed my life in beautiful ways that are still unfolding. I most highly recommend Naila as a skilled and gifted healer and grief coach.”

- Lauren Silver

“Naila helped me navigate a period of crisis after losing my mother. Irrevocably altered by this immense loss, I knew I needed a wise and gentle guide to help me traverse the rocky terrain of grief in order to emerge on the other side with a sense of wholeness. Ensuring this burden would not fall onto my family or friends, Naila held my stories with the attentiveness of an old confidant, offering suggestions and tools from her extensive arsenal along the way that helped me reach new milestones of clarity and healing. Our weekly sessions became a soothing balm as I addressed a litany of emotions and even confronted my own mortality in the process.

“Recently, I experienced the loss of my father as well as a friend from college, and I could feel the same tidal wave of emotions of the past trying to pull me into its undertow. However; this time, I felt better equipped with resources to handle the losses with deeper understanding. This expansion of my emotional bandwidth is clearly attributed to the work I did with Naila, and I'm grateful beyond measure for it.

“Naila is an exquisite soul with deeply felt empathy and I highly recommend her services to all experiencing the pain of loss .”

- Jeannine Escobar

 
 
 

 
 
 
 

If you’re walking the wilderness of grief, holding the bone-deep ache of losing someone you love, I’m here to be a gentle place for you to land. To help you find a path forward as you struggle to rebuild your life. I believe grief can break us open to living more authentically from our hearts if we’re willing to approach grieving with intentionality and care instead of something to fear, rise above and resist.

If you or someone you love is dying, my wish is that crossing this final threshold will be as loving, peaceful and dignified an experience as possible. I’m here to companion the dying process with practical, emotional and spiritual support so you feel less alone, afraid and overwhelmed

I am certified as a grief coach through From Grief to Gratitude™, as a death midwife through Earth Traditions in partnership with The Death Midwife and have completed Francis Weller’s Grief Ritual Leadership Training.

I’m also a former journalist, a poet/writer, interfaith minister ordained through Circle of Miracles Ministry School, Reiki (Level 2) practitioner and carrier of an Indigenous healing tradition rooted in earth-based rituals and Andean shamanic medicine.

For stories of grief and loss and how we companion these inevitable guests, tune into the podcast Breathing Wind, which I co-host with Sarah Davis. For community grief rituals in the Philadelphia area, follow the Salt Trails collective, which I founded with some of my favorite healing humans.

 
 
 

 
 
 

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Come, be, open, let go. You grief is sacred ground.

 
 
 

 
 

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