Robyn Augusta
Robyn received a Master of Divinity from Lancaster Theological Seminary, Certified Chaplain/Spiritual Counselor, Sacred End of Life Doula & Compassionate Grief & Bereavement Counselor. She holds additional certifications in Yoga, Meditation, Reiki and The Non-Linear Movement, a somatic embodiment modality.
My Story
For as long as I can remember I have felt oriented towards something greater than what was present on the surface. As a born seeker it was no surprise that I would eventually become a yoga and meditation teacher. My explorations of ritual, meaning making and sacred connections eventually led me to seminary where I earned my Master of Divinity with a focus in Pastoral Counseling.
My draw to work with the dying and those that love them began organically. First with the deeply personal experiences of both my father and stepfather’s sudden, and unexpected traumatic deaths. Professionally, on my very first day of CPE ( Chaplaincy Training) I found myself alone bedside with an actively dying women. Feeling unprepared, unskilled and unworthy of such a sacred space. Once I got out of my head and stopped thinking I had to do something, I was able to relax into being fully present and embodying an natural intuition from my life’s work and experiences. Our time together ended calm and peaceful with a compassionate presence and scared connectedness.
In my life I have accompanied 100’s of individuals navigate the process of their dying. As a Hospice Chaplain, Congregational Pastor and an End-of-Life Doula and Educator. These experiences have also provided me with the honor of walking many of their loved ones through mourning, bereavement and grief.
With each death, whether sudden, traumatic, distressing, anticipated or peaceful, it creates ripples in interconnected lives. How we individually engage with death, dying and grieving will continue to create the community and culture for our living.
My education, trainings and experience have prepared me well for this work. However, my most profound learning is one of humility. The dying and the grieving are the true experts of their experience. My role is to open my heart, eyes, ears and mind and meet each person where they are with respect, presence and the willingness to navigate their journey authentically.
How do I work?
Together we will cultivate a safe space for the vulnerable work of unearthing what needs to be tended to for your healing. We will engage a variety of tools that will include creativity, embodiment and somatic practices to fully integrate and inhabit your experience of grief and transition.
Grief is the natural human response to loss when we love. I often say, “the deeper the love, the deeper the grief”. Unfortunately, we live in a grief and death avoidant culture, that encourages rushing to a resolve. This can cause the bereaved to feel isolated, hopeless or even create shame around a normal human response. We have not been taught how to mourn privately nor in community, grief is a major wound, it does not heal overnight.
I keep these ideas close to my heart in our work together:
∞ Vulnerability, intimacy, and consciousness cannot be achieved instantly.
∞ Becoming yourself requires a natural, safe, and gentle unfolding process.
∞ Our body is where we find wisdom, intuition, and pleasure.
∞ Self-intimacy is the gateway towards intimate connectedness in all relationships.
∞ We will use tools and practices that will allow us to bring the sacred to the mundane.
∞ You are the expert on you, I am here to help you experience yourself with a fresh perspective.