Hi, I’m Dawn
Hi, I’m Dawn M. Geoppinger (she/her), the founder of The Embodied Grief Journey™. I support women navigating the loss of a parent and the often unseen ways grief lives in the body and nervous system.
Many of the people I work with are doing their best to keep life moving—showing up for work, family, and responsibilities—while internally feeling anxious, exhausted, or unlike themselves. Through a body-centered, compassionate approach, I help clients gently move out of survival mode and begin to feel more steady and grounded again.
I bring over two decades of professional experience in public administration, education, and the nonprofit sector—work that shaped my commitment to mission-driven service and community care. My own journey into grief support began after the loss of my father and deepened through the loss of our beloved dogs, Bella and Luca.
Along the way, I trained in yoga, somatic therapy, breathwork, and grief education—integrating evidence-based approaches with lived experience to support others navigating loss.
As a trauma-informed grief and embodiment coach, I help people reconnect with their bodies, their stories, and their own sense of safety—especially during times when life feels unpredictable. My work bridges science and soul, structure and softness, offering practical tools to calm the nervous system, restore rest, and rebuild self-trust.
When I’m not holding space for others, you can find me with my husband, Dan, training our puppy, Bruno, traveling, reading, gardening, or exploring the slow unfolding of a new hobby.
I believe grief is not something we “get over”—it’s something we learn to tend, grow around, and carry with us in our own time.
Let’s walk together.
My Grief Journey
When the pandemic began in 2020, I found myself struggling with deep anxiety and sleepless nights. My therapist introduced me to simple practices like box breathing and visualization, which became small anchors in the storm.
In November 2021, my father passed away. Along with my grief came a surge of anxiety and depression, compounded by the responsibilities of managing his estate and caring for our senior dogs. In those tender months, my therapist shared a piece of wisdom that still guides me: self-care is not a reward—it’s basic health. That reminder led me to acupuncture, massage, and the beginning of my exploration into the mind–body connection.
I discovered the Grief Support Network, where I attended virtual circles and joined their 6-week mindful grieving program. These communities gave me tools and companionship as I began tending to my own grief. When our beloved dog Bella passed soon after my father, I carried two losses at once. Honoring their memory brought me to a grief retreat in Maui with the Center for Somatic Grieving, where I went deeper into somatic practices and found kinship with others on the same path.
That experience—and the 9-month program that followed—made clear to me that I wanted to offer others the kind of presence and support I had received. Grief lives in the body as much as in the mind, and I felt called to help people meet it there.
Since then, I’ve continued to learn and grow, completing training with David Kessler and The Embody Lab, and pursuing studies in yoga, breathwork and movement therapy, and nervous system restoration. These practices have supported my own healing, and now they shape the way I companion others through grief and transition.