Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Erin Ditmarson. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Erin, appreciate you joining us today. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I started my career working in social services. I used to work in spaces lead by non-profits and community organizations, and always wanted to work within my community. Over time I found that although these spaces strived to be trauma-informed and include harm-reduction and restorative practices, there were often gaps in care and communication with clients and employees due to lack of funding, conflicting leadership, and disconnection from the populations being served. I wanted to find a different approach to serving my community, so I turned to movement.

Having previously been a dancer and practicing yoga for much of my life, I made the decision in 2020 to get my 200hr YTT, as well as trauma-informed and perinatal certifications. It was around the same time that I discovered a local organization called She Climbs Mountains that provides services for motherless daughters. I began attending and co-facilitating support groups for motherless daughters, and even co-created a podcast about loss with 3 other women, Pieces of You Podcast. From here, I quickly pivoted to death work through my research for the podcast, and instantly felt called to pursue the work of death doulaship.

Through my newfound connections in my community, I feel so much more able to serve people in a way that is loving and sustainable. Every part of my journey to this point in my work has felt like it was meant to be and waiting for me to uncover it. I get to marry my love of movement with community healing that is meaningful and holds space for all kinds of people.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

SOMA: Supportive, Open, Movement, Awareness. These are the values I bring to my practice and strive to communicate to my clients through my work. SOMA Solace seeks to build community and healing through these values, whether through yoga and movement, or death and grief services.

As a former dancer and practitioner of yoga for years, I am very passionate about movement and the ways in which we can heal and build community through it. I received my 200hr YTT in 2020, and completed my 200hr Perinatal YTT in 2022. I have also completed trainings in trauma-informed movement and grief related movement. I strive to make my yoga instruction accessible and adaptable to what your body needs, as well as honor the roots of the culture in each practice.

I also specialize in trauma, grief, and death work. I co-host a podcast about grief and death called Pieces of You, and co-host grief support groups for young adult motherless daughters through an organization called She Climbs Mountains. Holistic death work and grief work a part of my own healing in this lifetime, and I hope to help others heal as well. I specialize in Advance Care Directive Planning, End of Life planning, sitting vigil, grief support, and grief movement. I offer all of these services on a sliding scale to make them more accessible to the community.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In the spring of 2020, I was laid off of my job working for a public school. I was on unemployment and decided to go back to serving and bartending temporarily while I worked on finding a new job. It was during this time that I decided to give in to some of my passions, and they have led me all the way here. I have had some pretty serendipitous moments over the last couple of years, and I think that I was always meant to end up here.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.somasolace.com
• Instagram: @soma_solace