Reverent Body Care®
Care for the body that carried a life.
Reverent Body Care® is our signature way of preparing your loved one: gentle bathing, anointing with essential oils, and unhurried tenderness, in place of chemical embalming, which we never perform. It is care in the oldest sense of the word, given by hand, without haste, with reverence for the person and for everyone who loved them.
What it involves
Bathing
Your person is gently bathed with warm water, the way people have cared for one another at the end of life for thousands of years. Nothing about it is clinical. Everything about it is tender.
Anointing
We anoint your person with essential oils, chosen with care, sometimes chosen by the family. A small, ancient act of honoring the body that carried a whole life.
Unhurried time
Nothing is rushed. Most families find about an hour is right for the care itself, and afterward you are welcome to stay with your person for as long as you need.
Your hands are welcome here
Families are warmly invited to take part, to help with the bathing, to choose the oils, to brush hair, to simply be in the room. Many people are surprised to learn this is even possible. Those who join us almost always tell us afterward that it was one of the most meaningful things they have ever done.
And there is never any pressure to take part. Being near, or not being near, is entirely your choice, and every choice is honored.
About vigils and ceremonies
Would this kind of care be right for your person?
Ask us about it, in as much or as little detail as you like. We have time for you.