Sitting Vigil

 Sitting Vigil is holding compassionate presence in the Travellers

final hours. Many of us find that there are times in our lives

when we don’t want to be alone.

Dying is one of those times.

Sitting Vigil is a period of time, usually 24-48 hours before death

when those around the Traveller remain awake.

Our Doulas stay present at the bedside with the

Traveller so that they are not alone in the last hours of life. It is indeed a

privilege to be present with the Traveller and to keep vigil as they die. Sitting

Vigil gives time to family members and loved ones. Time to get some sleep, time

enjoy a meal, take a bath, go for a walk or just relax quietly with a cuppa.

Sitting Vigil can provide comfort and support to those Travellers who don’t have

loved ones by their side. Our Doulas create a safe and peaceful place for the

Traveller, offering comfort and

compassionate presence. 

Compassionate presence can be experienced as a profound kind of

the Traveller in that moment. It can nurture a mutual sense of understanding and

care, and may be a means to console and ease the  dying process with

sensitivity and courage, creating a space to share the moment of death and the

finitude of life with the Traveller and their loved ones.

Being with the dying is an integral part of being an End of Life Doula.

Our Doulas give comfort and support by holding

 compassionate presence

ensuring that

 

Anamcara (pronounced ahn-im-KAHR-uh) is an old Gaelic word meaning “soul

friend. The earliest hospice tradition called the Ars Moriendi or Sacred

Art of Dying owes part of its legacy to the Anamcara. To the wise

woman, the End of Life Doula who sat with the dying.