Navigating grief with yoga begins breathe by breath. Grief is a universal human experience that touches our lives at some point. While everyone has different feelings about the grief experience, the pain of grief is somewhat universal. Although it is a natural process, it can impact our ability to live fully in daily life. Physical symptoms manifest as a natural response to difficult emotions and personal experiences of changes that accompany feelings of loss and sadness. It can be an overwhelming and challenging journey filled with complex emotions and a sense of loss. Amid grief, finding solace and healing may seem like an arduous task. However, one powerful tool that can accompany us on this transformative path is yoga. Through yoga, we can navigate the waves of grief breath by breath, finding strength, peace, and acceptance along the way.
“Yoga is a light, which, once lit, will never dim.
The better your practice, the brighter your flame.”
– B.K.S. Iyengar
Understanding Grief
Grief is not a linear process but a unique and personal journey for each individual. It encompasses a range of emotions, such as sadness, anger, guilt, and confusion. It’s essential to acknowledge that healing from grief doesn’t mean forgetting or moving on but instead finding ways to integrate the loss into our lives and live with it more peacefully. Significant changes in life and daily activities often make returning to normal activities challenging. While there is no wrong way to experience grief, it is essential to seek a support community, mental health experts, and other types of practical help to assist you with the number of things that often arise within you and manifest in your life as a result of the grieving process. There is no time limit on how you are affected by grief, and many different reasons activate it in your life. There are many types of loss, each with a wide range of emotions that accompany them. Along the journey of various stages of grief, it is helpful to have supportive social contact and social support. Navigating grief with yoga works as an integrative medium.
“Grief never ends… but it changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay.
Grief is not a sign of weakness nor a lack of faith. It is the price of love.”
– Unknown
The Breath as an Anchor
In yoga, the breath is a powerful anchor that connects the mind, body, and emotions. Focusing on the breath can provide a stable foundation amidst the storm when navigating grief. Deep, conscious breathing helps calm the nervous system, releases tension, and cultivates a sense of presence. For example, one of the most normal reactions after a major loss is to consider your own mortality more profoundly. This alone can cause a variety of emotions and affect your orientation to your current life in unexpected ways. Emotional responses range from intense sadness and feelings of guilt to tangible physical health changes and perhaps even changes in spiritual beliefs. As the body shifts into the fight or flight response, focusing your attention on the little things, like breath, can be an excellent way to make a positive impact on your ability to ride the roller coaster of emotions that commonly ensues.
“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky.
Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Embracing Gentle Asanas
Gentle asanas (yoga poses) offer a nurturing space to release physical tension and emotional energy held within the body. Slow, deliberate movements create a compassionate space to honor our bodies and provide a sense of comfort during times of grief. They are one of many healthy ways to help bereaved people get centered and ground down amid emotional upheaval. Grief changes many things, and it’s important to honor your own way of adjusting to all the life experiences that accompany it. Navigating grief with yoga helps you notice what’s really manifesting in the mind, body, and emotions.
“Yoga is not about touching your toes,
it’s about what you learn on the way down.”
– Jigar Gor
Cultivating Mindfulness and Meditation
Mindfulness and meditation deepen our ability to be present with grief, allowing us to observe and accept our emotions without judgment. Through mindfulness, we learn to hold space for ourselves and develop compassion and self-acceptance as we navigate the complex terrain of grief. There is no time limit on your grieving period. However, as time passes, if you don’t begin to feel it easing up, please take practical measures to seek a more significant support network.
“You must learn to let go.
Release the stress.
You were never in control anyway.”
– Steve Maraboli
Finding Support and Community
Yoga offers a supportive community that understands and empathizes with the grief process. Engaging in yoga classes, workshops, or support groups provide an opportunity to connect with others on a similar journey, fostering a sense of belonging and shared understanding. In addition, we can find safe spaces to express grief; it allows us to process and move the emotions and energy connected to it.
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.”
– Helen Keller
At The End Of The Day
Navigating grief is a profoundly personal and individual journey, but we don’t have to do it alone. Navigating grief with yoga creates space for you to do the inner work. Yoga becomes a compassionate companion, offering tools to help us move breath by breath through the layers of grief. By embracing the breath, gentle asanas, mindfulness, and community support, we can find solace, healing, and a renewed sense of purpose on our path to navigating grief. While this does not replace the benefits of professional help along the journey, it does give us an identified amount of time and space to honor ourselves and what we’ve lost in the process. Sometimes in our grief, we allow the loss of connection to shut us off from the world. Unfortunately, this keeps us stuck. Feelings of grief migrate and evolve best when given companions and support along the path. Gift yourself the blessings of extra self-care and a caring support group during this difficult time.
References:
- Kübler-Ross, E., & Kessler, D. (2005). On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief through the Five Stages
Develop Insight With Meditation
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