YOGA FOR GRIEF RELIEF | Yogaposeabilities

Yoga for Grief Relief: Release Connect Heal

Why practice Yoga for Grief Relief?

Grief is a natural human response to losing someone or something we love dearly. There is no timetable for its progression and no set expiration date. Every person’s grief process and style is as individual as their fingerprint.

The emotional pain we suffer from loss can take up residence in our bodies without our knowledge or consent. It may hold us back from leading our most contented life. Yoga for Grief Relief offers a safe space to experience, express and release grief stored in the body. It is a transformative practice reconnecting us to love and to the fullness of life.

What is Yoga for Grief Relief?

This healing approach to yoga is based on the principles and practices of Grief Yoga® created by Paul Denniston. It draws from many different styles of yoga including: Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, Let Your Yoga Dance, Laughter Yoga, and Restorative Yoga. Guided through the phases of Awareness, Expression, Connection and Surrender, the student arrives at a place of compassionate transformation.

Instead of moving on, we move emotional pain through our bodies using yoga tools that are both physical and metaphoric. When Yoga for Grief Relief is practiced in the context of a supportive community, grief is acknowledged unconditionally. We connect to the power and energy within us and all around us to heal. With grace we learn to surrender to the inevitability of loss as a byproduct of love and open our hearts once again.

What Yoga for Grief Relief is not.

Yoga for Grief Relief is not therapy or a substitute for therapy. However, it may provide a powerful mode of expression to work hand and hand with grief counseling.

Who may benefit from Yoga For Grief Relief?

Anyone who is feeling the emotional and physical effects of loss and grief may benefit from this type of yoga. It is not meant for those in the early most vulnerable stages of mourning, but rather for someone processing grief in the months or years after loss. Whether you are grieving the death of a loved one, the disintegration of a relationship, a divorce, job loss, a serious illness, or a dream unfulfilled, you will awaken self-compassion and a renewal of hope.

How do you practice Yoga for Grief Relief?

No prior experience with yoga is required and this practice is accessible to all. Poses and exercises are done seated, standing and lying on a yoga mat or they may be completely adapted to a chair practice.

Yoga for Grief Relief utilizes physical movement, breath and sound to ferry loss and emotions through the body. By engaging in a series of flowing yoga poses, breathing techniques, vocalizations, meditations and affirmations painful feelings and long held hurts are released.

What brought me to Yoga for Grief Relief?

Yoga is as vital to me as healthy nutrition. It sustained my strength along my path from caregiving to loss. Sometimes, my mat was an oasis where I could truly rest, shed tears welling within and quench my parched soul with calm.

My search for relief from grief within yoga began with the loss of my mother and father. We were as close as any family could be. Quite literally. For 12 years they lived downstairs in the in-law apartment my husband and I built for them to age in place in our home. Most of those years found them joyful and healthy.

As years advanced, when my parents were in their nineties, their health declined. First my father, a lion of a man with a lusty appetite for life, succumbed to the downward spiral precipitated by a fall. He died in hospice at our home surrounded by the family who loved him dearly. The images of his passing plagued my waking and dreaming life.

Next came my mother, 18 months later. She was beginning to re-engage in life after losing her lifetime sweetheart of 76 years, when she fractured her hip. Her injury and its complications took her from hospital to rehabilitation center to nursing home. My brother and I held her hand as she exhaled her last breath with a gentle sigh.

The loss of my mother and father within a short time of each other cut a deep gash into my life. Grief enveloped me. Guilt was a frequent unwanted visitor. I sadly yearned for my parents’ daily company. Although my support system was strong, I searched for a yoga style offering a more direct means to channel my feelings. Reaching out for yoga inspired resources, I stumbled upon Grief Yoga®. After completing the Certified Grief Yoga® Teacher Training, I vowed to be of service to others who suffer with grief. It is a sacred honor to share the profound healing experience I had and to shepherd others to a more peaceful emotional life.