Yoga for Grief and Loss
Grieving is a complex and emotional state of being that impacts our physical, mental, and spiritual health. Physical movement can be a powerful tool for healing and deepening your relationship with yourself. If you are not sure where to begin, yoga–a mind-body practice that combines physical postures, breathing techniques, and meditation to promote relaxation and reduce stress–is a good place to start. Practicing yoga (and gentle movement in general) can help us release physical and emotional tension, calm our minds, and connect with our inner selves.
People think of grief as a state of internal turmoil. Before someone experiences acute grief, they expect it to be an emotional and spiritual form of suffering. People often underestimate the external toll grief can take on your physical body. Grief and sorrow can feel like they follow us around like rain clouds, causing real, physical exhaustion and major brain fatigue. Grief can affect our physical bodies as much as our emotions, and it is common for grieving people to report gastrointestinal issues, chronic illness flare ups, sleep disturbances, headaches, muscle tension, and brain fog.
Yoga asks us to move gently, to focus on our breathing, to embrace intentional silence. As you most likely know, grief comes with a whole host of emotions: sadness, anger, resentment, rage, regret, sorrow, and even relief are common reactions to loss. Yoga can help you mindfully attune to these emotions without fighting them–a muscle that will be useful throughout the grieving process. By acknowledging our feelings and allowing them to be present, we can begin to process grief in a healthy way.
Certain yoga postures, such as forward folds and gentle twists, can help strengthen the neck and back, improve circulation, and promote relaxation–offering relief to the headaches, muscle tension, and fatigue that often accompany grief.
During grief, our emotions are so powerful and yet so noncommunicable that they become pure energy contained in our physical bodies–penetrating our bones, coursing through our bloodstream, furrowing our brows. To heal, we need to release that energy through movement. For example, if you are feeling angry and want to kick something, standing and doing a full-body shake may be what your nervous system is craving. If you are feeling overwhelmed and like there’s too much sensory input in your environment, a grounded child’s pose may be what your body needs.
The physical postures are vehicles for the energy and emotions in your body to move through, not stagnant or rigid goals to achieve. It is completely normal for grievers to struggle with movement after a significant loss. You may be falling into the trap of thinking of movement as a means to an end instead of the end itself. Could it be that you are thinking about “exercising” instead of “movement?” Think of “movement” during grief as the physical therapy that a professional sprinter must conduct to heal a broken ankle, and think of “exercise” as the training that an athlete undergoes to break a world record. Your loss is a physical injury to your body and mind–and it deserves your patient attention. Try to move your body in gentle ways, like through a ten-minute stretching video instead of a forty-five minute gym session. Practicing non-judgmental, gentle movement may offer a different outlet for grief and stress.
Keep in mind that while this post is about yoga because of its emphasis on mindfulness, you can apply mindful principles to any form of movement that you’d like. If walking is what’s helpful for you, see if you can notice all of the small details around you as you walk instead of getting caught up in your own thoughts. If stretching is calling to you, build it into a practice that gives you ten minutes to yourself every day. If dancing allows you to shift your energy and release some emotions, put on your favorite playlist and go for it. These forms of movement are not just helpful because they can counteract some of the physical symptoms of grief, but they also allow you a space to feel your emotions and connect to your inner self. After all, that’s really all we can ask as we navigate the landscape of loss.
