How can yoga help with grief?

Yoga can serve as a powerful tool in coping with grief, aiding both emotional and physical healing.

1. Emotional Movement: Grief expert David Kessler explains that emotions need motion to prevent becoming stuck, underscoring how integrating physical movement through practices like grief yoga helps balance and release pent-up emotions. 1

2. Personal Stories: People have shared personal accounts of how yoga helped them process grief. For instance, Kate Spencer found that practicing yoga intensely after her mother passed away allowed her to physically move through and release her emotions. 2

3. Deep Internal Healing: Yoga provides a way to connect deeply with oneself, facilitating the release of stored emotions. Seane Corn emphasizes that the body stores experiences and emotions at a cellular level, and moving through these with yoga can help address the emotional residue that conventional healing might miss. 3

   • 

     1

     Emotions Need Motion

     00:12:22
   • 

     2

     Embracing Grief

     00:29:49
   • 

     3

     Healing Through Yoga

     00:24:54
   • 

     4

     Healing Through Grief

     01:07:05

4. Accessible Practices: Even simple acts like running, walking, or chair yoga can be beneficial. Kessler mentions that physical activities like running or regular yoga can also assist in processing grief, making such practices accessible to people of various physical abilities. 1

5. Community and Support: Practicing yoga in a class or a supportive environment can validate emotional expression and provide a sense of community, even leading to moments of catharsis such as crying during sessions. 2

6. Physical and Energetic Healing: Incorporating practices like somatic experiencing, breath work, and forest bathing along with yoga has been found transformative for those dealing with profound grief, as shared by Dr. Laura Berman. Such practices help raise one's frequency and facilitate deeper healing. 4

These insights illustrate how yoga not only aids in managing the physical manifestations of grief but also supports profound emotional release and healing, making it a valuable practice for those navigating the complexities of loss and sorrow.