How Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness Help Us Sit With Grief and Begin to Heal

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Sitting with Grief: How Yoga, Meditation, and Mindfulness Help Us Heal

Grief touches every layer of who we are – body, mind, and heart.
It changes our breath, our posture, our energy; some days it feels heavy and slow, other days it’s sharp and unpredictable.

While nothing can erase loss, the practices of yoga, meditation, and mindfulness offer us something vital: a way to stay with ourselves through it. They teach us how to sit with pain rather than run from it – and, over time, how to soften into life again.

Yoga: Reconnecting with the Body When the Heart Hurts

Grief often disconnects us from the body. Our chest tightens, our shoulders curl in, our breath becomes shallow. Movement can feel impossible – or, at times, the only thing that helps.

In yogic philosophy, the body is seen as a sacred vessel for experience. When we return to movement, we begin to process what the mind alone cannot.

Gentle asana (posture) practice helps by:

• Releasing physical tension held in the muscles and fascia, especially through forward folds and gentle twists
• Regulating the nervous system, as movement paired with breath restores rhythm after the shock of loss
• Rebuilding a sense of safety, reminding us that we still live here – in this moment, in this body

If grief feels heavy, start simply: slow cat–cow to free the spine; balāsana (child’s pose) for surrender; supported heart openers like supta baddha koṇāsana (reclined bound angle pose) to invite breath back into the chest.

There’s no goal here. The practice isn’t to escape grief – it’s to create space for it to move, breathe, and eventually settle.

Meditation: Letting the Waves Move Through

Grief is rarely linear. It moves in waves – sometimes small, sometimes overwhelming. Meditation teaches us to observe the waves of grief – and all feelings – without being swept away by them.

In seated practice, we cultivate the witness: that quiet awareness that notices thoughts and feelings without needing to change them. This is deeply aligned with the yogic teaching of viveka – discernment – learning to see the difference between what we are feeling and who we truly are.

When we sit with the breath, we begin to notice:

• Emotions come and go like weather
• Some thoughts are tender; others are painful; but none are permanent
• Beneath the surface, there is always stillness – even when the mind is stormy

A simple starting point: sit comfortably, place one hand on your heart, and silently repeat the affirmation: I am here, I am breathing, I am safe enough to feel this.

Five minutes a day can begin to rebuild the inner steadiness that grief can erode.

Mindfulness: Living Fully, Even with Loss

Mindfulness is the practice of being awake to each moment – even the difficult ones.

In grief, it helps us notice that sorrow and beauty can coexist, one moment we’re crying – the next, we’re smiling at a memory. This, too, is healing.

By bringing awareness to small, everyday experiences – making tea, feeling sunlight on our skin, hearing a bird outside – we gently return to presence. Each moment of mindful attention reminds us that life continues, quietly, around and within us.

You might try:

• Mindful walking, or simply paying attention to each step and each breath
• Journalling with awareness, by naming sensations and emotions as they arise.
• Mindful rituals, such as lighting a candle or dedicating your practice to the one you’ve lost

This practice embodies the yogic principle of aparigraha – non-grasping. It invites us to honour what has passed while opening to what remains.

The Layers of Healing

In yoga, we understand the self through five koshas, or layers of being: physical, energetic, mental, intuitive, and blissful. Grief touches every one of them.

• On the annamaya kosha (physical layer), we feel heaviness, fatigue, or tension
• On the prāṇamaya kosha (energy body), the breath shortens or becomes erratic
• The manomaya kosha (mind) fills with memories, regrets, or questions
• The vijñānamaya kosha (intuition) may struggle to find meaning
• And at the deepest level, the ānandamaya kosha (the heart of being), we eventually find glimpses of peace – not because the loss is gone, but because love remains

Through consistent practice, each layer begins to find its balance again.

There’s No Timeline

Healing isn’t linear, and yoga doesn’t promise quick relief. Some days you might flow through movement with ease; other days, sitting still might be all you can manage. Both are yoga. Both are sacred.

Be gentle: let yourself rest when you need to; and in time, you will begin to find that your breath feels a little fuller, your body a little softer, and your heart – though changed – a little more open.

If you’re grieving:
Unroll your mat and sit quietly. Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly. Breathe. Not to escape what’s here – but to remember that you can hold it.

That, too, is healing.