Yoga helped me work through a lot when I was in the thick of grief. However, I admit it took me some time to get there. I attempted a few classes within weeks of my husband's death and they were disasters for me. To be stuck on a mat in a yoga studio for an hour and a half meant being trapped in my thoughts. It was too much and I'd be a mess within minutes.
Once I was able to hold it together in public, I moved more gently into it and took either very entry-level classes or restorative/yin yoga classes. All move much more slowly and focus more on healing than on stretching.
Now, I love heart-opening poses. Stargazer is probably my favorite pose ever. But in the early days of grief, this can leave us feeling too exposed. Instead, comforting and protective poses like bālāsana are much more beneficial.
Bālāsana is colloquially known as Child's Pose. It lengthens the spine while affording protection the chest, neck, and face. It provides gently stretching to the hips and knees. And, while all of that is great, probably the most comforting part is that it's one we can move into when we feel the emotional overwhelm hitting us. It provides shelter, no matter where else we are in a sequence, and sometimes it's that shelter that we most need.
Movement can really help work through trauma and grief. The body's ability to trap or release emotions is incredible and if you'd like to schedule some time to explore it more with me, please click here.
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