Creating A Community

Since March 2010 I have been hosting a class here in Edmonton called Yoga for Grief Support. When people hear this, the inevitable first question is, “How is that different from regular yoga?” Well, to be brief, it’s different in the focus and community.

Yoga for Grief Support was created to encourage a safe place where students could use yoga to explore and move through their grief.  In any yoga class, you will explore your body and mind, and develop a connection between the two. In Yoga for Grief Support, we explore the body/mind connection and the impact our grief has on us.  In order for grief to be healed, we must learn to move through our pain. Mindful movement and mindful meditation can be valuable tools in journeying through our grief, and learning tools to cope. The class tends to be quite gentle and restorative, with a strong focus on deep breathing and calming the mind. As with any bodywork, the movement, opening and releasing of the physical practice helps to relieve tension and aches and pains our bodies experience when we are under stress and grieving.

I created this class after my partner died in 2006 – it has been many years in the making, finally coming to fruition in March 2010. Yoga and meditation were, and remain, extremely valualbe in my journey through grief, and through life as I have rebuilt.   It was my hope to create a safe, sacred place, where people can learn tools they can use themselves as they live with loss.  There is nothing more honest, open, raw or wholeheartedly vulnerable as walking alongside people who are in their “dark night of the soul.”

From the very first session I had all students fill out a questionnaire outlining the impact Yoga for Grief had on their journey….my own informal, qualitative research study.  Most of the comments centred around four main themes:

1.  Body:  ”better sleep, less pain,”  ”awareness in which our bodies and minds react in grief,”  ”feel less contracted,” “I am more embodied,” “opportunity to move stress through my body,” “conscious relaxation.”

2.  Community: “powerful to be among others with similar experiences,” “being with others along this most horrible path,” “it was comfortable to be able to ‘let go’ knowing others are on a grief journey as well,” “I am not alone in my feelings.”

3.  Taking time:  ”take time for myself and be OK with needing it,”  ”learn to pay attention to my inner self and needs,”  ”class allowed grief/loss,” “a moment to slow down,” “opportunity for reflection/insight,” “time to nurture my soul.”

4.  Coping:  ”given me hope that I can experience grief and not get stuck in it,” “I have some control over what happens when I have grief bursts,” “grief can suspend us in limbo, but that is OK, because we can just be there with whatever is there,” “that I have to move gently through loss and grief, and not push through.”

….the number of comments were endless, and I wish I could include them all. I use all comments and feedback from students to create a class that is nurturing and healing.  Most importantly, I strive to create a community, where we can grieve openly, share wisdom, and breathe deeply together.

I will update this blog weekly, so please check back for posts about life, loss and yoga.

Namaste,

Sandy