Yoga tips for dealing with loss
By Arielle Beauduy
For the TODAY
Recently a person dear to our yoga community passed away. The news was very shocking and unexpected. She was always the first one to yoga class and an avid supporter or our growing wellness center. Knowing how to help process death with a community has felt very daunting, especial since I feel I am at loss for words. But on the Tuesday morning class she regularly attended, I held a special yoga class honoring our loved friend and I showed up and did the best I could. Her passing brought up a lot of feelings for me about death, our lack of comfort discussing it and processing it. This has motivated me to share some simple, yoga-inspired practices and ways that might be helpful when processing a death of a friend or loved one.
Hold Space, Together
Since many of us don’t have the words, and don’t know what to do, one of the most healing ways to support each other is to just show up and be present together, with no strict agenda or things to accomplish. Simply being present, pausing and holding space allows us to settle down into the moment and notice what comes up, letting words or silence happen naturally.
Be in Nature
Hiking or walking on the beach, swimming, lying in the grass — all have deep benefits, not only physically but for our mind and our emotions. Refocusing on the natural world and allowing our senses to really experience the elements can help us understand a deeper meaning and connection in life. Nature reveals to us the eternal energy of life that never really dies, but just transforms. Earthing, known as standing barefoot in the grass or the sand, helps us to balance our root chakra and calm the amygdala, the part of our brain that is home to our fight or flight response. Being near water helps to balance our navel chakra, our center of emotions, and allows to embrace our feelings.
Breathing
In yoga, the control of breath is called Pranayama. Prana is the life force that is carried upon the breath. By consciously breathing and not restricting the breath, we increase our lung efficiency. When our exhale is longer than our inhale, it is a signal to our nervous system that we are safe. A simple breath practice is to breathe in through the nose to the count of five and exhale through the mouth to the count of six. Closing your eyes while you practice conscious breathing guides you to tune in and notice what comes up. Our inhalation can be visualized like the wave coming to shore and the exhalation is the wave that goes back out to sea, taking with it what we no longer need.
Draw, Paint, Create
When creating, we are using the right hemisphere of our brain, which is associated with emotion, creativity and intuition. It also accesses our subconscious. Our brain produces dopamine when we are in creative mode, guiding us to process loss. The flood of good chemicals helps us connect to our sense of well-being.
Rest and Take Time
It can be especially hard to rest after experiencing loss. At the end of a yoga class, we practice a present state of rest called Shavasana in Sanskrit, which translates to corpse pose. It can be the most powerful part of yoga class. A helpful way to gently guide your body to relax in Shavasana, is to practice what is known as tension and release. You begin lying down on your back, on a yoga mat or the carpet. To help you get comfortable you can place a pillow or bolster under your knees and head. It can be very soothing to cover your eyes with a dark cloth or eye pillow. Then lift your right leg up off the floor, squeezing all the muscles of the leg and foot, and then release the effort and tension completely. You continue to the left leg, then pelvis, torso, right arm, left arm, and neck, finishing with the head and face. A lot of times we are unaware of the amount of tension we are holding in the body, and by creating tension and then releasing it, we allow the body to let go of what it is holding, consciously or unconsciously.
Love Never Dies
Process loss and grieving takes time, allow yourself to just be, and reach out to others for support. We all experience this part and life. Remember that the love, kindness and joy that we experience in our relationships never dies.
Arielle Beauduy is the co-owner at Luminous Soul Center in Gleneden Beach, which is hosting a Vibrational WellBeing Retreat on Saturday and Sunday, May 18 and 19. The center offers weekly yoga classes for all levels, energy healing sessions, inspirational events and sound healing. Arielle also teaches a weekly yoga class at Salishan Coastal Lodge.