The yoga of grief

Life moves.

Sometimes, we’re moving with the current and all things and it suddenly dries up.

And there we are, with all things, stuck.

Or we might be floating along and here comes the flood.

Now we're hurtling along, trying not to drown, and completely out of control.

The current shifts. That’s the nature of a current, and the divine and chaotic nature of life. Life moves, creates change, and we learn how to respond.

Still, when life shifts, we often lament that dynamic. We regret that life didn’t give us time to prepare, that it shifted in the direction it did, that it dared to shift at all. We wish life could have offered a farewell party and kind words before it pushed us in our new direction.

Of course, I’m talking about my own experiences and those of everyone I’ve ever met.

Loss is an inevitability in our lives. As we flow with our currents, we can be certain that loved ones, jobs, homes, routines, and expectations will be lost. Often, we try everything we can to prevent ourselves from feeling the grief that follows. We prefer to seek comfort in the familiar, in the way things were, trying whatever we can to wish our loss back into place.

We do this until grief persuades us that we’re meant to move along. We’re meant to ride with our new current. Grief, when we allow its visit, carries with it our heart’s true desire: we’re meant to connect.

Grief allows us to see the power our connections give to our heart’s journey.

Our connections deepen with every change in the current. We have to feel into the deeper waters to realize it.

The yoga tradition offers beautiful and effective techniques to welcome and accept change. Please join me for a few Saturday mornings in August to learn how to apply them in your life.

I call this workshop Good Grief: yoga to heal the heart. Using gentle breath, movement, contemplation, chant, and prayer, we’ll learn how to host grief when he visits us. Welcoming him into our awareness, we discover what he wants us to learn and how we can share his lessons to support others.

Loss has been my greatest teacher. Grief has given me the space to sit with those teachers. I share this workshop so you might find the same solace. I share because it honors my teachers, and yours.

You’re welcome to join me online or in-person on August 14, 21 & 28 from 9:30am to 11:30am (Pacific). Please send me a note or an email at megan (at) knowthyselfyoga (dot) com to register. Cost of the workshop is $108, or as your heart desires. Enrollment is limited to six in person and six online.

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