How to be with grief

Back to back, I lost my most beloved relationships:

my partner

the beloved yoga studio I called home for more than 7 years

my best friend

𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻’𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝗜 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲,

nearly simultaneously, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦, at the height of covid lockdown.

Veil, lifted. Much was revealed.

Several months later, my beloved furbaby Rosie, the love of my life, was diagnosed with the most aggressive and rare form of cancer - inside the walls of her fragile canine heart.

My heartbreak broke hers.

It broke me.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 - 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 - 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆.

The earth had been razed, barren.

I had no idea who I was without them.

My body hurt, my mind hurt.

But most of all, my heart hurt.

I was given a masterclass in what bone-deep grief feels like.

It hurt to breathe. It hurt to simply exist.

I wasn’t sleeping, I gained weight, and my headaches returned.

Add to that, perimenopausal symptoms started entering the scene.

I felt lost and completely disconnected: from myself, from others, from my purpose.

(Who wouldn’t …)

So I intuitively leaned into what I know what will always be here for me, whenever I needed it, regardless of the situation:

𝗜 𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗬𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘆𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝗱𝗮:

💎 I began to slowly move my body with the intention to heal
💎 I focused awareness on my breath, and nothing more
💎 I cultivated supportive morning and evening rituals
💎 I remembered who I am at my core, beyond all that shifts and changes

I leaned into the wisdom of grief, hard.

I learned to sit with the grief, be with the grief, and even welcome the grief.

I got quiet, I got curious.

I shifted from thinking with my head into feeling into my broken, shattered heart.

Sometimes our most painful situations can be our greatest teachers, if we’re willing.

Time and space and perspective can offer a new lens.

Practice can help us get there.

For those of us navigating midlife, grief is often the subtle undercurrent beneath a changing body and shifting sense of Self.

❤️ How do you show up for and reconnect with yourself when navigating grief and loss?
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(PS: I offer personalized 1:1 and small group yoga therapy programs for women who are navigating grief + life transitions. Want to be a part of a supportive community, a space where you are seen and heard? Join here.

You'll get an immediate download of four FREE practices to start feeling better today.)