Loss is something every one of us carries. By the time we reach our 60s and beyond, we’ve often lived through many forms of loss. We’ve lost loved ones, relationships, roles, health, identity, routines, pets, familiar chapters of life and faced many transitions. While age brings us wisdom, it does not make grief any easier. What does change, however, is our capacity to meet it with tenderness, mindfulness, and support.
Move with Grief
Yoga, in its gentlest and most accessible forms, can be a powerful companion in times of loss. Not a cure, not a remedy, and not a way to “move on,” but a way to move with grief. Gentle yoga is a way to stay connected to yourself when sorrow feels overwhelming. It offers a way to create steady ground when the heart, and everything else, feels unsteady.
For nearly a decade, I’ve taught a program called Yoga for Living with Loss, a compassionate approach that blends breath, mindful movement, meditation, and reflection to support people through all stages of grief. What I’ve learned is that grief lives not only in our minds and memories, but in our bodies. Shoulders contract. The breath becomes shallow. Sleep shifts. We tense around our pain, hoping it will soften if we hold still enough.
The body carries what the heart struggles to express.
Yoga offers a way to tend to the physical, emotional, and energetic layers of loss with gentleness and care. You do not need to be flexible, strong, athletic, or experienced. You just need to be willing to meet yourself where you are. Meeting our grief takes courage, curiosity, and a lot of self-compassion.
Breath as a Lifeline
The breath is often the first place grief shows itself. It becomes tight, held, or uneven. Simple breath practices can signal safety to the nervous system and help us feel a little more anchored.
One of the most supportive techniques is Three-Part Breath. First, sit comfortably with your feet grounded and your back supported, or lie down.
- Place one hand on your belly, one on your chest.
- Inhale slowly to expand your belly, ribcage, then upper chest, front-to-back and side-to-side.
- Exhale gently to release the chest, bring your ribs together and lower your belly to your spine.
A few rounds of this can soften tension and create space around emotional heaviness. Just by being aware of your breath, immediately releases some of the tension. Since you can only have one thought in your mind at a time, focusing on the inhale and exhale gives your mind a break from the grief thoughts.
Movement That Meets You Where You Are
Gentle yoga poses help loosen the places where grief settles: legs, chest, shoulders, hips, and jaw. The goal is not to stretch deeply but to move with deep kindness. Most gentle yoga poses can be modified to meet particular needs. Two simple poses you can try are:
Shoulder Rolls
Lift your shoulders toward your ears, roll them back, then down. Slow, circular movements can relieve the tightness that grief creates around the heart.
Seated Forward Fold
Sit in a chair, feet grounded. Hinge forward gently, letting your arms drape your legs. This shape encourages the body to release stress and can feel quietly comforted.
Whenever you place your hands on your lap or thighs, place your palms down to initiate calm. Once you are calm, place your palms up to receive the tranquility if only for a few moments.
Meditation to Hold the Heart
Stillness can feel intimidating when we’re grieving, but short, guided moments of presence can offer a safe container for the emotions that arise. Even one minute of sitting, breathing, and acknowledging “this is hard, and I’m not alone” can shift the nervous system toward calm.
I often teach a simple mantra meditation:
“Inhale: I soften. I breathe in what I need.
Exhale: I release. I let go of what I don’t want to hold.”
It does’t make grief disappear, but it makes space for breath and compassion.
Inviting Reflection with Care
Journaling is another cornerstone of Yoga for Living with Loss. Freely writing our feelings with no expectations, no judgments, no rules can give us a voice that does not fix or analyze the grief. A few gentle prompts:
- “What do I need today?”
- “Where does grief feel present in my body?”
- “What small moment brought me comfort this week?”
Reflection is a way of walking alongside our grief rather than being consumed by it.
A Path of Presence, Not Perfection
If there is one truth I want to leave you with, it is that grief does not have a timeline. You are allowed to feel, to rest, to remember, to return to our lives at our own pace. Yoga simply offers tools to support the journey, breath that steadies, movement that comforts, awareness that nurtures, and practices that remind you that you don’t have to navigate loss alone.
Yoga for Living with Loss is not about pushing past grief, resisting the feelings of grief, or diminishing your authentic feelings. It is about finding moments of ease inside it, honoring your heart, and staying gently connected to yourself as you heal.
In my own experience of grief, I found that Yoga could help me navigate my despair. I am not going crazy, I am grieving. This epiphany lead me to create classes, workshops, and now my newly published Yoga for Living with Loss, Navigating Our Losses Without Getting Lost. This 200-page guide offers in-depth understanding of how grief impacts our bodies and how we practice various tools to find balance in our unbalanced world.
Let’s Talk:
What do you do to make living with grief easier? Whether it’s breathing, journaling, or walking in nature, whatever works for you, please share it with our Sixty and Me sisters.