When we experience loss, our whole system can respond.

Grief may follow the death of someone we love, but it can also arise through divorce, separation, illness, changes in identity, the ending of a relationship or friendship, a move, a career transition, infertility, changes in family structure, the loss of a dream, or any experience in which something meaningful has changed or ended.

There is no single way to grieve, and there is no universal timeline.

Sometimes grief feels emotional and obvious. Other times, it may show up primarily through the body. You might notice changes in sleep, appetite, energy, breathing, muscle tension, digestion, concentration, or your ability to relax. You may feel numb one day and overwhelmed the next. You may feel disconnected from your body altogether.

These experiences can be disorienting.

At Soma for Grief, we explore the possibility that the body is not something we need to leave behind while we grieve. Instead, the body can become one of the places we gently return to.

Through simple practices of breath, movement, sound, attention, and reflection, we create opportunities to notice what is happening without requiring ourselves to immediately understand, fix, or change it.

Modern life often asks us to keep going, even when something inside us is asking for rest.

After a loss, there can be pressure to return to normal—to be productive, functional, social, and composed. We may find ourselves taking care of other people while having little space to acknowledge what is happening within us.

Soma for Grief offers a pause.

For one hour, you are invited to step away from the demands of daily life and enter a quieter space where you don't have to perform wellness, have the right words, or know exactly what you need.

You can simply arrive as you are.

The practices are gentle and adaptable. There is no expectation that you move in a particular way, breathe deeply, share your story, or access a particular emotional state. You are encouraged to notice your own experience and make choices that feel supportive for your body.

Some days that may mean movement.

Some days it may mean stillness.

Some days it may mean writing.

Some days it may mean simply sitting, breathing, and listening.

All of these experiences have a place here.

Each Soma for Grief class is approximately one hour and includes several complementary practices.

Breathwork

Breath is one of the most accessible ways to connect with the present moment.

In class, we will explore gentle, accessible breathing practices designed to support settling and regulation. Rather than using activating breathwork, the emphasis is on slowing down, creating space, and developing awareness of how the breath feels in your body.

You may explore the relationship between breath and tension, notice where your breathing naturally wants to move, and experiment with practices that can be carried into everyday life.

The invitation is simply to notice:

What happens when I give myself permission to breathe a little more slowly?

Gentle Movement

Grief can affect the way we inhabit our bodies.

Sometimes we feel heavy or collapsed. Sometimes we feel restless or unable to settle. Sometimes the body wants to move, while other times it wants to be completely still.

Gentle movement offers another way to listen.

The movement practices in Soma for Grief are slow, accessible, and non-performative. They may include simple stretching, rocking, swaying, grounding movements, mindful transitions, or intuitive gestures.

There is no choreography to get right. You don't need to be flexible, athletic, or experienced with movement practices. Instead, we explore movement as an opportunity to reconnect with sensation and choice. Movement becomes less about exercise and more about relationship—with the body, with sensation, and with the present moment.

Guided Journaling

Grief can be difficult to articulate. Sometimes there are many thoughts and no clear way to organize them. Sometimes there are no words at all. Guided journaling provides a quiet opportunity to reflect. Prompts may invite you to explore what you are carrying, what has changed, what you miss, what you need, what you want to remember, or what support might look like right now.

Alongside the experiential practices, Soma for Grief includes accessible education about grief and the body's response to loss.

We will explore how experiences of grief can affect our nervous system, our energy, our breathing, our muscles, our sleep, and our capacity to connect or feel settled.

Understanding these responses can sometimes create a different relationship with our experience.

Instead of asking, "Why am I like this?"

we may begin to ask,

"What is my body experiencing right now?"

That shift can create space for curiosity rather than judgment.

The educational component is intended to help you better understand your own embodied experience and identify gentle practices that may support you outside of class.

We will explore the role that breath, movement, sound, sensory awareness, rest, and grounding can play in creating moments of greater regulation.

The emphasis is on practical tools that are simple enough to return to in everyday life.

Soma for Grief intentionally focuses on practices that support down-regulation. When we are grieving, the body can sometimes feel like it is constantly "on." We may experience racing thoughts, tension, restlessness, disrupted sleep, heightened sensitivity, or difficulty settling. Other times, grief can bring a sense of collapse, numbness, exhaustion, or disconnection.

Our experiences are individual, and they can change from moment to moment.

Rather than trying to force the body into a particular state, these classes emphasize gentle practices that invite the system toward greater ease, presence, and rest. Instead, down-regulation offers an opportunity to experience moments of settling while making room for whatever else is present.

My hope is that you leave each class with a little more connection to yourself—not necessarily feeling "better," but perhaps feeling more supported in whatever is true for you that day.

You may leave with:

• A greater understanding of how grief can show up in the body

• Simple breath practices you can return to at home

• Gentle movement practices for grounding and settling

• An increased awareness of your body's signals and needs

• Ways to incorporate sound into your own self-care practice

• Journaling prompts for continued reflection

• A greater sense of permission around your own grieving process

• A simple intention or practice to carry into the rest of your day

• The experience of being witnessed without needing to explain or fix your grief

Soma for Grief is for anyone who is moving through loss and wants a gentle, body-centered space to explore their experience.

Soma for Grief: An Embodied Grief Circle is an invitation to come home to the body, one breath at a time.