Overcoming Grief with Ayurveda

No one really wants to talk about overcoming grief and loss unless you’re in bereavement group or saying “kaddish” (Jewish prayer said for the dead) in a temple or sitting “shiva”; which is another Jewish ritual where you sit on a bench in mourning for seven days after someone’s death. I only went to one ” wake” but it is another place to mourn the life of a loved one.

So where do the feelings go after these short periods of attention? They get stored in the body somewhere; particularly the energy body.

The heart and lungs in eastern medicine are often the place where grief and sadness amass. From bronchitis to heavy-heartedness to hunched shoulders, neck aches, headaches and fatigue, grief and loss show up with various physical symptoms long after the event. Shock and trauma take its toll on the energy body in the same way that glass shatters when cracked suddenly.

But, like a puzzle, the pieces must be carefully and tenderly get put back together. This may or may not happen in time.

How can we approach this with awareness?

Ayurveda makes use of the five senses for healing.

1. Seeing
2. Hearing
3. Touching
4. Feeling
5. Tasting

How we “see” something is ultimately what our experience is of it.

When we see it through the lens of our beliefs and conditioning the situation can be quite painful. But when we open our awareness and perception the experience can become integrated into who we are and how we express ourselves in our lives and in the world.

Grief and loss can be the catalyst or contrast that moves energy in a new direction.

The best of artists we know today from music to art to writing were all moved by their pain and loss, including myself.

Techniques to Overcoming Grief

Holistic modalities such as sound, color, gemstones, meditation, and oils assist in the transformation of stagnant energy; contracted from stress and negative feelings to a state of balance, freedom, and vitality.

I see this every day in my practice. When we are able to see something, give it space and compassion rather than deny or negate its severity it has the potential to reveal something to us we would not have known about ourselves otherwise like faith, trust, courage ,strength and even creativity. We can begin to feel  light and unburdened once again with the power to make better choices for ourselves around food, exercise and other forms of self-care. After all, we are women and can heal naturally.

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