One of the first things grief changes is our breath.

We don’t usually notice it.

Until one day, we realise we’ve been holding it for far too long or we have not been breathing right.

What Grief Taught Me

Even when everything around me felt unreal, one thing remained.

My breath.

Sometimes it was shallow.

Sometimes I realised I had been holding it.

Sometimes it escaped in a long sigh.

But it was always there.

Without judgement.

It didn’t ask me to be strong.

It didn’t ask me to move on.

It didn’t tell me that everything happens for a reason.

It simply stayed without judgement and reflected my emotions.

The Wisdom of the Yoga Sutras

Long before grief was understood through the language of psychology, Sage Patanjali observed in the Yoga Sutras that when the mind is deeply disturbed, it is accompanied by suffering, restlessness in the body and disturbance in the breath (Yoga Sutra 1.31).

I find it remarkable that these observations continue to feel so relevant today.

Not because it explains grief.

But because it reminds us that what we experience in grief is profoundly human.

Human beings have always loved.

Human beings have always lost.

Human beings have always experienced suffering.

And our breath has always reflected what we carry within us.

Our breath changes because we have changed.

This is one of the reasons breath holds such an important place in Yoga-based Grief Therapy.

Not because breathing exercises make grief disappear.

They don’t.

And they can’t.

Grief is not something to be fixed.

It is something to be lived through.

But the breath offers us something precious.

An anchor.

A quiet place to return when life feels unsteady.

One Breath at a Time

One slow inhale.

One gentle exhale.

Waiting patiently.

One breath at a time.

Every dawn is a new beginning.

Every breath offers one too.

If you’re carrying grief right now, you don’t have to navigate it alone.

In Yoga-based Grief Therapy, we begin gently – with the breath.

Reach out to explore what a Yoga-based Grief Therapy session could look like.