When Grief Meets the Mat: Practicing Yoga Through Life’s Deepest Valleys

Some mornings, even unrolling the yoga mat feels impossible. Other days, it’s the only thing that gets me through the hours. This is what practicing yoga while grieving really looks like… it’s not about poses or progress. It’s about survival, breath by breath.

The Day Everything Changed

You wake up, and grief is already there. Suddenly the yoga studio that once felt like home feels too bright, too alive. But something still whispers: go to the mat. Not for a perfect yoga flow, but simply to sit, breathe, cry. At Ubuntu Bali, I’ve seen how even the smallest effort—just showing

up—becomes a quiet act of courage.

When the Body Can’t Go Further

Some days I stay in child’s pose for ten minutes and call it a yoga practice. Other days I can only sit in silence, or begin moving and then collapse into shaking asanas, the body trembling and raw. Practicing yoga while grieving isn’t clean or graceful—it’s messy, uncertain, often full of tears. Yet this too is yoga for mental health. Trauma-informed yoga reminds us that even falling apart on the mat is sacred. And then there is savasana—the hardest pose of all. Corpse pose feels too close to reality, so sometimes I avoid it. Other times I lie down and let the tears come until the bell rings. Meditation

in grief is not about reaching calm but about surviving the storm inside your chest. At Ubuntu Bali, we honor that even child’s pose, shaking asanas, and savasana filled with tears are still yoga, still practice, still holy.

Breathing When the Air Feels Toxic

Grief makes every inhale feel heavy. Some mornings, I lie on the mat and count five slow breaths, and that’s it. Still—it matters. Yoga breathing techniques become less about energy and more about keeping your body alive when your spirit feels crushed.

When Your Practice Becomes Prayer

In grief, even simple movements become prayer. A bow forward becomes surrender, lifting arms overhead becomes asking for strength. Practicing yoga for healing is no longer about flexibility—it’s about finding ground when the world is spinning.

The Yoga Studio as Refuge

Walking into group yoga classes while grieving takes everything. Everyone looks whole, and you feel broken. But then you hear the breath of the room, and something inside you softens. When I can’t leave the house, online yoga classes turn my living room into a sanctuary. Ubuntu Bali becomes both a studio and a lifeline.

Integration: What Grief Teaches Yoga

Yoga philosophy talks of letting go, but grief makes it real. The yoga journey deepens here: not despite grief, but through it. Self-care through yoga means gentleness, permission to stop, and celebrating the smallest victories—like just rolling out the mat.

The Practice That Saves You

Some mornings, yoga is what pulls me out of bed. Not because it fixes grief—but because it lets me breathe beside it. Practicing yoga while grieving doesn’t heal the pain; it teaches me how to live with it. Grief doesn’t disqualify you from yoga. It makes you ready for its deepest teachings. At Ubuntu

Bali, our trauma-sensitive yoga offers a safe space for both grief and resilience. Here, even broken hearts are welcome.