How to manage grief
Grief and loss show up in many ways in our adult lives: losing someone, endings in life, or sudden shifts in our expectations. Grief can feel uncanny, unsettling, and disorienting. Leaning into these moments of discomfort, rather than avoiding them, can help you grow, heal, and connect more deeply with yourself.
Lean into Discomfort
Moments that challenge us often carry insight and growth. Instead of resisting, notice what’s happening in your body and mind.
Try This:
Pay attention to how your mind reacts in challenging situations, like those that happen at work, in traffic, or in difficult conversations. How do you shift toward self-protection and out of the moment?
If you practice yoga, hold a posture like a low lunge for a few minutes, noticing what comes up. Outside the mat, notice similar patterns in everyday friction.
Relax into the Unknown
Life can feel unpredictable, and grief can make the familiar seem strange. Tolerating uncertainty is where healing begins.
Try This:
Set a timer for 10–15 minutes. Close your eyes and simply witness your thoughts and feelings.
Notice urges to escape or fix the situation. Gently bring your focus back to simply observing.
Reflect on what it teaches you about your relationship with change and the unknown.
Open Your Heart
Open to your experience, both joy and pain, and discover the wisdom within it.
Try This:
Reflect: What patterns show up in your emotions or bodily sensations?
Notice the parts of you that want to control or fix things. Invite them to simply observe instead.
Use your experiences as a guide to understand what truly matters to you.
Practice Compassion for Yourself
Healing starts with self-kindness. Change doesn’t always require action. Sometimes it requires presence.
Try This:
Place a hand on your heart, breathe deeply, and pause before responding to a challenge.
Practice ahimsa—non-harming—toward yourself, especially during times of grief or transition.
Notice how small acts of self-compassion change the way you engage with yourself and others.
Make Life an Offering
Heart work is a practice of presence and witness. Your experiences are your teachers.
Try This:
Reflect on what your challenges are showing you about yourself.
Notice ways grief or change may be redirecting your energy toward what matters most.
Give yourself permission to sit with discomfort, soften, and allow growth to emerge naturally.
Grief and difficulty are not things to “fix.” They are teachers, opening your heart and guiding you toward insight, compassion, and presence. Doing heart work is about listening deeply—to yourself, to life, and to the subtle lessons hidden in discomfort.
All therapists at Heart Work offer support for grief. Email admin@heartworkguide.com to schedule your free consult call.