My dear sister sent me this when I was in one of my deepest hours of grief and despair ~ see below in quotes.  I was losing my health, was diagnosed with atrial fib, and was hospitalized.  My weight of 90#’s (a girl’s size 10) was a result of my inability to eat.  My husband, family, and friends were all over me to eat, sleep and stop crying.  But I couldn’t.  I just couldn’t.  I was totally and entirely absorbed in my grief and despair – it was my every waking moment of life.  I couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t concentrate, and cried pretty much constantly. 

One morning lying in bed crying, I felt a bulge on my low spine.  Here, I had become so skinny that every vertebrae in my spine was exposed and sticking out.  I had been eating maybe 500 calories a day at this point because my stomach was in such pain every time I ate. 

That morning was an eye-opener for me.  I forced myself to eat at least 200 more calories a day. And then after a week or two added another 200 calories a day – now bringing my calorie consumption up to 900 calories a day.  Within a month, I was up to 1200 calories a day. 

At some point, I recognized that the only thing I could control in the grief process I was going through, was what I ate.  It was only then that was I able to go back to a healthy lifestyle of eating.  At the time, I had absolutely no idea that the only thing I was in control of was what I ate.  My family and friends knew this, but I was so grief stricken I certainly didn’t realize this. 

I share this with you in hopes that I can pay it forward and offer you solace in overcoming your grief.  I read this morning, noon and night – sometimes a hundred times a day.  AND my constant sobbing had to also stop ~ and I do mean constant sobbing.  When I read this, I did not allow myself to cry – I started with 1 minute a day of no crying.  And then increased this to not allowing myself to cry every time I read it.  Eventually I worked up to 5 minutes of no crying, then 10, then 30, etc., and started to gain control of my life back.

“So I’ve started being vigilant about watching my thoughts all day and monitoring them.  I repeat this vow about 700 times a day:  “I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore.”  Every time a diminishing thought arises, I repeat the vow.  “I will not harbor unhealthy thoughts anymore.”  The first time I heard myself say this, my inner ear perked up at the word “harbor”, which is a noun as well as a verb.  A harbor, or course is a place of refuge, a port of entry.  I pictured the harbor of my mind – a little beat-up, perhaps a little storm-warn, but well situated and with a nice depth.  The harbor of my mind is an open bay, the only access to the island of my Self (which is a young and volcanic island, yet, but fertile and promising).   This island has been through some wars, it is true, but is now committed to peace, under a new leader (me) who has instituted new policies to protect the place.  And now – let the word go out across the seven seas – there are much much stricter laws on the books about who may enter this harbor.

You may not come here anymore with your hard and abusive thoughts, with your plague ship of thoughts, with your slave ships of thoughts, with your warships of thoughts – all these will be turned away.  Likewise, any thoughts that are filled with angry or starving exiles, with malcontents and pamphleteers, mutineers and violent assassins, desperate prostitutes, pimps and seditious stowaways – you may not come here anymore either.  Cannibalistic thoughts, for obvious reasons, will no longer be received.  Even missionaries will be screened carefully, for sincerity.  This is a peaceful harbor, the entryway to a fine and proud island that is only now beginning to cultivate tranquility.  If you can abide by these new laws my dear thoughts, then you are welcome in my mind – otherwise, I shall turn you all back toward the sea from whence you came.

Peace, love & dogs,

Linda Benton

I will not demand – I will ask.  Then I will let go.”     “The Language of Letting Go” ~ Melody Beattie

Recovery begins when we recognize that we are forgetting our true nature.  Dominated by the ego (i.e., sense of separate-ness and individuality), we live our lives as sensory beings. In the pursuit of pleasure through the senses, we tend to overindulge.  In yoga this is described as our spiritual ignorance.  

In Recovery we often think of ourselves as “broken”.  What we practice or think regularly, we embody and what we embody we transmit.  But the body is both the site of healing and the site of practice – the body is the sacred site of the yogic experience.  It is like a temple, the holy ground.  

The feeling of “I need to fix something” equates to something is broken VS there is something right and it needs re-membering.  To re-member (vs dis-member) is to bring back into the body along with the spirit of a yogic state of mind.  The habitual mind belief of “some parts of me are valuable and other parts are not” misses the full experience of our lives.  

A practice that allows the sense of “awe”, humbly gifts us the willingness to be alive.  With both humility and truthfulness, we are able to fill the cup of life with a willingness to be “awed” and “surprised” – life it is not performing.  

How would it feel to recover or reclaim something that maybe we haven’t felt since we were 9 years old?

There is something right in you and it needs remembering, it needs reclaiming.  AND then… THIS… becomes empowering.

In Yoga Sutra’s

11.46  The natural comfort and joy of our being is expressed when the body become steady (asana/posture/pose).

11.47  As the body yields all efforts and holdings, the infinite within is revealed.

11.48  Thereafter we are freed from the fluctuations of the gunas (stability, activity, consciousness) 

Harmonizing Body, Breath, and Senses

Therapeutic Yoga for Recovery teaches us simple ways to understand and increase our capacity for self-regulation (Sattva in Sanskrit).  This practice is offered as a bridge from a western based solution to spiritual solutions of resilience and immunity and the ability of

how to get through a day – day in and day out….

Once you can concentrate the mind away from the “weapons of mass destruction” and the “failure of the intellect” ~ Durga Leela, you can then have the zeal for a freedom, that abides by spiritual, mind and body principles witnessing a life transformation.  This embodiment moves from suffering to solution ~ reclaiming purpose and meaning.

The mind is an addictive mechanism.  But through the benefits of Therapeutic Yoga for Recovery it offers simple ways to increase: 

• self-regulation/Sattva and move away from suffering
• navigating moments for pause
• from stimulation to calming a lived experience 
• so that we can return us to life ~ to a connection of something steady.  I remind you…

The primordial cause of our suffering is FORGETTING our true nature is SPIRIT

CNN Health recently published an article on ~ 

^{Overdose Deaths Soar}

^{The number of US drug overdose deaths in 2020 rose 30% from the previous year, according to preliminary data released yesterday. It marks the sharpest annual increase in at least two decades and the highest absolute total on record. Health officials pointed to the wide-ranging impact of the pandemic and an increase in the supply of potent street drugs.} 

^{Of the more than 93,000 overdose deaths reported, roughly 57,500 were linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl (see data)—more than a 50% increase in such deaths from the previous year. Up to 100 times more powerful than morphine, the drug is often mixed in with other street drugs, sometimes unbeknownst to the user. The super-potent drug has been blamed for a “third wave” of the US opioid epidemic.}

^{No region was spared the surge, with only New Hampshire and South Dakota reporting a drop in overdose deaths from 2019.} 

Read the full report – https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/14/health/drug-overdose-deaths-2020/index.html?mc_cid=220585d76b&mc_eid=5b14cbb0a9 

However, there is research and proof from NIH Research that has shown that people who practice yoga regularly have low cortisol levels (your body’s main stress hormone) and that regular practice of yoga helps to build a better connectivity between the mind and body through a series of postures, breathing exercises, and meditation. It can be an important tool for stress reduction by lengthening the exhalation relative to the inhalation, which in turn increases the tone in the sympathetic nervous system.  When the sympathetic nervous system (CNS) is heightened, it fully changes the body’s natural flow of function and misdirects its’ function into a “fight or flight” capacity.   The other side to the CNS is the “rest or digest” capacity.  If the “fight or flight” capacity is too charged up, the “rest or digest” capacity cannot do its job to calm the CNS back down.

The benefits of yoga include decreased stress and tension, increased strength, balance and flexibility of muscles, lowered blood pressure, and reduction in cortisol levels.

The format of Yoga for Recovery classes was established nearly 20 years ago by a Yoga Master teacher who worked on her own path of recovery.  The format of teaching this workshop virtually has proven to be highly successful. 

Peace, love & dogs, 

Linda Benton

There are less than 4k Yoga Therapists globally with a Yoga Therapist certification ~ I have over 2000+ hours of formal training.  A typical yoga teacher has a 200 hour training. 

No yoga experience is necessary – none of the postures are advanced.  When the portion of class is postures, students could even utilize the practice thru chair yoga.

Grief….. can overwhelm.  You’re not just imagining that you’re unable to do any kind of what use to be “normalcy”.  There’s a defense mechanism that kicks in to protect yourself when you’re grieving – it’s like you go into survival mode.   

And, grief, can last what seems to be a lifetime if not addressed.  The longer you let it go and allow it to encompass your life, the more it nests into your body and mind AND the more it embodies you.

The loss from Grief comes in many forms ~ the loss of a loved one or friend, the loss of our health, the loss of a job, a home, a pet ~ your grief is real and affects every aspect of your life.  Don’t let anyone tell you anything different.   

It’s not that the loss is going to disappear – but what if …

what if…..

(and I know it’s hard to imagine)

what if you…

 were given the life tools to get back on your feet?  How would that feel?

Grief is the natural and normal reaction to loss.  It is not a disease.  It is stored in our bodies and affects both the immune system and sympathetic nervous system.  It often presents itself physically – in pain, fatigue headaches, and a loss of appetite.  It affects your sleep, your eating, your ability to concentrate, your energy level, your breath, your ability to think about anything else other than your loss.  

You are not imaging any of this– it’s real!

The bereaved body is so wound up and so stressed out that it changes the neuroplasticity and chemical make-up of the brain.  If we can’t change the new make-up of the brain from grief, we are stuck in this everlasting embodiment of burden from our grief.  

The practice of Therapeutic Yoga for Grief addresses self-care and facilities to integrate the experience of loss to support connection of your body, mind and soul. It gives you the resources and shifting necessary to heal the grief deeply embedded in the brain – without healing the brain, you can never heal your heart break.  This practice can have a profound impact to recognize the power of therapeutic yoga on those coping with grief.  

I recently had a 36 year old client suffering deeply from the loss of her cat.  Through our one-on-one sessions together, she came to realize that the death of her cat was the “straw that broke the camel’s back”.   There was so much profound previous grief in her life that we uncovered.  I was able to customize a practice for her that has allowed her to move on with her life – have joy in her life – have meaning in her life and share this meaning back to her family.  

That’s one of the reasons why Therapeutic Yoga for Grief can be an effective way to manage the pain of grief.  Research presented in the Int J Yoga states that a “sustained practice also leads to important outcomes such as changes in life perspective, self-awareness and an improved sense of energy to live life fully and with genuine enjoyment. The practice of yoga produces a physiological state opposite to that of the flight-or-fight stress response and with that interruption in the stress response, a sense of balance and union between the mind and body can be achieved.”  This outcome was most definitely the positive outcome my client experienced.  

Note:  my client had no previous yoga experience.  I meet my clients were they are at and customize a Therapeutic Yoga for Grief practice for their home practice.  Therapeutic Yoga for Grief is far more encompassing than just the physical postures.  We’ll explore and together we’ll come up with a solution to lead you back to a healthy, worthy life style.

The intervention of Yoga for Grief is not a magic potion but can help us find some meaning or sense in our suffering.  Even though the present moment is painful, it will shift and change and we can be alright.  

Meet Linda ~ 

Linda Benton is a Yoga Therapist (1 of < 4k/globally) Linda works with all ages.  She is a compassionate, encouraging and attentive teacher. The program she offers is accessible to everyone, regardless of Yoga experience. 

If you want to learn how Linda can help you start work thru grief and feel better, contact her Linda@lindabentonyoga.com               847.819.8804 www.LindaBentonYoga.com  

~ Namaste ~

Sources ~ 

Desikachar K, Bragdon L, Bossart C. The yoga of healing: Exploring yoga’s holistic model for health and well-being. Int J Yoga Ther. 2005;15:17–39. 

Benefits, barriers, and cues to action of yoga practice: a focus group approach.

Atkinson NL, Permuth-Levine R

Am J Health Behav. 2009 Jan-Feb; 33(1):3-14.

Modulation of immune responses in stress by Yoga.

Arora S, Bhattacharjee JInt J Yoga. 2008 Jul; 1(2):45-55.   https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21829284/