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Yoga for Grief Relief: Simple Practices for Transforming Your Grieving Mind and Body
If you’ve experienced loss, you may feel intense emotional or even physical pain. In fact, it’s not uncommon for grieving people to experience depression, anxiety, fatigue, and a variety of other physical, mental, and spiritual symptoms. If you’ve tried other ways to move beyond your loss but have yet to find relief, you may be surprised to discover the transformative effects of yoga.
Yoga for Grief Relief combines over 100 illustrations of gentle yogic poses and the power of psychophysiology and neuroscience to help you recapture a true sense of well-being. You’ll also find breathing exercises, cleansing techniques, and self-relaxation tips to help you work through your loss and begin on the journey to self-knowledge and re-identification. At its core, yoga is about accepting change. If you are open to viewing your loss as an opportunity for growth, this book will help transform your grief with gentle clarity and awareness.
To find out more, visit yogaforgriefrelief.com
Yoga for Grief Relief combines over 100 illustrations of gentle yogic poses and the power of psychophysiology and neuroscience to help you recapture a true sense of well-being. You’ll also find breathing exercises, cleansing techniques, and self-relaxation tips to help you work through your loss and begin on the journey to self-knowledge and re-identification. At its core, yoga is about accepting change. If you are open to viewing your loss as an opportunity for growth, this book will help transform your grief with gentle clarity and awareness.
To find out more, visit yogaforgriefrelief.com
- GenresGriefNonfictionSelf Help
184 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2014
23 people are currently reading
328 people want to read
About the author
Antonio Sausys
5 books6 followersAntonio Sausys, MA, IGT, CMT, RYT, is a somatic psychotherapist and yoga instructor specializing in one-on-one yoga therapy for people with chronic and acute medical conditions, as well as emotional imbalance. He studied with yoga masters and teachers such as Indra Devi, Swami Maitreyananda, and Larry Payne. He has continued his professional development with training in integrative grief therapy with Lyn Prashant, foot reflexology, Swedish therapeutic massage, and Reiki. Antonio teaches and lectures periodically at the University of California, Berkeley; at the California Institute of Integral Studies, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health. He is a member of the World Yoga Council, the International Association of Yoga Therapists, and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. He is the founder and executive director of Yoga for Health-the International Yoga Therapy Conference, and television host for YogiViews.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
August 16, 2014
OMG! I won another one! SQUEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Bullet Review:
I like yoga well enough, not that I've taken any real classes, but I attend sometimes at the gym and I enjoy what I do there. So I was pleased as punch when I won this through the Goodreads Giveaway program.
NOTE: I won this through Goodreads Giveaway. This does not influence my rating whatsoever.
Anyway, I really think how much you get out of this book will depend on A) how serious your grief is, B) how seriously you take yoga, and C) how much you think yoga can help your mind. I 100% believe that your mind controls a lot of your body; that said, a lot of the book's contents aren't on actual yoga routines, but more of the thought-process behind grief. Some interesting concepts, some odd one.
Mostly, though, I was interested in the routines, which were a bit lacking. They amounted mostly to breathing - a really tough exercise to be sure, but still, I was hoping for more poses. The most complicated pose is the "Windmill", which is mostly just rotating your arms - supposedly this is supposed to bring up a lot of emotions. Neither I nor my sister found this to be true (to be honest, my sister spent most of the time laughing at how silly I looked); it was, however, a really good workout. I guess this just means that people who think I'm a robot are in fact right: I am a robot, I have no emotions.
I certainly don't regret this, and I do think there are some great insights into ALL forms of grief (not just the "someone died" version of grief either). Americans are terrible about acknowledging grief, and it's nice to have a book that's OK with accepting that no, you aren't OK.
Bullet Review:
I like yoga well enough, not that I've taken any real classes, but I attend sometimes at the gym and I enjoy what I do there. So I was pleased as punch when I won this through the Goodreads Giveaway program.
NOTE: I won this through Goodreads Giveaway. This does not influence my rating whatsoever.
Anyway, I really think how much you get out of this book will depend on A) how serious your grief is, B) how seriously you take yoga, and C) how much you think yoga can help your mind. I 100% believe that your mind controls a lot of your body; that said, a lot of the book's contents aren't on actual yoga routines, but more of the thought-process behind grief. Some interesting concepts, some odd one.
Mostly, though, I was interested in the routines, which were a bit lacking. They amounted mostly to breathing - a really tough exercise to be sure, but still, I was hoping for more poses. The most complicated pose is the "Windmill", which is mostly just rotating your arms - supposedly this is supposed to bring up a lot of emotions. Neither I nor my sister found this to be true (to be honest, my sister spent most of the time laughing at how silly I looked); it was, however, a really good workout. I guess this just means that people who think I'm a robot are in fact right: I am a robot, I have no emotions.
I certainly don't regret this, and I do think there are some great insights into ALL forms of grief (not just the "someone died" version of grief either). Americans are terrible about acknowledging grief, and it's nice to have a book that's OK with accepting that no, you aren't OK.
December 19, 2018
Yoga for Grief Relief is an exploration of the grieving process from a spiritual and physical perspective. Through the author’s own period of grieving, he developed a series of movements to help process emotions and release the physical tension that can build up during the pain of loss. In addition to exploring the concept of grief and how best to handle it, he shares the physical practices he developed.
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December 12, 2021
Das Buch hat mir neue Anreize in meinem Trauerprozess gegeben.
1 Stern Abzug, weil es im Kern um die Durchführung von Yoga Übungen geht und dies viel besser per Video erfolgt wäre.
1 Stern Abzug, weil es im Kern um die Durchführung von Yoga Übungen geht und dies viel besser per Video erfolgt wäre.
November 8, 2018
Unusual, but not extraordinary.
Yoga books, as we've briefly discussed before, have a problem: they need to balance asana (which is why most people pick them up) with philosophy (because asana without the rest of the yoga package is just a workout). When dealing with a subject like grief, however, the asanas had better be front-loaded: anybody picking this up to put it into practice does not want to bumble through several chapters of theory and background.
At least, I didn't. And I didn't find the practices all that helpful, either, although perhaps I'm just so fond of yin and other restorative practices that I'm biased. Only for the largest yoga collections.
Yoga books, as we've briefly discussed before, have a problem: they need to balance asana (which is why most people pick them up) with philosophy (because asana without the rest of the yoga package is just a workout). When dealing with a subject like grief, however, the asanas had better be front-loaded: anybody picking this up to put it into practice does not want to bumble through several chapters of theory and background.
At least, I didn't. And I didn't find the practices all that helpful, either, although perhaps I'm just so fond of yin and other restorative practices that I'm biased. Only for the largest yoga collections.
Read
September 18, 2018Nice section on Chakras relating to grief. Borrowed from the public library.
March 24, 2022
Simple and beautiful heart-centered work
May 7, 2025
Nothing like using yoga to help you clear your mind and get some peace when you are in a grieving state.
April 23, 2014
This review is also posted here: http://readingthething.wordpress.com/...
Title: Yoga for Grief Relief: Simple Practices for Transforming Your Grieving Mind and Body
Author: Antonio Sausys
Source: Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review
Tl;dr: Woo. Woo, woo, woo. More woo. Did I mention this book had woo? And some yoga.
"We don’t get over our losses, we transform our relationship to them"
My way of working through things in life, is to read about them. Right now, I’m grieving because my father passed away a few months ago. This means I’m reading about loss and grief a lot. I also really enjoy yoga, so when I saw this book on Netgalley, I was really interested. Sadly, it turned out this book was not the right book for me.
First, this book does have some strong points. I really liked the normalizing of grief (however you experience it, is completely fine and normal) and the diverse cultural outlook the books shows. The writing itself was very easily readable, which is quite an accomplishment, espcially about such a potentially difficult topic. Although I would have preferred more extensive yoga routines, I think the breathing excercises and a routine that seems like some sort of extensive body scan can be really nice and soothing.
However, I am incredibly allergic to woo, and this book had a lot of it. I am a sceptic and a scientist (a social scientist, with a MSc in Behavioural Science/Psychology), and one of the bigger crimes you can commit in my eyes, is placing science on the same level as superstition and pseudoscience. The author writes about certain exercises doing stuff to certain hormones, and the influence on your emotions with scientific references. And then suddenly, he talks about chakra’s and asking things from the universe (“the secret” territory), seemingly placing them on the same level as the science he just mentioned. And the science that he uses, is dubious as well. I looked at the sources, and most are books (which means it is potentially not peer reviewed, which means it might not be sound science) and the scientific papers come from magazines that do not seem familiar to me at all, so they might not be the best as well. Yes, this is speculative from my side, but it makes me doubt all the claims he makes about the benefits of his program.
So: don’t read this (when it comes out on June 1 this year). Maybe do the routines, if you feel like it’s up your alley, but despite the nice readability, the wading through woo is not worth it.
Title: Yoga for Grief Relief: Simple Practices for Transforming Your Grieving Mind and Body
Author: Antonio Sausys
Source: Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review
Tl;dr: Woo. Woo, woo, woo. More woo. Did I mention this book had woo? And some yoga.
"We don’t get over our losses, we transform our relationship to them"
My way of working through things in life, is to read about them. Right now, I’m grieving because my father passed away a few months ago. This means I’m reading about loss and grief a lot. I also really enjoy yoga, so when I saw this book on Netgalley, I was really interested. Sadly, it turned out this book was not the right book for me.
First, this book does have some strong points. I really liked the normalizing of grief (however you experience it, is completely fine and normal) and the diverse cultural outlook the books shows. The writing itself was very easily readable, which is quite an accomplishment, espcially about such a potentially difficult topic. Although I would have preferred more extensive yoga routines, I think the breathing excercises and a routine that seems like some sort of extensive body scan can be really nice and soothing.
However, I am incredibly allergic to woo, and this book had a lot of it. I am a sceptic and a scientist (a social scientist, with a MSc in Behavioural Science/Psychology), and one of the bigger crimes you can commit in my eyes, is placing science on the same level as superstition and pseudoscience. The author writes about certain exercises doing stuff to certain hormones, and the influence on your emotions with scientific references. And then suddenly, he talks about chakra’s and asking things from the universe (“the secret” territory), seemingly placing them on the same level as the science he just mentioned. And the science that he uses, is dubious as well. I looked at the sources, and most are books (which means it is potentially not peer reviewed, which means it might not be sound science) and the scientific papers come from magazines that do not seem familiar to me at all, so they might not be the best as well. Yes, this is speculative from my side, but it makes me doubt all the claims he makes about the benefits of his program.
So: don’t read this (when it comes out on June 1 this year). Maybe do the routines, if you feel like it’s up your alley, but despite the nice readability, the wading through woo is not worth it.
April 18, 2015
Grief shows up in our bodies but it often happens in ways that we don’t understand. Our mind and body are one system. The stress of grief causes physical symptoms, raises stress hormones and often lowers our immunity. We may also somatize (or express) emotions through our bodies that we cannot verbalize. As a result, we may experience ailments or physical symptoms that we don’t necessarily connect to our grief so it’s important to pay attention to the information our bodies give us and learn from it.
After the death of my husband, restorative yoga was a key tool in moving through my grief so I was very interested in this book. It did not disappoint. Though I was anxious to get to the how-to sections of the yoga practice I was glad the author took the time to emphasize that you don’t “get over” grief, you move through it and it is a normal part of being human. A good bit of well spent time was spent on this in the book.
I felt this book was written in easily accessible language. (Oddly, I did not feel that way about the forward written by Lyn Prashant and almost stopped reading there.) In my role as a grief support practitioner I often recommend books to clients. I will recommend this one for those looking to be more present in their body throughout their grief.
After the death of my husband, restorative yoga was a key tool in moving through my grief so I was very interested in this book. It did not disappoint. Though I was anxious to get to the how-to sections of the yoga practice I was glad the author took the time to emphasize that you don’t “get over” grief, you move through it and it is a normal part of being human. A good bit of well spent time was spent on this in the book.
I felt this book was written in easily accessible language. (Oddly, I did not feel that way about the forward written by Lyn Prashant and almost stopped reading there.) In my role as a grief support practitioner I often recommend books to clients. I will recommend this one for those looking to be more present in their body throughout their grief.
April 25, 2014
We all in grieve in different way, so yoga integrated with exercise, body movements and cleansing techniques can help our bodies and mind deal with grief which tears us inside and out and set us on a roller coaster ride. Yoga sets us back on track. This book is wonderful, by using the tools they help us navigate the journey and help us to reset the balance of our biological systems which will once again feel, energized, clear thinking and the life force re surge's.
August 15, 2014
The instructions in this book are very clear. The combination of broken down, step by step instructions with pictured makes being able to complete the postures as if I was watching a video. The set up of the book is fabulous. It clearly lays out reasoning then moves onto how and concludes. However, there is a lot of telling with very little research and few case studies. That makes it a little hard to swallow. yet, fabulous.
May 28, 2014
I got this book from NetGalley to review. I wanted to learn some techniques to try and help with the death of my Dad and also to try and learn something to help my Mom. I found the book very informative and feel that these are things we can do to help. I have wanted to try Yoga for a long time and the added benefit of helping to get through this makes me want to even more. Thank you!
September 24, 2014
Even though this is short book there was a lot of information to digest. I feel i will need to re-read this book a few times to understand everything. But I felt the yoga practices they suggested in the book will be very helpful and I have already been practicing some of the breathing techniques. I am glad I purchased this book.
July 18, 2014
I don't usually give 4 stars. I "save" them for the classics...John Steinbeck, Sinclair Lewis, Shakespeare but this was a very well written book. It is firmly grounded in both the Yoga Sutras and psychological theory. I am not grieving anything and still gained insight through reading this. Very good book.
July 7, 2014
I had received a copy of this book through a first reads giveaway from Goodreads. As a person who enjoys yoga, I found this book to be helpful. Not only does this book explain the different symptoms of grief on a person, but it also details how different yoga poses can help relieve those symptoms.
May 27, 2014
An interesting approach to dealing with grieving.
June 16, 2014
What a great read on how to help deal and manage the stress and effects of loose.
August 8, 2014
Got the book three days after my Godmother died from a giveaway. I really enjoyed the book. My only complaint is that there aren't a lot of pictures.
July 29, 2015
Very well-written and insightful about the culture and history of grief in addition to different practices for different phases of grief.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews