Navigating the Wilderness of Grief
Discover how yoga and mindfulness can help you navigate the complex journey of grief, offering comfort, resilience, and renewal.
Reading time: 4 minutes
Grief is a journey we all face, yet no one can truly prepare for its weight. For me, it came in the form of losing my mother at 26—a moment that irrevocably changed everything. It’s been 4 years since that day, and still, grief ebbs and flows like a tide, never truly gone but always transforming. As a yoga teacher and former doctor, I’ve learned to approach grief with a blend of practices—surrender, presence, and resilience—that have helped me navigate the wilderness of sorrow.
The Practice of Surrender: Letting Go of Control
One of the hardest lessons grief taught me was how little control we have. As a doctor, I was trained to fix things—to heal—to make things right. But grief has no prescription, no procedure, no easy fix. Instead, it demands that we surrender. And surrendering was something I resisted. I thought it meant giving up. But it wasn’t about giving up; it was about allowing the experience of grief to unfold without fighting it.
In yoga, the concept of Ishvara Pranidhana—surrender to the divine—had always been abstract to me. It wasn’t until I sat with my grief that I truly understood it. Surrender meant acknowledging the truth of what I was feeling without resistance. It meant allowing myself to cry when the tears came, to sit in silence when words failed me, and to accept that healing wouldn’t come in a straight line.
Finding Stillness in the Small Moments
When grief overwhelms you, everything can feel like too much. The world keeps spinning while you feel stuck in a fog of sadness. But one thing that helped me through those early days was learning to find peace in the smallest moments. Yoga, with its focus on the present moment, taught me this.
A sunset on a quiet evening. A hot cup of tea. The feel of soft sheets against my skin. At first, I couldn’t focus on much more than my pain, but slowly, I began to see these small moments of beauty for what they were—reminders that life, despite its hardships, continues. When I learned to pause and be present, even for a brief moment, grief didn’t feel so suffocating. I found that joy and sorrow could exist side by side.
The Unexpected Gift of Resilience
Grief can make you feel as if you’re breaking. It can feel like your heart has been torn apart, and you’re not sure how you’ll ever feel whole again. I remember thinking I wouldn’t make it through some days, that the weight of it all was too much to bear. But over time, I began to notice something shifting within me—a quiet resilience.
Yoga offers the metaphor of the Banyan tree, deeply rooted and yet flexible. Grief tested my ability to bend without breaking. With each yoga practice, whether it was an asana practice or a meditation, I found that I could hold the space for my grief while also holding the space for my healing.
A Path to Healing.
Resilience didn’t mean pushing through or ignoring my pain; it meant acknowledging my grief and still finding the strength to move forward. It was in those moments of stillness, in the practice of breathing through discomfort, that I discovered I was capable of more than I had ever thought possible.
One of the things grief has taught me is the power of community. For a long time, I thought I had to carry the weight of my grief alone, but the truth is, no one needs to walk through it by themselves. I found solace in the stories of others who had also experienced loss, in the shared vulnerability of opening up about pain and healing.
In yoga, we speak of Satsang, or being in the company of truth. The more I shared my own grief with others, the more I realised that we are all connected in our suffering and our healing. It wasn’t just about my story; it was about our collective experience.
The support I found from others was crucial in my healing process. The simple act of sitting with a friend in silence, sharing memories of those we’ve lost, or offering a quiet hug can be more healing than any words.
Integrating Grief into Daily Life
Today, I don’t look at grief as something to be “fixed” or “overcome.” Instead, it’s a part of who I am—a part that will always be with me. It shapes my work as a yoga teacher, my relationships, and how I approach life. Rather than pushing it away, I’ve learned to weave grief into the fabric of my existence.
Yoga offers a powerful tool in this. Whether through Savasana (Corpse Pose), where I allow myself to fully release and be still, or through pranayama (breathing exercises), where I reconnect with my breath in moments of overwhelm, yoga has been my constant companion. These practices don’t take away the pain, but they offer a way to be with it—gently and with compassion.
Grief is not linear, and there are days when it feels like a heavy fog. But when I look back, I realise how much I’ve learned—how much I’ve grown—through this process. It’s a journey of the heart, one that takes time, patience, and a willingness to feel it all.
If you’re walking through the wilderness of grief, I encourage you to surrender to the process, to find solace in the small moments, to trust in your own resilience, and to reach out to others for connection. Grief may not have an end point, but in embracing it, we can find a deeper appreciation for life—and for ourselves.
Janaki Bloch
Janaki was given the name Jai Gopali by her spiritual teacher, who she credits for her thirst for yoga philosophy and dedication to live a life more aligned to her true nature. Trained as a medical doctor, she left the world of medicine to find her calling as a yoga teacher. She has a love and appreciation for the human body, using her knowledge to help her students take care of the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual body.
