Online Observation: Yoga Therapy and Grief as an Embodied Experience with Anne Pitman

Description

Yoga Therapy for Grief with Anne Pitman

Wednesday, 3rd March 2027
6.30pm–8.45pm (UK time – please note the extended run time versus our usual observations!)

Grief touches all our lives in different ways. Whether or not we intend to specialise in grief following a death, every yoga therapist will encounter clients living with loss in one form or another.

Anne Pitman is one of the world’s foremost voices on grief in yoga therapy. Join us for this moving, compassionate and deeply important live observation of her trauma-informed, evidence-informed approach to supporting a client through grief.

In many societies, grief is something we are expected to manage privately, move through quickly or conceal from others. In this session, Anne will work in service of the client, offering a counter-experience: one in which grief is given time, space and compassionate attention, and is recognised as an experience that can deepen our connection to ourselves, to one another, and to our shared humanity.

For this special observation, Anne and the client have generously agreed to an extended 90-minute yoga therapy session, followed by a 45-minute Q&A.

Understanding grief as an embodied experience

Although grief is commonly associated with the death of someone we love, it accompanies many kinds of loss. It may arise through redundancy or the closure of a business, divorce or the end of a relationship, changes in health or identity, or the loss of a familiar sense of self as life changes.

Grief is an embodied human experience that touches every dimension of our lives: physical, emotional, relational, social and spiritual. Supporting someone through grief therefore calls for a compassionate, holistic approach that attends to the whole person.

Yoga therapy offers a profound way of navigating this complex terrain. Through the body, breath, mind and therapeutic relationship, it can help us develop the capacity to be present with grief in all its forms. Yoga therapy invites us to question our perceptions, encounter ourselves and others with fresh eyes, and recognise how grief can reveal and deepen our connection to ourselves, to others and to life.

As Francis Weller writes:

“There is some strange intimacy between grief and aliveness, some sacred exchange between what seems unbearable and what is most exquisitely alive.”

Stephen Jenkinson suggests that “grief is not a feeling; it is a skill.” How might we, as yoga therapists, cultivate greater skilfulness in the presence of grief? How can we help people tend to grief in their bodies while nourishing their relationships, their sense of meaning and their capacity for life?

During this observation, you will witness Anne:

• Recognise and compassionately listen to a client’s grief, accompanying it in the form in which it arises
• Draw upon yogic frameworks, including the kleśas, yamas and śavāsana, in the context of grief care
• Explore yoga practices that can help us tend to grief and expand our capacity to meet the fullness of life
• Consider how svādhyāya, or self-study, and co-regulated practice can support resilience and sustainability in therapeutic work

What to Expect

• This observation begins with a special, extended live 90-minute yoga therapy session.
• The client will then leave, and the yoga therapist will share reflections, describe their therapeutic approach, and answer questions during a 45-minute Q&A.
• Participants observe the session with their microphone and camera off.
• During the discussion, participants are welcome to turn their camera and audio on and ask questions.
• If you are attending to meet Minded Institute course requirements, please ensure your camera is on during the Q&A.
• Observations take place on Zoom. Your Zoom link and password will be included in your booking confirmation email. You can also find them at any time by logging in to the student site and going to My Account → Orders, then selecting View beside this order.
• Please note: Due to the sensitive nature of these sessions, recordings are not made or shared.

Participation and Conduct

By attending this observation session, you agree to the following:

• You are responsible for your own health and well-being throughout the session.
• The Minded Institute is not liable for any health or safety issues arising from your participation or observation.
• Any personal information shared during the session is confidential and must not be shared outside the observation setting.
• All participants are expected to treat one another with courtesy and respect.

About the facilitator

Anne Pitman (MSc, C-IAYT) is Co-Director of The School of Embodied Yoga Therapy, Associate Professor at the University of Ottawa and co-author of Yoga Therapy Across the Cancer Care Continuum. A certified yoga therapist and research consultant at the Ottawa Integrative Cancer Centre, she specialises in evidence-informed, compassionate care for people experiencing grief, trauma, diagnosis shock, persistent pain and the challenges of approaching the end of life. You can read more about Anne and her work in the drop-down menus below.