Using a combination of yoga, meditation, and a lot of sharing, a unique class is hoping to help people come to terms with death.
“I started coming to this class in February of this year after the loss of my son and pregnancy,” Jennifer McKnight, a participant in yoga for grief, said.
The class is offered through Regina Palliative Care and Bereavement Centre.
Sitting on her yoga matt, McKnight explained that after the loss of her pregnancy, she got the medical treatment she needed, but it wasn’t enough.
“People really need the emotional support after a loss and culturally we don’t like to speak about death,” she said.
The class is two hours long and held at Full Life Yoga in Regina. The poses are gentle and focus on deep relaxation and reflection.
Full Life Yoga owner Kim Lawrence has studied under grief yoga experts and just applied to return to university to study psychology. She said the poses and meditation in the class help people come to terms with their emotions.
“There’s an opportunity for what needs to come up to come up and in that surrender there's an opportunity for stuff that's been cemented over to come up that doesn't come up when you're conscious,” she said.
While Lawrence isn’t a trained councilor, the class focuses heavily on communication, and it’s that support that keeps people like Leah Bauchense coming back. She first took the class five years ago after her daughter died.
“I was drowning in my grief and this class just helped me be still and think about my daughter and just have a little peace in my life,” she said.
She reenrolled in the class this year.
“Grief is hard physically. It’s not just emotional weight. It weighs on you, and I struggle to keep myself together and this helps me open up,” she said.
And lifting that burden is exactly what the class is there to achieve.
