Mindfulness & Grief: With guided meditations to calm your mind and restore your spirit

by Heather Stang

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Author: Heather Stang

Publisher: CICO Books

Paperback:
ISBN 10: 1782496734
ISBN 13: 978-1782496731

Mindfulness during grief is about turning toward your experience of love and loss with self-kindness, so you can alleviate your suffering, honor their memory, and create the space to become who you want to be now. It is a radical act of self-compassion.

The grief book with a step-by-step guide on caring for your grieving mind, body and spirit. From coping with the anxiety, fear and sadness in the early days, months and years of loss, to honoring their legacy and rediscovering who you are now that everything has changed, Mindfulness & Grief is an easy-to-read, compassionate companion for life after loss.

Coping with grief and loss is one of life's greatest challenges, and it can be hard to know how to reduce the suffering it brings. Mindfulness & Grief is your self-care toolkit, designed to help you cope with everything from sleepless nights to anxiety-filled days, while boosting your body's natural resilience against stress through grief and beyond.

Combining inspirational stories of hope and healing with contemporary grief research, evidence-based meditation techniques, and the knowledge that each of us grieves in our own way, Mindfulness & Grief has helped thousands of people worldwide navigate the disorienting path of loss.

Based on the 8-week program developed by thanatologist and certified yoga therapist Heather Stang, there are over 35 meditation, yoga, journaling, and expressive arts exercises. They are designed to help you ease your physical symptoms of grief, calm your mind, and regulate difficult emotions.

You will discover how to increase compassion toward yourself and others, make meaning from your loss and honor your loved one, and develop your new self-narrative for moving forward. The program is accessible to anyone--regardless of physical ability--and does not require any previous meditation or yoga experience, or require any particular spiritual or religious worldview.

Whether you are brand new to meditation or have been practicing for decades, Mindfulness & Grief will give you the coping skills you need for the short term, and help you cultivate a life of wellness and meaning, even in the wake of loss.

The Mindfulness & Grief book is offered in an 8-week format with a daylong retreat, however you are encouraged to move at your own pace.

Weeks 1-4 help the reader develop coping skills through relaxation techniques, mindfulness, and compassion for the self and others. Suggestions for a daylong retreat offers opportunities to reconnect with one's self and nature through yoga, walking and expressive arts.

Weeks 5-8 offer guidance on getting unstuck when faced with obstacles, honoring the memory of the special person, and rediscovering who you are now.

While most people will choose to read the book in order, it is possible to read a section that you find most appealing and relevant to where you are on your grief journey.

This book contains references and resources, as well as links to guided meditations that readers can use in tandem with the book.

Review

"Heather Stang offers those who are grieving a wise and practical guide. The stories, teachings and meditations in this book will help you find your own inner strength and awakening heart in the midst of great loss."

- TARA BRACH, Ph.D. Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge

"When we are more firmly grounded in our bodies, as HeatherStang demonstrates, we are better able literally and metaphorically to find anew footing in the world, and to restore a life of meaning and coherence."

- ROBERT A. NEIMEYER, Ph.D. Director, Portland Institutefor Loss and Transition and Editor, New Techniques of Grief Therapy

"People in grief can feel ungrounded and unfocused, not knowing what to do, what to feel, or what to think. Mindfulness & Grief can serve as a lifeline that offers guidance and support. Although the book brings in a lot of Buddhist ideas and teachings, the program is definitely non-sectarian and open to people of all faiths and religions and even those without a particular spiritual alignment."

- KRYSTA GIBSON, New Spirit Journal

"Heather Stang offers considerable hope for those who might be lost tothe process of grief. Not only does she offer hope - she offers ways to be with grief that are effective and that transform it at the sametime. Embracing the moment and being present to what is happeningrather than despairing in it are just one small but powerful aspect. Ihighly recommend this book."

- MICHAEL LEE, M.A. Founder, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy

"Perfect for the beginner, Stang offers instruction that is easy tofollow and understand. This book is also appropriate for the experienced mindfulness practitioner as it provides a framework around using yourestablished practice to work with grief and loss. It can be easy to drop practices that support us when we are experiencing loss and stress and Mndfulness & Grief gives an opportunity to re-enter practice at a slow pace. No matteryour experience with meditation and/or mindfulness, Stang does awonderful job of normalizing and supporting the grieving process. Thisis a great read for anyone, as we all experience loss in our lives."

- ROSE KRESS, ERYT-500, LFYP-2, LifeForce Yoga Educator

Book Description

Experiencing grief and loss is one of life’s greatest challenges. Mindfulness & Grief is your self-care toolkit, designed to give you the coping skills you need for the short term, and help you cultivate a life of wellness and meaning, even in the wake of loss.

From the Author

ABOUT THE MINDFULNESS & GRIEF PROGRAM

The Mindfulness & Grief program contained in this book originated as an 8-week yoga for grief class led by the author while enrolled in a Thantaology graduate program, which is the study of death, dying and bereavement. This grief book combines stories that were offered during interviews with past participants of the program, with contemporary theories of grief and mindfulness-based experiences. Adhering to the widely-accepted and evidence-based principal that each person grieves in their own way, the Mindfulness & Grief program offers space for each person to show up as they are, and process grief in a way that supports their aspirations, values and worldview.

About the Author

Heather Stang, MA, C-IAYT, holds a Master's of Thanatology (Death, Dying and

Bereavement) from Hood College in Maryland and is a certified Phoenix Rising Yoga

Therapist. Heather's passion for teaching meditation for grief is rooted in her own story of

love, loss, and posttraumatic growth. Heather is on the Board of Advisers for Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS), and partners with the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, National Fallen Firefighters Foundation, the Association of Death Educators and Counselors, as well as regional hospice and palliative

care providers. Heather facilitates Mindfulness & Grief programs online and at the

Frederick Meditation Center in Maryland.

Heather discovered yoga and mindfulness while she was the CEO of a web development company and diagnosed with the stress-related illness shingles. The contemplative practices inspired her to live a life in service to others, and she became a suicide/crisis hotline call specialist in honor of her uncle who died by suicide when Heather was seven years old.

Heather relied on her mindfulness training to maintain a calm and compassionate attitude both on the job and at home after difficult shifts. Additionally, Heather volunteered as a trainer and call specialist on the New Orleans hotline just weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, and was a research assistant for a NIMH funded National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Research Project. This experience inspired her to pursue a Masters in Thanatology (Death, Dying & Bereavement Expert) from Hood College which she earned in 2010.

Struck by the parallels between mindfulness, yoga, and contemporary theories of grief, which focuses on the individual's direct experience of loss and the benefits of meaning making and posttraumatic growth, Heather developed a "Yoga for Grief" course, an 8 week program uniting yoga, meditation, journaling, expressive arts and death education.

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Mindfulness & Grief: With guided meditations to calm your mind and restore your spirit