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How to Heal Your Grief


Soften Your Belly

Another technique is the soft-belly practice. Here, you sit quietly and, out of the flurry of your thoughts, sensations and feelings, begin to feel the body you live in.
  • Gradually let your attention rest on your abdomen and ride the rising and falling of the ocean of the breath: inhalation, belly rising with the tide; exhalation, the tide goes out.
  • Soften the belly to allow awareness to settle in. Soften the fear, the anger, the distrust—and let go.
  • Feel how a single thought can tighten the belly. Each withdrawal from pain, each attempt to numb grief turns our belly to stone.
  • If you can, begin the day with 15 minutes of the soft-belly exercise and notice how it relieves not only the body but also the mind. Many people come back to this practice several times a day and report having a better day for it.