Healing the Body with Yoga: Gentle Practices to Restore Balance
Healing isn’t always about pushing harder, doing more, or forcing ourselves to be strong. Sometimes, true healing begins when we give ourselves permission to slow down, soften, and simply rest. This is something I can really relate to after loosing my husband in June this year. A loss that leaves you numb, sad and with a grief that you have never felt before. It’s a hard one to navigate and understand before you have experience it. Grief is tough, raw, filled with emotions that comes and goes like a roller coaster, you never know when it will show up. One thing I’ve learnt from this is that you can’t escape the pain, the loss and the grief, you have to go through it. Even though it’s very hard, going through the motions and taking one day at the time is the only way forward.
Initially, I felt very tired but there was so much to do so I just had to move on and deal with things as they came up. Then came the exhaustion and the emotional drain which forced me to stop and rest and just look after myself and my daughter. We are no machines and the body need to take time to process what have happened and allow you to feel it. As time went on I started walking, doing meditation and slowly got back into yoga. As yoga have been a big part of my life for many years I felt I had a great support and a good tool for dealing with this very difficult part of my life. I feel very fortunate to have these skills to help me and I hope some of these skills could also help you whatever you are experiencing at the moment.
Yoga offers more than movement, it offers a way to restore balance, ease tension, and create space for both the body and the heart to heal. Through restorative yoga and slow, mindful flows, we can release stress, support digestion, and nurture our immune system. And in seasons of grief, whether from losing a loved one, moving through divorce, or experiencing a life change that leaves us raw, these gentle practices can become a safe and tender way to reconnect with ourselves. Remember to listen to your body and move through this in your own pace. We all experience grief in different ways and there is no right or wrong.
What is Restorative Yoga and Why it Heals
Restorative yoga is a practice of deep rest. Unlike faster flows or more dynamic styles of yoga, restorative yoga focuses on long-held poses, supported with props like blankets, bolsters, or pillows, so the body can fully relax. Slow flow yoga uses gentle transitions between postures, moving with the rhythm of the breath to release tension and invite calm.
These styles of yoga heal by:
Calming the nervous system → shifting from “fight or flight” into “rest and digest.”
Supporting circulation and digestion → gentle pressure and release helps the body’s natural processes.
Releasing stored tension → softening the areas we unconsciously hold stress.
Boosting immune function → when the body rests, it repairs and restores.
When we’re grieving, exhausted, or simply overwhelmed, restorative yoga meets us where we are. It asks nothing of us, other than to arrive and allow ourselves to be held.
Gentle Yoga Practices for Self-Healing
You don’t need a long practice to feel the benefits. Here are a few simple, restorative poses you can try at home:
Child’s Pose (Balasana)
Fold forward, rest your forehead on the ground or a cushion. This pose restores calm, relieves back tension, and offers a feeling of safety and grounding.Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani)
Lie on your back with your legs resting up the wall or on a chair. This eases fatigue, supports digestion, and improves circulation.Supine Twist
Lying on your back, let your knees fall gently to one side. Twists release tension in the lower back and aid digestion, while also helping the body “wring out” emotional heaviness.Supported Bridge Pose
With a block or cushion under your lower back, gently lift the chest. This heart-opening pose can support stress release and provide a gentle space to process grief.Savasana with Support
Lie down, place a pillow under your knees, and cover yourself with a blanket. This is complete relaxation—the body’s chance to heal.
Tip: If you’re short on time (or energy), try these in bed. Even holding one pose for 2–3 minutes can make a difference.
Healing for Busy Mums
If you’re a busy mum, finding time for yourself can feel impossible. But healing doesn’t require an hour-long class. Just 5–10 minutes a day can help reset your nervous system and restore balance.
Simple ways to weave yoga into your day:
Legs up the wall before sleep.
Child’s pose while your kids play nearby.
A short savasana after school drop-off.
Remember, small, consistent practices are far more powerful than perfection.
Yoga for Stress, Digestion, and Grief Support
Stress affects everything—from our sleep to our digestion to our ability to focus. Yoga helps us reset. Forward folds calm the mind, twists aid digestion, and heart openers release the tension we carry in our chest.
When grief is present, yoga offers something more—it creates a safe pause. Grief can feel like a heavy fog, making even simple tasks feel overwhelming. Gentle yoga doesn’t try to fix grief, but it gives us a way to soften the body so emotions can move through us, instead of staying stuck. Once I started yoga again and moved my body I felt a sense of freedom and release and the ongoing pain in my body was dissolved and even my sleep improved.
A mini-sequence to try (5 minutes):
Child’s Pose – 1 minute.
Supine Twist – 1 minute each side.
Supported Bridge – 2 minutes.
End with 3 slow breaths in Savasana.
Think of this as a “reset button”—a way of telling your body and mind that it’s safe to rest.
Healing Through Grief and Life Changes
Grief comes in many forms—losing someone you love, navigating a divorce, or simply facing a life transition that forces you to stop, think, and take time out. These moments often strip us bare, leaving us unsure of who we are or how to move forward. Some people might feel stressed and scared of a change but it’s a natural part of life and it’s important to embrace it and go through it. Even though we don’t forget and we want to remember the good times, our past experiences will help us learn and grow and to move on into a new way of life.
Yoga doesn’t erase the pain, but it gently holds us as we begin to heal. Through each breath, each moment of stillness, and each small movement, we slowly reconnect with ourselves. In this way, yoga becomes not just physical healing, but emotional and spiritual healing too—a way of finding ourselves again.
Healing isn’t about rushing or forcing—it’s about giving yourself permission to pause, breathe, and take one small step at a time. Whether you’re a busy mum juggling family life, or someone navigating the heaviness of grief, restorative yoga offers a soft place to land.
The past couple of months have been one of the most difficult times so far in my life but I’ve also learnt how strong your body and mind is and even the most difficult seasons teach us that it’s ok to feel vulnerable and ask for help and support. Whatever you are going through right now, remember that you are loved and supported and it’s ok to just be in the moment and take time for you to rest.
