To all of you, it was suggested by our small zoom group here that I post what I have found to be helpful in extreme grief and sadness and loss.
I have had desperate times of grief, sadness, loss and stress, not knowing what to do to help myself.
Then I have remembered, or a daughter has reminded me, that I do have tools to help myself. I have found that Qi Gong/Chi Gong/Chi Kung [all are the same] can really help me to calm down, to feel 'Grounded' and to be able to carry on in a better way. Especially those which are targeted for grief, loss, and ''whole body back in balance'' Also Tai Chi.. I'll try to explain, and to be brief, for those who don't know...please do forgive me if I have made any mistakes in what I say, it is my own interpretation from my teachers and my reading and my pracitces...
Qigong is from the Chinese, and there are thousands of different movements/sets to choose from. They are used medically to help people in all kinds of ways. Many work on the system of Meridians, but you can just follow the gentle movements and the relaxed breathing and feel better, without any more knowledge. There are thousands of articles on-line if you want to read up about it. There are also, most and more important, thousands of youtube videos to look at and to follow. Thousands. You may have to spend a bit of time to find what you really enjoy, it can be very individual. Do watch some genuine Chinese, as their movements are somehow so much more graceful than any European or American. But for explanations, follow an English-speaker. Tai Chi is like a ballet, made up of short movements or postures joined together. There is more continuous movement, and while it also relaxes and invigorates one, it is actually a Martial Art.[ I usually ignore this aspect...] There are Short, Medium and Long forms or sequences of Tai Chi.
I have found the words of Chris Shelton very helpful. The Lungs, in Chinese medicine, are for grief and sadness, and he has a very simple movement, and very healing words, which only takes 3 minutes to do, and which I have found so helpful. There is also a link to a longer one, of his, also specifically for grief and loss.
There is also Lee Holden, and'' 7 Minutes of Magic'', set in a beautiful American National Park by water, and this is seven minutes of short movements, again with healing and helpful words which calm me down a lot. My dear husband and I used to follow this together, to help ourselves feel calmer, more 'grounded' and more relaxed. And somehow stronger inside.
I will also give the links to a Chines person, a Shaolin Monk, who has such beautiful movements, it is wonderful for me to just watch him. It is Chen style Tai Chi. I myself learnt Yang style, mostly, but they are similar in many ways.
There are many others I could give, but it is really so personal, and this post is already too long, probably.[ I am glad to explain more, if asked.] I do hope that no-one minds my putting links up for my three here...They are available to each and every one of us....One extra advantage of Qi Gong etc. is that you can follow at any time of day or night, whenever you want/need to, it is there just for you.....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Lx0W43737o.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDq8YziZVx0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skj69i5usgI
I do hope that these help some of you. We are all so different, but I think that these kind of things are a wonderful extra tool for each one of us to help ourselves , in our own individual ways, to cope with such terribly difficult losses and grief......Happy5
