Mindfulness for Grief

As you begin moving on from a loss in your life, it is important that you not rush grief. It 
is normal to feel sad and loss for the person who has passed away, but that doesn’t 
mean you need to “get over it”. Instead, try practicing mindfulness. This is all about 
living in the moment, where you think and feel how you think and feel right now, but 
don’t worry too much about the future or dwell on the past. It can be really therapeutic 
for someone who is grieving.

Experiencing Feelings of Grief and Loss
Mindfulness is not the same as not thinking about certain things, like meditation, though 
you can definitely meditate while practicing mindfulness. It is more about living in the 
moment, instead of in the past or present. It is okay to experience your current feelings 
of grief and loss, but then you will need to get to the point of accepting them. Accepting 
what happened, accepting how your life has changed, and accepting that you might be 
grieving for a long time, but that you also need to find a way to move on.

Continuing to Center Yourself
As you begin practicing mindfulness for grief, you will also try to center yourself and 
your thoughts. This is something you can do multiple times a day, where you are getting 
to that point of acceptance by allowing the thoughts and feelings to come in and 
envelop you, but then you will center your thoughts and shift your focus. This is a really 
important step, because it is what allows you to move on and shift your mindset to what 
your life is like now.

Meditation with Mindfulness
As we mentioned, you can combine meditation with mindfulness. What you do is use 
mindfulness to get to a certain frame of mind where you are feeling those feelings of 
grief and loss, but then moving forward and learning how to cope with them. You can 
then practice meditation, which allows you to clear your mind and bring in more positive 
thoughts and feelings into your subconscious. Even those few minutes of having a clear 
head can be very therapeutic and give you a break on your sadness and grief.

The Importance of Moving Forward
Moving forward does not look the same way for everyone. Sometimes it is about 
changing your lifestyle after the loss of a child or sibling, making future plans if you lost 
a spouse, or even getting into a new relationship. For others, moving forward simply 
means you are in a different stage of grief. You are no longer depressed, but simply 
choosing to be appreciate the people you have in your life.

