Welcome.
Take a moment to acknowledge the courage it takes to show up for yourself in this season.
The holidays can shine a bright light on our losses,
Sometimes illuminating love,
Sometimes illuminating pain,
And often both at the same time.
Grief during the holidays can feel especially heavy.
It's not just the absence of the person you miss.
It's watching other families gather,
Seeing joy you can't quite touch,
Feeling alone in rooms where you're surrounded by people,
Or feeling lonely in rooms that are now too quiet.
There is nothing wrong with you for feeling this way.
Grief can make joy feel distant,
Make simple moments feel overwhelming,
And make the season feel like something you're moving through rather than celebrating.
This meditation is an invitation to pause,
Breathe,
And make space for whatever is present in your heart.
Together we'll gently explore the emotions that arise during this time of the year,
Offering ourselves compassion,
Steadiness,
And permission to simply be.
As part of this practice,
You'll also be invited to call in the presence or memory of the person you've lost,
Not to reopen old wounds,
But to honor the love,
The impact,
And the connection that remains.
There is no right or wrong way to feel during this process.
You only need to arrive as you are.
When you're ready,
Let this practice hold you,
Softening what feels heavy and honoring what feels tender,
And creating a space where remembrance and healing can gently coexist.
Let's begin.
Find a comfortable position and gently close your eyes,
And as you settle into yourself,
Allow yourself to arrive.
Let your breath move in and out in its own rhythm.
There is nothing you have to hold together in this moment.
Here you can simply be human.
Notice the way your body is touching the surface beneath you.
Notice how gravity gently holds you.
If your chest feels tight,
If your stomach feels heavy,
Or if your mind feels crowded,
Just acknowledge it.
You don't have to soften all at once.
Just allow one small place within you to loosen.
Perhaps your shoulders,
Your jaw,
Your hands.
Grief often makes us brace without realizing it.
See if you can let your body know that,
For this moment,
It doesn't need to brace.
You are safe enough to breathe.
Now bring awareness to the center of your chest.
Not to analyze and not to judge,
Just to notice.
You might feel a weight,
An ache,
Or even a numbness where you expected emotion.
Whatever is here,
Let it be here.
Grief is not something you're supposed to move on from.
It is something you move with.
It becomes part of your landscape,
Changing shape,
Changing intensity,
But always rooted in love.
Take a slow inhale and a gentle release.
If tears come,
They come.
If they don't,
That's okay too.
Your grief has its own timing.
If you feel ready,
Allow the person you're grieving to come to mind.
Not in a forced way,
Just an invitation.
Let their presence emerge naturally,
Maybe through an image,
Maybe through a fragment of memory,
Maybe through a feeling in the body.
There is no right way.
Notice what rises.
Take them in.
The warmth of their laugh.
A small detail about them that no one else seemed to notice.
Something they said that still lives inside you.
Let the edges of that memory soften.
Let it sit with you like an old friend.
Their absence may feel sharper during the holidays.
A chair left empty.
A tradition altered.
A moment you wish you could still share.
Allow yourself to feel the truth of that longing.
Let it be real.
Let it be honored.
And as you sit with their presence,
Notice how your heart responds,
Whether with warmth or ache or silence.
Now imagine a soft,
Comforting warmth settling around your shoulders,
Like a steady presence standing quietly beside you.
This presence asks nothing of you.
It doesn't try to fix your grief or take it away.
It simply stays with you,
The way you once stayed with the person you loved.
Allow this compassion to support the places within you that feel most tender.
Let the ache soften at its edges.
Let your breath move gently into the space where pain and love meet.
You don't have to be strong right now.
You're only invited to be honest.
As the holiday season unfolds around you,
Know that it's okay if things don't feel the way they used to.
It's okay if joy feels slippery or if sorrow feels closer than usual.
You don't have to choose one or the other.
Grief and gratitude,
Longing and love,
Sadness and small moments of light,
All can coexist within you.
Nothing about your grief means you are broken.
It is a testament to the depth of your connection.
It is the echo of love continuing.
Begin to deepen your breath and feel the steadiness of the ground beneath you.
Feel the presence of your own resilience.
Not the loud,
Pressured kind,
But the quiet resilience that shows up simply by continuing to love.
When you're ready,
Gently return your awareness to your surroundings.
Move your fingers and your toes and take one final nourishing inhale and a slow,
Complete exhale.
As you close this practice,
Know this.
You are not navigating the season alone.
Your grief is welcome here.
Your love is welcome here.
And you are allowed to carry both.
Thank you for being here with yourself today.
