“Connecting with others who are experiencing grief and being able to share some of my own experience was profound. This group experience has enabled me to feel less isolated in my grief, which is an enormous relief! This was a wonderful heart-opening experience...A gift!”
“Susannah- Just wanted to thank you for your heartfelt efforts to make the class so meaningful for each and every one of us. I feel so “tended to,” and as the one usually doing the tending, I really appreciate it. I leave class on Tuesdays with a real sense of peacefulness that carries on into the following days. You are really helping.
Many thanks. ”
“I can’t seem to find the words adequate enough to express my gratitude to your for this opportunity and the gifts you have given me!”
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I shall hold dear to my heart how you helped me cope with the hardest time in my whole life. ”
“Yoga for your Grieving Heart made a huge difference for me. It really gave me some tools to keep my head above water and work with grief. I was not as overwhelmed by it. So thank you, thank you, thank you. It was the right thing at the right time. ”
“Hearing everyone’s stories and seeing our commonality, the nurturing atmosphere, the quiet warmth, the lack of demands and the biggest thing may be that I have better tools to help”
“By setting aside time to be with my grief, I gained a sense of honoring myself ....Listening to others and having the chance to share my deepest pain, breaking through a hardening surface, finding my tears.”
“I found it to be a unique and valuable offering. I felt supported, heard by a group of nonjudgmental people, and informed with new ideas for self-care and breathing/yoga techniques. I felt validated, which is so important to anyone who is grieving... Many tears flowed, which was painful, but a good thing - being able to cry openly with little fear.”
“Thanks for your understanding the nature of grief...although I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it is helpful to meet people who actually understand what it feels like.”
“A year ago, I lost my cousin after he had spent months in a coma after a horrific car crash. He was a bright, intelligent, humorous, and friendly human being. His loss was devastating not only to me but countless others.
In the midst of my inconsolable heartache, I was informed about a 6-week class called ‘Yoga for Grieving Hearts.’
This class completely changed my life.
My beautiful, insightful instructor taught me tools not only to assist in healing my deep soul sadness, but also how to recenter myself and help others through their grieving & healing process. She taught me that feeling every single painful & beautiful emotion is okay, and it is a part of our life journey.
So often in this life, when we experience devastation & trauma, we think we have to “toughen up” and hide our true emotions from the world. Yoga opened my heart and showed me otherwise. So, I would like to give endless gratitude to Susannah....”
“The group experience has been a relief, such a comfort, and encouragement to value my grief. To be in a group that offers trust, compassion and understanding was truly a gift. ”
“I loved this group sooooooo much. It gave me safe space to reveal inner turmoil without judgment. Knowing I am not alone gave me freedom to be in my grief. ”
“This was a welcoming and affirming opportunity to gather, grieve and restore. I am more patient and less judgmental with myself, because many things were validated, and I know I’m not alone in my ups and downs.”
“Taking this class with my daughter has been one of the most positive experiences I have ever had with one of my young adult children. It had helped us appreciate each other’s life journeys and has allowed me to be vulnerable in front of her as an adult rather than as my child. ”
“I was incredibly impactful to be connected with a group of people – all different- but sharing this experience – listening is powerful and yoga helps me feel more at one with my body. I wish the class was longer! ”
“This group sharing of grief gave me comfort and strength. I feel less lonely. Following through on self-care is now more on my mind.”
“I enjoyed meeting very nice people who share the same sadness and sorrow in grieving a loved one. ”
“I’m now starting to understand my own healing process and feeling its okay to feel whatever I’m feeling. ”
“Because of this group, I now feel more hopeful and more calm as I begin to believe that “this too shall pass”, and that I will survive.”
“Overall, it was so helpful to have a place to go where we all felt safe and loved and in a place where our feelings and each other mattered and where we could find support in one another. Thank you for a great experience! ”
“Feelings of peace during the yoga and centeredness that is so elusive. Connecting on a deep level with people who understand. Being heard. Support for where we are. ”
Yoga for Your Grieving Heart
"There really should be places to go and be when you are in grief - just to sit and be allowed to be real with your grief."
Grieving the death of a loved one can be a confusing, overwhelming and lonely process. Grief surfaces in our emotional hearts, and in our physical bodies. This six week yoga class and bereavement support group is for anyone suffering the emotionally and physically exhausting effects of grief.
What to expect:
Deep listening
Sharing experiences
Gentle and restorative yoga postures designed to soothe the challenged heart and address the physical symptoms of grief
Relaxation breathing
Mindful practices in a safe and nurturing environment
Expanding your capacities to heal through the journey of grief
No previous yoga experience is required. Anyone can do this gentle type of yoga. You do not have to be alone in your grief.
Limit 6 participants
This is not a drop-in class. You must pre-register.
**It is recommended that your loss has occurred at least six months prior to your participation in class.**
This group will take place on six consecutive Tuesdays from 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Sage Wellness on 980 Forest Ave. Suite 204, in Portland. It is recommended that you attend every session.
The first class is free and the remaining five weeks is a pre-paid rate of $140.00. Due to the nature of this group, we will close the session to newcomers after the 1st class.
Upcoming 2019 Sessions:
Feb 5th-March 12th (with March 19th reserved for snow-date)
April 30- June 11th
Autumn sessions to be scheduled soon. Stay tuned and/or contact me to be alerted when the schedule is up. Susannah@theyogaofsusannah.com
TWO STEPS TO REGISTER:
1. Please email Susannah at Susannah@theyogaofsusannah.com or call her (207) 772-5275 to let her know your interest and find out about availability options and;
2. Please fill in the two forms you can download below. Once Susannah receives your forms, we'll set up a time to talk on the phone to go over how the class works and then you are considered registered.
TWO FORMS HERE!!! CLICK THE RED WORDS: Please fill in this Informed Consent Form. You can either scan the filled out form and email it to me or snail mail before our first class.
“I used to feel very much alone in my grief. Now I feel part of something. I feel connected and accepted. I felt free to be myself in my grief, with other people who actually want to hear me! ”
“Please know that this group has been wonderful. I look forward to taking more classes with you. ”
“Thank you so much for sharing your gifts and connecting our group of women to feel less lonely in the grieving process. ”
“Thank you for providing us a space to express ourselves so completely, this class allowed me to relieve myself of some of my grief in a way no other space has allowed. ”
“This group provided a safe space to share with others in similar grief and feel supported. ”
“I experienced a sense of peace, and learned some techniques to use when I can’t sleep. A better understanding of grief and thankful for being able to share within the group, that was so helpful. A safe place to share and not be judged- a real gift. Having my experience heard and also hearing others journeys so helpful. Knowing I’m not alone. ”
“Feeling more connected and less alone, learning tools to cope, feeling validated in my feelings, meeting amazing strong women, learning new yoga poses, sparking journal topics, carving out time to be with my grief, ongoing resources (books, handouts, quotes), hearing others stories. These sessions helped me to better access my grief, understand it and accept it. I treasured this experience- so grateful! Thank you Susannah!! ”
“I gained a broader understanding of others grief and clearer understanding of my own. I appreciated the support, caring, and made new friends. ”
“Your class was like a bowl of nourishing soup for me. .. This is such a great work you’re doing. ”
Grief
It is an earthquake which begins so far under
that you can’t even imagine it, until you do.
The ground of sandboxes and sidewalks --
so blissfully unquestioned -- shifts, quivers,
until rumbling, it lurches, breaks apart,
and crashes everything on top of you.
Pinned in the rubble, you cannot escape --
trapped by what was once your comfort.
There is no soft hand.
There is no gentle reassuring voice.
No one hears you, and even so,
why.
When much later you are dug out,
you wish they hadn’t.
Then come
the aftershocks.
When the resulting tsunami begins,
it does so by waters first receding gently,
lulling you into more false security.
Still at sea, the wave is small, unremarkable,
until it gets closer, shallower, building.
When it crashes in, overwhelmingly,
inundating, obliterating, it keeps coming.
After more of a long time, if for some reason
you’re still around, you are washed up
with more nothing. Gasping, battered,
lost, you pull yourself out alone,
to walk away somewhere, drenched,
with damp decomposing memories
seemingly from someone else’s life,
dragged dripping now
into your new one.
-Janet Stebbins
Susannah
Sanfilippo created Yoga for your Grieving Heart because she was stunned by the power of her grief when her father unexpectedly passed away. She was also disconcerted by the lack of empathic support out there.
Her yoga practice has been a major component of her grief process and she enjoys sharing her discoveries with others.
“I’m not crazy!! This is all normal what I’m going through and experiencing. It’s been very hard and sad and it’s been very helpful to hear from others who are in a similar boat as me. This has helped me feel less alone. ”
“I appreciated learning breathing exercises and movements to release some of the grief. Also, acknowledgement that everything I’m experiencing is normal.”