Yoga for the Dead: How a Glasgow studio is helping the bereaved

Grief isn’t purely an emotional response, it also lives in the body.

There are symptoms, like heaviness, pain, and fatigue, that can sometimes only be eased by physical movement, like walking, swimming or yoga.

That may be partially why instructor, Steph Wall, set up Yoga for the Dead sessions, with the next on September 28 from 4-6pm. 

They take place at her Glasgow studio, Kali Collective. Before the class, participants can bring a picture of the person they’ve lost, and place it in the altar area at the top of their mat.  The idea is that the following two hour session of gentle yoga is in that individual’s honour. 

During each class, therapist, Laura Wright, is in situ to provide support for those who have particularly intense experiences, and there is live music from Scott Cowie.

“Everyone is grieving something or someone, and these sessions give you the chance to be around people who understand, and who feel the same way,” says Wall. “It’s an uplifting experience. There are outpourings of grief, but there’s also love, connection, and support”.

The classes have been of benefit to clients including 34-year-old psychologist, Kirsty Ainsworth, who lost both her parents to long-term health conditions and is now studying to be a grief counsellor.

Kirsty with her dad, George | Contributed

“It’s important to address grief, not hide it. YFTD provides a nice way of, allowing it to be present. We’re all in the room together, having experienced this difficult thing. After the sessions, I felt really emotional, but it was also therapeutic. It felt like a shared experience, which I think is powerful,” she says. “It’s not about feeling good, but about feeling understood and supported. Finding those spaces can be really supportive, helping you not to push your feelings down”.

As well as Yoga for the Dead, the studio also hosts Death Cafes, where people can drink tea, eat cake and discuss death in a “curious and spacious way”.

A Yoga for the Dead session is £25, at Kali Collective, The Pentagon Business Centre, Unit 203, 54 Washington Street, Glasgow (www.kalicollective.com)