A couple weeks ago was the tenth anniversary of my dad’s passing, and I was reminded how working through grief has been a catalyst for the most incredible healing alchemy in my life. Let me explain:

In metaphysical healing work, grief often presents as congestion of the lungs and heart space. If someone is dealing with chronic colds, bronchitis, asthma, or there is a history of heart issues, assessing for stored and trapped grief is where I like to start to assess. In general, the body’s vital force is suppressed, life energy cannot move through the body as optimally.

With my dad, there was a lot of history there, both good and bad. Lots of happy memories, some incredibly painful that I had only started bringing back to my memory thanks to sitting on a couch across from a therapist. I had suppressed these memories for SO long, that it was oppressing my energy as well.

I often see grief present as heart walls in clients. This is an energetic “wall” that may form around the heart. It serves as a protective mechanism designed to shield the heart from further hurt, but it has a downside. It prevents us from further experiencing the highest frequency of love and alignment.

When these walls or trapped emotions are in place, the energetic channels are blocked. In fact, there is actually a syndrome called Takotsubo cardiomyopathy or “Broken Heart Syndrome” that is an emotionally caused heart syndrome. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a temporary heart condition that develops in response to an intense emotional or physical experience. It’s also known as stress cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome. In this condition, the heart’s main pumping chamber changes shape, affecting the heart’s ability to pump blood effectively. When there is generations of unprocessed grief, it isn’t uncommon to see this present as heart conditions.

Let me tell you about my client Kim. She came to me in a mind body spirit release session really struggling with a bad upper respiratory infection, temporarily placed on an inhaler and steroids because the cough has gotten so bad. I asked her “When did this start? What was happening before it started?” She shared with me how the day before her URI started, she had been in court for her foster children, and it had gone terribly.

We did an emotional release clearing, and she messaged me back the next day, “You wouldn’t believe this- or actually maybe you can! But the cough is gone. I don’t need any of the medications, and I feel back to 100%!”

I honestly wasn’t surprised by this because I have seen time and time again the power of processing and releasing grief. It has been powerful for both my clients and myself, and is a simple tool to start the process for free right at home.

Start by sitting down or laying down and closing your eyes. Put both hands on your hand. Start connecting to this space with both your breath and intention. See what comes up here as you bring intention to your heart space. Is it tight? Does it feel constricted? Is it easy to breath into this space? What other shifts do you observe in your body.

We are just observing here, you aren’t judging or becoming hypervigilant about anything coming up. We are just noticing. Start to bring my light to this space. Whatever color comes up, bring that light to that space, just noticing what you notice. Think about what you is causing you grief or stress and start to move your skin and muscle below your hands in a circular motion, slowly but with medium pressure. Continue to breath into this space, bring healing intention and “holding the space.” After about a minute, now start moving in a counter clockwise motion with the same pressure. When you release, gently tap with one hand on the heart space, breathing into it still to assist moving the energy.

Drink extra water and notice (or even journal) anything you notice or if the space feels any differently these next few days. When we move through grief, it is powerful to see what the body releases and what shifts we can experience.

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