People cope with the death of a loved one in different ways.
A local woman is using mind-body therapies such as yoga, meditation and journaling to help grieving folks cope with the loss.
Heather K. Whittington holds a master’s degree in thantology, the study of death and dying, from Hood College. She is also a Certified Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner.
She combined her professional training in both to launch Mindful Grief at Mind-Body Therapies, 5 N. Bentz St., Frederick . Services include Yoga for Grief classes, group relaxation workshops and private Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy sessions.
“Grief is a physical reaction to loss that causes emotional, physical and behavioral responses that creates more stress,” Whittington said.
Frederick News Post: “Losing a loved one is hard on the heart and hard on the body, but there is some good news in that there are easy-to-learn techniques that can at least relive some of the physical complaints, and even calm the mind.”
Whittington began planning for the new business while completing her coursework at Hood College, where she earned the master’s degree in January. She presented a poster of the business at the Association of Death Educators and Counselors annual meeting last year. She wrote “Living in the Body: Using Awareness of Physical Sensation to Cope With Loss” in the organization’s October edition of its quarterly publication, The Forum. The response was positive from the death education and counseling community, she said, and decided to move forward with her plans for the business.
Whittington has managed Maryland Yoga Therapy at the Center for Mind-Body Therapies since 2003 and was honored for her entrepreneurship for a former business, Gecko Media Group, in 2002.
