The Mindfulness & Grief Podcast

When someone you love dies, your mind doesn't go quiet. It gets loud. In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore how mindfulness can support you when grief pulls you into rumination, anxiety, and mental loops.
Grief doesn't just affect your heart. It affects your mind. You replay conversations. You imagine worst case scenarios. You jump into the future. You go back into the past. Heather calls this time traveling. And while remembering is natural, rumination often adds another layer of suffering.
This is Step 2 of the Mindfulness & Grief System: Mindful Awareness.
Mindfulness in grief is not about clearing your mind. It is not about pretending you are okay. It is not about spiritually bypassing pain. It is about noticing what is happening right now with honesty and compassion.
Heather and Amanda talk about the difference between pain and suffering, and how the stories we add on top of pain can keep the nervous system activated. They share personal experiences of rumination after loss, grief anniversaries, and what it means to come back to the body when your thoughts feel overwhelming.
You will learn:
• The difference between remembering and ruminating • Why grief and anxiety often go together • What "time traveling" does to the grieving brain • How mindfulness and compassion work together • A simple breath, body, sound practice • How body scans interrupt rumination • What to do when emotions feel too big to unhook from
This episode is not about stopping memories. It is not about forcing yourself to move on. It is about learning how to be present with your grief without adding extra suffering.
If your mind feels stuck in loops after loss, this is a gentle place to begin.
🧘 Timestamps:
00:00 Pain and Add-Ons 01:15 What Mindfulness Is and Is Not 05:20 Remembering vs Ruminating 09:10 Time Traveling and the Grieving Brain 14:00 Mindfulness and Compassion 18:40 The Flashlight and Lantern Metaphor 24:30 Pain vs Suffering 30:15 Rumination Loops After Loss 35:20 Breath, Body, Sound Practice 41:10 Body Scan and Feeling Tones 49:30 Mindful Crying 55:40 Grief Anniversaries and Both and 1:00:10 Returning to Wisdom
Full show notes and resources: https://heatherstang.com/podcast/
Connect with Amanda on Instagram: https://instagram.com/amandapalermo1018
Work with Heather
💜 Try Awaken Grief Support Free for 14 Days Live support, guided practices, and community for people living with grief. https://heatherstang.com/grief-group/
🎥 Free Living With Grief Workshop and Live Q&A With Heather A gentle introduction to mindfulness-based grief support with time for questions. https://heatherstang.com/living-with-grief-workshop/
🎓 Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification Professional training for helpers who want to support others through grief while caring for themselves. https://heatherstang.com/mindfulness-grief-coach-certification/

The First Step to Calm Your Nervous System After Loss
Grief doesn't just affect your heart. It affects your body. In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and Amanda Palermo explore why grief overwhelms the nervous system and why you can't think your way out of it. When loss shakes your world, symptoms like brain fog, insomnia, body aches, anxiety, and exhaustion are not signs that you are failing. They are signs that your body is under stress.
This episode introduces the first step in the Mindfulness & Grief System: Conscious Relaxation. You'll learn why calming the body comes before processing meaning, how simple focusing practices interrupt the stress cycle, and why tending to your nervous system is foundational in early grief and during grief waves.
Heather and Amanda share personal experiences of shock, numbness, cognitive confusion, and somatic symptoms after loss. They discuss research on the relaxation response, practical focusing techniques such as breath counting and mantra repetition, and how small, consistent practices can restore a sense of agency.
You'll also learn:
• Why grief creates inflammation and physical symptoms • How to interrupt rumination through simple attention practices • What to do when sitting meditation feels impossible • How to create a sleep sanctuary after loss • Gentle journaling prompts to help your body find a voice
If grief has left you feeling dysregulated, restless, or exhausted, this episode offers a grounded place to begin. You don't have to eliminate your feelings. You can start by tending to your body.
🧘 Timestamps:
00:00 You Can't Think Your Way Out of Grief 00:42 Welcome & Why the Body Comes First 02:10 Shock, Numbness & Brain Fog After Loss 05:30 When the Numbness Wears Off: Anxiety & Grief Waves 08:45 Why Grief Overwhelms the Nervous System 11:10 The First Step: Conscious Relaxation 13:40 Focusing Practices (Breath Counting & Mantra) 18:50 The Relaxation Response Explained 23:30 Movement as Meditation 27:40 Sensory Practices: Sound, Touch, Scent 30:20 Creating a Sleep Sanctuary After Loss 37:15 Reimagining the Bedroom After Losing a Partner 44:10 Journaling as a Body Practice 50:30 Giving Your Body a Voice (Writing Prompt) 55:40 The Puzzle Metaphor: Putting Pieces Back Together 58:10 This Is Your Home Base in Grief 1:01:30 Closing Reflections
Full show notes and resources: https://heatherstang.com/podcast/
Connect with Amanda on Instagram: https://instagram.com/amandapalermo1018
Work with Heather
💜 Try Awaken Grief Support Free for 14 Days Live support, guided practices, and community for people living with grief. https://heatherstang.com/grief-group/
🎥 Free Living With Grief Workshop and Live Q&A With Heather A gentle introduction to mindfulness-based grief support with time for questions. https://heatherstang.com/living-with-grief-workshop/
🎓 Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification Professional training for helpers who want to support others through grief while caring for themselves. https://heatherstang.com/mindfulness-grief-coach-certification/

Grief can feel chaotic, exhausting, and unpredictable. Many people receive support after a loss, but still feel unsure what to do when emotions surge or the nervous system feels overwhelmed.
In this episode of the Mindfulness & Grief Podcast, Heather Stang and cohost Amanda Palermo explore why having a system matters when you are grieving. Not stages. Not fixing. A compassionate framework you can return to when you do not know what to do next.
This episode introduces the Mindfulness & Grief System and explains how structure can help reduce suffering, restore a sense of choice, and support you in living alongside grief without denying your pain.
This is the first episode in an 8 part series that will walk through the Mindfulness & Grief System step by step.
In this episode, you will learn:
Why grief often feels overwhelming and disorganizing

Why support alone is not always enough

How a system helps when your nervous system is dysregulated

What makes the Mindfulness & Grief System different

How structure can create safety without rigidity

Timestamps
00:00 Why grief needs more than support 00:45 Welcome and episode overview 01:40 Why grief feels chaotic and exhausting 03:10 What people mean when they say "just get through it" 05:05 Why a system helps when emotions surge 07:20 The difference between stages and systems 09:10 How structure reduces suffering 11:05 Mindfulness as a practical skill, not a mindset 13:40 Choice, agency, and the nervous system 16:15 What the Mindfulness & Grief System offers 18:50 Who this system is for 21:30 What to expect in the 8 episode series 23:10 Closing reflections
Hosts
Heather Stang: https://HeatherStang.com
Amanda Palermo: AmandaPalermo108 on Instagram
Podcasts for Grieving Parents
If you are a parent navigating grief, you may find these podcasts supportive:
Grieving Out Loud with Angela Kennecke https://emilyshope.charity/podcast/
Widowed Parent Podcast with Jenny Lisk https://jennylisk.com/
Ways to Go Deeper
💜 Try Awaken Grief Support Free for 14 Days Live support, guided practices, and community for people living with grief. https://heatherstang.com/grief-group/
🎥 Free Living With Grief Workshop and Live Q&A With Heather A gentle introduction to mindfulness based grief support with time for questions. https://heatherstang.com/living-with-grief-workshop/
🎓 Mindfulness & Grief Coach Certification Professional training for helpers who want to support others through grief while caring for themselves. https://heatherstang.com/mindfulness-grief-coach-certification/

The holiday season can be especially tender when you are grieving. Familiar traditions, gatherings, and quiet moments can intensify the ache of missing someone you love. Even well meaning silence from others can make the loss feel heavier and more isolating.
In this episode of the Mindfulness and Grief Podcast, thanatologist, yoga therapist, and author Heather Stang talks honestly about why the holidays can be so painful, the social awkwardness many grieving people experience, and how meditation can offer a quiet place of connection when your heart feels full. Heather introduces the concept of continuing bonds and shares the Life Imprint practice, originally developed by C. J. Vickio and taught by Robert Neimeyer, as a way to honor love without forcing cheer or closure.
This episode points you to a gentle guided meditation that can be practiced during the holidays or anytime you are missing your person. The reflection can also be used as a journaling practice and is suitable for both simple and complicated relationships.
🎁 Download your free Grief Sensitive Holiday Planner: HeatherStang.com/holiday-planner Includes mindful prompts and reflection exercises to help you plan the holiday season with care and compassion.
You will learn:
• Why missing your loved one can feel sharper during the holidays • How silence and avoidance from others can add to grief, even when intentions are good • What continuing bonds means and why many people find it comforting • How the Life Imprint practice supports connection, even in complicated relationships • Why meditation can help you sit with longing without becoming overwhelmed • How this practice fits into the Mindfulness and Grief System, Step Six, Continuing Bonds • Ways to use this reflection as a meditation or journaling practice
If you find this episode helpful, please follow the podcast and consider leaving a review so others can find support when they need it most.

Thanksgiving can be an emotionally complex day when you are grieving. Even simple traditions or familiar gatherings can feel overwhelming when your heart is carrying loss. Whether this is your first Thanksgiving without your person or one of many, it is normal to feel tender, unsure, or stretched thin by expectations and family dynamics.
In this episode of the Mindfulness and Grief Podcast, thanatologist, yoga therapist, and author Heather Stang shares seven mindful tips to help you navigate Thanksgiving before the day arrives, during the gathering itself, and afterward when everything settles again. Through personal stories, trauma sensitive guidance, and practical mindfulness tools, Heather offers a grounded way to care for your heart and reduce unnecessary suffering on this meaningful holiday.
🎁 Download your free Grief Sensitive Winter Holiday Planner: heatherstang.com/holiday-help Includes mindful prompts and reflection exercises to help you plan for the holidays with clarity and compassion.
You will learn:
• How emotional tension builds before Thanksgiving and how mindfulness can help you recognise it early • A simple visualization practice to uncover what may feel difficult on the holiday • How to understand and express your needs clearly, including a real life story of how one family transformed their day • Personal rituals that can bring comfort and meaning during Thanksgiving • Why children's grief is often overlooked, how to talk with them honestly, and how to support them at their own pace • How different grieving styles, such as instrumental and intuitive grief, shape family dynamics during the holidays • What to expect after Thanksgiving, why an emotional drop is normal, and how to tend to yourself with care
If you find this episode helpful, please follow the podcast and consider leaving a review so others can find support when they need it most.