Healing Support for Grief During the Holidays
By Dr. Kirsten West DC, MS and Emily Horn CMT-P
The holiday season can be beautiful—lights flickering in windows, gatherings, rituals, and nostalgia. But it can also stir the quiet (or not-so-quiet) ache of grief.
Whether your loss is fresh or carried for years, grief has a way of rising during this time of year, and we want you to know we are here to support your wellness as you move through all that happens in this life, including the process of grieving.
Many of us grew up hearing about the “five stages of grief,” introduced by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying:
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance
While these stages were originally meant to describe what people may experience, over time they became prescriptive—as if grief should unfold in an orderly sequence and then reach a tidy completion.
“Grief Isn’t a Timeline—It’s a Landscape”
But grief doesn’t work that way. Not in our bodies, not in our lives, not in our hearts. At Mindful Wellness Space, we know deeply that healing is an ongoing and nonlinear process. You know this too—a scent, a song, or a familiar holiday ritual can bring us right back to the earliest moments of loss, whether it’s been months, years, or decades.
The truth is: grief is not a timeline. It’s a landscape. A long, winding river—sometimes turbulent, sometimes still. Nuanced. Layered. Ever-changing. And so is your wellness path.
We don’t “get over” grief or arrive at a still point where wellness always remains.
We learn to live with it—as part of living—and in that learning, our lives are reshaped towards a wellbeing that is inclusive. Wellness becomes a journey and connection becomes vital.
Tending Grief Together
Our team at Mindful Wellness Space is here to support this unfolding. We’re holding the full spectrum of human experience this season—grief alongside holiday light. The holidays can bring joy and connection as well as difficult emotions, including grief. Remember, our treatments offer gentle ways to support the body, soothe the nervous system, and nurture the heart as it moves through difficult terrain.
Applied Kinesiology & Chiropractic
Grief often settles into the body as tension, fatigue, or constriction. Chiropractic and Applied Kinesiology can help balance the nervous system, regulate stress responses, and create more ease in the body, making emotional processing more supported and sustainable.
Grief can arise both when we are aware of it and when it is below the surface. Both can keep the nervous system in a dysregulated state. With AK, we can identify emotions that are stressing the body and use techniques—such as tapping specific points—to regulate the nervous system and help you move through emotion.
Each emotion is tied to an organ system, so it is no coincidence that lung issues can present during times of grief. Through muscle testing, we uncover how your body needs to respond and support the processing of emotions. Bach flower remedies can also be muscle tested if the nervous system needs additional support, with grief often being one of the most present.
Schedule with Dr. West for her unique blending of these modalities.
Acupuncture
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, grief is connected to the lungs and the breath. Acupuncture can help restore movement, ease heaviness in the chest, and support emotional flow. Many people report a sense of grounding and relief after treatment—like the body finally exhales.
Meditation & Mindfulness
Meditation gives us a way to gently turn toward our experience without becoming overwhelmed. Practicing presence allows us to feel grief without being consumed by it, opening space for compassion, steadiness, and connection.