0068: Mindfulness & Grief: Self-Compassion, the Inner Critic, and Learning to Breathe Underwater (PART 2)

Christina Zampitella hosts Gyani Richards, a grief counselor who shares how losing his father to cancer at age 13 shaped his lifelong path into meditation, mindfulness, and grief work. They discuss grief’s intensity and the fight/flight/freeze response, why self-compassion often disappears after loss, and how societal pressure and disenfranchised grief can amplify the inner critic. Gyani explains mindfulness as relaxation, alertness, and non-judgment—practiced formally or in daily moments—and how it helps distinguish a deeper, kinder inner voice from self-judgment. They explore pacing and dosing grief, the value of supportive witnessing, groups, and ritual, and somatic cues like softening the belly or warming in the chest. Christina shares her experience with yoga nidra for reducing reactivity and improving self-kindness, and Gianni closes with Rumi’s “The wound is where the light enters,” emphasizing grief as a sacred opportunity to be embraced.   GYANI’S WEBSITE: https://ourgriefpath.com/