Our daily reality and routine is obliterated in an instant by our loss. When we look around, what was so familiar before the loss can now feel so foreign, including being in our own kino (body). Most people who suffer a loss, can experience grief in the physical body. These physical manifestations of grief can be magnified if we don’t allow ourselves to pause and be present with our emotions. With that being said, if you are feeling grief in your kino (body), it does not indicate that you are doing something “wrong”. Where you are in the grief process, is simply where you are, try not to judge yourself. You may be experiencing grief in the physical body with one or more of the following:

• Feeling of tightness in the throat or heaviness in the chest

• Have an empty feeling in the stomach

• Loss of appetite

• Wanting to snack / eat often

• Having difficulty sleeping

• Feeling exhausted all the time

• Sleeping more than usual

• Assuming mannerisms or traits of your loved one

• Increased heart rate for many months after the loss

• Generalized aches and pains in the body

• Decreased immune system and decreased ability to fight off physical illness

• Feeling our sense of taste, smell, touch, hearing, or sight dulled

• Crying at unexpected times 

These are all natural and normal grief responses.