Evergreen WellnessGrief-Focused Massage TherapyThe Modality of Grief Massage
What is Grief Massage?
Grief massage is an intentional form of massage supporting those experiencing intense, active grief. During intense, active grieving (i.e. the first year or longer, marker days, anniversaries, and holidays), it is so easy for grievers to feel “stuck” in their heads–trying to make sense of the loss and processing the inherent and cultural aspects of their grieving process. It is also easy for grievers to feel “stuck” in their hearts, absorbed in the emotions associated with the experience of loss. What is not easy is to stay (or get) connected to the physical body.
Common grief symptoms that may impact the body are:
• Headaches
• Sleep problems
• Appetite changes/stomach upsets
• “PMS”-like symptoms/irritability
• “Skin crawling” sensations
• Sore, tight neck and shoulder muscles
• Jaw pain
• Fatigue
• Sometimes it can feel like a “hangover”
How can It Support me?
Grief massage may help to comfort physical symptoms related to stress and can be a form of “Assisted Relaxation”. Receiving physical grief support can draw attention to a client’s physical stress symptoms - helping them feel supported in their grief journey. Grief is a healthcare issue because it is a significant stressor to the body.
• Early grieving can be mentally and emotionally draining, and the body may often be ignored.
• Grieving may leave a person too exhausted to do self-care or plan healthy meals.
• Sleeping may be difficult.
• Appetite may be unpredictable.
• Physical relief and comfort can be one of the most immediate types of support available.
• Comfort through touch, warmth, and the cocoon effect of the massage table can be an effective early support tool or wellness ritual for grievers.
This modality provides a safe space with no intention of fixing your grief but allowing someone experiencing grief to receive support for how the loss has impacted their body.
WHat Can I Expect
Safe and nurturing space fully clothed or undressed to your comfort level.
The gentle relaxation grief massage can focus on these areas and can also be tailored to your needs.
Scalp and face
Neck and back
Arms and hands
Calves and feet
Grief massage may prompt tears and expressions of sadness. This is a normal response, and your grief massage practitioner has received focused education on how to move through what we call “emotional release”; this form of release is not the goal or role of a grief massage practitioner but know that you will be supported if it were to occur.
While grief massage practitioners can’t bear someone else’s emotional pain or provide any answers to the questions and mysteries of grieving, we have the unique opportunity to provide space for comfort for a grieving client and their grieving body. Grieving is hard work and part of being a safe place and a safe person for clients is providing acknowledgment of how hard the grieving client is working.
A note from Morgan:
The first massage I ever received wasn’t for relaxation or luxury — it was a gift. After my dad passed away, family members pitched in to gift my aunt and me a massage session, hoping it might bring us some comfort in the depths of our grief. I didn’t know what to expect, but I remember how, for the first time in a long while, my body began to soften. The tension, the ache, and the heaviness I had been carrying found a gentle place to rest.
That experience showed me how healing can begin through the body — through compassionate, intentional touch and the quiet space it offers for emotions to surface and release.
Years later, when I trained in massage therapy, practiced for 10 years and eventually began specializing in grief massage, I carried that moment with me. It reminded me that healing doesn’t always come through words. Sometimes, it begins with stillness, safety, and the permission to simply be.
Now, as both a mental health clinician specializing in grief counseling, and a grief-informed massage practitioner, I offer this same kind of gentle, embodied support to others walking their own path through loss.
I was fortunate to be able to study with Aimee Joy Taylor, founder of The Institute for Grief Massage in North Carolina to offer this special and safe massage to grieving clients.
The Joy of Grief Massage℠ with Aimee Joy Taylor of The Institute for Grief Massage Inc
Give the gift of rest to a loved one experiencing physical symptoms of grief. The first hour is spent going over intake paperwork along with planning the massage session, and the second hour is dedicated to assisted relaxation, allowing your loved one to collapse on the table and rest.
Gift Cards
Grief Massage offers “Assisted Relaxation” during one of life’s most stressful times. After loss, reminders can constantly shake the nervous system—like a snow globe that won’t settle. This gentle massage creates a safe, still space for grounding, comfort, and reconnection to the body when grief pulls us into our heads and hearts, allowing moments of rest, release, and peace.
A 90-minute Grief Massage offers an extended experience of “Assisted Relaxation,” giving the nervous system more time to settle, restore, and breathe.