What this episode explores

• A raw, personal story of stress, grief, and the moment everything changed
• How grief after losing both parents affected Adrianne’s physical health
• The blood pressure readings that became a wake-up call
• How yoga and mindfulness became her lifeline
• The role Veterans Yoga Project played in her healing
• A mini Mindful Resilience class you can follow along with
• Support for anyone grieving during the holidays

Key moments

• The breaking point
Adrianne shares blood pressure readings from the months after her father passed in 2021. Numbers in the red zone. A doctor who wouldn’t let her leave until they stabilized. The shock of realizing stress and grief were affecting her body more than she knew.

• What grief looked like day to day
Hair loss. Weight changes. Sleeplessness. A rash across her arm. Crying every day and trying to function while falling apart inside and missing her parents deeply, especially around holiday seasons.

• The turning point
Finding Veterans Yoga Project — free, trauma-informed classes for the military community, caregivers, and first responders. Logging in with the camera off. Crying through classes. Returning anyway. Learning breath work, meditation, mindful movement, gratitude, and rest.

• Becoming a teacher
Starting yoga teacher training with no plans to teach — just a need to heal. Earning a 200-hour certificate, then trauma-informed training, then Veterans Yoga Project certification. VYP offering her first teaching role in 2023.

• Why she teaches today
Not to perform yoga. Not to be “perfect.” But to offer community, support, and tools for navigating grief, stress, and uncertainty — the same tools that helped save her life.

Mini Mindful Resilience Class (follow along)

Breath work
• Inhale through the nose
• Exhale through the mouth
• Or breathe through parted lips if congested
• Notice coolness in, warmth out

Meditation
• Visualize light snow falling
• Imagine watching it as a child
• Notice the softness, the stillness, the quiet

Mindful movement
• Gentle neck rotations
• Shoulder rolls
• Slow head tilts with steady breath

Gratitude
• Name one small thing you appreciate
• If nothing comes, set the intention to notice gratitude today

Rest
• Take five minutes if that’s all you can find
• Let your breath settle
• Let your body soften

Holiday Grief Reflection

• Grief can hit harder during the holidays
• Empty chairs and missed traditions stir deep emotions
• It’s okay to cry — tears reflect love, not weakness
• You can show up for others only when you first show up for yourself

Resources mentioned

Veterans Yoga Project
• Free daily online classes
• Yoga, meditation, breath work, and Yoga Nidra
• For veterans, active duty, reservists, first responders, caregivers, and their families
• veteransyogaproject.org

Closing message

Grief changes you. Mindfulness and movement help you keep going.
If this season feels heavy, you’re not alone.
Take a breath.
Take your time.
Take what you need from this practice.

Release Tension When Stress Builds Up

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Mindfulness partners:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Adagio Teas⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Yoga Design Lab