Objectives
By the end of this module you will be able to:
- Apply the GGN Steady Ground Promise and the five GGN Steady Ground Habits to the design of a somatic grief support session.
- Recognize ways that common wellness practices (for example, closed-eye meditation or deep breathing) can unintentionally distress some people, and adapt them.
- Practice cultural humility across faith traditions, cultural mourning practices, identities, and abilities.
- Adapt GGN practices for accessibility, including for people with disabilities, chronic pain, or limited mobility.
Lesson
What "trauma-informed" means
Many grieving people carry earlier trauma, and some losses are themselves traumatic. Being trauma-informed does not mean treating trauma; that is clinical work. It means organizing everything you do so that it is less likely to cause harm and more likely to support safety and choice.
Across the Education Center, GGN uses one shared language for trauma-informed support. The public GGN program Trauma-Informed Grief Support teaches it to families, faith communities, workplaces, and volunteers. As a certified practitioner you use the same words, applied to the design of every somatic session.
The GGN Steady Ground Promise has four parts: Notice that many people carry hard experiences, and that people can and do find their way through them; Watch gently for signs that someone may be affected, without probing or labeling; Build care into how things are done, not only into what we say; and Do no further harm, by avoiding anything that repeats the hurt.
The five GGN Steady Ground Habits turn the Promise into action. Here is what each one looks like at practitioner level:
| Steady Ground Habit | What it looks like in a GGN somatic session |
|---|---|
| Predict | A predictable session shape (Module 5), a private and comfortable space, a written crisis plan, and a short preview before every practice: what it involves, how long it takes, and how to stop. |
| Ask | Consent for the session and for each practice, at least two options every time, and "no" accepted warmly. Fees, confidentiality, and scope are explained before services begin. |
| Pace | The client sets the depth. Practices start with what feels neutral or pleasant, use Small Sips, and always end in the Settled Middle (Module 8). |
| Respect | The client is the expert on their own grief, body, culture, and faith. Adapt every practice for ability, identity, and belief, and check your own assumptions. |
| Connect | Offer Borrowed Steadiness, link clients with peers and GGN community spaces, and connect them quickly to medical, licensed mental health, or crisis care when needed. |
These habits are GGN's own. They reflect values widely shared in trauma-informed practice, such as safety, honesty, choice, collaboration, peer support, and respect for culture and history. Sources for further study appear in Further reading.
When common practices cause distress
Some practices widely promoted as "calming" can be unsettling for people with trauma histories or in acute grief. Research on meditation has documented that contemplative practices can sometimes be associated with difficult experiences (see Further reading). Practical implications:
- Closing the eyes can feel unsafe. Always offer a soft, downward gaze as an equal option.
- Long silent periods can leave people alone with intrusive memories. Keep guidance present and practices short at first.
- Deep or forceful breathing can trigger lightheadedness, panic, or hyperventilation. GGN uses only gentle, natural breathing invitations (Module 9).
- Focusing on the heart, chest, or belly may connect directly to the site of pain or to a medical memory (for example, a loved one's heart attack). Start at the periphery, such as the hands, feet, or the contact of the body with a chair.
- Lying down can feel vulnerable. Seated or standing options come first.
- Phrases like "let go" or "surrender" can land badly for someone who did not want to let go of the person who died.
Cultural humility
Cultural competence suggests one can master knowledge about a group. Cultural humility is a stance of ongoing learning, self-reflection, and respect for the person as the authority on their own culture. Grief practices vary enormously: periods of formal mourning, specific rituals for washing, dressing, or burying the body, prayers on particular days after a death, anniversaries, ancestor veneration, public wailing in some traditions and quiet restraint in others. None of these is more "healthy" than another.
Practical habits of cultural humility:
- Ask open questions: "Are there traditions, beliefs, or practices that matter to you in how you grieve or honor them?"
- Do not assume a person's faith, family structure, or relationship to the deceased.
- Ask about language for death. Some people prefer "died"; others prefer "passed," "transitioned," or a term from their tradition. Follow their lead.
- Recognize that some communities have experienced historical and ongoing harm from health and helping systems. Trust is earned, not owed.
- Respect that some people do not experience their body as a safe or neutral place because of illness, disability, gender dysphoria, past violence, or discrimination. Offer non-body anchors, such as an object, a sound, or the room.
- Be aware of your own cultural lens and its blind spots.
Accessibility
Every GGN practice must have adaptations. Examples:
- "Feel your feet on the floor" becomes "notice any place where your body is supported," for wheelchair users or people with limited sensation.
- Movement invitations always include "or imagine the movement" and "or move only your eyes or fingers."
- For people who are blind or have low vision, Look Around the Room becomes listening around the room, using sound, temperature, and texture.
- For d/Deaf participants, provide captioning or interpreters and written cues; avoid relying on eyes-closed audio guidance.
- For people with chronic pain, emphasize that they never need to move into pain and can always stop.
Guided practiceGGN Core Practice: Two Choices (about 3 minutes)
This practice teaches the habit of offering options. It can be used at the start of any practice. "Before we try something, I'd like to offer you a couple of choices. You can keep your eyes open and let them rest softly on the floor, or on something in the room. Or, if it feels comfortable, you can close them. Either is completely fine, and you can switch any time." (pause) "You can stay just as you are, or adjust your position in any way that helps you feel more comfortable. Some people like to sit back, some like to lean forward, some like to stand." (pause) "And at any point, you can tell me 'pause' or just raise a hand, and we'll stop. You don't need to explain why." (pause) "Which would you like to start with?" Facilitator notes: The point is not the specific choices but the felt experience of being asked. Notice whether the person seems surprised to be given a choice. Many grieving people have recently been through hospitals, funerals, and legal processes where they had very little choice.
Fictional vignetteFictional Vignette 4.1: Grace and Mrs. Okafor
Grace, a GGN practitioner, is supporting Mrs. Okafor, 72, whose adult son died of cancer. In their second session, Grace invites her to close her eyes and "breathe deeply into your heart." Mrs. Okafor stiffens, opens her eyes, and says she would rather pray. Later she mentions that her family will hold a large gathering forty days after the death, and that she has been cooking for it. Discussion questions:
- What went wrong in Grace's invitation, and how could she have framed it differently?
- How might Grace respond to Mrs. Okafor's wish to pray?
- How can the forty-day gathering and the cooking become part of the support, if Mrs. Okafor wishes?
Facilitator guidance: Grace gave a single option, chose eyes closed, and directed attention to the chest, where Mrs. Okafor may hold pain and the memory of her son's illness. Her wish to pray is a source of strength to honor, not resistance. Grace can ask whether she would like a moment of quiet for prayer, and whether she would like to share anything about the gathering. Cooking for mourners can be a deeply embodied ritual of love and of Love That Stays.
Reflection Prompts
- Which of the five Steady Ground Habits is most natural for you in a session? Which needs the most growth?
- What cultural or family messages about grief did you absorb? Where might they show up as assumptions with clients?
- Rewrite one practice you already know (from yoga, meditation, or another setting) to include at least three trauma-informed choices.
- Who in your community might not feel safe seeking grief support, and why?