Finding Love in Grief Held Together (LIGHT): Healing Through Somatic Wisdom with Amy Picket-Williams (Episode #159)

In this episode of Vision Beyond Sight, Dr. Lynn Hellerstein sits down with Amy Picket-Williams, grief expert, international speaker, licensed clinical social worker, psychotherapist, yoga teacher and founder of LIGHT Movement, for a powerful conversation about grief—not just as an individual experience, but as something that lives within families, communities, and society as a whole. Drawing from neuroscience, somatics, polyvagal theory, and grief theory, Amy shares practical ways we can better understand grief’s impact on our body and the nervous system, and learn to heal through connection and embodied practices.

The conversation explores how chronic states of survival after grief and trauma impact our ability to connect, empathize, and create meaningful change. Understanding grief through the lens of the nervous system helps explain why so many people feel overwhelmed, exhausted, or stuck in patterns of fear and reactivity.

🔊 Click here and tune in to the show now to explore these insights:

Amy’s Personal Journey and the Birth of LIGHT

Amy shares the deeply personal story of her father’s death and how circumstances surrounding his passing delayed her own grieving process. That experience ultimately inspired her to create the LIGHT Movement, a nonprofit organization dedicated to making grief support and education accessible to people around the world.

LIGHT stands for Love In Grief Held Together, reflecting the organization’s core belief that no one should have to grieve alone. Amy shares LIGHT’s missions:

• Reminding people that they are not alone in their grief while teaching the science of grief and practical somatic tools.
• Supporting people in integrating grief and discovering meaning and purpose after loss.
• Connecting individuals with resources and communities that can support their healing.
• Standing in solidarity with all forms of grief and loss through a social justice lens.

Amy emphasizes that grief extends beyond the loss of a loved one or pet. People may also grieve the loss of health, independence, relationships, identity, safety, peace, and countless other life changes.

Growing Around Grief

One of the most powerful metaphors Amy shares is the image of a tree struck by lightning.

The scar remains forever, just as grief never fully disappears. Yet with connection, co-regulation, and support, the tree continues to grow. The scar does not shrink, but the tree expands around it. Similarly, we do not “get over” grief. Instead, we learn how to integrate it into our lives, allowing growth, meaning, and purpose to emerge alongside our loss.

How Grief Affects the Body

Grief is not just emotional—it is deeply physical.

Amy discusses the profound impact grief can have on the body, including conditions such as Broken Heart Syndrome and elevated cortisol levels that may contribute to long-term health challenges, including heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. Even the actual pain on one’s chest (heart) and other physical effects.

The Nervous System’s Role in Grief and Trauma

A key focus of the conversation is the role of the vagus nerve and the nervous system in processing grief and trauma.

Amy explains that communication along the vagus nerve is 80% from the body to the brain and only 20% from the brain to the body. This highlights why healing grief requires work with the body itself.

When grief or trauma pushes us into chronic survival states, we may become stuck in:

• Sympathetic activation: anxiety, anger, hypervigilance, and reactivity.
• Dorsal vagal shutdown: numbness, apathy, exhaustion, and disconnection.

Healing involves helping the nervous system return to a more balanced and regulated state.

Three Somatic Frameworks for Healing

Amy shares three powerful somatic frameworks that can support grief integration and nervous system regulation.

• Bilateral Movement – Activities that engage both sides of the body can help integrate traumatic and grief-related experiences. Examples include walking, swimming, gardening, cooking and eye movement exercises
• Contraction and Expansion – Known as pendulation, it allows individuals to gradually build capacity for difficult emotions while maintaining access to safety and connection.
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation – Through simple practices such as lengthening the exhale, humming, sighing, acupressure techniques and gentle pressure-based practices.

Yoga incorporates all three of these frameworks, but many other activities can provide similar benefits, including singing, art, hiking, gardening, and creative expression. Amy also notes that while there is always grief within trauma, there is not always trauma within grief. However, many of the same healing approaches can support both experiences.

Navigating Collective Grief in Today’s World

With so much uncertainty and suffering occurring globally, many people are experiencing collective grief. Amy encourages listeners to begin with themselves. When we are stuck in anger, fear, or emotional shutdown, our ability to create positive change becomes limited. By first regulating our own nervous systems and returning to what Amy calls a “Window of Peace,” we become more capable of contributing to our families, communities, and society in meaningful ways.

Somatic Tools for Different Nervous System States

Amy offers practical tools that people can use immediately, even if they do not have access to therapy.

For those experiencing sympathetic activation (anger, anxiety, overwhelm): walking meditation, dance, movement-based practices

For those experiencing dorsal shutdown (apathy, numbness, exhaustion): breathwork, self-havening and gentle touch practices such as lightly massaging the face and arms

These accessible tools can help individuals move toward greater regulation and resilience.

The Two Branches of the LIGHT Movement

LIGHT serves both grieving individuals and the professionals who support them.

Support for Grieving Individuals

Programs include grief retreats, workshops, somatic yoga classes, grief hikes, arts-based healing activities and family-centered grief events

Amy also highlights the annual Night to Eliminate Grief held on December 21, a gathering designed to honor all forms of grief and loss.

Education for Professionals

LIGHT provides training for a wide range of professionals, including healthcare providers, mental health practitioners, faith leaders, educators and community leaders. Programs include advanced somatic certifications and trauma- and grief-informed yoga teacher training, helping professionals better understand how grief is held and expressed within the body.

How to Get Involved

The LIGHT Movement relies heavily on volunteers and community support. The organization operates through a sociocratic model with circles focused on areas such as: operations, somatic education and programming, marketing and outreach, and finance and development. Whether through volunteering, participating in programs, or attending events, there are many opportunities to support the mission of ensuring that no one grieves alone.

A Message of Hope

Amy leaves listeners with an important reminder: You are not alone.

Grief is a natural response to loss, and support is available. Through connection, community, and simple somatic practices, it is possible to build resilience, find meaning, and continue growing alongside the scars that grief leaves behind.

About Amy Picket-Williams:

Amy Pickett-Williams, LCSW, RYT 200, is a licensed clinical social worker, registered yoga teacher, international speaker, and grief expert with more than twenty-five years of experience supporting individuals, families, and communities through loss, trauma, and life transitions. She is the founder of  LIGHT Movement, a nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing accessible, somatic-based grief support and education to people around the world. LIGHT stands for Love In Grief Held Together and was created from the belief that no one should grieve alone.

Amy’s work bridges the fields of mental health, neuroscience, and somatic interventions.  She is known for integrating grief theory, polyvagal theory, nervous system education, and body-based practices into compassionate, practical approaches for working with grief and growing around loss. Through trainings, retreats, workshops, yoga programs, and continuing education courses, she helps both grievers and professionals better understand how grief lives in the body and how embodied practices can support regulation, connection, and meaning-making.

In addition to direct community programming, Amy teaches professionals across disciplines, including social workers, counselors, psychologists, healthcare providers, chaplains, educators, and victim advocates. Her presentations have been shared locally, nationally, and internationally, with a focus on traumatic grief, burnout, collective grief, nervous system regulation, and somatic integration. She is also the creator of SAGE (Somatics and Grief Embodied), a framework that integrates grief theory, neuroscience, and embodied healing practices.

Amy is the author of the upcoming book, Embodying Grief: Somatic and Polyvagal Practices for Finding Peace After Loss, forthcoming through New Harbinger Publications. Through all of her work, she hopes to help create more peaceful, compassionate communities where grief can be witnessed, honored, and held together.

Connect with Amy Picket-Williams and the LIGHT Movement:

Website | Facebook | LIGHT’s Linked In | Amy’s Linked In | Instagram | YouTube

Join LIGHT’s Advanced Somatic Certificate and a Trauma and Grief Infomed Yoga Teacher Training

Signup on LIGHT’s website here.

Participants will explore key grief theories, neuroscience, and nervous system responses to better understand how grief, chronic stress, and trauma impact emotional regulation, relationships, and clinical engagement. The training introduces accessible somatic tools, including breathwork, bilateral movement, and body-based regulation practices that can be integrated into a variety of professional and community settings. Experiential and reflective practices support both personal and professional resilience, while emphasizing ethical, culturally responsive care.

Participants can also enroll in LIGHT’s 30 CE Advanced Somatic Training and receive an Advanced Somatic Certificate, as well as learn more about our Trauma- and Grief-Informed Yoga Teacher Training (YTT), ongoing grief classes, and grief retreat offerings through The LIGHT Movement. LIGHT is always seeking volunteers interested in programming, outreach and marketing, development, and operations as we continue building accessible grief support and education for communities worldwide.

🔊 Click here to play this show now!

Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts!
New episodes every Wednesday at 9 am MT/10 am CT.