Larisa Byely

I am a certified yoga instructor, Yoga Therapist, trauma-informed somatic psychotherapist, and a grief tender. My greatest passion is to help others join the path of life long self-inquiry. 

With a background in various movement traditions and psychology (Columbia Univ 1997), I have been involved in the synergy of psychological and somatic practices as they relate to the path of self-exploration and healing for the last 30 years. In all my teaching and facilitation, I integrate psychological mindedness with the wisdom of the body and the healing power of movement.

My current passion is to welcome back and re-weave the vital process of grief and grieving into our culture.  It is my honor to facilitate grief tending circles and hold space for individual grievers. My grief support sessions and circles are an individualized and eclectic blend of body-oriented psychotherapy, trauma-informed somatic work, breath, restorative movement, sound, and ritual making. In creating grief circles and rituals, I lean into the wisdom of Francis Weller, Malidoma Some, and Martin Prechtel. They serve as a lighthouse, welcoming my work home. 

By tending grief, we open into vistas of praise, compassion, and unconditional love. We reconnect to a shared humanity, for all people know loss and grieve. May we become a community that knows how to grieve well, for then we become a people more willing to live expansively.