It’s May 3rd. Nine days away from Mother’s Day. The first Mother’s Day without the physical presence of my mother Theresa B. Gartin Leeke. Knowing this is about to happen has got me in my feelings.
CONFESSION: I’ve been feeling waves of grief rising up in my heart and body around experiencing Mother’s Day without my mom Theresa on Mother Earth since Easter Sunday.
On Easter, I decided to give myself more grace and space when these emotional waves of grief show up. I also decided to open my heart and seek out new ways of supporting myself. One of the new ways was signing up for grief doula and sound healer gina Breedlove’s Vibration of Grace weekend workshop at Kripalu Yoga Center (her book, The Vibration of Grace is awesome).
SIDE NOTE: I love that gina spells her name in lowercase letters like ntozake shange, one of my favorite African American woman creative sheroes and poets.
gina’s powerful workshop and the community of people I spent time with at Kripalu last weekend helped me get in touch with, reflect on, and express hidden areas of grief with the power of my own voice in singing, chanting, and using affirmations along with rituals, meditation, journaling, reiki, yoga, dance, and mindful walking and movement. What a blessing!
Today, I received a divine download after moving my body with my Barre3 community that invited me to honor and embrace my mom Theresa’s ancestral spirit, love, and legacy by becoming my own mother and exploring how I can use mothering to deepen my self-love and self-care birthrights.
Resource
Listen to the latest episode of the Thriving Mindfully Podcast that discusses how grief can call us to mother ourselves.
Over the past 30 years, I have learned that death, loss, and grief are master classes in surrender.
This year, I have learned how important it is to have a safe and sacred community to share how I am feeling, practice self-care, and receive support in my death, loss, and grief journey.
Ananda Leeke 