Inaugural Movement Community Integrates Grief and Belonging
In partnership with Heartbreak Hill Running Company and with support from the Center for Healing and Justice Through Sport, E-motion launched its inaugural Movement Community in Boston, Massachusetts in January 2023. The 10-week program brought together a group of 18 bereaved adults who shared the experience of losing a child or sibling. The Movement Community experience integrates ritual, movement, and community to enhance coping, supporting members to move with - as opposed to move on from - grief and loss. E-motion Founder Myra Sack facilitated the program leading weekly intentions and grief practices, creating a sacred space for each member to share their story, and moving alongside members toward their culminating run, the Newport, RI Half-Marathon.
One year later, we invited two members of the inaugural community to reflect on the experience and what has stuck with them:
What inspired you to join the E-motion Movement Community?
“I learned about E-Motion nine months after my son died. I had just started to run again on my own, and although I longed for company, I wasn’t ready to meet any new people who were not bereaved. I didn’t want to make small talk. I wanted to talk about the only thing that mattered: how much I loved my son and how much I missed him. ”
“The concept and the leadership. I was drawn to any opportunity that would help me keep my late son a part of my life. And I simply could not say “no” to an invitation from Myra. I knew Myra for years as an extraordinary mentor to my oldest son. I had always been drawn to her gentle leadership, to the depth of her commitment to everything she believes in, to her loving and open nature. I knew that whatever she came up with, particularly if it would be in honor of her daughter Havi, it was bound to be gold. And it was!”
In your own words, how would you describe the Movement Community experience?
“Uplifting. Sacred Connection. Chosen Family. This community knows me first as ‘Felix’s Mom’. I don’t walk into any other space in my life and hear that with regularity. It’s been powerful and it’s changed how I see myself and my life post-loss. I have been able to give myself and others more grace because this community helps me bear the daily heartbreak. The endorphins are also a bonus. ”
“It was a wonderful and powerful experience of validating the many feelings and experiences I had since my son died. For years since I had been plagued by painful doubts — about EVERYTHING. Sharing my experiences with the E-Motion group made me confident that the relationship of love I had with my son while he was ‘alive’ has remained, and perhaps become stronger now that he is ‘dead.’”
What activity, intention, or moment was most meaningful to you and why?
“The sacred circle happens before every run. We go around and say our name and our relationship to our loved one. One person shares a photo, story, song or memory of their person with the group. These stories and these lives gone too soon are wrapped around my heart like strong vines. They have connected me into universal suffering and at the same time localized the pain through beautiful specificity. Each of these people are unique and loved without end. ”
“Circle time, repeating their names. There were also specific individual stories that moved me, like those of people who had not spoken the name of their loved ones for years, decades, before joining E-Motion, and in one case, had stopped playing piano for 40 years (since her brother died), and returned to it after joining E-Motion.”
What would you tell others who may be considering joining a Movement Community?
“You don’t need courage, just bring your broken heart. I was scared too. Turns out that after one meet-up everyone feels like family. ”
“It is not about the skill level, or one’s capacity to move faster or skillfully. It is about finding a community, being outdoors, and moving with your entire being alongside your loved one.”