Total Eclipse of the Heart: Tending Grief through the Holidays with Kylee Gies

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.” ~MLK, Jr

The holidays are a time of communing, feasting, and being joyful. It is also a time of darkness and the beginning of inner contemplations during winter’s muse. Tenderness and vulnerability may rise to meet those who are grieving a loss, a death, a family member, a transition, friction in the family, etc. This pendulum of emotions can be filled with many different consequences and states of grief such as; memories, longing, deep sorrow, shame, tenderness, isolation, ‘stuckness’, etc. Metaphorically, it can be seen as a personal ‘eclipse’ deep within our being where a ‘corona’ of light exists within the shadow that pass through our heart centers.

“It’s all about the darkness, the power of darkness and love’s place in the dark.”

Jim Steinman, song writer of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ 1983, sung by Bonnie Tyler

I invite you to use this 'personal eclipse' as an opportunity to gently embrace the meaning of darkness passing  through your life so you can access  and nurture the light frequency that is always there for your own self-healing. The darkness is where insights, growth, and breakthroughs begin to transpire! You don’t need to journey the hard stuff alone. Surfing the grief spiral with intention, especially seasonally, requires us to put forth effort, choice, and change, which unfolds in its own time.

This workshop is curated to support you in building self-care tools to harness love, compassion, acceptance, and more spaciousness to shift your own suffering. When you deliberately liberate yourself from emotional turmoil you can begin to be more present in the now and make sound choices to access the innate resilience that’s already within you. The byproduct is often joy, post-traumatic growth, and a sense of transformation and rebirth.

All are welcome! Come just as you are.  You will most likely leave with a feeling of upliftment, support, and strength to tend to your grief journey during the holidays and beyond.

“When tending to matters of the heart, it’s important to remember that vulnerability is a source of power, Acceptance forges a path to freedom, and creativity heals.” ~ Kylee

This impactful process will unfold in a 4.5 hr. timeframe. It takes time to pause and to cultivate tender loving care to go inward and swim around for a bit. 😊

You will have the opportunity to:

- To build a group altar and share in ‘circle way’. You are invited to bring special objects, photos, songs, poems, relics,  etc. to place on the altar.

- To connect with your body and inner-landscape through breath, sound, and

movement. The body never lies. It is the place where we store our pain and

where we experience this tragically beautiful life through our senses. I will guide

you through a soothing process of using these three elements to nurture truth,

restoration, release, and empowerment within yourself. No experience is

necessary. You can do all of this from a chair if needed. The grief movement

is based on Paul Denniston’s grief movement training.

- To contemplate the qualities of light and shadow through deep questioning. We will explore how their qualities relate to our personal narratives. We will acknowledge what we identify with and how we would like to either enhance or release their meaning in our lives. It is up to us to illuminate what exists within the dark and lean into it for the sake of reframing our relationship with pain. The Buddah said, “Pain is inevitable, Suffering is optional”

- To create sacred heART work to connect the hands, the heart, and pure expression. You will be designing your own ‘total eclipse of the heart grief case’. It’s basically a unique treasure box that will be an interactive tool you can use throughout the holidays. There will be specific exercises, prompts, and a self-prescribed ritual for you to engage in with the box each day throughout the holidays.

Cost includes: workshop love & energy, tea, snacks/lunch, art supplies ($20/pp).

Kylee Gies

is a certified Creative Grief Support Practitioner and owner of Sacred Dwelling LLC. After the loss of her son, Oliver, she has been following the calling to support others’ grief journeys. Kylee studied Aikido for ten years and is a life-long learner & practitioner of yoga, mindfulness/meditation, along with facilitating emotional growth programs. She holds space with love and compassion while providing expressive therapeutic modalities that encompass meaning-making, integration, creative exploration, and growth. She works with individuals one on one and facilitates grief circles and workshops.