Holy Mama Grief Ritual: Tear Medicine

Holy Mama Grief Ritual: Tear Medicine is a weekend healing retreat for mothers, held at Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is open to mothers in every sense, including all the ways a person can be initiated through the portal of motherhood. Jerilyn Brownstein, Michaela Himelfarb and Lauren David are listed as presenters, and the weekend is built around communal grief work: a practice described as ancient, emergent and futuristic.

What to Expect

Together the group forms what the organizers call a sudden village, a communal container in which grief can be touched in company rather than alone. The work moves through the five gates of grief named by Francis Weller:

- Everything we love we will lose
- The places that have not known love
- The sorrows of the world
- What we expected and did not receive
- Ancestral grief

The weekend also explores a sixth gate, the harm we have caused, as articulated by Rachel Rice and Holly Truhar.

Writing, song, movement, poetry and sharing circles carry the work, held with vulnerability, transparency and care. These practices prepare the group for a culminating group ritual. The thinking behind it is plain: sorrow left unexpressed hardens the heart and leaves people swinging between overwhelm and numbness, and grief needs the eyes of others to be fully released. The hope is that tears can become a source of medicine, and that people leave more able to meet themselves, their families and their communities with presence.

The program runs from a Friday evening to a Sunday midday. It opens with a session from 7:00 to 10:00 pm on the first night. On the full day, sessions run from 9:00 to 11:30 am, from 1:30 to 6:00 pm, and again from 7:30 to 8:30 pm. The closing session runs from 9:00 to 11:00 am on the last morning, followed by lunch and departure.

Each day begins with a Kripalu Yoga class from 6:30 to 7:45 am, followed by a silent breakfast, and a second yoga class is offered at 4:45 pm. Actual times may vary, and the schedule given at check-in confirms room locations.

This offering belongs to a wider body of work called holy mama work, which experiments with mothers working collectively to seed small pockets of living culture. Shir Meira Feit and Rebecca Nidorf are also listed among the presenters.

The Setting

Kripalu sits in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. Accommodations are intentionally simple, meant to help guests unplug and feel grounded. Options range from private rooms, suited to solitude and reflection, to community-style shared dorms that encourage connection with other participants. Rooms are ready by 4:00 pm, and bags can be stored in the Luggage Room until then. Check-out on the last day is at 10:00 am, though guests may stay on campus and take part in workshops until 2:00 pm.

Three meals a day are included. Breakfast is silent, and lunch and dinner are shared.

Before You Go

No prior experience with grief work or ritual practice is needed, and the retreat is open to all levels. It is offered in English.

Registration includes the program sessions, accommodation, three daily meals, more than ten yoga classes over the stay, and access to the Kripalu grounds. Healing Arts sessions and purchases from the Kripalu Shop and Cafe are extra. If the program is full, a waitlist is available, and people are contacted in the order they joined.