With the death of Maya Angelou this week, millions of her advocates and fans will be mourning the loss of an exceptional woman. This grief may, to some, seem misplaced. Because, when any public figure passes a wave of “grief judgment” often follows, from family members, the media, even friends. People question the validity of our grief: How can you grieve so heavily for someone whom you’ve never met?

The relationship we have with our idols can be a complex one. Wrapped up in our adoration of the work they were able to accomplish we often find our own unfulfilled hopes and dreams. Meanwhile, the soothing balm to the mundanity of our own, seemingly less significant lives, can be found in our love of the courage and depth at which they lived.

But is this the reason we really grieve, or is something else at play?

Many of us have unresolved grief. Unexpressed pain, emotion and trauma from prior losses; whether those be the end of a relationship, the departure of someone from our lives or the death of a loved one. Often we were unable to fully grieve when these events occur. The emotions may have been too raw, we may have been buried by the subsequent practicalities or just simply not ready to “go there.”

Yet, when one of our hero’s dies, we are sometimes then capable of allowing ourselves the space, the emotional freedom and the permission to let-go. To others it may seem disproportionate, irrational or over-the-top. Only you will quietly know if Maya Angelou’s passing was the gentle nudge you needed to move into a place of healing. If so, that’s a good thing. That’s exactly the kind of legacy she’d have wanted to leave behind. Don’t listen to anyone else. Grief is an inside job. It’s between you and your soul.

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” — Maya Angelou

 

 

Gemini Adams

Gemini Adams, E-RYT, C-TREP - is a trauma specialist, yoga teacher and award-winning author who is passionate about unraveling the shadowy “stuff” that sits behind our suffering to bring relief and restore an authentic state of well-being to mind, body, heart soul. In the role of educator, Gemini has mentored and taught classes and workshops to adults, at-risk teens, children, the bereaved, the elderly and special needs groups on a variety of transformative, health and wellbeing topics as well as the creative writing and publishing process. 

Knowing from personal experience how trauma impacts the present moment, causing frustration, disruption, robbing us of inner-peace, health and the ability to “be” who we truly are. Gemini began practicing yoga, meditation and seeking transformative tools in her early 20’s to recover from her own trauma's — school bullying, parent’s divorce, boyfriend rape, substance abuse, and her mother dying from cancer at a young age. A Somatic Trauma Resolution (STR) and advanced TRE® practitioner, she draws on 20 years of trainings and certifications with the Trauma Center Justice Resource Institute, Trauma Prevention, CRUSE Bereavement Care, the Tony Robbins Leadership Academy, the NFSH, the Health Wave Institute and studies with Ray Castellino, Sharon Porter, Dr. Peter Levine, Dr. David Bercelli, Dr. Betty Martin and Dr. Diane Pool Heller. Gemini is a trauma-informed Yoga Alliance registered E-RYT teacher with over 800 hours of yoga study with Sivananda, Sri Dharma Mittra, YogaBugs™ and many of California's leading teachers, including Saul David Raye, Govindas of Bhakti Yoga Shala, Sianna Sherman, Micheline Berry, Shiva Rae Mark Whitwell. 

Combining her passion for changing lives with her love of exploring different cultures, Gemini has facilitated youth, mental health, environmental and social impact projects in Africa, Peru, China, Poland, England and the USA, with The Red Cross, Raleigh International, Personal Overseas Development (POD) The Tony Robbins Foundation and The Temple of the Way of Light. 

She is also the creator of Womb*Sense — a fusion of yoga, somatic experiencing and sensual movement — which she’s taught to hundreds of women across four continents. Held in the safety and solidarity of sisterhood, women are guided to shake out pains of the past, freeing trauma from their bodies and wombs, to essence, open to pleasure and their heart’s desires.

Gemini currently works with the Center for Relational Healing, a trauma and addiction recovery center in Los Angeles, where she also has a private practice offering one-on-one sessions with somatic experiencing and shamanic practice to overcome relational neglect, abuse, sexual assault, incest, bullying, CPTSD, PTSD, low self-esteem, unresolved grief or trauma, depression, anxiety and to integrate journeys with plants or psychedelics. A recipient of the prestigious Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship, she writes for Open to Hope and the Huffington Post and is the author of several bestselling books, including Your Legacy of Love: Realize the Gift in Goodbye and The Facebook Diet, which have been published in multiple languages and featured on The Today Show, the BBC, The Huffington Post, Reuters. Also, her freelance healthy living articles have been published in Medium, Women’s Health, Red, BOOM, Live It Natural, and Yahoo.com. You’ll find her popping in to teach at retreats, festivals, conferences around the world, relaxing at a spa or hot-springs, shopping at a local farmers market, dancing under the moon or creating mischief and magic with family and friends. Gemini was a guest on the radio show “Healing the Grieving Heart,” where she discussed 'Lasting Memories of Our Parents' with hosts Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley. 
Listen to the show at https://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/39570/lasting-memories-of-our-parents

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