This is what participants say about the moveTHRU programs

I found Emily's TikTok in March 2020 during the Covid Shutdown, before Brandon passed away. I was enamored with her ability to go through something so devastating yet be so bold to share, carry others, and change the narrative on something that is so taboo in our society.

Then it happened to me. Brandon, my husband, died in November 2020 from blunt force trauma to the head after a lifelong fight with addiction. I watched her tiktok in desperation and insomnia after I became a widow. I found her on instagram and joined the move thru facebook group. Around the one year mark I felt a shift. i knew it was time for action work on my part to learn how to live in this reality not only for myself but for my 4 children as well.

I joined the MoveThru Grief Live course this past January. I was just so tired of feeling stuck, like life was over, and I needed to find a like minded community who understood where I was. who walked the path before me. Not people who had never been in my shoes telling me it would get better. I needed the real, the raw, the tangible. I needed relief, resources and most importantly support from people who walked the path before me. People who just get it.

My biggest pain point or struggle coming into the course stemmed more from the people who are still alive today, my expectations of how I thought people were supposed to be there for me, more than it did from the loss of Brandon. Don't get me wrong, the loss was crushing, I died as well, but I knew in the death I was experiencing I had the opportunity to be planted. To be reborn. To become so much more than I was as I carry Brandons legacy forward. The secondary losses broke me. The family dynamic changes, letting go of Brandon and I's dreams, my kids dreams, the fact that my kids for the rest of their life will not physically have their dad. I had so much guilt, anger, and anxiety.

I had tremendous results from joining this course. You know as with everything you get out of it what you put into it. I know Brandon is in everything I do. I know that my feelings, emotions, sadness, grief, happiness and joy will ebb and flow. Emily's course gave me the tools to recognize how I am feeling, to listen to my body, to answer questions about what my body is saying and to move it accordingly to live in the duality of Brandon's death and my future.

My advice to anyone on the fence about taking the course is to be open to the things that make you uncomfortable. Be open to the fact that even if you can't believe there is relief in this now grief changes, and we are given an opportunity to grow and move with it everyday to live out our persons legacy in spite of the tremendous loss that brought us to this point of even looking for a course/community like this.

- JENNIFER HIRDES, Move THRU Grief LIVE & Grow THRU Grief

“Like anyone that decides to join a grief group, I live with profound loss. My husband John was diagnosed on 12/30/2019 with ALS and passed away on 8/21/2021.

Well that brings me to Emily’s grief group.

Emily is pretty amazing. She somehow, despite her own profound loss manages to show you that life is meant to be lived.

Our grief group started on 9/1/2021. For some people that might be too tight but for me after 19.5 months of anticipatory grief I was ready. Quickly, I met a group of people who actually understood my loss. No one judged, everyone just came to this group with an open heart.

For some strange reason within this group, I felt like I could speak, I didn’t need to be someone I wasn’t. Emily gave us tools, workshops, modules to work through on our own and with each one and each week I just learned more about myself and I got a little bit stronger.

A twelve week grief group can’t make it all go away, but Emily gave me a platform and a tool box to open up whenever I just need a little help. Now we are at the holidays, so there is no question my box of tools is wide open, and I am grateful for the box!

Grief is so hard, but I have learned through this group that grief and love go hand in hand. Without grief there is no love and if you want to have a life filled with love you will have grief. Emily is not a therapist, she is a coach, she listens, she speaks, but mostly she helps you to find your way and to understand that together we can move through our grief and we can continue to live our lives. I don’t know where I would be without Emily and without this group that I now consider my friends. From the bottom of my heart, Emily, I thank you!”

- Helene

I lost my husband Paul to suicide on August 7, 2021 so I was 5 months in when I started the MOVE Thru Grief Live sessions. I was excited to participate because I knew I was avoiding certain feelings, but I wasn’t quite sure how to explore them.

I was struggling with symptoms of PTSD so I had a lot of anxiety, dread, & was constantly on high alert waiting for the next tragedy I was sure would be coming. I felt alone, lost, & scared for my children & me. The pain I was feeling after losing Paul was only one component, watching our children struggle and express the pain they were feeling was almost more than I could bear.

I felt like no one really “got it” outside of Emily’s groups. I was lucky enough to find and participate in her holiday grief group prior to the moveTHRU Grief Live and it was so helpful I was compelled to continue on with her next offered program. Not only was the content extremely helpful, but Emily creates safe, supportive spaces that allow you to connect with others going through similar losses.

One of my main struggles aside from the PTSD was the loss of control I felt and the loss of who I was before losing my husband of 20 years. I didn’t want to hear that I’d never be the same again. I liked who I was before my husband died. Emily & the group helped me to see that as I move forward, I will have these new pieces that make up some of who I am after losing Paul, but that I get to choose which pieces of the “old me” I want to bring along as well- that I’m not powerless. I have control of who I am going to be without him.

There is nothing better to invest in than yourself & your emotional well-being. Losing someone we love has the potential to negatively impact us, on a daily basis, for the rest of our lives. If I have to live the rest of my life without my Paul, I certainly want to make sure I have the ability to understand and cope with my grief so I can bring his memory with me, no matter where my path leads.

- MINDY RODKE, move THRU Grief LIVE & Grow THRU Grief

“When I started Emily’s moveTHRU Group Grief Journey my husband had been gone for 7.5 months. I had a lot of anxiety about moving forward and a lot of guilt when I would go and do things, especially with family. Exhaustion was also a huge struggle.

I joined the group because I knew that I was struggling and did not know how or what to do to even take a step forward with my life. Also, my sister encouraged me to join, even though I was extremely anxious sharing my story.

The biggest breakthrough I had was when I was journaling / answering a question that Emily provided during a session and I wrote out what it meant for me to move forward. I had told myself that he would want me to be happy and move forward, but something about writing it out was so helpful in fully understanding and accepting what it meant for me — knowing it would honor him to move forward…even it was baby steps. I have reminded myself many times that moving forward does not mean moving on, and this has been HUGE in my grief journey.

I also realized that most of my exhaustion came from not being able to process what I was feeling. This journey has taught me that it is okay to sit with my emotions and that moving my body in any form also helps process them (especially the sad/hurt ones).

If I were to give advice to anyone thinking about joining this group I would say to TAKE THE LEAP! I am not a very open person, especially with discussing my feelings. Joining this group there was never any pressure to speak and share. However, the comfort of having others who share made it so easy to open and share when I felt like I could. Being surrounding by others in a time of so much hurt and heartache gave me a sense of normalcy.”

- Ashley

I had just passed the two-year anniversary of my wife's death. 

My biggest struggles at that point were still learning to deal with learning to be on my own and taking care of our 4 children (teenagers) as a solo parent. More than anything though, I was struggling to find a real community of support. People that I could really connect with and witness their experiences and be witnessed as well.

I found Emily on social media, and her story connected deeply with me, as I had lost my wife to metastatic breast cancer. After following her, and joining her groups on Facebook, I had a sense that she was on to something and loved the way she connected and interacted with her community. More specifically, I signed up for her emails, and I remember receiving one that talked about being stuck in my own headspace or being trapped in my mind. I had an aha moment and realized, she struck a nerve with me. I was curious about what she had learned. Not typically a big class workout guy, or yoga guy, I DO understand the benefits of both especially yoga. But more importantly, I was most interested in learning additional techniques I wouldn't have ever discovered or learned, without Emily and her team bringing them up and sharing their experience. It was this, what else can I learn to improve where I am, and what I am feeling. What haven't I tried that may help me and by extension my family, with living with and embracing where we were in our grief journey.

One of the real breakthroughs that had was some of the deep down anger I still had, even after 2 years. Initially, I was angry and thought that I had worked through it, but during the course of moveTHRU it came up in a really intense, surprising way. I was able to talk with the community and the moveTHRU team, be witnessed, be supported, and bring healing to a place I would have never noticed, or may have missed and had long-lasting effects still in my grief journey because of it.

I would say that you owe it to yourself to try. If you are curious, or on the fence, you will absolutely receive benefit by going through the course. It makes you slow down and creates space to be intentional, for healing. It certainly provides a type of healing that gets you out of your own head and allows the body and mind to heal in a manner that kind of disarms the mind and the resistance it can sometimes throw up. If nothing else, you absolutely will connect with people who care about you and your journey, will witness your grief with you, and come alongside you to support you in a manner that is unlike any other community that I have been able to find anywhere else.

- NATE WARD, move THRU Grief LIVE & Love After Loss

I lost my husband Kim to a heart attack on July 19, 2020. When I started moveTHRU Grief, I was feeling very sad and alone in the world. Hopeless is the word I would use to describe me. I was at about a year and half since my loss, and the little support I received at the beginning was non-existent now. I was always comfortable with solitude, but after 30 years of a very happy marriage, the loneliness was completely new to me. My future and security, all my happiness and joy, died with my husband, and I was struggling with no one to talk to anymore and a future that appeared dark and hopeless.

I joined the moveTHRU Grief course after seeing Emily’s Instagram and Tik Tok postings. She was so authentic and everything she was saying felt so true. She is a little over a year ahead of me in her grief journey, yet she seemed hopeful about the future, despite being left to raise three young children alone while grieving the loss of her husband, Ian. I wanted to learn from her. How she navigates this journey and moves forward in her grief. I see her finding joy in life and happiness with her children. And at the same time, I see her continual struggles with grief along the way.

Since joining this course, as well as the Grow THRU Grief course, I no longer feel so alone in the world. I can talk about my grief with people who truly understand because they too are grieving. I finally feel like maybe I will find joy again. I find myself moving forward and making future plans. Nothing big, but little by little, I see myself healing. And I attribute this to Emily and her calling to help others who are grieving. Because of Emily, I feel hopeful that I’m not doomed to spending the next 20-30 years in deep sorrow.

If you want help in your grief, if you hope to see a glimmer of joy one day, moveTHRU Grief and growingTHRU Grief will help you get there. It will be painful at times, but grief is painful. These courses, and the connections with others who are grieving, are the tools to guide you forward and help you on your path to finding meaning again.

- HARRIET COCHRAN, moveTHRU Grief LIVE & Grow THRU Grief

It was at the 8-9 month mark after the death of my husband of 30 years, that I realized I needed something more than traditional therapy. I was not moving forward in my grief and felt stuck.While I may not be a "young widow", my grandmothers lived into their 90s, so I have at least 35 more years of life to live to its fullest! Grief has no age limit!

I was hesitant to join a group setting because I was scared that other people's grief would make me even more depressed. Little did I know that by sharing my grief with folks who had similar losses, it would, in fact, lift me up. I was surrounded by the group's understanding of the profoundness and depth of my loss. Through Emily's modules, I experienced a lot of learning and growth and I came to understand the nature of my grief and how it was impacting different parts of my life from my family, friends, relationships and work. There were so many light bulb moments as I dealt with guilt, sadness, loneliness and anxiety.

Our grief community has been so supportive well beyond our session meetings. Our private facebook group page allows us to celebrate daily/weekly wins and losses. In addition our group members regularly touch base with each other through the week to check in on each other's well being. I truly don't know where I would be without the group as I head into year 2 of my journey with grief.

- CAROL RICKETTS, moveTHRU Grief LIVE & Grow THRU Grief

moveTHRU has given me a safe place to be myself, grieve my loss, connect with others, and move through the feelings. It has really opened my eyes to how grief manifests physically in the body.

- GINA, moveTHRU Online Course

I am the type of person who tends to avoid my feelings. I tend to go about my day telling everyone (mostly myself) that I’m fine and if I say it enough it’s true right? The fact of the matter is, grief always catches up to you, hard. You can’t avoid it. The moveTHRU Grief course has forced me to stop and take some time to actually sit with my feelings, address them, understand them, connect with others in grief who are going through the same feelings and then work through them. Every time I finish up a module, I always feel better than when I started it.

- KELSEA, moveTHRU Online Course

When I began my journey with moveTHRU grief it had been about 7 months since my husband died. Up until this point I was just surviving by “avoiding” any emotions and finding things to fill the void he left behind. My heart was aching as the reality of the permanency of his death was setting in and the “shock” was wearing off. I knew I needed to get some help from the outside to help me navigate through my grief and these emotions I had been trying so hard to avoid.

I had come across a few courses but Emily’s caught my eye the most because of the fitness aspect. Working out was already a part of my daily routine so I thought it would be a good fit. And it was! Through the course I learned how to really feel my emotions, lean into and sit in them, allow them to come in and move through me. Most importantly my feelings were validated not only by Emily but everyone in our group.

I still use the tools I learned through the course and guided workouts and apply them when I go for a run or strength train. I highly recommend moveTHRU Grief course and group.

Even if you don’t like to workout, if you are afraid or intimidated by the idea of being on live coaching calls, I want to encourage you to take that leap today. You are not alone but surrounded by Emily and others who are walking in the same space as you are right now. This course is truly one of a kind. Created by a compassionate understanding kind person who has a heart that wants to motivate and teach you how thrive and grow stronger as you move forward in your grief.

- Karen, Growing THRU Grief

“I started the 12-Week Guided Group Grief Journey three years after my husband’s sudden, traumatic death. I felt stuck, sad, lonely and anxious and I had reached a plateau in my progression with my grief counselor. I knew an important missing piece for processing my grief was sharing and witnessing grief with other widows and widowers who experienced similar life-changing devastation…but I was unable to find such a group, until I met Emily.

During my initial conversation with Emily, I felt her compassion and empathy for my experience with my loss. After she described her program to me, I knew it was the missing piece I’d been searching for in my grief journey. The group proved to incorporate everything Emily described: modules focusing on the emotions and feelings that arise from grief (anger, guilt, anxiety, loneliness, sadness…) which allowed me to examine and process feelings I was suppressing; guest speakers guided me to a deeper understanding about figuring out my enneagram type (this was amazing!); finding effective ways to process trauma (so important for me!); understanding my purpose and creating a new vision for my life without my husband (critical!)

Emily’s weekly reflection questions/prompts provided invaluable guided examination into a wide variety of grief topics dedicated time for sharing with the other members in the group allowed for compassionate dialogue and support.

I felt supported by Emily and the members in the group to share my story in a safe space. I shared my traumatic experience, my emotional struggles and my external stressors (all of which I’m not often comfortable sharing in a group setting). I am still moving through my grief, but I am no longer ‘stuck’…I now have additional tools and strategies to help me move forward. For the first time in over 3 years, I am feeling ready to open my heart to new experiences and I am excited for the next chapter in my life!

I highly recommend this wonderful group…it has been life-changing for me! One of the most important things I learned is to allow ALL of the feelings in as they come (even the uncomfortable ones), to acknowledge them and to move through them – Emily will meet you where you are and will help you to figure out how to do it, it’s amazing!”

- Dawn

“I saw Emily on TikTok and started following her after my losses. I had four major losses in five months including my husband, Emily has truly helped me to understand my grief. Grief is life changing and understanding my grief is paramount to my healing.

She has helped me tremendously on learning how to take my loved ones with me as I move through my grief. I know they will always be with me and know how to honor them while taking steps forward. She has also shown me how important movement is to make sure my grief does not get stuck in my body.

Emily helps you to be curious of your emotions which helps you learn more about your own self. The biggest takeaway was finding more of myself in this program as we learned more about our personalities! That was life changing for me on how I viewed myself and my grieving.

I highly recommend her program! She has been worth every penny spent on helping with my grief. I feel so supported by her even after group is done.”

- Julie

“[Since joining the group] I’m more comfortable with understanding it’s ok to still grieve even 4 plus years later. Previously I felt like I should be over this and I realize I never will to some degree and its ok to feel this way. I wish I could have found a group like this quicker. I know I would have been at a better place sooner.”

- Bobby

I first started MoveThru Grief live 6 months after my wife Kandy, died. I was a mess of emotions that I couldn't even name. Because I couldn't even name them, I couldn't start to process them. I was desperate to get out of that place mentally and to not feel so alone in it.

I saw a tik tok from Emily about grief and how we need to move it thru our bodies and I was intrigued. I gained so much from this program. I am healthier mentally and physically. The ability to understand what I'm feeling, to name it, and then to be able to move that tension or feeling out of me has given me more confidence in being able to express my feelings and emotions in a much more healthy way.

I still use the program if I'm having a particular hard time with a feeling and grateful to be able to keep using it. I personally was on the fence for a bit about applying for MoveThru Grief Live. Investing in myself doesn't come natural but I am so glad I did. It truly was one of the best decisions I've made in my grief journey.

- GINNA ROE, move THRU Grief LIVE & Grow THRU Grief

I started MoveTHRU Grief Live seven months after my partner died unexpectedly. I had been struggling a lot with guilt and anger that just circled through my head in an endless loop. And I was curious about how movement could help me in my grief.

The program helped me to identify, work through, and release these difficult feelings and emotions. Looking back, I’m amazed at how much I changed during that short 6 weeks. I came out of program more at peace, more hopeful about the future, and better-equipped to handle my feelings as they come up.

The weekly calls were a gamechanger for me. One of the hardest parts of grief is how lonely it is. Even the most well-meaning and sympathetic friends and family don’t truly understand, and that made me want to just isolate myself at times. Being able to connect with others who really got it made me feel seen and helped me to know that there is nothing wrong with the way I’m grieving. I cannot recommend this program enough!

- ALISON SMITH, Move THRU Grief LIVE & Grow THRU Grief & Love After Loss

“When I joined Emily’s moveTHRU Guided Grief Group Journey, I had passed the 14th month after my husband died (following his 14 month journey through cancer). I had “made it through” the 1st year, as difficult as it was, and was feeling less numb but more aware of my deep sadness, loneliness and some continued anxiety.

I made the decision to join this group because I had been helped with some individual counseling but I felt the need to connect to people who truly understood this level of loss. I also had already begun to recognize the benefit moving my body had on improving my mood, anxiety, and ability to process my grief. I appreciated that Emily was a fellow widow, the fact that the group was not too large, and that we would have ongoing access to all the resources.

During this group experience, I gained so much support from sharing my story, hearing others stories, and learning that each story is different, but each needs to be heard(not fixed). It was a safe, supportive space where I learned to acknowledge my emotions, name them, and continue to move in/through them.

I am glad I participated in this group since I felt Emily provided genuine, compassionate support with lots of amazing resources. I will forever be grateful to Emily and the members of my group for the time we shared during this challenging part of our life stories.”

- Holly