A Letter to My Community: On Embody, Loss, and the Stirring of Return

After a long season of reflection, I’m finally ready to share this message from my heart. It’s for all who were part of the Embody journey, and for anyone navigating their own path of grief, growth, and return.

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To my beloved local community, 

I want to share something from the heart - a message that’s long overdue.

Many of you knew me through Embody - the movement studio I founded and ran for eight years. 

At its best, it was a space full of joy, healing, connection, and transformation. It remains one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever created — and one I’m still deeply proud of.

I poured myself into it completely: body, mind, heart, and soul - and what was created through the magic of our community was truly beautiful.

And… I also struggled. 

As a first-time business owner and a still-learning leader, I made choices that impacted others in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. I didn’t always have the tools, support, foresight, or understanding I needed. I pushed myself beyond my limits. I made mistakes. 

And eventually... I burned out -  physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

In May of 2020, two months into Covid shutdowns, when I received an invitation to take on a leadership role with an organization I once deeply believed in, I hoped it would bring more balance, structure, and sustainability to my life during a tenuous time - while also allowing me to serve in a greater way.

While the decision to step back from Embody was difficult, I believed I had done everything I could to ensure that Embody – and you – would be supported in the transition. 

I now know that it was not enough. 

I now understand that I underestimated the ripple effect this transition would have - on our staff, on our members, and on our broader community. For that, I am deeply sorry.

12 months later, after making it through a year of Covid shutdowns, juggling both roles, and trying desperately to hold it all together, I was faced with the incredibly difficult decision to close Embody completely.

I know that for many of you, the closure felt sudden and painful. I know some of you felt abandoned, dismissed, or left without closure. 

To those of you who were hurt, confused, or negatively impacted by this decision:

I am truly sorry. 

I see it. I hear it. And I deeply regret the ways that loss hurt people I care so much about.

Sadly, the leadership role I moved into did not provide the healing or balance I had hoped for. Instead, it became an emotionally depleting and unsustainable experience - one that eroded my trust, strained my well-being, and left me deeply disillusioned, questioning myself, my worth, and the values I once thought were shared. I discovered the environment was not aligned with the kind of integrity, care, and accountability I strive to live and lead by.

Even more painful was realizing that fulfilling the responsibilities of that role strained some of my most cherished relationships in our community. That remains a source of deep sadness and regret. 

Feeling lost and defeated, I stepped away - not just from that role, but from all teaching, training and leadership - disconnecting from the work that had once been my all-consuming passion and purpose. 

My heart was broken – professionally and personally  – and I truly believed that I would never have the desire, drive, or ability to teach or lead somatic movement again.

Every time I considered putting on my headset mic and returning to the "front of the room," every part of my body said "NO!"

Grief, loss, fear, and shame are powerful forces - they can make us want to stay small... silent… invisible… safe.

But now, slowly… tenderly… 20 months later, I’m surprised to feel a quiet stirring - the first inklings of a desire to return.

Not as the same person, and not rushing to recreate what once was. But as someone who has been humbled, changed, and is returning to movement as a way to heal – and maybe, in time, to reconnect and reimagine what’s possible.

I’m sharing this because I want to acknowledge the past. I want to honor any pain that my actions or inactions may have caused. And I want to open space - for repair, for reconnection, for a new beginning. 

If it would support your healing to talk, walk, or dance through what’s been - I’m here. I welcome those conversations if or when you’re ready.

I know many of you have kept dancing, moving, and weaving community in your own radiant ways. It has been beautiful and inspiring to witness.

This is simply my return - a humble reentry, guided by breath and longing. 

If your heart, like mine, is longing for opportunities to move, to feel, and to remember - together - I hope to help create and contribute to those spaces. Gently. Honestly. In the spirit of renewal. 

With love,

Christina

P.S. If you would like to stay connected and be informed up upcoming offerings as they develop, please let me know here.