Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate the most important woman in our lives. But for many of us, this holiday can be heart-wrenching.  If you’ve lost your mother already, are estranged or on poor terms, or come from traumatic family circumstances, this day can bring great pain.But there is a way to make this day less painful.

At Miriam’s Well Healing in Montclair, owner and founder Claire Schwartz, a Reiki master teacher, spiritual counselor, and interfaith minister, says there is – there are many things, in fact.  On May 5, the Sunday before Mother’s Day, she holds a class,Motherless on Mother’s Day, at her office, 460 Bloomfield Avenue in downtown Montclair, from 1 to 5pm. It presents ways to honor those who have passed as well as ways to honor yourself — to create self-care out of sorrow and healing out of heartache.

“These ‘Hallmark holidays’ paint a very unrealistic picture for some of us,” Schwartz says.  “Watching commercials of happy loving families who are idealized and together is not how most of us have lived – or can be painful when that life has changed with the death of a parent.  I wanted to create a place to share these painful experiences and give people ways to manage on the day itself from an empowered and honest perspective.  We use guided meditation, ritual, journaling, crystals and much more.” There is also a similar class for Father’s Day, held on Sunday, June 9.

For more information on both classes and to register, contact Claire Schwartz at [email protected] more about her Reiki healing energy and counseling sessions offered to individuals and groups by visiting MiriamsWellHealing.com.