Running with a Heavy Heart: Griffith Park and the Weight of What’s Happening
I ran through Griffith Park this morning, and it was quieter than usual.
The air felt heavy. The energy low. The usual laughter, the group workouts, the families stretching under the trees, it was all missing.
Coach Formie on the move
Our community is hurting.
As a Mexican woman with the privilege of U.S. citizenship, I’ve been sitting with the weight of that contradiction. I am allowed to move freely, to run, to exhale. But I know that not everyone in my community has that same freedom right now.
With ICE raids intensifying in Downtown LA, too many of our neighbors are living in fear. Families are being separated. Trust is breaking. And even our parks, the places we go to breathe, feel different.
But I still believe in showing up. I believe in movement as medicine. And I believe that we can hold joy, grief, and action all at once.
So if you're able, get outside. Move your body. Not to escape what’s happening, but to honor it. To hold space for those who can’t. To remind ourselves that empathy is a form of strength, not softness.
We don’t have to experience something directly to care deeply. That’s what community is. That’s what solidarity looks like. And for now, for today, maybe a walk through Griffith Park can help us remember that.
Want to understand more about what's happening in LA?
Immigrant Defense Project | CHIRLA - Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights | Movement as Medicine Article
Coach Formie wears her own design