BIPOC Grief Medicine Ritual
This gathering is for people who identify as BIPOC*
* Black, Indigenous, and People of Color including Mixed Race Folk
Come join us as we ritualize our grief in a circle of compassion to acknowledge, listen to, and tend to the broken heart. Grief and its accompanying emotions like anger, sadness, relief, numbness, and confusion can be overwhelming and lonely to process alone. Whether your grief is from surviving the loss of a loved one, a breakup, a life transition, or bearing witness to the calamities of our planet including climate grief, humanitarian catastrophes, or the multiple pandemics from police violence to COVID-19, this gathering is for you. Whatever leads your heart to a place of being broken is enough.
Some of the oldest artifacts known to humankind are from grief rituals, yet in modern times this sacred and necessary space is hard to come by due to our collective discomfort around loss. During our time together you will be guided through movement, meditation, creative practices, sound healing therapies, and group sharing. Inn our ritual space we will have the opportunity to metabolize our losses and transmute them into a gift for our own hearts and the heart of the collective.
20% of all proceeds will go to Palestinian Children's Relief Fund: https://www.pcrf.net
To bring: Please bring a lawnchair, beach towel ,blanket, or yoga mat, journal, any art supplies, and an object of significance that represents the grief you are holding.
A note on fee: If the supported rate tickets are sold out and/or you are in need of a reduced fee, please reach out with a sentence or two about why you are seeking a partial scholarship at this time. We have a couple of spots available for this with preference given to public school teachers, BIPOC, trans/nonbiniary folks, and those with disabilities.
We also have openings for a helper to offer service in exchange for ticket. Please inquire if you are interested!
Is this gathering a good fit for me? Here some things to consider before joining:
1. This would be a good fit if you are open to sharing your grief in a welcoming and confidential space, and feel it would be supportive to your experience.
2. This would be a good fit if you are open to witnessing and being present with others as they share their grief, which may mean a different kind of grief is different than yours, and even on a different part of the grief journey than you.
3. This would be a good fit if you already have some support and help in your life - relationships and self-care practices - and this offering is a supplement to those.
4. This would be a good fit if your grief is not overwhelming (i.e. you can still be present in daily life and have some capacity to talk about your grief even if it's just a sentence or two).
COVID-19 protocol:
If you are experiencing a high temperature or any symptoms that may indicate signs of Covid, please do not attend this event. The entire event will be outdoors and masks are optional. If you want to bring any snack item to share, please consider individually wrapped items.
About the Facilitators
Amy Hyun Swart (she/her) I am a somatic and expressive arts-based psychotherapist specializing in helping those impacted by grief and trauma to feel less alone and more present in body, heart, and in relation to one another. I hold space for grief gatherings, workshops, and rituals, both in-person and online. As a mixed race white and second-generation Korean American coming from a blended family, I honor the unique impact that these identities have upon one’s life story. It is my intention to provide a welcoming space for those of all intersectionality of identities to feel seen and accepted. To learn more please visit https://www.griefmedicine.love or https://www.amyswart.com
Phoenix Song (they/them): I believe that everyone can sing. When you free your voice, you free your life! Sing your story & transform your life narrative. Let's play together in rhythm and harmony! I am a queer, non-binary Korean American adoptee performer, teacher and healer featured in SF Magazine's Best of the Bay for yoga music. I also am a Tamalpa Associate Teacher of Expressive Arts and completed level 3 of Somatic Voicework, the Lovetri Method. I love to help people become more embodied and transform through creative expression. I specialize in helping free people's voices and rhythm. I am a world fusion musician and play percussion (djembe, Arabic tambourine, cajon), didgeridoo, esraj, Native flute, harmonium, and sing like an angel. I work with both private and group clients to facilitate somatic and expressive arts workshops to help people explore grief and ancestral healing and offer sound healing. To learn more please visit https://phoenixsongmusic.com
