Grief Magic
Resource & Ritual for Trauma Repair
"Trauma, in some ways, is a resistance to grief. Genuine grieving is the opposite of trauma."
-Gabor Maté
If trauma is resistance to grief, then befriending grief must be an essential part of our trauma repair work. And with grief, as with all other difficult sensations and experiences, the only way out is through. We don't resolve grief by wishing it away; we resolve grief by letting ourselves feel it fully, and letting it move through our body.
But letting ourselves feel grief goes against our earliest strategies for survival, and therefore it may feel all but impossible to do. If in our earliest experiences, our environment didn't provide the kind of safety in which we could be held as we felt our feelings, we may have decided that, in order to survive this life, we had to banish our grief.
The good news is that we can transform our relationship to grief, and in so doing, we begin to undo the binds that our earliest trauma has on our body and our life. What we need in order to make that change are new experiences with grief.
In this 2.5 hour workshop, you will be invited into a new experience with grief through resource and ritual, in such a way that will hopefully begin to shift your whole relationship to grief–as well as to yourself, your body, and your community.
Together, we'll cover:⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
- Why our resistance to grief is keeping us stuck (and how our personal grief & collective grief are connected.)
- How developmental trauma impacts our ability to safely experience grief (and why it feels like we're going to die.)
- What's possible when we change our relationship to grief (and how to actually do that.)
The workshop will include lecture, reflection, a short somatic practice & ritual, and a sharing time when you can receive witness and ask questions.
The somatic practice & ritual will be very simple, involve minimal movement, and will include lots of options & invitational language. In preparation, please gather the following:
- Pen & paper or journal
- Any items to create a simple sacred space, such as candles, crystals, herbs or incense to burn, tarot cards, etc.
- A cozy space where you feel safe & will be unbothered. (The practice can be done either sitting up or laying down.)
- A glass of plain water, for ritual purposes.
- Something to eat & drink after the ritual.
Cost: $33
Your Instructor
Hi, I’m Fanny Priest (she/her.) I’m a trauma and grief coach, with 15 years of experience as a yoga teacher and yoga therapist. I’m a queer, polyamorous tarot witch, mama of two, native French speaker, and lover of decaf coffee, rainbows, art & stationery supplies, and classic rock. I’m a Sagittarius sun. Cancer moon, Taurus rising, and a type 2 on the Enneagram.
I’ve helped hundreds of students and clients create safe space for their discomfort, and repair the relationship with their bodies, their feelings, and their needs.
I believe that regulating our nervous system, repairing trauma, and feeling safe in our bodies is the most important thing we can work on that makes it possible for us to fully belong to ourselves and to finally live and love according to our own standards and values, and that our own healing is the first and necessary step in healing our communities and our world.