Queer Embodied Grief & Prayer Ritual

Times are wild and we need more spaces for collective grief and collective prayer. Our bodies hold it all; our grief, our sorrow, our joy, our love, our pain, our fear, our anger, our courage, our compassion. When we make space for our grief, we make space for our joy. When we grieve in community, we remember our interconnected belonging and that in itself is powerful medicine - we amplify and uplift each others prayers, we push back against isolation, we situate ourselves in the collective fabric and remember that we were never meant to hold these things alone. This ritual space centers queerness and uplifts queer and trans lives; allies are welcome to join.  

Structure of the Ritual

This embodied ritual will begin with grounding practices & calling in our more-than-human supports (directions, elements, well ancestors, land spirits, etc). Together we will create a grief altar and name into the space (briefly) some of our griefs and prayers. Then we will enter into a structure/score that allows for different ways to be in the space; through sitting/meditation, walking, free movement, and prayer. There is a circular element to this ritual, with the grief and prayer altar in the center of the space. This will allow the energy to move, transmute, and transform.   

There will be a care corner for those who may want to receive more support in the form of touch or gentle co-regulation (sitting back to back, breathing together, etc). A few amazing practitioner-angels - Em Megas Russell & Ced Clearwater (and maybe some others), will be supporting that.   

Creating a trauma-informed space is really important to me and its important to remember and center that there is no right or wrong way to grieve. If a grief ritual or group grieving is new to you, please know that there will be a lot of support and structure to hold you in that unknown place. The ritual will end with some singing together. There will be no touching unless you wish to receive touch, and you will not be asked to share/speak unless you choose to when there is time to share.   

If you have any questions at all, please reach out to me at leelakelley9@gmail.com

$20-$40 sliding scale  

2 free spots for trans and/or BIPOC folks: email Leela (leelakelley9@gmail.com) to request

I’m a somatic therapist, embodiment facilitator, energy worker, queer witch, animist, and ritualist. I’ve been in community grief ritual practice for many years now - moving from participant, to assistant, to facilitator and I’m so grateful for all my teachers and those who I have learned from. I have a masters degree in dance/movement therapy and counseling and am a long time embodiment practitioner weaving from different modalities including yoga, authentic movement, contact improvisation, body-mind centering, clown, and somatic movement.   

I am grateful to Sobonfu Some, Malidoma Some, Mama Lula Christopher, and the Dagara tribe of Burkino Faso - though as white person who is not initiated into that tradition, this ritual is not a Dagara grief ritual, but it feels very important to name since I have learned so much through Dagara grief rituals. I am influenced by and grateful for Frances Weller, Joanna Macy, Hazel Turrone, Taina Lyons, and Chaya Leia Aronson. I have been deeply influenced by the land at Earthdance in so-called Plainfield, Mass, and I continue to be guided by the land & cosmos and what emerges through the portals of our more-than-human-kin.  

You can learn more about on my website www.leelakelley.net .