Gender, Grief & Gentleness

Here is all the information we think you'll need - if you have any questions, concerns, or enthusiasms, please email Z'Ryah @ turtlepowerfitness@gmail.com

This offering is for male-bodied, male-socialized, male-identified and/or male-leaning people who long to relate to themselves in more honest, intimate, and loving ways. The premise of this offering is that by making it safer for men to have more emotionally intimate relationships with themselves and each other, it will change how men relate to their friends, loved ones, colleagues, employees, strangers, and the world. 

If some part of this prayer is alive in you as well, if you have witnessed men you love turn away from themselves or if you have hardened towards yourself and struggled to know how to respond to your own suffering in a way that’s gentle and beautiful, please join us. We would love to make this prayer with you.

We will gather together on Friday, May 29th (time TBD) and then again at 10am on Saturday, May 30th, 2026, at Indian Boundary Park Fieldhouse.                                ( https://share.google/9BupouaL9AF6xDz1e )

We will introduce ourselves, sing together, share some of our story with each other, and have time to be on the land and journal and reflect. There will be guided movement that you are welcome to engage with in whatever way feels good to your body, and prompts and invitations to share and be witnessed to whatever level of self-disclosure you feel safe with. There will be invitations into connection and vulnerability, but there will not be pressure, or shaming of anyone who opts-out. We are not trying to fix anything, we are trying to learn better ways to hold ourselves and each other. As your facilitators, we may stick to the plan we’ve created or we may abandon it completely, depending on what is most in service of the group.

We promise to listen to you, and to do our best to welcome parts of you that you might usually not feel comfortable sharing: grief, shame, anger, excitement, hope, fear, collapse, despair, spirituality. We ask that you come prepared by wearing clothes you'd be comfortable doing yoga in, shoes you'd be comfortable walking in, a lunch, a water bottle, a journal, and anything else you need to feel cozy. Pillows, blankets, hot tea, and slippers are all very welcome. There will also be a table prepared to receive pictures of ancestors and living loved ones, or sacred objects. Please bring something to add to the collection if you feel comfortable, so we can see some pieces of our collective heart on display.

There will be time for lunch and bathroom breaks and some simple snacks will be provided. You will be welcome to take time to yourself if you feel the need to – although we encourage you to stay in connection as much as you can: as men, we’re trained to isolate ourselves to grieve, and staying in relationship while feeling vulnerable is a muscle that needs training.

This is a sliding-scale offering, and no one will be turned away for lack of money. As the creators of this offering, we have poured our time, energy, and love into making something beautiful, and also spent money on space rental and other money on snacks and other costs. Part of our prayer is that this work will be financially sustainable for us, and that we will not host this event at a loss. Additionally, Z'Ryah has a prayer to support himself financially through offerings like this, and so there is also the hope that donations will exceed costs.

The sliding scale is $100 - $300+. Whatever money we receive will go towards covering our expenses, paying Z'Ryah and tithing 10% to an organization or cause that is still TBD.

As a starting place to consider what amount might make sense for you, here is one possible guideline:

* Supported, $100-$150: Offers some financial reciprocity towards this work. This amount may be right for you if you are not able to comfortably and consistently meet your basic needs.

* Sustaining, $150-$200: Moves closer towards covering the costs of this work. This amount may be right for you if you are able to comfortably and consistently meet your basic needs but find it difficult to comfortably and consistently save, travel, pay off debt, etc.

* Supporting, $200-$250: Significantly helps to cover the cost of this work, supports us in offering need-based pricing for those with less financial means, and increases our tithe. These amounts also help support Z'Ryah to allow him to do more of this work in the future. This amount may be right for you if you are able to comfortably and consistently meet your basic needs as well as comfortably and consistently save, travel, pay off debt, etc., and/or if you are the recipient of intergenerational wealth.

* Generous, $250-$300+: Helps make this work much more accessible and sustainable. This tier may be right for you if you are able to comfortably and consistently meet your basic needs, it’s very easy for you to save, travel, pay off debt, etc., and/or you are the recipient of large amounts of intergenerational wealth.

* Please Note: This is an imperfect, trust-based system. It’s intended to expand accessibility, while deepening the sustainability of this work in the world. Please take good care of yourself and select an amount that’s within both your means and your integrity. If you have any questions, curiosities or concerns about this pricing structure, or if you’d like to attend but none of these amounts are affordable for you, please reach out and we're happy to talk more about it. 

Whatever amount is right for you, thank you for your support.

We invite you to speak openly about money and your resources and needs when we gather together, and we will model that as well. We aim to create a space where things that are normally hidden and shamed can be brought out into the open and named. We invite you to make your donation at the end of our time together; there will be a moment to do that before we depart. If you would prefer to make your donation in advance, you can venmo Z’Ryah by sending money to @Ryan-Moore-113. (Last four digits 2751.)

Finally, if you know any other men or male-leaning people who you think might benefit from this work, please share the registration link with them. If you have any questions, concerns, or enthusiasms, please email Z’Ryah at turtlepowerfitness@gmail.com.