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. 

Essentially, we'll be doing these three things doing our time together:

1. Creating a space where we feel deeply connected to, and very safe in, our bodies and our emotions

2. Providing a framework for us to reflect on the things that have happened throughout our lives that have created a disconnect from, and a lack of safety in, in our bodies/feelings

3. Simply being with any grief that might arise as we reflect and share those stories with each other

We' ll be creating safety and self-connection through different somatic approaches Z'Ryah will be leading: singing and rhythm-making together, body meditations, Qi Gong, perhaps some embodied partner work depending on the group, maybe many other things... as well as just creating a cozy, safe space with pillows, blankets, snacks, beautiful things, pictures of ourselves when we were little, etc.

Daniel will be providing a framework to reflect on the things that have disconnected us from gentleness, intimacy, and emotional honesty with ourselves through introducing and walking us through a beautiful map called "Cycles of Socialization," and then providing plenty of time for self reflection, journaling, etc for us to consider that map and sit with any stories from our lives that fit into the various landmarks on that map.

And lastly, the third piece of the work on Saturday will be to sit in a circle together, reflecting on this map and this journey that we all have in common and all go through in our own way, making space for men to express themselves and share some of their story. (In words or more artistically/nonverbally.) And to simply witness and hold them with care as they do.

You will be welcome to engage with in whatever way feels good to your body, and prompts and invitations to share and be witnessed can be met at whatever level of self-disclosure you feel safe with. 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 adjust it on the fly, 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 will gather together on Friday, May 29th at 6pm and then again at 10am on Saturday, May 30th, 2026, at Indian Boundary Park Fieldhouse.                                ( https://share.google/9BupouaL9AF6xDz1e )

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 this Chicago-based organization advancing domestic peace: https://www.advancingdomesticpeace.org/

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.