Embodied Peace: The Somatics of Grief

In this moment of geopolitical conflict, many communities are experiencing pain, anger, and grief. On Friday June 26th we are facilitating a one day workshop to help community members and leaders navigate these strong emotions before they harden into conflict. Our facilitator and collaborator Tanya Forgan brings years of experience with somatic training and grief work and will be teaching us practical tools to navigate current social tensions without overwhelm or burnout. Bursary and discounted places available. 

Grief, Reconciliation, and Shared Humanity

At St Ethelburga’s, reconciliation begins not only through dialogue but through our capacity to remain present with human experience, especially in times of loss, uncertainty, and change. Grief is often an unseen undercurrent within social division, conflict, and disconnection. When grief is unacknowledged, it can harden into fear, withdrawal, or polarisation; when it is witnessed with care, it can open pathways toward empathy, understanding, and renewed connection.

This workshop approaches grief as a bridge rather than a barrier, supporting participants to develop the emotional and relational capacity needed to stay present with themselves and others, even in difficult times. By learning to meet grief with awareness and collective support, participants cultivate qualities essential to reconciliation and peacebuilding: compassion, listening, resilience, and the ability to remain human in the face of difference and change.

What to expect

The day will be experiential and participatory, weaving together teaching, guided practice, reflection, and collective ritual.

The morning focuses on arrival, shared understanding, and resourcing, helping participants build safety and capacity through embodied relational awareness practices. Together, we will explore the wisdom of grief, including the many “gates” through which grief enters human life, and how the nervous system responds to loss and change.

The afternoon moves into communal experience through a facilitated grief ritual and listening circle, followed by practices that reconnect participants with aliveness, meaning, and shared humanity. The day closes with a celebration of life, acknowledging the deep relationship between grief and vitality.

Participants are always invited to engage at their own pace. Sharing is optional, and practices are trauma-informed and choice-based.

We will learn:

• How grief is experienced in the body, not only emotionally or cognitively
• The relationship between grief, belonging, and connection
• Wisdom teachings of grief and understanding the many forms it can take
• Nervous system responses to loss, change, and uncertainty
• Practices for grounding, resourcing, and emotional regulation
• The role of collective witnessing in supporting healing and resilience
• How ritual and shared presence can restore a sense of connection and meaning

Themes we’ll explore together

• Grief as shared human experience: Understanding grief as a universal expression of care and relationship.
• Embodied awareness: Learning to notice sensation and response without judgement or analysis.
• Collective holding: Rediscovering the human practice of witnessing one another without fixing or advising.
• Ritual and community: Exploring how shared practices help individuals and communities live alongside loss.
• Grief and aliveness: Recognising grief not as the opposite of life, but as part of what connects us more deeply to it.

Why attend?

By the end of the day, participants may:

• Feel less alone in their experiences of grief and change
• Develop greater understanding of how grief lives in the body
• Gain practical tools for grounding and self-support
• Experience the power of collective listening and shared presence
• Leave with a renewed sense of connection, meaning, and hope

Who is this for?

This workshop is open to anyone wishing to explore grief in a supportive communal setting. You do not need prior experience with somatic practice or group work.

It may be particularly meaningful for: Community members navigating loss or transition | Facilitators, carers, and helping professionals | Faith and interfaith practitioners | Educators and community leaders | Those experiencing ecological or collective grief | Anyone seeking space for reflection, connection, and renewal

Our approach

The day is trauma-informed, inclusive, and non-clinical. Practices are invitational rather than prescriptive, honouring each participant’s pace and lived experience.

The workshop draws on embodied relational awareness, grief wisdom traditions, and collective ritual practices that recognise healing and integration as relational processes. The emphasis is not on analysing grief, but on learning how to live alongside it with greater capacity and connection.

For discounted or bursary spaces, please email rebecca.brierley@stethelburgas.org 

Your Facilitators 

Tanya Forgan | Mindfulness Mentor, and Embodiment Therapist

Tanya Forgan is a Mindfulness Mentor and Embodiment Therapist, working with individuals and groups to guide them into deep states of rest, restoration, and self-discovery. Rooted in the wisdom of the body, she weaves together ancient traditions and contemporary practices to create spaces that are safe, soulful, and transformative. Known for her sensitivity, presence, and intuitive care, Tanya’s work is grounded in somatic intelligence, conscious relating, and deep nervous system repair. She invites people to build trust in themselves and their bodies, offering spaces where they can soften, exhale, and return to their natural state of wholeness—gently, tenderly, and in their own time—walking a path of healing, reconnection, and renewal.

Rebecca Brierley Community reconciliation programme manager

Rebecca leads on our community reconciliation programmes: managing Journey of Hope with our Reconcilers Together partnership, and facilitating our Conflict Coaching, Facilitation Training, Listening Processes, and Peacemaking workshops. With over 20 years of experience in community based reconciliation, training, facilitation, activism and mentoring, Rebecca has a passion for curating spaces that encourage understanding and enable shared wisdom and for equipping and inspiring faith leaders to restore relationships. She holds accreditation in restorative justice, trauma informed practice, mediative facilitation and is currently studying Spiritual Direction. 

Chen Lu

Chen is particularly interested in integrating embodied practice into facilitated spaces. Her experience includes circling, contact improvisation, yoga and meditation, and she is drawn to approaches that cultivate deeper presence, relational awareness, and meaningful connection with self and others. At St Ethelburga’s, she hosts the monthly Contemplative Practice gathering, an interfaith space held for people of all faiths and none.