Ancestral Healing: Befriending Ancestral Grief (Part 2)

A gentle and creative experiential deep dive into metabolising inherited  burdens and receiving more freely the care and support of your loving ancestors.  

(This online workshop is the second part in a three part series about Ancestral Healing. If you would like to dive deeper into this work then you are invited to join the Ancestral Healing course this September.)

Ancestral grief comes from the troubles that your ancestors went through in order to survive and for whatever reason were unable to safely share and metabolise. Guilt, rage, or sadness, unusual somatic symptoms, as well as shame around ourselves and our identities can all be different expressions of it. 

What to expect:

This session builds on developing conscious connections with the well and beloved ancestors in order to explore and metabolise one element of inherited grief. We will slowly and gently but deeply and precisely at the same time, shift between embodied ritual practice, verbal sharing, and creative writing practices. Central to the process is how the ancestors can hold space for us in real time, both witness us and support us. This can more deeply cultivate in us a way of moving through grief and eventually through the world, where we can know, deep in our bones, that we’re never alone

There are no prerequisites, however, prior experience with inner work and relating with spirit are both helpful. Attendance of the “Introduction to Ancestral Healing” workshop is not mandatory, but highly recommended. 

PLEASE NOTE this event might not be suitable for you if you're currently experiencing heightened mental distress or if you are in crisis. Feel free to contact me if you need any clarification. 

““The individual psyche can be healed only by addressing one’s relationship with the visible worlds of nature and community and one’s relationship with the invisible forces of the ancestors. It is in ritual that nature, community, and the Spirit World come together to support the inner building of identity.””

Malidoma Somé

This workshop is for you if:

• You sense that you’re carrying feelings or burdens that aren’t yours
• You notice certain repetitive unhelpful patterns in your life
• You are longing to feel deeply seen and supported by your own people
• You have felt like the black sheep of your family

How you may benefit from this work: 

• A deeper sense of sovereignty in your body and your life
• Feel more grounded and deeply held and supported
• Feel more deeply centered in yourself and your life
• Learn how to partner with the ancestors n order to move through layers of ancestral grief
   

More about working in partnership with the ancestors

This work is rooted in an animist/relational framework which understands the world in terms of relationality. It understands our imbalances and ill-health as related with ill-maintained relationships; with ourselves, other humans, the more-than-human, and the invisible worlds. Starting to repair these relationships and maintaining them, is part of a redemptive decolonial process of being of service not only to ourselves but to the world. In the times we live in, supremacist ideologies and behaviors of various types (human supremacy, racism, patriarchy, i.e.) continue to place us as separate from the world rather than as part of it. Coming into a right relationship with our ancestors can form a part of  much needed cultural healing, starting to transform a culture of individualism into one of interdependence. The times we live in are craving for it. 

This event is open to all genders, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, disabilities and religious beliefs. 

Facilitator: Alex Ioannou 
 

Alex (www.rodihealing.com)  is an integrative and somatic psychotherapist and ritualist supporting people to access a deeper sense of connection with themselves and the world around them. Born in Greece, he has spent many years living in the UK. He has an MA in Dramatherapy, is an accredited Ancestral Healing Practitioner, and has further extensive training in somatic trauma therapy, ecological grief work and processwork. 

Over the past 9 years he has worked as a psychotherapist individually and in groups with people in various situations. His practice focuses on encouraging conversations between body awareness and imaginative/intuitive sensing and sits at the crossroads of creative - expressive psychotherapy, animist/relational principles, contemplative practice and somatic trauma therapy. He accompanies people whilst they heal from developmental and intergenerational trauma, move through profound life transitions, and contend with the realities of grief, death and dying, helping people develop their capacity for a greater sense of wholeness. His ancestors are from the Balkan peninsula, the Black Sea, and the Central and Eastern Mediterranean
 

“Alex offered and held a space that felt safe, interesting, suggestive. I liked his care and responsiveness, the way he shared his own experiences and how he has embodied what he's learned.” - Ditta

“ This work was a full body dive into cultivating deeper trust, discernment, courage and imagination.Alex’s facilitation, attunement, spaciousness and care were palpable throughout. He attentively gave guidance, while also allowing for my own pace, process and impressions to emerge.” - Tanya 

“Alex's guidance is sensitive, kind, boundaried and warm. He meets me where I am and brings acceptance, curiosity and skill to whatever I encounter. I have been able to tap into other forms of knowing and seeing and have surprised myself at the level of detail I am able to receive.” - Martha