Queer Death Salon is a virtual community space for all 2SLGBTQIA+ people to come together to discuss death, dying and grief.
It is a facilitated drop-in discussion space, with the purpose of building connection, skill, and resources for 2SLGBTQIA+ people navigating end of life in our personal lives and in our communities.
Attendees are welcome to come with questions, stories, or special objects to share with the group.
Teeth Become Weapons:
Trans Grief and Rage
Tuesday February 17 at 7 p.m. EST
Our bodies, lives, and very beings are increasingly politicized.
Our stories and histories are flattened, made palatable for the sake of survival.
Our unique grief becomes increasingly buried and unheard, unshared.
Imogen Reid will guide participants in an exploration of this unspoken (and spoken) grief.
What makes it unique?
What do we grieve?
How does that grief affect us?
What prevents us from engaging with that grief?
How does our grief connect us and bring us together?
Imogen Reid is the last of the feral trans women, a proud dirtbag, degenerate, and fuck up. She is a harm reduction advocate and educator, a former founding member of Communities Organizing for Harm Reduction, one of the first organized groups in Ottawa doing harm reduction before there were any safe sites. Imogen is a recovering drug addict, survivor, fighter, activist, shoplifter, parent, story teller, and the holder of the memories of her dead.
She is a visual artist, photographer, shitty punk musician, and author whose work explores themes of bodies, gender, queer desire, poverty, trauma, drugs/addiction and her own very weird life on this hell world we call home.
Check out some of her work on Instagram and at Sheer Spite Press
Yoga for Grief
Tuesday March 10 at 7 p.m. EST
Join Yoga Therapist in training, Des for a trauma-informed yoga practice.
Explore yogic practices, such as pranayama/breath work, asana/physical shapes, and pratyahara/tuning inward to aid in processing grief.
Our practice will begin with grounding/centering, then move into gentle asana and end with restorative shapes, which will be held between 3-4 minutes.
Des will then guide practitioners through yoga nidra/yogic sleep to aid in deep rest. Optional swadhyaya/self-study and time to reflect or journal after the practice.
Optional Props: One or two pillows that you would sleep with, blocks or thick books, one or two couch cushions, cozy blanket(s), incense, candles, diffuser to set the vibe, pet companion(s) or your favourite stuffed toy, a soothing playlist.
Des (they/them) is a Yoga Guide and Grief Doula who lives, breathes, and plays on Michi Saagiig Anishnaabeg territory, Treaty 20, and the Williams Treaties in Nogojiwanong, what is colonially know as “Peterborough, ON” in so-called “Canada.” Nogojiwanong means “the place at the end of the rapids” in Ojibwe. Des often considers these rapids as fast paced and at the end, a place to find stillness and rest.
They are grateful to all land defenders, water protectors, and stewards of these lands.
They are passionate about yoga philosophy and mythology while on their path to learn and guide with a curious heart.
They value rest, reciprocity, authenticity, interdependence, and compassion.
They recently divested from Instagram and are focusing on the community to spread their offerings as well as postering and writing in their newsletter.
Please visit their LinkTree to join their mailing list and for other resources.
digestion maturation and death
Tuesday April 21 at 7 p.m. EST
come try on a lens through which we see death as a natural part of cyclical human maturation, and digestion of experience as an ongoing, mundane yet essential practice of being with death.
we will work with individual somatic practices to support digestion & completion, helping us to root in reality & reduce the suffering we create & exacerbate through attaching to fantasy rather than engaging what actually is.
paradoxically, circling closer to death as a mundane process that constantly occurs normalizes change & transformation as constants & reduces our anxiety about the big death that ends this incarnation of life, liberating our Aliveness towards more pleasure & power.
our pleasure & power are essential for surviving despair & resisting rising fascism.
hannah is a somatics practitioner, bodyworker & facilitator who roots her work in the unshakeable knowing that the wisdom of your body is your birthright, and that this wisdom is the heart of transformation & healing for personal & collective liberation.
she is also a white settler of celtic isles & german jewish & gentile descent, a parent, a leatherdyke, and a mad femme who’s had a close personal relationship with suicidality since childhood & who is purposefully committed to life. her approach is grounded in somatic experiencing, biodynamic craniosacral work, land-based ancestral reconnection, mad pride/disability justice, peer education & support, and queer cultural lineages of radical desire, consent & power.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR UPCOMING QUEER DEATH SALONS
Participants are encouraged to bring their own questions, stories, and complexities to share.
As always, I’m interested in having meaningful discussion groups that engage participants. If there is a question, theme, topic, or guest speaker you are interested in, please take a moment to fill in this anonymous suggestion form. You can submit as many ideas as you like.
Setting and Access:
Queer Death Salons take place monthly, online over Zoom on Tuesday evenings at 7p.m. (Eastern Time) and are regularly attended by participants from all over the world. They are hosted in English with captions available and last about 90 minutes. Attendees are welcome to participate to their level of comfort. This means cameras can be on or off, people can unmute to speak, raise their hand to be called on, participate through chat, or simply listen in after the intro portion. Queer Death Salons are not recorded.
Pay What You Can:
The suggested donation is $30 and you’re encouraged to select a price that’s accessible to you, including $0. No one will be turned away for lack of funds. By paying the highest amount that you’re able, you make it possible for others with less access to resources to join this event.
Agreements for participation:
This is a space where we intentionally come together to discuss all aspects about death, dying, and grief. Global events, personal histories, and intimate details of our lives may come up and may bring up strong emotions. Participants are encouraged to do what they need for themselves in these situations.
Racism, homophobia, xenophobia, transphobia, antisemitism, islamophobia, ableism, and any other form of prejudice against a person or way of life will not be tolerated. Anyone engaging in prejudice towards another group member will be subject to immediate removal.
We are curious, open, and respectful – We assume good will, ask questions, and allow space for different experiences and points of view
We take care of ourselves – We stretch, take a break, eat, mute for a bit, drink, use restroom, connect with a friend, rest, call it a night, etc. as needed for our own well-being as individuals.
We keep confidentiality – We speak from personal experience and take home learnings while taking care not to identify anyone other than oneself. If we want to follow up with anyone regarding something they said during a session, we ask first and respect their wishes.
We use inclusive language – We speak using plain language and ask clarifying questions when we aren’t sure what someone means. We make effort to use gender-neutral language as appropriate.
We are all here because we want and choose to be here – We are free to leave at any time, for any reason.
Queer Community Deathcare 