Voice of Release 2021

26 - 27 June, 2021

Contact:  info@krila.org

The act of giving voice to one's pain is a transformative process and something that we collectively lack in our contemporary structures. Vocal lament has been found present in every traditional culture on the planet, and has served as a platform for community support and healing for millennia. We can also witness vocal lament in the animal kingdom in touching observations of a kind of grief song at the passing of a member of the group. Part of our unique human experience is that we are able to give shape and substance to our feelings through art; transmuting our inner experiences of pain, grief and mourning into something that can be shared, witnessed, supported and released. It is a natural process. Through shared and held space, witness and support of community and the powerful act of vocalising, our grief can become a thing of beauty that we can transform and release.

A two day workshop exploring our personal vocal expression of grief. The first day we will reflect on various world traditions of lamentation and grief songs as well as begin to activate our voices and bodies, attuning ourselves to a gentle process of releasing breath, sound and emotion. The second day, Julianna will lead guided practices of creating a personal lament that is supported by the group. These personal laments can be specific or general and serve as a creative, safe and healing process. We will conclude the process with creative and physical integration, beginning and ending our process with lightness and joy.

**This work is not meant as therapy, although it can be therapeutic. This is a creative and basic human process of accessing voice and emotions through the body that everyone can connect to on personal, collective and archetypal levels. Julianna is a voice and body practitioner, not a mental health professional and so participation is not advised if one is struggling with a mental health issue or is in a state of acute grief.