dark woods
BIPOC Only
Grief Support Group
with Sanaz & raven
Live Zoom Support Group Where Grief in All Forms is Welcome
Get your first month free! After that, pay sliding scale $20-$40/month
We are so excited to announce
Dark Woods of Grief is opening a monthly Grief Support Group circle exclusively for people of the Global Majority aka Black, Indigenous & People of Colour. We recognize the diversity of experiences within this field and welcome you —all (and exclusively) People of Colour.
We also recognize that even within the POGM/BIPOC community there are still a wide variety of experiences, and we intend to cultivate a space of love & welcoming for this diversity. As we grow we hope to create even more affinity groups within this space! Please reach out with any questions to info@darkwoodsofgrief.com
**To my white siblings: this space is not open to you. As white folks, our ancestral relationship with grief & trauma is fundamentally different due to the systems of oppression we live within. We too need spaces to grieve, but we tend to dominate most spaces. Here we hold this boundary with love & care and ask you to respect it. All other spaces at Dark Woods of Grief are open to you, such as our Grief Support Group which is specifically open to everyone. To learn more about this group and to register, click here.
the structure
Our BIPOC Only Grief Support Group offers Grief & Praise sessions, which are primarily process-based – including writing practices, somatic/embodied practices, and group as well as partner/trio work. We also always dance to move the energy, no professional dance training required!
If you miss a live session, they will be recorded so you can listen and do the practices on your own or with a friend.
These sessions are facilitated by Sanaz & Raven who have all worked deeply with their own grief and are trained & mentored by Josea. To learn more about them, keep scrolling to read their bios!
This is a group of people who are deeply committed to the work of transforming their pain into medicine. If you feel called, I hope you will join us.
Meet the Team
raven wright
BIPOC Community Lead & Facilitator
Greetings, my name is Raven. I acknowledge Turtle Island & my ancestral bloodline to where the grass plains meet the foothills in a hollow clearing in the wood & marsh lands – places otherwise known in both Europe & Central Canada.
In this Autumn of my lifespan I’ve been blessed with motherhood, having born my greatest earth-side teacher ~ a rainbow indigo child. In this season of preparation I’ve become a bereaved daughter & sister, a retired social work counsellor & foster parent. My dedication & gratitude now rests in motherhood, creative & wellness practices.
As a niizh manitoag ~ two-spirit woman, I honour my inherited shamanic duality. Humbly practicing these gifts as an inspirited guide weaving the medicines in the dreamspace. Abled as an intuitive ceremonial ritualist, I gently assist those who desire to navigate liminal thresholds for alchemical revelations & healing.
In the winter of my life I inspire to serve as a death & grief steward; as a humble outpost in both life & death’s sacred transitions. It is a precious honour to be entrusted to enhearten the rites of passage for the bereaved.
Blessings for all relations ~ yours in service ~*RaVen*~
SaNaz Hosseini
BIPOC Community Lead & Facilitator
Having navigated her own path through grief many times, Sanaz is passionate about helping others find their way. As an Iranian woman and an immigrant, she has faced multiple forms of loss, and what is coined as disenfranchised grief, often without access to resources or community support. This journey taught her how isolating grief can feel and the importance of processing it. Over the years, she has learned to channel her grief and recognize its transformative power. Now, she is committed to helping others navigate their own losses.
Professionally, she has a diverse background that complements her role as a grief facilitator. She is a product manager with degrees in electrical and biomedical engineering, and management. She has mentored young professionals and volunteered for a suicide helplin , both of which have strengthened her ability to support people during difficult times. Her passion for storytelling has helped her connect with people on a deeper level and understand the power of shared experiences in healing.
As a facilitator, she strives to create a compassionate and supportive space for others, grounded in empathy and enriched by professional and cultural insights.
She teaches yoga and meditation and is a graduate of the 2024 Dark Woods Grief Tending & Ritual Facilitation Training. She also currently serves as a peer grief facilitator in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario.
What you get when you join
- 1 monthly BIPOC Only Grief & Praise session held on the 3rd Sunday of each month from 10am-noon pacific time
- Access to our “Everyone Welcome” Grief & Praise sessions which take place weekly on alternating Mondays evenings and Wednesdays mornings (4 session total)
- Access to our monthly Meditation for Emotional Healing & Nervous System Regulation which is part of our “Everyone Welcome” Grief Support Group, taking place on the second Monday evening of each month
- 24/7 access to our vibrant online community forum where you can connect, ask for support and receive compassionate witnessing as you practice the skills you’ll be learning alongside a group of other folks deeply committed to this work. Other perks within the community include musical playlists for dancing through emotion on your own, weekly gratitude practices, writing prompts and reflections, and poetry
Why grieve in Community?
I believe firmly in the intertwined health of individual, community & ecosystem. As the world falls apart around us, we need each other now more than ever. We need to hold and be held by each other through our grief, so we can bring back resilience and vibrant health to ourselves, each other and our earth.
The dark woods of grief can be frightening...
…to you if you haven’t had someone to lead you through and show you the lay of the land.
We can get stuck in the darkness of our grief, eyes-closed, terrified to open them because we don’t know what could be lurking in the shadows. And yet what is there doesn’t change, eyes open or closed.
But how do we gather the strength to open our eyes and face where we are? It helps enormously to know that we are not alone, and that we have some guidance from one who has traversed these woods before.
That’s what this group is offering. A hand to hold. Someone to lead you through the dark woods. A community to walk with you, so that you know you aren’t alone.