Welcome to Sanctuary
A space of embodiment and connection for gbtq+ men in London.
We're really excited to invite you to join us for Sanctuary at our new home, The Rogue Room in Shoreditch. A yoga studio and event space that puts diverse communities at the heart of everything they do.
At Sanctuary, we meet regularly to build a sense of community in the city. We enjoy the space together through embodiment practice, shared connection and guided meditation. We check in and share with each other whatever is current for us in our lives and enjoy a closing ritual of mutual therapeutic touch and holding.
Sanctuary was established in 2021. Its intention is to create a space in the city where we can come together with a sense of connection and belonging. A place where we can show up exactly as we are and find acceptance and community.
Each Sanctuary gathering offers a theme aligned with the seasons and the current energies out there in the world. These themes are invitations to reconnect to ourselves and each other in a gentle way, through metaphor and embodiment.
- The evening takes place fully clothed.
- We use guided meditation, yoga and ritual to arrive fully embodied in the space.
- We engage in a sharing circle to bond through vulnerability and empathic listening.
- We give and receive touch and massage.
- Using play, we find our way into touch with one another that is consensual and non-sexual (think massive cuddle pile).
- Finally, using sound and ritual, we float away with each other for a while with a sense of safety and relief.
This circle is for you are a gay, bi, queer, trans man or a non-binary person attracted to men and have ever:
- Wanted to explore your connection to others in a sober, intentional space.
- Wanted to make new friends with others in a different and more intimate environment.
- Wanted to explore your spirituality with others.
- Are curious about what connection with others might feel like beyond sex and substances.
- Have felt like a bit of an outsider and are looking for a community more aligned with your values.
Your hosts are
Darren is a yoga teacher, bodyworker, and community organiser with over a decade of experience creating spaces for learning and connection. Passionate about the wellbeing of queers, he blends camaraderie and embodied practice with no-nonsense spiritual wisdom to hold spaces where people can show up fully, share a laugh, and connect meaningfully.
His teaching and facilitation style is camp and irreverent, offering heartfelt spaces rooted in lived experience and a playful sense of rebellion.
Jonas is a somatic coach with a broad background in facilitation and mindfulness. Whether in 1:1 coaching sessions or in group experiences, Jonas is passionate about creating a space where radical change can emerge - change that starts at the root of things; your stories, beliefs, feelings, and sensations.
Jonas has years of experience in corporate training, teaching companies about technology and innovation, he has been teaching yoga and mindfulness for 8+ years and offers somatic coaching for queers and kinksters as SoftDom Coaching. Currently Jonas is pursuing a masters in organisational psychology to research how technology shapes the organisations we work in and how we might bring more of our humanity to work and life.
Dean is a bodyworker, movement teacher and writer.
He has been working as a manual therapist since achieving his iTEC sports massage certificate in 2019, and as a yoga teacher (200hr) since 2022. He completed his Masters in Osteopathy in 2023.
After many years of involvement in different disciplines, including yoga and circus arts, he continues to explore his enthusiasm for movement through creativity, play and occasionally by sitting still.
As a queer person, community and connection are integral aspects of his work. Considered in talk, touch and when simply raw-dogging life.
This event is offered on a sliding scale, please pick the price you can afford. (More in descriptions)