Before I discovered plant medicine, I spent years living with self-loathing, body dysmorphia, and binge eating- trying to change myself from the outside with punishing workouts and strict diets. I tried talk therapy but could not understand how it was helping me and I abandoned the process. One therapist told me I had everything I needed inside myself. I thought she had no idea what she was talking about. 

 

Eventually I followed a series of synchronicities to Blue Morpho Retreat Center, where I was introduced to Amazonian plant medicine traditions from the lineage of Maestro Julio Lleredo Pineda. That was the beginning of a new relationship with my body and myself, and I continue to study in Don Julio's lineage today.

 

Along with plant medicine, my personal philosophy and my work have been shaped by my experience with cancer. As a three-time survivor, I've learned to work with fear, worry, and doubt, to trust in the face of them, and to stay grounded in the uncertainty of life.

 

Today I work with people who are preparing for and making sense of a psychedelic or plant medicine experiences, or who want to feel more at home in their bodies. I've come to see that therapist was right-we all have everything we need inside of ourselves.  And that is the heart of integration and somatic work: not fixing you but working with what's already inside of you and what the medicine reveals. Our work together centers on the revelations and material that come through your medicine experience, and on the intentions you hold. We explore through practices such as grounding, creating presence and awareness, deep listening and reflection, and sanctuary practice.