I’ve been talking to lots of folks about their relationship with earth medicine as dwelling, a school for earth medicine relationship and practice, comes to life. It’s such a treasure to hear so many stories of how we begin to notice our connections with earth, how we find medicine in the most difficult moments in the forest, at the sea, reaching out to the stars. I’ve heard stories of intimacy and curiosity, and there’s a consistent request for more. It’s not a greedy request, just a deep inspiration to go deeper with this connection.

Into the Woods

And I get it. Oh, how I get it. It’s my story too. Why earth medicine? Because this is where I know I’m home. Some days I take myself to the forest. Some days I bring my journal. Other days I have a whole pile of work, ready to sit down and make magic. Of course, the phone-camera, “glowing box,” as my love calls it, is often near — I can’t always be missing glorious opportunities for those Insta worthy pics.

But sometimes I get into the forest without anything. Just me. And this is pure nourishment.

I get to the woods and my brain steps back. Because I just feel it. All of it.

Forest Family

A few steps away from the road or the trail or the campsite and I’m immersed in the essential goodness that is home. I sense it first in my breath. It’s easier, kinder, more nourishing to soak in the fresh air that surrounds me.

It’s not long before I feel it in my heart. A comfort I wouldn’t know to ask for. Here I’ve found my family, my friends, my healers and teachers and inspiration, important companions for this life. In the forest, I feel surrounded, supported. I’m moved by the graciousness of this experience. I’m engulfed by the voices of the green beings around me.

We Exist in Relationship

I’m an introvert. I often find myself needing space from the hectic world and sometimes even the deepest relationships in my life. What’s more, I love being alone. I find it so restful, peaceful, and even inspiring to spend time with myself. I can sort of get lost in it. But I know this solitude isn’t real. I wouldn’t be here, wouldn’t be me, without my connections. We exist in relationship. And letting myself — my heart and mind and wider layers, too — get lost in the forest... this is where I remember how very true it is.

I’m never alone.

Being in the forest is something different. Among such abundant life, I know I’m never really alone. And this knowledge — it feels like home.

Feeling My Medicine

But what does it mean to feel it? For me, it is a visceral experience. I feel my own senses widening to connect, energetically, with the roots beneath the forest floor, with the networks of mycelium, with the potent conversations happening in languages unfamiliar and inspiring. There’s so much, and I find myself in a wondrous bath of connections channeling resonance and breath among us.

This is my answer. This is the reason I love to connect with the medicine of the earth. This is where I find comfort, inspiration, support, and relationship, always.

Embodied & Integrative

Such connections consistently ground me. Being in the forest, I can float up into the clouds and know I’ll find my way back because my body is anchored in this nourishing reality. Sometimes a tree or a flower or a fern beckons, and I’ll find myself in a dreamlike state relating even more intimately with the medicine these beings offer.

We get caught up sometimes, tending to focus our conversations on healing around what we can take to fix our ailments or how we can create physical vitality with herbs or food, but there’s so much more medicine when we widen the conversation to consider the breadth and depth of our experience.

This medicine is integrative. We connect with the earth physically, of course, but also intellectually, emotionally, energetically, and spiritually. Embodiment encompasses all of these, and forest dwellers are some of our greatest teachers when it comes to showing up to this conversation.

Where to Learn

I expect all of this is familiar to you too. It’s hard to deny the medicine of a walk in the woods or a breath or wild, fresh air.

You’re already here… You can feel this medicine right now.

Step outside (unless, of course, you’re already there) and take a deep breath. Feel your feet against the earth. Widen your senses to take in a bit more of the sights, sounds, and feels of the world around you.

We can practice this medicine no matter where we are. Every moment can be an opportunity for connection.

Embodied Resources

I’ve a few more resources to recommend when it comes to learning with this medicine, so if you’re curious I’d recommend checking out my practice and school on Instagram @root_deep or on Facebook. If you’d like a regular reminder for earth-based self care, sign up for the newsletter too!

And if you’re really feeling called to connect deeper, I encourage you to consider the powerfully integrative course invitation that begins in February. Drawing together herbal medicine, stone medicine, and embodiment, along with deep intentions for equity, ethical practice, and health justice, this course supports students in deepening intuitive connections  at the same time as you develop practical knowledge around working with earth medicine (like how to blend your own herbal teas and how to connect with stones and their medicine in the wild).

Six brilliant teachers join me in offering a curriculum that’s deeply inspired and informed by the world we live in. We’d love for you to be there. You can learn more at rootdeepliving.com/invitation or get more information by emailing us at info@rootdeepliving.com.

Wide love, creatures.

Graham