Rooted Healing

<p>After another long pause, this episode arrives from a place shaped by profound loss. A convergence of grief has moved through our lives, and for those subscribed to the <a target="_blank" href="https://rootedhealing.substack.com/">Rooted Healing newsletter</a>, you’ll already have some sense of what’s been unfolding. </p><p>It is a true honour to welcome back the wonderful ceremonialist <strong>I</strong><a target="_blank" href="https://islamacleod.com/"><strong>sla Macleod</strong></a>. Isla returns now with something entirely new: an immersive, seasonal offering created to honour the Wheel of the Year through ritual, story, and practice - rooting us in the living seasons and landscapes, and the liminal thresholds within and between them.</p><p>For those new to Isla’s work, she is a renowned ceremonialist of these wise isles and the author of the beautiful book <a target="_blank" href="https://islamacleod.com/rituals-for-life"><em>Rituals for Life</em></a>. She also shares a beautiful newsletter on <a target="_blank" href="https://islamacleod.substack.com/">Substack</a>.</p><p>This Imbolc also marks the opening ceremony of the <strong>final year-long programme, </strong><a target="_blank" href="https://www.rootedhealing.org/deepen"><strong>Deepen Your Roots</strong></a>. This is a profound, life-changing journey into your ecological body, bioregion, spirit, and the heart of your calling. Held in community, it offers space to explore your role in co-creating a more beautiful world. </p><p>You can support the podcast and receive many gifts in return through our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.patreon.com/c/rootedhealing">Patreon community</a>, and explore our gatherings and courses at <a target="_blank" href="http://rootedhealing.org"><strong>rootedhealing.org</strong></a>.</p><p>Music in this episode is by <a target="_blank" href="https://bonniemedicine.bandcamp.com/"><strong>Bonnie Medicine</strong></a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://soundcloud.com/childrensforest"><strong>The Children’s Forest</strong></a>.</p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Rooted Healing at <a href="https://rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>In this powerful conversation, Veronica sits with<a href="https://www.zeenaismail.com/"> <b>Zeena Ismail</b></a> - a Palestinian somatic practitioner, trauma educator and writer - to explore what it means to belong, to heal and to stay rooted in the midst of ongoing displacement and collective trauma.</p><p>Zeena’s work weaves <em>politicised somatics</em> with land-based practice and systemic literacy, inviting Arabs and diaspora communities into embodied repair through her six-month bilingual programme, <a href="https://www.zeenaismail.com/bahr"><em>Where Do We Begin</em></a>. They explore the intersections of trauma, resistance and reclamation - how bodies hold the weight of occupation, and how safety, grief and aliveness can coexist.</p><p>This episode invites us to look beyond ideology and into the body as a site of truth, where liberation and safety must include everyone.</p><p>Rooted Healing’s year-long programme, <a href="https://www.rootedhealing.org/deepen"><em>Deepen Your Roots</em></a>, is now enrolling for its third cohort. Acting as an incubation ground and compass toward a more beautiful world, <em>Deepen Your Roots</em> invites participants into a year of embodied exploration through place, body, spirit and calling - nourishing leadership and participation in the Great Turning.</p><p>This cycle leans more deeply into participatory, relational learning, with co-created practice, small-group inquiry, ritual and embodied exploration, and a renewed effort to gather elders and living-tradition keepers whose presence anchors the work toward humility, continuity and intergenerational wisdom.  Learn more and join the next cohort at <a href="https://rootedhealing.org/deepen"><b>rootedhealing.org/deepen</b></a> and use the code ROOTED10 for 10% off.<b> </b><br/>.</p><p><a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/rootedhealing">Support the show</a></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Rooted Healing at <a href="https://rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>In this rich and timely conversation, we sit down with legendary rainforest activist, eco-philosopher and elder of the Deep Ecology movement, <b>John Seed</b>. For over four decades, John has stood on the frontlines of ecological protection -spearheading <a href="https://www.rainforestinformationcentre.org">rainforest-saving campaigns</a>, offering experiential <a href="https://www.johnseed.net">deep ecology workshops</a>, and co-creating the powerful ritual known as <em>The Council of All Beings</em> with Joanna Macy.</p><p>We explore the concept of the <b>Ecological Self - </b>a radical shift in identity that sees the tree, river, stone and storm not as separate from us, but as expressions of a shared being.  As John puts it, <em>“</em>I try to remember that it&apos;s not me, John Seed, trying to protect the rainforest. Rather, I am part of the rainforest protecting itself. I am that part of the rain forest recently emerged into human thinking.&quot;  From blockades and biodiversity to reEarthing rituals and the resurgence of ecological consciousness, this is a conversation that bridges inner transformation with outer action.</p><p>This episode is an offering for all who are seeking deeper relationship with the Earth, and it speaks directly to the heart of our work at Rooted Healing. If you&apos;re drawn to this path, you may also wish to explore our year-long programme, <a href="https://www.rootedhealing.org/deepen"><b>Deepen Your Roots</b></a>, which weaves together deep ecology, animism, and community ritual. </p><p>Join us at a gathering or on a course at r<a href="https://www.rootedhealing.org">ootedhealing.org</a>.  We have a space left at our signature <a href="https://www.rootedhealing.org/earth-medicine-2025">Earth Medicine</a> psilocybin retreat this September...</p><p>You can access our free hour-long workshop in Embodied Deep Ecology <a href="https://www.rootedhealing.org/sign-up">here</a>.</p><p>The music in this episode is from <a href="https://maebird.bandcamp.com">Mae Bird</a>, <a href="https://soundcloud.com/johnseed/12-expanding-universe-john-seed">Eric Idle &amp; John Seed</a>, and <a href="https://bonniemedicine.bandcamp.com/track/br-ghdes-song-ft-mae-bird">Bonnie Medicine</a>.</p><p>Thank you Niamh Murray of <a href="https://www.enviromentality.com.au">Enviromentality</a> for sending John Seed this way.</p><p><a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/rootedhealing">Support the show</a></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Rooted Healing at <a href="https://rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>“We are rainforest people living on a rainforest island… and the greatest challenge is truly remembering that.”</p><p>In this episode, we sit down with Merlin Hanbury-Tenison, a rainforest guardian, author, conservationist and founder of the <a target="_blank" href="https://thousandyeartrust.org"><em>Thousand Year Trust </em></a><em>-</em> exploring the healing potential of restoring Britain’s ancient temperate rainforests.</p><p>From his home at <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cabillacornwall.com">Cabilla</a>, a sanctuary on Bodmin Moor where native thousand year old Celtic oaks still grow, Merlin is leading a soulful mission: to reweave ecological resilience with cultural memory, and to bring people back into relationship with our Atlantic rainforests.  </p><p>We also explore Merlin’s powerful debut book, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/462415/our-oaken-bones-by-hanbury-tenison-merlin/9781529144222"><em>Our Oaken Bones</em></a> - an emotive reflection on place, belonging, healing and the intergenerational task of tending what remains.</p><p>This episode includes a book giveaway for our <a target="_blank" href="https://www.patreon.com/c/rootedhealing">Patreon community</a> - one listener will receive a hardback copy of <em>Our Oaken Bones</em>. Visit patreon.com/rootedhealing to enter and support the podcast.</p><p>Learn more about our offerings and join our free Embodied Deep Ecology workshop at <a target="_blank" href="http://rootedhealing.org/">rootedhealing.org</a>.</p><p>The music stitched into this episode is from <a target="_blank" href="https://soundcloud.com/childrensforest">The Children’s Forest</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://bonniemedicine.bandcamp.com/track/br-ghdes-song-ft-mae-bird">Bonnie Medicine</a>.</p><p>Please leave a comment, rate 5*, subscribe and review, to help others find these stories of healing and regeneration. </p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.patreon.com/rootedhealing">Support the show</a></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Rooted Healing at <a href="https://rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe</a>

<p>In this episode, we welcome <a href="https://www.kalokura.com"><b>Maile Kalokura</b></a>, a Somatic Educator, Shamanic &amp; Evolutionary Astrologer and founder of <b>Kalokura Astrology &amp; the Golden Rose Temple</b>.  With a passion for deepening self-awareness and activating a sense of aliveness in the body, Maile guides us through the art of <b>softening - into presence, authenticity and embodied truth</b>.</p><p>She shares her personal journey of confronting power dynamics and radical initiations that led her to rediscover <b>the strength in vulnerability, the power of boundaries and the beauty of slowing down, sensuously</b>.  </p><p>Through her studies in somatic healing, mystical traditions and sacred arts, she has cultivated a path of attunement to life’s deeper rhythms, where <b>sensuous presence becomes a gateway to freedom</b>.</p><p>Receive our free workshop in <a href="https://www.rootedhealing.org/sign-up"><b>Embodied Deep Ecology</b></a>.</p><p>Join us at <a href="https://www.rootedhealing.org/earth-medicine-2025"><b>Earth Medicine</b></a>.</p><p>Listen to more of <a href="https://maebird.bandcamp.com"><b>Maebird&apos;s music</b></a>.</p><p><a rel="payment" href="https://www.patreon.com/rootedhealing">Support the show</a></p> <br/><br/>Get full access to Rooted Healing at <a href="https://rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&#38;utm_campaign=CTA_4">rootedhealing.substack.com/subscribe</a>