Personal development

Ecotherapy

So what is Ecotherapy?

An ever-evolving question and one with a myriad of interpretations that’s often easier to understand experientially as it tends to be rather tricky to capture in words! For the context of these sessions with Emily however, Ecotherapy is rooted in a way of being with the world that speaks to our interconnection with ourselves, each other and nature. Ecotherapy offers a framework for all three of those things to be remembered as one whole living, breathing, interacting organism. A reciprocal relationship in constant conversation and exchange, that all offer insight and reflection to each other. It’s that foundation that infuses Emily’s practise, both personally and professionally here at The Centre.

And how can Ecotherapy support you?

Maybe you don’t know why but you feel you need some space to pause and just catch your breath? Maybe you do know why and there is something specific that has been gnawing away at you that’s calling for some space to be explored, despite feeling rather edgy or some resistance to? Perhaps you’ve been recently bereaved or are going through the waves of grief and don’t know where to take it or what to do with it? Or maybe it’s your anger, numbness, stuckness, exhaustion, disconnection, anxiety, sadness that doesn’t feel like it has a place to be heard or felt?

By coming in to relationship with whatever it is you’re navigating with the natural world in this way, consciously making space and time to turn up with ALL that we are and ALL that we are with, we gift ourselves the opportunity to be heard, held, supported, witnessed and fully known. Whole. The natural world embodies it all, and so do we, yet we live in a culture that so often focuses on just one side of the coin; of summer, of light, of growth. All too often the gifts and magic of the winter, of the dark, of rest are missed. The power and transformational potency that’s also held in slowing down to listen, to soothe and resource our nervous systems by spending this held and intentional time in nature, offers us this chance to come home to the wholeness of who we are. An integral and precious reminder of what we’re part of and an opportunity to build our sense of safety in being in relationship with all that we’re feeling.

It’s not a new practise, as humans we’ve been living in this way since our time here began on this planet, and for many cultures and people this way of being in the world is still very much alive. For us here on this land where we live, so much of life tends to pull us away from this sense of sensing, of feeling, of connection and belonging. The effects of that disconnection within ourselves, our communities and our relationship with the land and it’s inhabitants is evident, not least through our current health and ecological crises. Working together ecotherapeutically, in full community with ourselves, each other and the natural world, can offer us that often much-needed reminder of our ‘place in the family of things’*.

What it is to feel that we are truly welcome, that we truly belong and are supported in ALL that we feel and experience?! In the whole cycle, with all of those feelings of shame, judgement, sensuality, grief, fear or anger that we’re so often told not to feel. What we then have to offer ourselves and the wider world from that place, from that sense of wholeness, is truly something quite exquisite. And perhaps these moments with nature can then invite us in to something much more mystical and magical, experiences that often words often can’t quite capture.

If you want to find out more please have a look at the further resources that Emily has on her website, including her free nature based grounding, or get in touch. She’d love to hear from you 😊

*Quote from Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Individual Sound Baths

The individual Sound Baths allow for a dedicated experience to explore intentions and integrate the experience that are worked through at a deeper level.  Jhoana combines therapeutic coaching, the sound bath, aromatherapy and/or flower/plant tea into the individual sound baths for a holistic transformational experience.  She offers clients a safe space to discuss their intentions, goals and what a good life would look like, and the Sound Bath is used to work through any blocks and/or to unlock wisdom. 

Jhoana is a highly experienced facilitator passionate about holistic healing journeys. She trained as a counsellor over 15 years ago and combines the psychological ‘understanding of self’ with meditation, spirituality and plant/flower modalities. She works with people where they are in their own journey and works with people of all faiths and none.