Embodying Your Practice: Ecosomatics for Herbalists

Are you an herbalist curious about somatics, but not sure where to start?

Have you been missing a sense of connection–to clients, the plants, yourself–in your clinical practice (or in your learning, so far)?

Are you wondering if herbalism isn’t already inherently somatic?!

The answer to that last one is yes! (and unfortunately, sometimes, no!). So, let’s get into it and explore how we can re-center an embodied, relational, ecological approach to partnering with plants and people. In other words, let me help you (re)embody your practice.

We all know that developing a compassionate presence, attuning to clients, communicating clearly, setting healthy boundaries, and taking responsibility for tending the relational container is challenging and ongoing work. What we sometimes miss are the ways that our embodiment shapes our development of these skills (and the ways in which our embodiment is, in turn, shaped by our personal histories with healing and trauma, personal and professional relationships, access to resources, systemic privileges and/or oppression, and so much more). Building a somatic foundation under your clinical practice can make all the difference in finding more ease and joy in your work and in growing your capacity to show up fully and effectively as a practitioner.

This workshop will introduce somatics as a diverse body of knowledge and provide foundational somatic practices that can support you in expanding your ability to be present and attuned to yourself, your clients, and the plants; to be flexible and resilient when challenges arise; and to stay aligned with the values that guide you and your work. We’ll root our practices in connection to land, community and self, with a particular invitation to the plants to join us in our embodied explorations.

My approach to somatics is relational (we experience ourselves in relation to a wide field of human and more-than-human kin), politicized (our personal and collective embodiment is always happening in a political context), and ecological (our embodiment is interdependent with our environment and the whole of the earth). Put another way, for me the goal of this work—or any healing—is not individual well-being or success within sick systems, but re-attunement to our bodies, each other, and the earth for the sake of our collective liberation and joy.

If this approach resonates, come see how somatics might fortify or re-enliven your current (or future!) practice. 

Larken Bunce, MS is a clinical herbalist, educator, somatic practitioner, gardener, and photographer. She is a co-founder and current executive director and faculty at Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism (VCIH). Her practice and teaching draw equally from science and spirit, novel practice and tradition, clinic and garden, reflecting her diverse experiences in 30 years in the field. She holds a Master of Science in Clinical Herbal Medicine from MUIH, as well as certificates in Zen Shiatsu, Swedish/Esalen Massage, MindBody Coaching, and Somatic Experiencing trauma resolution work. Her teaching interests lie where herbalism intersects with relational somatics, trauma studies, radical ecopsychology, and collective liberation. Larken is passionate about accessible and affirming care, bridging traditional medical systems with biomedical sciences, and restoring Nature to culture through herbal medicine.  For more on Larken's work outside of VCIH, visit LarkenBunce.com.