Tekla's incredibly talented podcast producer and friend, Carin Huebner, joins Be Rooted today to share her stories and her journey of healing. There is a lot of reflecting on the past and growing up in the grind culture, how it affects mental, physical and spiritual health. Carin also shares her journey with healing religious trauma, and her wisdom from being a spiritual director for 8 years. Listen with the amusement and laughter that Carin brings to the conversation, and how an open mind to different ways of healing can bring even more healing!

Specifically they discuss:

• You don't know what you don't know- growing up as a teenager with physical pain, and when Western medicine is all you know, and when not exposed to other modalities, you just listen to the authority.
• Carin's experience of listening to the authority (doctors, pastors, Jesus, God) and how she learned to unlearn this way of being and learned to listen to her own body and intuition.
• The journey of learning that what we put into our body (pizza rolls, bagels and sugar) can really affect the physical and mental bodies.
• How Carin has healed her body when the doctors told her teenage self "there is nothing we can do".
• Carin shares some eye-opening stories about religious trauma and abuse, and the fear that it can bring up, and how it can engrain thoughts and ideas about healing, and Carin's healing journey and deconstruction.
• The neti-pot: how it can be a gateway drug to alternative and holistic ways of healing. :)
• Opening up and letting go of fear around energy healing modalities and realizing that there are a lot out there beyond Reiki! Specifically how acupuncture opened up both Carin and Tekla's eyes to energy and it is all connected and it is all energy.
• Carin's journey with Reiki- how it was for her weird friends but not her, and then how powerful it was for her, and her journey learning Reiki in Tekla's Be Rooted program.
• Carin's takeaways from receiving and learning the practice of Reiki, and how it is so connected to many parts of her healing journey- and how it is now a daily practice and part of her life.
• Ancestral healing and how Reiki and other healing modalities helps with this.
• You can heal your mind/body/spirit if you were pumped up with antibiotics and even if you took Accutane! Tekla and Carin share their stories here!

Tekla is grateful to have Carin as her podcast producer and highly recommends scheduling a call with her if you are at all interested in podcasting. Tekla would not be doing this without Carin's expertise and support. Carin is also an amazing artist, creator, and guide. Check out her websites about art, podcasting, and coaching here:

Website: https://www.carinhuebner.com/

Art Website: https://www.carinhuebner.art/

Instagram: @carinhuebner

CW: religious trauma and spiritual abuse

Dr. G (Dr. Giavanni Washington) joins Tekla to share her wisdom and knowledge, and her process of creating The Black Goddess Within Oracle Deck. Dr. G is on an ancestral mission to make the world safer for Black bodied people, and she is doing it through building community, her oracle deck, educating others, and one-on-one ancestral healing sessions. Listen to learn about her Oracle deck as we discuss:

• The power of using oracle decks and how they can be a guiding message in life- to validate what is happening or invite a new perspective.
• When Dr. G was not seeing Black bodies and Black goddesses in oracle decks, she decided to make her own- how she did this and the work it took.
• The research Dr. G did to learn about the goddesses, and how she used her academic expertise to sift through the (white-dominated and racist) opinions of the history and stories of the goddesses.
• To begin the interview, Tekla pulls a card from the deck and they discuss what it means to each of them. Get a glimpse of this beautiful deck through their conversation and how they interpret the card.
• Dr. G is a teacher, and she shares her passion for educating about the roots of racism and especially Black bodies. They discuss the unique course Dr. G created, Liberated Bodies, and how the course showed up different for allies and for Black women who took the class.
• The importance of affinity spaces and spaces that are of mixed cultural bodies, and Tekla's experience being Dr. G's student in Liberated Bodies for Allies (and why she hopes it is offered again- it is a powerful class!)
• Tekla shares a vulnerable realization she had in Dr. G's class about her own white fragility, and how it does not serve, and how she continues to work through releasing the story that keeps her from action.
• They talk the history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and some of the misconceptions many Americans may have about it, and why it is important to unlearn and re-learn history.
• Ancestral healing and how The Black Goddess Within Oracle Deck supports this, for all bodies, not just Black bodies. (Tekla loves the deck and uses it regularly).
• Creating and leading community and being an entrepreneur can be lonely- and where Dr. G & Tekla have found support around this.
• Learn about Dr. G's one-on-one Ancestral Alchemy healing sessions and how she is honoring her ancestry by the work she shares with the world.
• Tekla will have Dr. G return after her Ancestral Alchemy 1:1 session. Stay tuned!

More about Dr. G and how to connect:

Called to the medicine of ancestral restoration, Dr. Giavanni creates healing opportunities to reconnect with lost histories and ignite hidden ancestral wisdom. Dedicated to amplifying Black Beauty, reconnecting to the deep roots of Black Divinity and encouraging the full expression of Black Joy, Dr Giavanni Washington's latest creative endeavor is the Black Goddess Within Oracle Deck. Dr G, as she is affectionately known, is an intuitive healer, mother, speaker and spiritual guide who holds a doctorate from UCLA’s department of World Arts and Cultures and was recently selected for the California Creative Corps Artist and Culture Bearer Fellowship by the California Arts Council.

Website: https://blackgoddesswithin.com

IG/TT: blackgoddesswithin@gmail.com

Learn all about The Black Goddess Within Oracle Deck here- you can even pull a card virtually on the website! Check it out, it is very cool- https://www.drgiavanniwashington.com/deck

Cynthia Taylor is in her second phase of life, with her grown children and husband supporting her as she is the new business owner of South Coast Organics & Bulk Foods in Wakefield, RI. She shares her journey of being a Child Life Specialist, while finding her own healing journey through the Applied Healing Arts program at the Tai Sophia Institute. She was Tekla's accountability buddy in graduate school and they share stories of learning how to be a healing presence. You can feel Cynthia's healing presence by listening to this conversation- be inspired by her experiences and storytelling as they discuss:

• What do you "do" to be a healing presence? What practices are important to continue?
• The ripple effect of Cynthia's own healing journey with her family and her job as a Child Life Specialist.
• Cynthia's experience of bringing in mindfulness practices to one of the biggest children's hospitals in the country, and how powerful small changes can be for the children as well as the doctors and nurses caring for them.
• Why it was so exhausting to bring in new mindful ways of being (presence) into the business setting that is the hospital system.
• How presence is healing for others- Cynthia's experience of being a healing presence, from working with children to now being a business owner and community builder in her small town in Rhode Island.
• The importance of being in the season of winter and being in the unknown, and how it can be uncomfortable, yet so rewarding if you allow for the presence in the winter seasons of life.
• How being in the winter can blossom into a spring that is more than you may ever dream and how Cynthia fell in love with the herbs of the earth and how she is sharing them with her community.
• The power of practices like Qi Gong and yoga for grounding and being in the unknown or challenging times that life brings.

More about Cynthia:

Cynthia blessed to have a loving husband of 26 years, Will Taylor and two amazing adult children, Nick and Kaila Taylor. She earned my Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University in Child Development specialized in Child LIfe in 1997 and she earned her Masters of Arts degree from Tai Sophia University now known as Maryland University of Integrative Health in Applied Healing Arts in 2013. She worked as a Certified Child Life Specialist for 15 years at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore Maryland from 2006 - 2021. She started studying spiritual herbalism in 2020 with The Gaia School of Healing & Earth Education. She finished her first year certificate in 2022 mainly working on healing herself and family and in 2023 started working on year two on how to serve others. On her journey during and after Tai Sophia I earned my level 2 as a Reiki practitioner. Her life has taken her on an adventure from raising a family and working in western medicine in Pennsylvania and Maryland to downtown Wakefield Rhode Island owning an organic bulk food and herb shop, South Coast Organics & Bulk Foods, being a part of and serving a loving and nourishing community.

Connect with Cynthia:

South Coast Organics & Bulk Foods in Wakefield RI email is info@southcoastbulkfoods.com and the web page is http://southcoastbulkfoods.com

Michele Bickley has practicing and teaching yoga and dance for over 20 years. She is an entrepreneur who continues to hold a kind and loving space for her students, in person, on zoom, on retreats, and in the public school classroom. She is a teacher with her own inspiring story of recovery, healing and growth through meditation, yoga and 12 step work. We dive into all these topics together. Join us as Michele holds an authentic and kind space with Tekla as they discuss:

• Michele's journey of first teaching dance in classrooms in LA to learning yoga from some of the top teachers on the planet, how she fully immersed herself into learning and practicing yoga, and how she honors her teachers and the roots and traditions of yoga.
• Teaching yoga and dance to children in the classroom setting- why it is Michele's favorite thing to work with younger people and the profound shifts she notices in kids.
• Why her work is never "work" from teaching outdoor yoga summer camps to kids, to yoga classes in person and on zoom, to retreats- what keeps her motivated.
• The community and classes that Michele has built over the years is authentic and "real life"- how she creates this community that is welcoming and gives the space to connect. (Michele is one of Tekla's favorite teachers and was her daughter's first yoga teacher when she was 2.5 years old).
• We dive into 12-step work for healing and recovery- the connection Tekla and Michele have with the healing they have both found through 12-step work, and how it integrates into their yoga practices. Michele shares her journey of recovery with an eating disorder, and how she found recovery in her 20s.
• Through the recovery conversation, they discuss denial and how it serves as great protection until one is ready to recover and heal (and why it is SOOOO worth it once the choice is made to drop the denial and heal!)
• Retreats! Michele hosts retreats throughout the year and we discuss our love of retreats, and the benefits of them (and acknowledge the privilege to be able to go on retreats... and why we wish we could get funded to offer them to all!)

More about Michele and how to connect with her:

Michele is in love with yoga and the art of sharing it creatively, in all areas of life…on and off the mat.

She grew up dancing and teaching in Baltimore (studied at Baltimore School for the Arts), then moved to L.A. in 1998 after receiving a degree in Fine Arts and Dance from SMU in Dallas, TX. While living in Los Angeles, Michele had the privilege of studying with some of the finest teachers on the planet.

In 2002, Michele co-founded Muv Dance and Yoga, an innovative arts organization that brought Yoga and Dance to hundreds of LA public schools, creating spaces for children to shine. She created the Yoga for the Classroom DVD that was used in schools all over the world.

Over the last decade, Michele has developed “Shake Your Shakti,” a Dance / Hip Hop Yoga Method that offers a style and space for people to experience high levels of joy, freedom, connectedness, and health.

Michele currently lives in Maryland where she is a proud mama of two lil’ yogis, teaches classes and workshops, leads retreats locally and internationally, and adores creating events to bring communities together to help promote peace on the planet.

Her passion for creating a safe space, nurturing the spirit, moving creatively, uncovering freedom in our body, and exploring the depths of this ancient yoga practice in an accessible way, are the foundations for her teaching.

Anyone can practice with Michele via her zoom classes :-)

LoveLifeYoga.org

Facebook: LoveLifeYogaWithMichele

Instagram: @YogaForRealLife

Twitter: @YogaForRealLife

Robyn Young shares deep wisdom through storytelling, to connect the listener with the philosophy and wisdom of 5 Element Acupuncture, which shows our human connection to the cycles of the seasons and the earth. She shares her experience being a mom, being a lifelong learner and someone who is in practice. She shares inspirational stories about the transformational practices she learned at the Tai Sophia Institute studying Applied Healing Arts, Acupuncture and Herbalism, and is where Tekla and Robyn met.

Topics that Robyn shares:

• Self compassion- doing the best you can- how to live with more self-compassion.
• Listening to the body and how wise it is- how the daily practice of awareness brings even more self-compassion.
• 5 Element Acupuncture- beautiful stories and examples that bring awareness and understanding of how powerful it is to live in connection with the cycles of the earth, that we are, as humans, part of these cycles.
• Healing Circles for Mothers- Robyn created a beautiful 5-element inspired guide to lead mothers' healing circles that Tekla used for years- the powerful healing that comes from gathering in circles of women, especially mothers.
• Healing the mother wound and living against the "norms" of patriarchy.
• The importance of healing ourselves for the sake of our children and how much work still needs to be done- it never "ends"!
• A discussion on gender and the feminine, mothering and how language is so important to be inclusive.
• Robyn and Tekla still have a lot to talk about around recovery and narcissism, which they touch on- Robyn will be back!

More about Robyn Young:

Robyn has more than 30 years’ experience educating and counseling women about reproductive health including contraception, menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, post-partum care, transitioning into motherhood, and peri- and post-menopausal care. She also has extensive experience working with people in recovery from addiction, co-dependency, and trauma. Though she specializes in the care of women, Robyn is equally committed to providing a safe, comfortable, and welcoming environment for all people regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, body size, socioeconomic status, and nature of illness. Using acupuncture, qi gong and the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine, Robyn midwifes others through major transitions and developmental stages in their lives.

​Robyn holds masters degrees in Applied Healing Arts, Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, as well as a post-graduate certificate in Women’s Holistic Health from the Maryland Institute for Integrative Health (formerly Tai Sophia Institute). Her undergraduate degree is in Sociology and Family and Community Development from the University of Maryland. Robyn lives in Silver Spring with her family, and is a 20+ year veteran homeschooler/unschooler.

How to connect with Robyn:

Website: https://seasonsoflifeacupuncture.com/welcome

Email: admin@seasonsoflifeacupuncture.com

Mama Love Collective for Healing Circles for Mothers: https://www.themamalovecollective.com/about.html

Jocelyn Hunter joins Tekla and shares many wise stories of her journey of healing through her life, which started with an interest in crystals and stones, and has evolved into her teaching classes on How to Heal Yourself and guiding Healing Circles at Psychic Horizons Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Jocelyn shares how her doorway to healing work and energy work was crystals and silversmithing. Tekla has known Jocelyn for 8 years, as she was in her first Reiki class she taught here in Colorado. It is a joy to speak with Jocelyn and hear her storytelling of her healing journey. They discuss:

• Working with teachers- how much we can learn from our teachers and how much we learn from our students as teachers.
• As teachers, we share how we are space holders and guides, and how we hold the space for students to do their own healing work.
• The importance of community and the healing that comes from being in community- how one person's experience can remind us of layers of healing we have to do, and how others help with the healing journey.
• The deep healing that has come from working through healing in community and the importance of giving ourselves permission to do the work and be in these spaces.
• The collective expectations of mothering from our culture and how to heal and release these expectations and mom guilt that shows up for so many mothers.
• Staying present through healing-how Jocelyn has done this over the years and some great tips she gives and why it is all worth it.
• The balance between somatic work like yoga and mind/body awareness and the times when we go deep and heal energetically at a subconscious level- why we need both and how connected they are- mind/body/spirit awareness, connection, and healing of trauma.
• Jocelyn shares her journey with being called to work with crystals and minerals, learning silversmithing and creating beautiful art. She gives great tips on how to begin exploring if you are called to crystals and gems of the Earth. (You can even work with her to learn how to navigate gem shows and silversmith).
• How Jocelyn currently holds space for others teaching classes at Psychic Horizons and how she brings her wisdom and experiences to her students, while also learning from their wisdom.

Jocelyn's Bio and how to connect with her:

From Jocelyn: I am a Light Worker. I am here on the planet at this moment to be a channel for Divine energy. I live in the forest to the west of Boulder CO. I am a spiritual teacher and healer, an artist and creator. I work with silver and gemstones.

Jocelyn's Website: http://www.jocelynhunter.com

Facebook: Jocelyn Hunter Jewelry

Psychic Horizon's Center where Jocelyn teaches How to Heal Yourself, Holds Healing Spaces, and teaches Women's Intuition Class: http://www.psychichorizonscenter.org

View and purchase Jocelyn's beautiful jewelry at Particular's Gallery in Lafayette, CO: https://particularsart.com/ and at The Evergreen Gallery in Evergreen, CO: https://theevergreengallery.com/artists/jocelyn-hunter-jewelry/

Contact Jocelyn if you are interested in learning about crystals and silversmithing with her, or doing one-on-one energy work with her on the phone or at her home with her crystals and stones.

Tekla is honored to welcome Stacia Synnestvedt of wooversity.com to the show, to share with you some of the wisdom, knowledge and tools that she has learned from Stacia over the past decade. Stacia was Tekla's Intuitive Teacher for 2 full years when Tekla first moved to Colorado. Stacia is a gifted and compassionate teacher + psychic, and we hope you enjoy the conversation.

Tekla and Stacia dive into many topics that Stacia teaches:

• Growth periods- what are they and are they worth it? Growth periods are those times during healing and growth that might not feel so great- Stacia gives a great analogy of healing and we dive into why the growth periods are totally worth it!
• Codependency- is it a bad word? How can it actually be a good thing? For many, it is safer to feel FOR others than for ourselves. Stacia shares how harmful it can be to both parties when we hold other people's puzzle pieces from them.
• The energetics of boundaries- Stacia shares her powerful and simple tools for setting energetic boundaries- and how to start to be able to discern what energy is yours and what is someone else's energy.
• Holding space for people- how to hold space in an energetic healthy and neutral way. How to be in community while noticing your body and energy.
• Finding neutrality- the goal of healing work, especially in relationships. How Stacia teaches and practices this.
• The importance of body awareness and healing- psychic work isn't all woowoo- it connects very deeply to the energy in the body and how the body holds energy, and then how we can release. We go into the mind/body awareness of healing.
• Do you ever get annoyed by someone else you are in a class with or healing in community with? This is good work and big healing possibilities if you can notice and stick with the uncomfortable sensations! Healing in community and resonating frequencies and the deep healing Stacia observes in her classes.
• Of course we talk a lot about practice and consistency of practice, individually and in community.

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Stacia's Bio:

Rt. Reverend Stacia Synnestvedt was trained as an ordained minister and Certified Intuitive teacher at the Church of Inner Truth in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which is a non-denominational meditation center with a mission to teach practical applications of nonreligious spiritual principals which promote self awareness, healing and inner peace through experiential classes and community outreach programs. She continues her personal growth and advanced graduate level training to this day at Psychic Horizons Center, The Church of Inner Light, in Boulder, CO, where she became an ordained Bishop (Rt. Rev.) in 2015, which enables her to train and ordain spiritual ministers.

Stacia has an effortless, yet certain, way of holding the space to help individuals connect inward, to better understand their body-mind-spirit relationship through the understanding of energy.

Currently, she teaches several levels of an Intuitive Training & Self Healing Program, mentors advanced energy healing professionals, and offers several courses online.

Additionally, Stacia works with clients in a private setting as a spiritual counselor and intuitive healer to help cultivate deep changes within their life by seeing blocks and helping to empower them with tools, especially personalized meditation techniques, that are unique to a soul’s path in the present moment.

Connect with Stacia:

Website Wooversity

Instagram: Wooversity

Facebook: EvolvewithStacia

TikTok @psychicstacia

Bonnie Tarantino, Tekla's Reiki and yoga teacher and mentor, shares her wisdom and experiences with living the practice of Reiki, and how she weaves Reiki into all aspects of her life, from parenting to teaching, writing, and creating art and music.

Bonnie has been practicing Reiki for over 20 years, and she has brought the practice of Reiki and yoga to over 1,000 students over her career. Bonnie created and directed Healing Pathways program at The University of Maryland School of Medicine Center for Integrative Medicine, which is where Tekla met Bonnie, as she was her student in the 200 hour yoga teacher training + Reiki training. Bonnie was the director of this program, which brought Reiki, yoga and meditation to doctors and nurses in the hospital system. Bonnie is a creative, teaching courses in Reiki, yoga, Tarot, meditation, and she is a writer, visual artist and musician. She enjoys mentoring one on one, both in person and over the phone. She holds small intimate trainings and has led spiritual trips to India, Hawaii, Peru, New Mexico, Ireland and Colorado. Recently she opened her own yoga/workshop studio on her property and is enjoying teaching in-person once again.

Tekla and Bonnie Discuss How they Live and Share the Practice of Reiki Including:

How Bonnie discovered Reiki over 20 years ago and how she started to teach it, along with the practice of yoga, and how she has seen the practices evolve over the past 24 years- it is hopeful!

Why Bonnie teaches Reiki in a 9-month program in community, which is what inspires Tekla to teach her 9-month Reiki program, Be Rooted, in the format she does, over 9 months in community.

The importance of daily practices being simple and something we want to do, and how practicing often brings ease to quickly grounding when the system gets disregulated.

Raising children with energy awareness and the practice of Reiki- Bonnie's children are adults now, and she shares how she sees the benefits and importance of being mindful and present parents. How our parenting and guidance will help them to do their best work in life.

Social media and how we can teach our kids to not be controlled by the algorithms, and to be mindful with social media.

Bonnie brings hope during this time of great destruction and change- and why this is the time when practicing Reiki and meditation is more important than ever.

Bonnie's journey with Tarot and how she teaches in interactive ways to teach others the power of the Tarot.

Intuition and telepathy- is there a difference?

Reiki and the connection with the cycles of the earth and the moon- including a fun story of the full moon in Ireland when Tekla was on pilgrimage with Bonnie in 2019.

Creativity and Reiki- Creativity and letting go of perfectionism- Bonnie shares how she dives into creative projects and how magic is created.

Quickly manifesting and when to say wait, not yet.

Connect with Bonnie:

Bonnie's ⁠website⁠

Bonnie on ⁠Facebook⁠

Bonnie on ⁠Instagram⁠

Check out Digital4Good and #icanhelp to learn more about educating kids and parents about safe and mindful social media use, with mindfulness around mental health (Bonnie's daughter is very involved in this and it is hopeful!)