Life has provided me the consummate playground while experience has proven to be the most effective teacher. What do I draw upon to inform and guide me? The rich black earth of my Minnesota childhood…days I spent in the open air, wandering, curious, free, connected… These rooted me and left me with a deep rhythm, offering a sense of ground upon which I stand today.

My mother, an unschooled, heartful woman who was forced early to give up her dreams, grew with me despite her fears, and allowed me to fly. Her intuitive wisdom, an incomparable gift, I absorbed without words.

My father, bound by convention, proved a tough and gruff ally/opponent in my struggle for freedom and independence. Like a weather beaten tree, I grew strong and resilient in the winds of his judgment.

The 60’s and 70’s significantly influenced my young adult sensibilities. An upheaval of enormous proportion, busting open paradigms and birthing cultural, artistic, political and sexual revolutions, the era fueled my personal dreams and ignited internal forces of change.

Extensive dance training and resultant years of chronic pain led me down explorative roads including bodywork, energy work and alternative healing paradigms. Experiencing life as a dancer, athlete and outdoor adventurer has contributed to my belief that we must inhabit and celebrate our bodies as well as include them in the healing equation. Through it all, my body has proved to be an exquisite receiver, translator, truth teller, and creative instrument of change; it has been my steady companion and playmate.

Parenting, the most difficult task ever asked of me, woke me, strengthened me, deepened me, softened me…and provided me with the love of my life. Marriage, divorce, partnerships, friendships, solitude…all have held me, tumbled me, nourished me, shaken me, polished me. As edges have worn away leaving an easy, gentle lovingness, key places have cracked open revealing a necessary fierceness. I realize now that claiming the fullness of oneself is a life-long project.

My trainings provided the formal arenas in which I sat at the feet of teachers and institutions. Two degrees in dance allowed me to enjoy the roles of teacher, performance artist, choreographer, and artistic director for 9 years. Creative expression inspired me to live life as an art and thus to practice healing as an art. A Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology, continued exploration of somatic and movement practices and training in hypnotherapy, group process theory, ecopsychology and Hakomi body-oriented psychotherapy all contribute to the ongoing development of Wild at the Roots.

Clients and group members, courageous men and women who continue to hone me, refine my skills and teach me how to speak with the greatest clarity and compassion while striving to do no harm. Their wisdom is an offering, their vulnerability an inspiration, and their willingness to speak up, challenge and right my course an essential aspect of my ongoing development. Their dedication and interpersonal risks feed my soul.

Believing that we must expand our personal growth into larger arenas I continue to develop and facilitate cutting edge group and retreat work. It is essential that we co-create tangible bridges connecting us to a more relational and life sustaining existence. And so it comes full circle. I stand upon my past, am fed by my present, and reach for a vision of the future to co-create work that nourishes us all.