Somatics for Herbalists:
Embodied Practitioner Skill Development Series
SUNDAYS, OCTOBER 13 ~ NOVEMBER 3, 2024
AN ONLINE 4-Part Series with larken bunce
of Vermont Center of Integrative Herbalism
“If you long for more intentional, embodied relationship with yourself, your clients and community, and the plants and land—whether you’re still a student, new to practice, or in it for years—I made this series for you.”
Grow your capacity to show up fully and effectively as an herbalism practitioner…
The work of clinical herbal practice — developing a compassionate presence, attuning to clients, communicating clearly, setting healthy boundaries, and taking responsibility for tending the relational container — takes self-awareness, skill and consistent practice. You can learn the skills of guiding an intake, asking good questions, formulating protocols, setting up your business, and all of the other logistics, and yet still not feel as confident or fulfilled as you’d like.
Integrating a somatic approach into your clinical herbal 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. Somatic practices can help you expand your ability to be present and attuned to yourself and your clients, to be flexible and resilient when challenges arise, and to stay aligned with the values that guide you and your work.
In this four-part series, we’ll explore foundational somatic principles and practices and how they can profoundly shift your experience of your practice and your clients.
The skills you will gain…
Each class will include lecture, embodied practice, group reflection and Q&A. I'll also suggest practices, resources and reflections to work with between sessions to enrich your experience. By the end, you’ll have a firm foundation upon which to rest your practice, one that supports you to feel resourced, held, confident, and oriented toward the vision you have for your work and the world.
Topics to be included…
➤ nervous system education, including polyvagal theory
➤ personal patterns of embodiment and resource mapping
➤ practices for centering and presence
➤ attunement and co-regulation (with self, other, plants and land)
➤ embodied rapport development
➤ embodied listening
➤ intuition and discernment
➤ boundaries and empathic permeability
➤ trauma awareness (self and other)
➤ navigating asymmetrical power dynamics
“As a practitioner for 30 years, I know the challenges that come up for many of us in our practices and in relationship with clients. For over 15 years, I’ve been teaching future practitioners and supervising clinical interns. I’ve learned a lot through watching where students and beginning clinicians get stuck, along with how to support them when they do. And, I know experienced practitioners need support, too! What I’ve found to be most helpful for myself and other practitioners is a somatic framework. ”
This series will support you to…
➤ reliably find your center and show up resourced and present for clients
➤ build stronger rapport with clients
➤ become a more effective listener
➤ understand and reshape unhelpful patterns and habits you may bring to the clinical relationship
➤ hone your clinical insight and intuition
➤ compassionately tend your boundaries
➤ maintain and replenish your energy and motivation to show up for this work that you love!
Is this series for you?
Folks already in practice and advanced herbal students working towards clinic are welcome to join. If you're new to somatics you’ll get a solid introduction, while those already familiar will find value in how Larken specifically applies somatics to embodying the role of practitioner. While the focus of this series is practitioner development, the tools you learn will be valuable offerings to share with your clients and will enhance your understanding of many clinical presentations, as well.
Somatics will enliven and enrich your herbal path if you are…
➤ a student of herbalism considering working with clients (including in non-formal ways!) and not sure you’re ready
➤ a new practitioner discovering the ways that clinical work challenges you to grow personally
➤ a seasoned practitioner feeling undernourished or burnt out by your practice
➤ any future or current practitioner wanting to feel more connected to yourself, your clients, the plants, and the land, as you do your powerful work
“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. ”
Series Details & Registration Instructions
Live Session Dates: SUNDAYS, October 13, 20,27, November 3, 2-5pm EST
Series Fees:
Early Bird (ends August 11, 2024): $249.99
Last Day to Register: Friday, October 11, 2024 at 5:00pm EST
Cancellation & Refund Policy:
Written cancellations for the full course must be received by prior to the start of the program. Registrants will receive a full refund less $50.00 administration fee. No refunds will be given after the first class. Please see our Service Cancellation & Refunds Policy.
How to Register for this Series (PLEASE READ): Click on the ‘Continue Registration’ button below and fill out the form. Once the form has been completed and submitted, your registration will be added to your shopping cart. Click on the shopping cart icon to complete your purchase. Please note that payment must be received in order for your registration to go through. You will receive a purchase receipt from Squarespace after your transaction is complete. Shortly thereafter, you will receive a welcome email from Sovereignty Herbs. Please add ‘office@sovereigntyherbs.com’ to your safe contact list and be sure to check your spam folder for communications about your registration. If you are having difficulties with registration, please contact Erika at office@sovereigntyherbs.com.
About your guide…
Larken Bunce, MS
Larken Bunce, MS is a clinical herbalist, educator, somatic coach, writer, 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 inclusive care, bridging traditional medical systems with biomedical sciences, and restoring Nature to culture through herbal medicine. For more on Larken's work visit LarkenBunce.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
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This is a 4-part series that takes place on the following SUNDAYS: October 13, 20,27, and November 3. Each session will be 3 hours in length from 2pm EST to 5pm EST.
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In order to receive the most benefit from participating in this series it is deeply recommended to attend live. However, if you miss a class, all live sessions will be recorded for replay and all registrants will have access to the recordings for 3 months after the last session.
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All registrants will have access to the recordings and handouts until February 3, 2025. Although handouts will be downloadable, recordings will not. Replays will need to be watched prior to February 3, 2024.
