Tending the Taproot

A Community of Practice for Personal and Collective Healing

Definition of taproot (Merriam-Webster dictionary)

1 : a primary root that grows vertically downward and gives off small lateral roots
2 : the central element or position in a line of growth or development


Our body is a taproot - a primary element that nourishes our capacity for presence and connection. This taproot feeds our nervous system resiliency and embodied ability to be attuned and in sustained relationship to ourselves, to each other, with Spirit and the wider web of life.

Our ancestors are a taproot - a central energetic field of relations shaping who we are through both inherited resiliency and trauma. The Elders of our lineages are always present and available to offer their wisdom and guidance through both the beauty and heart-break of our lives.

Our grief is a taproot - a universal and necessary expression of love that brings us back to ourselves and to humanity. Our grief is an elder wisdom teacher for these collective times, and if we say yes to the apprenticeship, our grief is offered to a healing vision beyond our own individual lives.


 

Tending to these taproots support both personal and collective healing.

We all have a body and nervous system. We all have wise Elder ancestors. We all have the capacity to grieve. By cultivating relationship in these taproots we are opening into a vast resource of embodied presence and intuition, ancestral wisdom, and deeply relational healing that holds emergent possibilities for new ways of being and doing. This has profound influence on how we show up with ourselves, with one another, and as a meaningful ally towards new culture making rooted in our shared humanity and dignity.

We are needing all these facets of embodied, ancestral and communal grief wisdom to respond in inspired and creative ways to the travesty of disconnection that is consuming so much of our world. The ailments we are seeing today, whether ecological and social collapse, or the harms of supremacy through the many oppressive 'isms', is connected to the significant disruption in our collective ability to be connected to these taproots in wholesome and nourishing ways.


This is an empowering place to be!

It means we all have ready access to contributing to collective healing through our taproots, which are always with us, here and now. We can nurture, heal, reconcile, and connect with what is arising in our individual body, ancestral body, and our collective body of humanity by way of our grief and love.

 

We don't need enlightenment, we need embodiment. - Resmaa Menakem

Who is this community for?

Tending the Taproot is an online community hub for folks looking for opportunities to gather together for grief rituals, somatic practices, ancestral healing circles, guest workshops, and more. All offerings are rooted in the skills and concepts taught within the Sacred Grief learning paths.

Although this space is open to anyone seeking healing practices and connection in these taproots, recommended pre-requisites include one of the following:

  • Completion of former Sacred Grief 9 week programs - Of Stone, Bone and Water, and Roots to Resiliency - or current enrollment in a Sacred Grief learning path.
  • An experiential foundation in embodiment practices, Spirit/ritual healing work including connecting with your ancestors, and personal grief process through other programs, practitioners and mentors.

Tending the Taproot is not a place of training nor is it a therapy group. It is highly recommended that you have resources and relationships, professional and otherwise, outside of this online hub for any additional and personalized support that you may need.


What will I receive?

Upon enrolling, you will immediately have access to various resources to engage with at any time you choose. This includes a downloadable Healing Conversations guidebook to supporting others through grief, a Somatic Video Series guiding embodiment practices that you can refer to anytime, a downloadable Guided Ancestral Connection audio meditation, and the growing archive of guest interviews.

Each month, you will then have options to participate live in various events that are being offered, all weaving the themes of embodiment, grief, ritual, and ancestral wisdom.


What will this look like month to month?

Full disclosure: I have struggled between the desire to cultivate an open online community hub of practice that is accessible, supportive, and nurturing while also grappling with the very real tension of patriarchal-capitalist-consumer culture (external and internalized) about how such spaces are expected to operate in terms of monthly output. I cannot perpetually create new content, hold spaces or facilitate events to meet a prescribed ever-growing, always-available quantity of offerings each month on an ongoing pre-determined schedule. I do not agree to participate in an economy of disembodied exchange, nor do I want to recreate this or set up an expectation of such.

My dedication to personal and collective healing through grief, ritual, embodiment and ancestral connection is evergreen, however, how I offer myself to this and what shape it takes from month to month, year to year, is not evergreen. It is always evolving and emergent, rising and falling, birthing and dying, changing and re-imagined. My offerings come from a place of listening to Spirit, my ancestors, my own capacities/needs, my growth, and seasonal rhythms, alongside listening to the needs of community and being of service.

My vision and hope is that your monthly paid membership in Tending the Taproot is a feel-good exchange that you value for these emergent and dynamic qualities, and for the depth of relational quality of care that you will find here.

This means some months may have “more” offerings in terms of quantity than others. Some offerings may be led by me, others may be guided by other wonderful skilled folks. Most gatherings will be live-time only, and not recorded. Some offerings may run quite regularly, weekly, for months, some may be one-time gatherings. It’s likely that during the months of December and January, things may be more quiet as we enter into seasonal pause and rejuvenation. Heck, it could even mean that a year from now, Tending the Taproot has evolved into something entirely new, or has been honored and put to bed.

I will commit to having a schedule of gatherings posted at least 1.5 months in advance, so you can plan accordingly with your calendar and with your membership decisions. I will also still remain open to more spontaneous offerings happening alongside this commitment.

These are the values from which Tending the Taproot emerges. I hope it feels joyful, inspired and valuable for you, as much as it does for me. At any time you can stop your membership, and at any time you can re-join too. Follow your rhythms!

 

"Shauna is an attuned listener, an empathic guide, and holds everyone she works with within high regard. She walks with a kind of knowledge, reverence for all life, and connection to both the seen and unseen worlds that is deeply needed in this time." Participant, Tending the Taproot 2020

"This community helped me not only survive Covid so far but thrive. Shauna always inspires me with how natural and authentic she is - a safe guide but not authoritative. A true right sized teacher." Participant of Sacred Grief offerings.

How is this membership structured?

This is an open membership (enroll at anytime) structured as monthly payments to participate, and hosted on the Mighty Networks platform. At any point you can cancel your membership and opt out. At any point you can re-enroll too!


How do I register?

To make this online community hub accessible, 3 tiered pricing options are available (in USD). Please reflect on your current and historical social location and access to resources to discern which option you choose.

Supporter Rate: If you are able to pay $36USD (~$45CAD) this supports your participation and also supports another to join.

  • This option is for those with savings, security, and multiple means to resources. You may own a home, or be a multiple income family.
  • ENROLL NOW at this rate

Sustainer Rate: If you are able pay $28USD (~$35CAD) this supports your participation.

  • This option is for those who have a relatively stable income and access to resources and savings.
  • ENROLL NOW at this rate

Supported Rate: If you are able to pay $20USD (~$25CAD) this invites you to join through the support of others.

  • This option is for those with limited access to resources, and who may hold identities that are historically/currently marginalized.
  • ENROLL NOW at this rate