Tending the Taproot

A Community of Ritual, Learning, and Practice


Seasonal Cohort - February 2nd to April 27th, 2025

Registration now closed. Next cohort TBA.

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, connection, and responsiveness. Tending to our body supports nervous system resiliency and the capacity to be in sustained and attuned 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 - an universal and necessary expression 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.

Our common purpose is a taproot - we become a central force to reckon with when we gather with others also in service to personal and collective liberation. To feed our roots is to harness our collective power for change, personally and culturally.


 

Tending to these taproots supports our personal and collective transformation.

"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

Who is this for?

Tending the Taproot is an online community of ritual, learning, and practice for folks who are committed to liberatory futures and understand that our personal healing work is never separate from cultural and collective healing and change.

Folks will be offered diverse opportunities to gather for ritual circles, somatic practice, ancestral connection, thematic learning sessions, peer support, healing resources, and soul nourishment.

Welcome to helping practitioners, politicized healers and cultural workers of all kinds needing a place to fill their own cups: therapists, coaches, death doulas, facilitators, activists, community organizers, body workers, ritualists, healers, and more.


How is this organized?

This is a closed group program offered in 3 month cycles, meaning there is a marked opening and closing to each 3 month practice cohort. Within this, the group is held in a ritual container that invites personal depth practices while nourishing the collective process and harnessing our insights and wisdoms.

A maximum of 20 folks will be welcomed for each cycle, and you are welcomed to return and enrol again to new cycles that are offered, as many times as you wish!


What will this look like?

Each Tending the Taproot cycle is unique - evolving and emergent, rising and falling, birthing and dying, changing and re-imagined. Each cohort will differ in what is being offered, the frequency of gatherings, the number of hours of connection time each month, and other details, such as guest facilitators. The sliding scale prices will also change to reflect this.

How do we meet?

Gatherings will be held over Zoom. Folks will have access to any recordings and additional resources through the Teachable platform, however there is no online group space. Some gatherings will be recorded, and some are only based in live-time attendance.

I recommend that you be able to attend at least 80% of the scheduled gatherings per cycle to receive the benefits of this practice space and group connections.


Winter-Spring Seasonal Cohort


  • Opening Ritual - Sunday, February 2nd. 10:00-11:30am PT (recorded)
  • Soma + Spirit Meditation - Weekly Mondays (Feb 3rd - April 14th). 9:00-9:30am PT
  • Elder Wisdom: Ancestral Ritual - Thursdays, Feb 13th, Mar 13th, April 10th. 4:00-5:30pm PT (recorded)
  • Writing Our Grief - Witness Ritual - Tuesdays, Feb 25th, Mar 18th, April 22nd. 4:00-5:30pm PT
  • Being With Beauty - Peer Connection - Wednesdays, Feb 5th, Mar 5th, April 2nd, 10:00-11:00am PT
  • Ancestral AMA Panel - Fridays, Feb 21st, Mar 28th, April 18th. 10:00-11:30am PT (recorded)
    • with Summer Downs, Meredith Withers, Kendra Hessel and Jillian Ratti
  • Rituals + Rites for the Dying - Sunday, March 9th. 10:00-11:30am PT (recorded)
  • Closing Ritual - Sunday, April 27th. 10:00-11:30 PT (recorded)
 

"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 Community Care practice series.

Financial Reciprocity

This program is offered on a sliding scale which acknowledges folks' different access to resources within an inequitable capitalist system, and is offered within a commitment to economic justice and community care.

I invite you to read my Financial Access Commitments to learn about why and how I do this, and to review a framework to help you discern which pricing tier to choose given your financial situation and access to resources.

Three monthly payments in USD:

Pay it Forward - TBA

You have access to wealth, can pay for this course without much financial consideration, and have the ability to pay a little extra to directly support someone else who needs financial access options to participate.

Program Cost - TBA

You have access to reliable income, and/or own property/mortgage, and/or are in a double-income home, and/or have personal savings/investments. You are able to pay for ‘wants’ and spend little time worried about securing necessities in your life, such as housing, food, transportation.

Reduced Cost - TBA

You have access to income that allows you to meet your basic needs, you may have some expendable income, and/or have access to resources through family/partners to request support from. You may need to budget or cut back in some other areas to make this program happen, but it won't cause any long-term harmful impact on your life.

Sponsored Cost - self-determined

Your access to resources and income stability is limited, and meeting your basic needs is stressful and inconsistent. Paying at any of the higher tiers would have a harmful impact on you.

I prioritize BIPOC, LGBTQI+ and disabled folks in financial need for the sponsored spots. Please reach out directly to shaunajanz-at-gmail-dot-com to request this and let me know what financial reciprocity amount you can pay, and I will enrol you.


Refunds

No refunds for monthly payments already made.

This course is closed for enrollment.

Frequently Asked Questions


Are refunds available?
No. Any monthly payments already made are not refundable. I encourage that you register for the 3 month cohort with the intention of being able to attend all the planned gatherings. However, if circumstances change for you and you are not able to attend, I can stop any future payments and un-enroll you.
What if I am unhappy with the experience?
First, I would love to hear from you about your experience, and if there is a way to work together to see how Taproot might better meet you, I am open to that. If this is not possible, I am happy to cancel your remaining payments and enrollment. There are no refunds however for payments already made.
Will the gatherings be recorded?
Some are, some are not. I recommend being able to attend at least 80% of the gatherings scheduled. The spirit of Tending the Taproot is to hold ritual and therapeutic space for personal and collective practice that nurtures our presence and connection in live-time relationships.