Indigenous Wellness Sanctuary

Washington DC


Supporting regenerative recovery, wellness and advocacy based on indigenous wisdom, in Greater Washington DC

Honoring Ancestors, Mother Earth and Self in Right Relations

Spiritual

We use somatic storytelling to connect to Mother Earth

Mental

We use ancestral rituals to move forward beyond talk

Emotional

We learn the water in our bodies as pathways for transformation

Physical

We nourish with Indigenous sustenance and practices

Non-Traditional Indigenous Modalities

Our center focuses on:

Somatic Archeology

Somatic Archaeology is a practice developed by Ruby Gibson (Lakota, Ojibway, Mestiza) in 1995. It is the process of becoming whole by curing your amnesia and remembering your stories. When you dig, you remember, and when you remember, history is revealed, and when history is revealed, you clearly recognize the trail of stories that formulate your life. This knowledge affords you choices and restores to you the power to manifest your unique destiny in a conscious way. Somatic refers to the body, and Archaeology to the study of ancient cultures through examining their remains. When we bring the two words together, Somatic + Archaeology, we are denoting the capacity to excavate familial and cultural memory imprints buried in our body. Exploring somatic memory and body narratives help us understand what impels us biologically to certain behaviors and symptoms, and provides us with skills to release neurological patterns of historical amnesia so that we can become free to live unburdened, non-fragmented, compassionate and harmonious lives.

Generational Brainspotting

Brainspotting is a powerful, focused treatment method developed by Dr. David Grand that works by identifying, processing and releasing core neurophysiological sources of emotional/body pain, trauma,

dissociation and a variety of other challenging symptoms. Generational Brainspotting (GBSP) combines Brainspotting with Somatic Archaeology, a transgenerational healing model developed by Dr. Gibson. GBSP is indicated specifically to provide healing for seven generations of inherited familial and cultural patterns. Our focus is on developing positive aspects of inheritance, and reducing traumatic aspects, such as: adverse childhood experiences, domestic and sexual abuse, addiction, anxiety, despair, grief, depression, attachment issues, survival coping mechanisms, stress biasing, adoption, war related trauma, genocide, ethnocide, immigration, and removal from traditional homelands.

Somatic Storytelling

Somatic storytelling is the practice of listening to and making sense of the stories your body, mind and spirit are continuously sharing with you. For indigenous cultures of the Americas, storytelling is used as an oral form of language associated with practices and values essential to developing one's identity. Somatic storytelling is an interactive self development practice and an invitation to explore the organic being that you are. Through breathing techniques, explorative movement, sound and stillness, somatic storytelling can provide a deeper understanding for the conversation between body and mind. Even when you do not speak your body expresses your internal experience through breath, posture, movement patterns, micro-movements, body language, interactions with the external environment and how your body responds to your inner being. The history of storytelling goes back thousands of years, it has many forms and it's in our nature of leaning to gather around to tell and listen to stories. The way we perceive the story told also reflected the person who is listening.

Indigenous Art Therapy

Indigenous forms of visual artistic practice promote physical health and psychosocial well-being, particularly as it relates to the discipline of art therapy. Indigenous communities value interdependence as key to well-being, offering cultural safety and acknowledgment for the local culture. Indigenous art therapy evokes emotions, problem solving, imagination, memorializing life events, and enabling non-verbal communication, and is integral in establishing rituals and communication as well as, in “making special” key events and milestones in the lives of individuals in communities. Indigenous art therapy revisits cultural humility frameworks, recognizes historical trauma and disenfranchisement experienced by many indigenous communities and approaches their work through a participatory model of co-creation.

Indigenous Peacemaking

Peacemaking is an ancient social practice embedded within Indigenous and non-Western societies. It is a process for building relationships and community, bringing people together to talk from our deepest values and our best selves. Derived from aboriginal and native traditions, circles bring people together in a way that creates trust, respect, intimacy, good will, belonging, generosity, mutuality and reciprocity. The process is never about "changing others", but rather is an invitation to change oneself and one’s relationship with the community.

Plant Medicine / Psychedelic Assisted Therapy

Plant medicines and psychedelic-assisted therapy have been engaged as spiritual practices by Indigenous communities around the world for centuries. Sacred Indigenous traditions include ceremonies that practice these medicines not only to heal people, but to heal our planet by opening the spiritual gateways to the Ancestors (past and emerging) and promote transcendence through deep connections with Nature, the Universe, and Spirit.

Generational Expansion Program

The Recover Me In Wellness generational expansion program consists of five sessions over five months. Each session begins with three parts: 1) preparing an altar to honor all the elements of Mother Earth and self; 2) inviting the ancestors; 3) breathing and grounding, then settling. If you are interested in participating in, sponsoring someone, or being sponsored, please email us.

Generational Expansion Timeline

The timeline is a visual chronology of the experiences that shaped your life: family history, moments of resilience, trauma-inducing events, birth story. Creating your timeline is the beginning of the reconnection to your ancestors. Mentally, it brings order to the chaos of suffering. Emotionally, it brings awareness to suffering. Spiritually it brings connection to our ancestors and Mother Earth. Physically, it brings a relationship to self and accountability to healing. It is a resourcing session to identify your life pattern and your recovery plan. When you remember, history is revealed, enabling you to recognize the trail of stories that formulate your life.

Recovery Journey
1

Journey 1 introduces somatic storytelling and the practice of Somatic Archaeology. Somatic storytelling is the practice of listening to and making sense of the stories your body, mind and spirit are continuously sharing with you. Somatic Archeology is the process of becoming whole by remembering all the parts of you. These 1:1 sessions involve providing safe migration to and from the somatic self where the generational trauma is stored. It is about listening to the body, not the mind - you can't talk your way to healing. We practice the five steps of somatic archeology: noticing, sensing, feeling, interpreting, regeneration.

Recovery Journey
2

Journey 2 is based on the integration of Journey 1. Your home environment, body, dreams, and any emotionality since Journey 1 will impact this journey's outcome. The mental space and the relationship between the client, Mother Earth and their ancestors will further cultivate healing and generational trauma recovery. The completion of this journey will provide resources for your emotional, spiritual, mental and physical health. An ease of relationship with one's ancestors emerges in a good way.

Recovery Journey
3

Journey 3 is based on the integration of Jouneys 1 and 2. By this time your body's rhythm has an archeological foundation of cultivated stories. The rhythm consists of the practicing and honoring of your relationship to your emotional, spiritual, mental and physical being. Our being is three fourths water, which is the emotional part of us. So this journey is focused on working with your own water / emotional being, to enable the emergence of pure regeneration.

Recovery Journey
4

Journey 4 is based on the integration of Journeys 1, 2 and 3. This is when you realize your purpose. This journey reconciles right relationship to the remaining elements of our being: our mental/air, spiritual/fire, physical/earth parts. This is the beginning of establishing healthy relationships, identifying a clear vision for our grandchildren’s grandchildren’s grandchildren.

FIRST NATIONS OWNED

Seeded from the Recover Me In Wellness Center

The Indigenous Wellness Sanctuary is based on the Recover Me In Wellness Center that is being developed on Tribal Land in Washington state.


We are part of the Indigenous Regenerative Wellness Center Initiative

Our mission is to develop gathering places of recovery, wellness and advocacy that support a regenerative culture based on indigenous values.


INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

Learn more

in our wiki

A continuously updated repository of knowledge on the regenerative wellness culture behind the center

Meet the stewards

Kavita Shourie

Kavita Shourie (Indus River Valley, India/Pakistan) is an owner and steward of Roots to Sky Sanctuary, a BIPOC-led land justice retreat. She has a multidisciplinary career has combined work in mental health, human resources, telecommunications, supporting farmers at risk of suicide, abused women, and maternal health issues.

Kavita has had the privilege of partnering with global leading agricultural policy organizations including NavDayana and La Devi. Kavita founded and stewarded Samskara Wellness, an indigenous, sustainable, organic, biodynamic food and textile company. Samskara Wellness worked with at-risk farmers and a community supported cooperative “from farm to table”. The company sourced and distributed Indian produced organic products across the country. She also brought air pollution and the importance of air purification to Mumbai and New Delhi helped to create awareness working with IQAir. The company helped to revitalize traditional farming practices and focused on creating non-toxic, zero waste products for mothers and infants. Through Samskara Wellness, Kavita taught raw vegan cooking to the local community and sold prepackaged meals through a delivery service. Samskara Wellness became a pathway to health by supplying knowledge and products that promote holistic healing. Air purification was introduced into the market place as well.

Kavita is an avid yoga practitioner. She supports community healing through the healing arts and plant medicine. She is an integral member of the BloomBars team, which is a nonprofit cultural arts center. Central to Kavita’s belief is the empowerment of women and children through education and deep listening. She attended George Mason University where she majored in Psychology. She is certified in children’s yoga and currently working on certifications in different areas of restoring justice around plant and yoga wisdom.

Solana Booth

Solana Booth (Nooksack, Tsymsyan, Mohawk) has long had a vision to open the Recover Me In Wellness Center. She is the founder of Advocates of Sacred, providing indigenous healing modalities, and is president of Transitioning Offenders Program that supports systems-impacted Native Americans. She promotes Native American and Alaska Native traditional teachings as a Traditional Canoe Family Skipper, Speaker/Doer of Ancient Knowings, hunter & gatherer, traditional medicine keeper, Family Violence and Recovery Specialist, Generational Brain-spotting Practitioner, Somatic Archeology Practitioner, and Plant Medicine and Lactation Educator. Additionally, she utilizes Traditional Ceremonies, Traditional Art, First Foods, Birth and Death work, Storytelling or First Narratives, and her Positive Interconnectedness Model.

Solana is an Advocate of Sacred Principals: consultant for Tribal Whole-Health Care, Historical/Generational Trauma Recovery Training(s) for Health and Human Services, Native American and First Nation Tribes, Public Health Care Providers, private organizations, and Family and Survivor Violence Recovery Facilities. She aids in drug and alcohol recovery, peri- pre- and postnatal programs. She develops trainings for adult learners of historical traumas, diversity/equity/inclusion, bio-decoding, Mother’s Breath and Indigenous plant medicine (including entheogen species) advocacy.

Neil Takemoto

Neil Takemoto (Hawaii kamaʻāina, Japanese) has stewarded regenerative community development for 30 years, supporting sovereign cultures and places designed, governed and owned by the people, for the people. He is a founding steward of the Indigenous Regenerative Wellness Center Initiative, to develop places of recovery, wellness and advocacy that support a regenerative culture based on indigenous values. He is a facilitator at the Healing & Reconciliation Institute (indigenous peacemaking), and an advisor to Advocates of Sacred (indigenous wellness practices).

Neil is a steward of regenerative frameworks, including self organizing systems, partnership culture, sensemaking, indigenous peacemaking, and regenerative economies, partnering with Commons Engine, to support indigenous voices in the shaping of a living economy based on thrivability.

As co-founder of CSPM Group, he developed the practice of crowdsourced placemaking (CSPM) that integrates community organizing with revitalizing places. This included enabling 10,000 residents in the revitalization of several downtowns in partnership with developers, investors and municipalities. He founded a national trade association for regenerative development and placemaking, and published 1700 posts on regenerative development and systems. He is a member of the Burning Man Diversity Forum, catalyzing a multicultural neighborhood at Burning Man.

Neil’s heritage is Japanese, born and raised in Hawaii in an indigenous-centric culture that honors Native Hawaiian heritage.