My Journey into Ecosomatic Practice

How ancestral wisdom and embodied healing called me to serve the web of life…

There's a moment when healing stops being something you receive and becomes something you're called to offer. For me, that transformation happened not in a clinic or classroom, but in the wild spaces where my ancestors' voices could finally reach me, where my body remembered what my mind had forgotten about belonging to the earth.

Earthing My Way Home

My journey into ecosomatic healing began with a bone deep longing to connect more authentically with my roots and ancestors. While I was formally training in somatic and embodiment work, something within me kept reaching for something deeper, something that honored the spiritual and emotional connections I felt but couldn't yet name.

I've always been ecospiritual, an animist at heart. My friends and I would venture into the mountains regularly, practicing what we called "earthing," simply being present with the land, stargazing, chasing the aurora. The more time I spent in nature, especially in the mountains and by lakes, the more I felt like myself. It was in these wild spaces that I felt my body truly heal, where aliveness pulsed through me in ways that no indoor practice could replicate.

Remembering What I Never Forgot

My first real "sessions" weren't formal at all, they were me, outdoors, connecting to the earth and cosmos through camping and hiking in the mountains. In these moments, I felt grounded and genuinely excited about life. Nature wasn't just healing me; it was awakening something ancient within me.

I had tried to find an ecosomatic practitioner in Edmonton, searching Google to see who might be offering this work. When I realized there wasn't anyone providing ecosomatic healing in our city, it felt like a sign for me to start offering it myself. I might be the first to offer ecosomatic healing in Edmonton.

But when I reflected on why I was drawn to ecosomatic healing in the first place, I realized the answer was already in my bones. Perhaps not finding a practitioner was the universe's way of showing me that this medicine was meant to flow through me. This felt immediately familiar, not foreign or experimental. It reminded me of how healing it was during my childhood visits back home to Chile and Peru, where I spent endless days playing outside swimming in rivers, running on beaches, digging in the dirt, and staring at the bright stars in the open night of the desert. I wasn't skeptical of this approach because it resonated with my animist understanding of the world and aligned with the Andean cosmology that flows through my lineage, where all of nature is seen as alive and sacred, and humans are part of an interconnected web of relationships with mountains, rivers, plants, and spirits. Conventional therapy had helped me unpack emotions intellectually, but being present with nature helped me feel truly alive.

The Awakening: When Ancient Wisdom Emerged

The awakening deepened when I took a trip to Jasper National Park with friends. I felt called to do a mini ceremony with the mountain and river, something that felt as natural as breathing, as if I had been doing it for eons. In that moment, my relationship with my body began to shift profoundly.

I felt myself shedding layers of heavy energies, releasing parts of me that had never felt authentic. My body was remembering a familiar feeling of freedom I'd experienced as a child, swimming in rivers and climbing fig trees back home. Being in the Canadian mountains as an adult reminded me of how healing it was to be connected to my ancestral lands.

What surprised me most was realizing that despite always thinking I was a city girl, I felt more like myself in nature. The more I worked on reclaiming my ancestral traditions and rituals, the more confident I became in my life's direction and how I wanted to show up on this earth.

The Sacred Path: When Ancestors Spoke Through Dreams

Even though I never formally worked with an ecosomatic practitioner, I began offering energy work and bodywork as ritual in my own practice, weaving in Andean ceremonies and wisdom. This felt like channeling something bone deep, a source so deeply rooted in my ancestors that it felt mycelial, interconnected across time and space.

The most profound guidance came through vivid dreams. In one powerful vision, I found myself in a rainforest where a wooden bathtub filled with herbal waters and flowers awaited me. An Indigenous woman in traditional Andean clothes stood nearby, speaking telepathically. She invited me into the tub and began performing what I now understand to be a limpia, an Andean cleanse with a flower bath (baños de florecimiento).

She was teaching me, demonstrating how to offer this healing work. It was a clear message that I was ready to serve in this way.

The work shifted from "just healing" to something sacred when I fully integrated Andean spiritual practices into my somatic healing approach. In ecosomatic work, "sacred" means experiencing deep respect and reverence for the interconnectedness of all life, honoring every part of existence as valuable and feeling a sense of belonging and responsibility within the web of life.

Pachamama (Mother Earth) became central to my understanding of this sacredness, representing the living source and sustainer of all life, calling us into reciprocal, sacred relationship with the earth.

Through this embodied practice, my spiritual life evolved from belief into a living, felt experience of connection. I began sensing the sacred in the rhythms of my body, the earth beneath me, and the world around me, transforming spirituality into an embodied, reciprocal relationship with life itself.

When Earth Became the Healing Room

During COVID, when I couldn't see clients indoors, something beautiful emerged naturally. Some clients and I began meeting in nature, taking walks, gathering outdoors. I called it "earth therapy" or "earthing" at the time, not yet knowing I was stepping into ecosomatic healing.

One pivotal session happened at Terwillegar Park with a couple experiencing relationship difficulties. We met at this scenic park where a river runs through the area. During our session, I asked them to set an intention while looking at the horizon.

Something magical happened, they both suddenly realized the beauty of nature surrounding them. Despite living nearby, they admitted they had never truly acknowledged the trees, river, and vast horizon. I used that energy of awakening to help them communicate more authentically with each other.

After that intention setting ceremony, the couple began making it a ritual to walk outside more often, being present with nature to breathe fresh air and regulate their nervous systems. I felt completely confident offering this work because it felt so authentic to who I was.

The only uncertainty I had was whether people in Edmonton would be interested in ecosomatic work, since it wasn't common here. But the healing I witnessed told me this was exactly what people needed.

Learning to Trust the Wisdom Within

Learning to trust my intuition and body wisdom as a practitioner came through practice, self reflection, and deep listening, both to myself and the natural world. By consistently tuning into my body's sensations and honoring the subtle cues that arose during sessions, I developed a reliable inner compass.

Over time, I witnessed how this embodied awareness guided my work with clients, helping me respond with greater presence, care, and insight. Nature and somatic rituals taught me that trusting intuition is about opening to the wisdom of the whole, body, heart, and earth working together.

After my certification training in somatic and embodiment, I continue deepening my understanding while continuously learning about Andean cosmovision and ancestral practices. This isn't just training, it's a lifelong relationship with ecospiritual wisdom.

My fascination with human origins and our place in the cosmos also informs my practice. Through my personal research into paleoanthropology and anthropology, I've gained insights into how our ancestors lived in harmony with nature and how diverse cultures create belonging and reciprocity with the earth. This knowledge helps me understand that our modern disconnection from nature isn't inevitable—it's something we can heal. My interest in astronomy reminds me of our place in the vast universe, fostering the sense of awe and wonder that is central to ecosomatic healing. Understanding celestial cycles and rhythms also deepens my appreciation for the natural patterns that our bodies and spirits naturally want to align with.

Weaving Ancient and Modern

In my current practice, I honor both modern ecosomatic frameworks and ancient Andean wisdom by creating sessions where science and ancestral knowledge are in dialogue, each enriching the other.

I integrate Andean cosmology into ecosomatic sessions by:

• Sacred relationship with the Earth: Beginning sessions by acknowledging Pachamama as a living presence, inviting reverence, gratitude, and belonging to the land

• Ritual and offerings: Incorporating simple rituals and the Andean principle of ayni (sacred reciprocity)

• Community connection: Honoring ayllu (kinship with all beings) through practices that foster connection with humans, animals, plants, mountains, and ancestors

• Embodied attunement: Guiding somatic practices that help people sense their connection to Earth, ancestors, and the more than human world

• Reciprocal responsibility: Emphasizing that healing serves not just the individual, but the Earth and community

With my somatic background and ecospiritual beliefs, offering ecosomatic healing felt like a natural evolution of my practice. The spiritual dimension of this work honors how the unseen worlds—the invisible layers of life, the realm of spirits, ancestors, and energies—play a vital role in our holistic wellness. This recognition of the spiritual layers of existence offers another sacred pathway for coming home to oneself, acknowledging that healing happens not just in the physical and emotional realms, but in the mystical spaces where we connect with forces greater than ourselves.

Earth Medicine for Collective Wounds

Offering this work has deepened my sense of awareness in the world and my place in it. My connection to my ancestors grows stronger every day through serving others in this way.

What I wish people knew about ecosomatic healing is that we should be in reciprocity with the earth. The earth provides our food, air, medicine, and shelter yet we've forgotten how to give back to her in return. We've become used to taking without offering gratitude, ceremony, or care. Being connected to the earth brings aliveness to our inner landscapes, but true healing happens when we remember that we're not separate from nature, we are nature.

When we heal ourselves, we heal the earth. When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves. This reciprocal relationship is at the heart of ecosomatic work. It's about remembering that our bodies are made of the same elements as the mountains, rivers, and trees. Our breath is shared with every living being. Our wellbeing is intimately connected to the wellbeing of the planet.

Ecosomatic healing helps us move from a mentality of extraction to one of sacred exchange, where we recognize ourselves as caretakers and participants in the web of life rather than separate beings trying to get something from nature.

This work serves the collective healing our world desperately needs right now. Drawing on the wisdom and practices of global eco-therapists and ecosomatic healers, ecosomatic healing directly addresses the climate crisis, mass disconnection from nature, and collective trauma by:

• Reconnecting what has been split apart helping people remember they are not separate from their bodies or from nature, restoring a felt sense of belonging to the living world

• Awakening care for the earth when people experience themselves as part of the web of life, they naturally begin to care for and protect the places and beings they feel connected to

• Calming overwhelmed nervous systems grounding practices and nature connection help people find their center and resilience in the face of climate anxiety and cultural isolation

• Honoring ancient ways of living in harmony drawing on Indigenous wisdom that has always understood reciprocal relationship with the earth, offering time tested models for sustainable living

• Inspiring action from love, not guilt when healing comes from genuine connection rather than shame, people are motivated to make choices that serve both their own wellbeing and the planet's

• Planting seeds of possibility each person who experiences this deep connection becomes a source of healing and hope in their communities, creating ripples of positive change

Tending My Own Ecosystem

Maintaining my own connection to the mountains and my ancestors while holding space for others requires intentional practice and reverence. I keep sacred bundles filled with nature elements that carry the energy of the places and lineages that have shaped me, river rocks gathered from mountain streams during transformative journeys, seashells from the beaches of my childhood in Chile and Peru, palo santo that connects me to the sacred traditions of my people.

My altar serves as a bridge between worlds, adorned with photos of ancestors I feel deeply connected to, along with offerings and elements from Pachamama. This sacred space anchors me in my lineage and reminds me daily of the wisdom that flows through me.

Even though I'm three hours away from the mountains, distance doesn't diminish the connection. When I call to the mountain spirits, I can feel their energy reaching across the landscape to touch my heart. The mountains live within me as much as I live within their embrace. Sometimes I'll step outside and face west toward the Rockies, breathing in their presence and strength.

My preparation before each client session is a ritual in itself. I light palo santo or copal, allowing the sacred smoke to cleanse both my energy and the space where we'll work together. I speak prayers of gratitude to my ancestors, asking for their guidance and protection. I call upon Pachamama to support the healing that will unfold, and I center myself in the awareness that I am not the healer, I am simply a vessel for the ancient wisdom that flows through all life.

This cleansing and prayer practice honors the sacred responsibility of this work. I'm not just offering healing sessions; I'm facilitating a reconnection to the sacred web of life. Each session is an opportunity for someone to remember their place in the living world, and I must be clear and grounded in my own connection to hold that space authentically.

Regular visits to the mountains remain essential to my practice. These journeys aren't just personal retreats, they're necessary nourishment for the work I offer. In the high places, surrounded by ancient stone and sky, I remember who I am beneath all the roles I play. I gather not just rocks and stories, but the very essence of wildness that my clients are seeking to reconnect with in their own lives.

The Responsibility of Sacred Work

To anyone beginning their own journey with ecosomatic healing, I want you to understand that there is a deeper commitment to this type of healing. It's not just about healing yourself, it's about healing with the earth. This is a responsibility to the web of life itself.

This work has taught me that personal healing and planetary healing are intimately connected. When we remember our place in the living world, when we feel our belonging to the earth in our bones, we naturally begin to live and act from reciprocity rather than extraction.

Every session is an opportunity to help someone remember their place in the sacred web of life. Every moment of embodied connection to nature is an act of resistance against the forces of separation that fuel our collective crises.

This is the medicine our world needs, not healing that happens in isolation, but healing that recognizes we are all part of one living, breathing, sacred whole.

If you're feeling called to explore ecosomatic healing or reconnect with your own ancestral wisdom through embodied practice, I invite you to reach out. This work is medicine for both personal transformation and planetary healing, and the earth is calling us all home.

Wildy rooted,

Priscilla Cortes