BLOODROOT WAS BORN...

in Rachel's little backyard studio, on a snowy March day. The space was filled with bowls of dirt and ash, fabric and floral crowns, jars of water from the nearby falls and so many prayers for those who would come. One by one seventeen people showed up in their curiosity, truth + power.⁣

⁣

They shed tears, clothing and old, tired stories in exchange for deep permission to be in their bodies. They touched their bellies with love, laughed and screamed, they danced and something broke wide open. Maybe it was the possibility for us to love ourselves just the way we are or that or that we were never broken to begin with. Maybe it was that those who showed up told the truth with their bodies and it felt as if that truth could move mountains and shift entire paradigms.


Weeks later we gathered together to witness the images that were made. We cried, took deep breaths and exclaimed YES! over and over again as powerful wall sized portraits faded from one to the next. While we collectively witnessed each person's process there was a felt sense that the lie of separation was coming undone and deeply ingrained stories about body hierarchy were being dismantled. Through beholding each other’s magic and beauty we were able to love ourselves more wholly, realizing that that love had actually been there, within us, all along. There’s a reason systems of hierarchy seek to oppress + cut us off from our bodies and it’s because what is within us and each other is so profound, so powerful, so holy that it cannot be controlled. And those who can’t be controlled will set themselves and others free.


Since then Bloodroot has rooted and bloomed. We have been holding gatherings, curating events, offering retreats, connecting with established groups to develop Rising Rooted Bloodroot retreats and opening up that little backyard studio or hiking off into the woods for private sessions. It has been a great privilege to bear witness to over 150 peoples’ stories, hearts, and processes. In many ways we are just beginning and can’t wait to see what unfolds.

REFLECTIONS

REFLECTIONS

“The photo session itself, the act of being seen, and of allowing myself to be seen, in some respects, was all I needed. It felt like a baptism. A release. I realize that I am my own witness. I see the arch of my narrative in my own body and voice. My pulse and my breath. My moments of release. My purging of shame and my pursuit of power.”