SomaGaia round logo with serpent, plants, and moon cycles
Jeanell In green shirt leaning forward

Hi, I'm Jeanell

Founder of
SomaGaia Healing Arts

I’ve been obsessed with personal growth, spiritual development, and the meaning of life since childhood. I was a weird kid, and I work with a lot of people who were weird kids themselves (even if you got really good at hiding it). Like many weird kids, I had secret superpowers that I now use every day—and I’m really good at helping you find yours.

I live for the “ah-ha” moments when my clients and students say, “Wow, I never saw it that way before,” or, “That’s exactly it—I have goosebumps.” For over 25 years, I’ve been helping people like you feel at home in their bodies, get confident, connect with nature, and follow their dreams.

My clients are creative, intuitive, highly sensitive people who are ready to feel nourished and resourced in their work as healers, teachers, creatives, and caretakers of all stripes.

If you're ready to fill your own cup so you can offer your gifts to the world, I'm here for you. Let me tell you a little about how I got here and how I can help...

Soma means "body" in Greek (hence somatic), "drink of the gods" in Sanskrit, and is another name of Chandra, the moon god, in Hinduism.

Gaia is Earth, land, and the mother of the Titans in Greek.

I was sitting on a couch in Big Yellow--the name of my former writing teacher's home and workshop--in Northampton, Massachusetts around 2010-11 when the word SomaGaia emerged from my pen.

I recognized it in my bones.

A 20-page business plan soon materialized from these words, with body and earth at its center.

By 2012 I was running SomaGaia Massage & Yoga, LLC in Bellingham, WA.

Life has a funny way of bringing you back to where you started.

Several lifetimes, cities, and business iterations since then, I've come home. Welcome to SomaGaia Healing Arts, the trade name of The EcoSpiritual Education Center, LLC.

SomaGaia Healing Arts logo with serpents, plants, and moon cycles

How I got here...

I've worked with hundreds of 1:1 clients and thousands of students in group settings, and I’ve been teaching online since before everybody knew what Zoom was.

I've also been on my own long journey as a healer, teacher, and caretaker with complex chronic illness; much of my study has been through seeking my own healing, so I embody what I teach.

I’ve been featured as a guest writer in Natural Awakenings Magazine Houston, Erraticus online publication, Permaculture Women Writers, and Processwork on the Edge blog. I’ve presented at:

the Annual Conference of the International Association for the Study of Dreams on Dreamwork for Chronic Illness and Body Symptoms;

the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Conference on Increasing Food Sovereignty and Building Community Remotely;

the Nature of Cities Conference on Urban Seed Saving;

and at United Nations University on Using Permaculture Principles for Social Change;

and I've gotten feedback like,

“Your presentation was the only one I felt like staying awake for!”

 

and,

 “I just had a breakthrough in a chronic body symptom that I now know how to work with, thanks to your workshop!”

I also created and hosted the 2014 Kiss Burnout Goodbye telesummit for caretaking professionals; the 2020 Wisdom of the Hive 3-day virtual symposium inspired by the healing wisdom of honeybees; and many dreamwork and gardening courses at Portland Community College (PCC). I’ve taught both credit and lifelong learning classes for PCC. I love, love, love taking people on transformational educational journeys, which you’ll find plenty of here at SomaGaia Healing Arts (check out my FREE mini-course on going from self-critical to self-compassionate).

Ten Fun Facts About Me:

  1. Overalls are my “uniform.” If I could wear them every day, I would.
  2. I collect (okay, my husband would say “hoard”) jars, containers, baskets, tiny adorable satchels, and generally things you can put things in. Check out my video series on the power of containers.
  3. I have a hypermobility connective tissue disorder, and all kinds of weird abilities and disabilities that go with that.
  4. Spotify says I was in the top 1% of Yusuf / Cat Stevens listeners in 2023. I don’t know how to feel about this.
  5. I grew up barrel racing horses, swimming with water moccasins in the Guadalupe river, and was a second-tier archer before I was ten years old.
  6. I make my own vinegar and grow my own garlic so I can make my grandma’s garlic vinaigrette salad dressing recipe from scratch.
  7. I've been journaling and recording my dreams practically since I could write, and I have every journal I've ever written in.
  8. My favorite movie is Everything is Illuminated, followed closely by Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Labyrinth, Harold and Maude, and The Taste of Things. My favorite reality tv is Love is Blind.
  9. I have a Goldendoodle named Tahini. She pretty much runs my life.
  10. I do face yoga.
  11. I sleep with earplugs (because I'm a sensitive flower), an eye mask (because, light), a satin hair cover (curly girls know why), and a nightguard (so I don't grind my teeth because I've legit cracked a molar). It's not sexy. My husband is truly devoted.
Jeanell In green shirt leaning forward

Listen to my story of following my dreams to become a Processworker

 

I told this story live to Will Hornyak's Story Medicine Workshop group at The Reser Center for the Arts in June, 2024, in honor of the passing of my teacher and the founder of Processwork, Dr. Anold Mindell, 1940-2024.

You can learn more about working with your dreams in this way in my Intro Course, Decode Your Dreams for Greater Peace, Ease, & Healing.

Hot dogs with buns and pickles, relish, mustard on orange plate
Jeanell in green shirt standing with arms out and looking up, near curved rock at bayshore, photo by Ashley Berger

Frequently asked questions

Here are some questions I get a lot...

but feel free to click here to send me a message if your question's not answered here or you want more details!

What are your areas of specialization?I work primarily with creatives, healers, intuitives, teachers, and caretakers looking to deepen their relationship with themselves and enhance their own wellbeing. I especially enjoy combining nutrition, herbalism, and somatic exploration with depth-oriented innerwork. You might be interested in holistic lifestyle changes; spiritual inquiry, especially finding your own unique spiritual path, reconnecting with your roots or ancestral practices, and healing from religious trauma; working with chronic illness / body symptoms; enhancing Creativity; dream analysis; or reducing internalized oppression: healing the ways we oppress ourselves as a mirror of society's or our family's abuse patterns (think internalized racism, sexism, antisemitism, homophobia, etc.).
Who are your clients and students?I've worked with people of all ages, abilities, and economic, social, and political backgrounds, and I've spent most of my life living and working in highly diverse settings, often in groups with people from ten or more countries collaborating on projects together.

I have extensive experience working with:

people in caretaking or healing professions working on caring for and healing themselves,

people who have experienced extreme states,

people who are seeking spiritual healing or awakening,

people making sense of their own mixed cultural or racial backgrounds, and

people with developmental disabilities.

I have worked with Christians, Jews, Muslims, Pagans, Atheists, Agnostics, Catholics, Anthroposophists, and practitioners of magic and ritual from Celtic, Norse, Sicilian, and Indigenous North and South American traditions.

My own heritage includes (at least) the Pale of Settlement, the German Shtetls, Scotland, England, Ireland, mainstream Germany, Spain, Central & South Asia, Northern and Western Africa, and North American Cherokee. I was born in Texas in the traditional homelands of the Karankawa peoples and raised culturally and religiously Jewish in a mixed-faith household, which gives me a complex perspective on identity.

I have done extensive work on internalized oppression and have worked with many clients and students on this topic. My free mini-course, From Self-Critical to Self-Compassionate in Under an Hour, goes in depth about the ways internalized oppression can show up as an inner critic.
Do you see clients in person as well as online?I currently see 1:1 Nutrition Consulting, Herbalism, and Processwork clients both online and in my Beaverton office, and I offer off-site courses and workshops by request. Some fun places I've taught in person include schools, farms, and yoga studios. Click here to contact me to inquire about booking a talk or class for your group.
Does health and nutrition coaching mean you'll take away my favorite foods or tell me to lose weight?No way! My coaching and consulting is autonomy focused. I find out what's most important TO YOU and I support you to reach your own goals--I will never set a goal for you or tell you to make a change you don't want to make. I support health at every size, shape, and ability.
You talk about dreams a lot. What if I don’t remember my dreams? Can I still work with you, and can I learn how to remember them?No problem at all! The beauty of Processwork is that we can explore the dreaming process while you're awake and you don't have to remember any nighttime dreams to do that. I do have a lot of teachings designed to help you improve dream recall and understanding of dreams, though. Click here to check out my Intro course.
What is Processwork?Processwork is an evolution of Jungian depth psychology, sometimes described as an "awareness method." It emphasizes signal-based awareness to discover the deeper patterns that are trying to be known in a person, a body, a relationship, or a group. Processwork believes that helping these patterns become more conscious and integrated allows for greater wholeness, ease, flow, and healing in life. Processwork is heavily influenced by Carl Jung's work as well as transpersonal psychology, somatic psychology, Taoism, and Shamanism.
What does "somatics" mean and how can it help me?"Somatics" refers to your perception of your lived experience in a body, and your ability to use this awareness to process and regulate emotions and experiences through the body. All emotions have a somatic, or body-based component. Becoming aware of how your emotions and experiences manifest in your body can help you process feelings, express yourself better, clear trauma, and improve boundaries and relationships.
What does a Health Coach do?As a holistic health coach, I partner with you to discover what changes you'd like to make and to set goals, eliminate roadblocks, and move consistently towards a better quality of life for yourself. I do not give health advice in the coaching role, but I have extensive educational materials available for your own learning.
What does a Holistic Nutrition Consultant do?As a consultant Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition®, I help you eat healthfully on your terms (nothing prescriptive here!) and choose supplements and meal plans that are optimized to your personal needs and preferences. I can also provide functional analysis of bloodwork. What I do NOT do is diagnose, prescribe, or treat specific conditions.
What is a Clinical Herbalist?As a clinical herbalist, I help you choose plants and herbs in the right forms and right doses to support your personal wellness goals, with safety and effectiveness as top priorities--and in that order. My goal is to help you cultivate balance for your concerns and personal constitution. I do NOT diagnose or treat specific medical or mental health conditions.
I want to resolve trauma but I don’t want to talk about what happened. Can I still work with you?Absolutely. You never have to tell a story you don't want to tell. The beauty of somatics, dreamwork, therapeutic horticulture, and Processwork is that you can work through life's most intense experiences without having to talk about anything you don't want to talk about. I will never pressure you to share more than you want to. In fact, I will support you to honor your own boundaries moment to moment.
What is Horticultural Therapy?Horticultural therapy is the practice of working with plants and nature as intentional healing and therapeutic processes. I am a Certified Horticultural Therapist but I am not a Registered Horticultural Therapist, which means I offer therapeutic horticulture experiences but I do not treat clinically.
Do you see clients in person as well as online?I currently see 1:1 Nutrition Consulting, Herbalism, and Processwork clients both online and in my Beaverton office, and I offer off-site courses and workshops by request. Some fun places I've taught in person include schools, farms, and yoga studios. Click here to contact me to inquire about booking a talk or class for your group.
Do you diagnose or treat specific conditions?Not a this time. I'm happy to collaborate with your healthcare and mental healthcare team to best serve your needs.
Can you fix me and/or save my marriage?Nope! But that's a good thing. I can't fix you because you're not broken, and I'm not biased one way or the other towards your marriage being "saved." My job is to help you increase your awareness and build the skillset to work on yourself and your relationships in the moment. Through this process, you'll be able to align your life with what best suits your true nature. You can read more about my philosophy on this in my blog post, "You May Need Healing But You Don't Need to be Fixed."
How do you maintain hope and prevent burnout?I work a lot with dreaming, mythology, and archetypal awareness. The dreaming world is regenerative. It's like going back to source. Also, my work centers around transformation. I get to help people clear old traumas and express the essence of who they are more in their daily lives, and that's very energizing! I also take really good care of myself. I practice what I preach. I have many daily practices, and I take time off for restoration, ritual, and my own innerwork. I also have an excellent therapist.
Did you make up your last name? Is it your “yoga name”?Nope! It's my dad's last name. It's Scottish and was originally Inverarity, which loosely translates as "mouth of the Creek of Arity." Click here to hear my name pronounced out loud.
What's your favorite plant?This is an impossible question. There are too many. I love them all. But, at the moment of writing, I’m partial to dandelions.
What's your facilitation style?My style has been described as spacious, patient, and precise, and sometimes sudden. I listen carefully, I track your overall process, and I pinpoint exactly where the energy needs to shift for greater awareness, sometimes calling attention to that in surprising ways. I liken it to acupuncture.

And if credentials are your jam,

I have a bunch of them.
But first, the letters after my name...

MA (Master of Arts in Process Oriented Facilitation and Conflict Studies)

Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition® with the NANP

NBC-HWC National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach

LMT #22490 (Licensed Massage Therapist)

CHT (Certified Horticultural Therapist)

QMHP-C #00926 (Qualified Mental Health Provider--Certified: please note that I do not diagnose or treat specific mental health conditions and do not practice as a psychotherapist or clinical psychologist)

Jeanell in green shirt with head tilted to side, photo by Ashley Berger

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY

HOLISTIC WELLNESS PATHWAY: FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION, HEALTH COACHING, CLINICAL HERBALISM, 2024-2025 (Completed Nutrition & Coaching, Currently Completing Herbalism)

Hill College, Hillsboro, TX (Virtual)

NANP/NBHWC-approved 1,250+ hour academic program resulting in triple certification in nutrition consultant, health coach, and clinical herbalist fields. Includes farm-to-table gardening and functional nutritional principles.

CERTIFICATE IN HORTICULTURAL THERAPY, 2021

Portland Community College, Sylvania Campus, Portland, OR

Year-long training to apply social and individual therapeutic principles to horticultural settings.

MASTER OF ARTS IN PROCESS ORIENTED FACILITATION AND CONFLICT STUDIES, 2017

The Processwork Institute, Portland, OR

Processwork is an evolution of Carl Jung’s work expanded by Dr. Arnold Mindell to include the Dreambody (somatic) concept and World Work (social/large group applications) with theoretical foundations in quantum physics. Training included: Organizational development, facilitation of open forums, social justice and diversity, processing historical trauma, personal development, individual counseling, couples counseling, somatic processing, dream analysis, working with extreme and altered states, and the ability to remain facilitative in tense environments. Modalities and philosophies emphasized included art therapy, family constellations-style process, ancestral influence, Taoism and Confucianism, and cross-cultural shamanism. Counseling internship at Rivers Way Community Clinic.

BACHELOR OF ARTS (HONORS) IN ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES, 2006

New College of Florida, Sarasota, FL

Exchange semester at The Findhorn Foundation Ecovillage in northern Scotland 2004

Exchange semester at the Landscape and Livelihood Field Semester in Swan Valley, Montana 2005

Semester leave of absence working on small organic farms in Europe 2005

Thesis project, oral history: Community Gardens in Sarasota County, FL 2006

Recipient of Sarasota County Achievement Award in Environmental Education, 2006

PROFESSIONAL & TRADE

CERTIFICATE IN JUNGIAN PSYCHOTHERAPY, Dec 2024

The Zur Institute

26 mental health CE credit hours: Understanding the Jungian Worldview, Exploring Jungian Archetypes, Tools and Applications, Active Imagination, and Myth, Story, and Synchronicity.

PROFESSIONAL APPLICATIONS 10-MONTH TRAINING, Feb 23-Nov 16 2022

Core Awareness with Liz Koch

30 NCBTMB CE credits in 43 contact hour course on biointelligence and the psoas.

HEARTMATH CLINICAL CERTIFICATION FOR STRESS, ANXIETY, AND SELF-REGULATION, 2022

Heartmath™ Institute

20 CE credits in HearthMath™ biofeedback for clinical settings. Includes teaching clients self-care, coherence model, heart-brain communication, relational energetics, heart rate variability, and basic interventions.

CERTIFICATE IN MASSAGE THERAPY (580HRS), 2012

Costa Rica School of Massage Therapy, Sámara, Costa Rica

Modalities included Swedish, Thai, Shiatsu, Neuromuscular Therapy, Myofascial Release, Craniosacral Therapy, Hydrotherapy. Clinic hours in on-site Spanish/English clinic providing affordable massage for locals.

CERTIFICATE IN PERMACULTURE AND ECOVILLAGE DESIGN, 2005

Lost Valley Education Center, Dexter, OR

Two-month residential training in human-scale community design, communication, group decision-making, and ecologically regenerative practices of food production, medicine-making, and land restoration.

ADDITIONAL CERTIFICATIONS AND TRAININGS:

  • Licensed Massage Therapist, LMT#22490
  • Qualified Mental Health Professional, QMHP-C#00926
  • Biodynamic Touch with Stacy Darby (24 hrs), 01/2025
  • Year of Gaia Herbal Training, 04/2023-04/2024
  • Autism in Females: Overlooked and Underserved (2hrs), Zur Institute, 12/2024
  • Holistic and Nutritional Approaches to Treating Psychological Disorders (3 hrs), Zur Institute, 12/2024
  • Ethics in Psychotherapy Series (20 hrs), Includes bartering, power dynamics, home office ethics, out-of-office ethics, gifts in psychotherapy, ethical decision-making, and boundaries 12/2022-11/2024
  • EastWest School of Planetary Herbology Professional Herbalism Training, 10/2022-10/2027 (Present)
  • Kabbalah 101, 102, 103 (About 40 hours) with Rabbi Olivier BenHaim, 11/2022-06/2023
  • Intro to Cacao Ceremony Facilitation with SoulLift Cacao, 05/02/2023
  • Suicide Prevention (6 hrs) Zur Institute, 11/2022
  • Somatic Interventions for Chronic Pain and Syndromes with Dr. Peter Levine and Diane Heller (10hrs) Somatic Experiencing® Institute, 02/02-03/02, 2022
  • BASIC Psoas Workshop, Liz Koch Core Awareness (12 hrs) 01/28-30, 2022
  • Dimensions of Dementia Processwork workshop with Stan Tomandl and Ann Jacob, Sept-Nov 2021
  • Seed Saving Teacher Certification, Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance, 05/2021
  • Youth Mental Health First Aid Certification, valid 02/2019-02/2022
  • Nonviolent Crisis Intervention Certification, valid 08/2018-08/2019
  • Body-Mind Centering® Embryological Development and Spiral of the Limbs (5 hrs, 2018), Authentic Movement (5 hrs, 2018), and Embodiment of the Perceptual Response Cycles (5 hrs 2019) with Mary Lou Seereiter
  • Chi Nei Tsang and the Abdomen (24 hrs) with Saumya Comer at East West College of the Healing Arts
  • Toastmaster's Competent Communicator and Toastmaster's Competent Leader Awards, 2015
  • Client-Centered Hypnotherapy Certification (100hrs) Bastyr University, 2013
  • Arvigo® Technique of Maya Abdominal Therapy Self-Care Training (17.5 hrs 2012), Professional Training (36.5 hrs 2012), and Certification Training (26 hrs 2013)
  • Foot Reflexology Certification (200 hrs) Connecticut Center for Universal Reflexology, 2011
  • Yoga Instructor Certifications
    • (170 hrs) Yoga Therapy College of Houston, 2007
    • (200 hrs) Embodyoga® at Yoga Center Amherst (based in Body-Mind Centering), 2011
    • (25 hrs) Mindful Yoga Therapy for Veterans Coping with PTSD, 2012
  • Tai Chi Pushing Hands and Fighting Set (12hrs) Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, Boston, MA, Feb 2011
  • Birth and Postpartum Doula Trainings with Michelle L’Esperance, 2010
  • Non-Violent Communication Integration and Mentorship Program with Miki Kashtan, Jan-Mar 2010
  • Body-lab Embryology Workshop with Saliq Savage (4hrs) December 2009
  • Feldenkrais® Method Practitioner Training: (40 hrs, first year of four-year training) at Feldenkrais Center of New York, 2009-2010
  • Additionally completed over 70 hours of CEU’s in diverse areas including Ayurvedic Pulse Assessment, BodyReading the Myofascial Meridians, Headache Treatment, Feldenkrais® for Back Pain, Working with Disorders of Emotional Regulation, Hypnotherapy for Weight Management and Smoking Cessation, Somatic Dysfunction, Massage for Labor and Birth, Client Positioning Strategies, Cadaver Dissection, Scar Tissue Management, Cultural Competency, and Boundaries
  • Extensive personal development in improvisational dance, bellydance, nature-based spiritual practice, Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan, Saolin Southern White Crane Kung fu, Vipassana meditation, nature-based quest practice, equity and diversity, anti-racism and anti-antisemitism, spiritual development, communication, holistic marketing, and leadership development

PROJECTS & PRESENTATIONS

  • The Nature of Cities Conference Presenter on Urban Seed Saving, March 29 2022
  • Presenter at Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education Conference, Fun with Food Systems: Creative Ways to Increase Food Sovereignty and Build Community Remotely, 2021
  • United Nations University Presentation on Growing Food and Growing Community During Pandemic Remote Operations at Portland Community College 2021
  • Seed Saving Vocational Training: a 3-Month Cohort-Based Program for Portland Community College Students, Designed for students who self-identify as having a disability, Spring 2021
  • Wisdom of the Hive 2020: a 3-Day Healing Journey Inspired by Bees, Virtual symposium and fundraiser with expert beekeepers on the social, spiritual, and ecological wisdom of bees, March 2020
  • Presenter at International Association for the Study of Dreams Conference, Dreamwork for Chronic Illness and Body Symptoms, Summer 2018
  • Interfaith Dialogues Series Interfaith conversations in Processwork, 2017
  • Social Activism and/or Eldership: What is the Processwork Community’s Response to These Times? Open Forum Facilitator, March 2017
  • Kiss Burnout Goodbye: A 21-Day Virtual Retreat for Folks in the Helping Professions Created and hosted telesummit and workshop with 21 expert speakers, March 2013

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