Everything is connected and related. Environmental health is reflected in our human health and vice versa. We see it around us all of the time. We know that the care of ourselves and the Earth are essentially the same thing. Here are some ways we can act in a way that reflects this knowledge:

Permaculture: One way that we can start to interact in a more connective and regenerative way is through the lens and practices of permaculture (PermaculturePrinciples.com). The basic principles are people care, Earth care and fair share. Permaculture offers design tools for designing sustainable and regenerative systems. This applies to not just land-based systems, but also people and culture.

 

Herbalism: Herbalism is the medicine of the people, and a traditional practice found worldwide. We have medicine growing in our backyards, our meadows and our forests; it’s just that we have largely lost much of the knowledge of it. We have the power and ability to care for ourselves in ways that are nourishing, fulfilling and reciprocal in the way that they continue to give back and connect us with the larger world.

 

Activism and Reconnecting Work: The Work That Reconnects (WorkThatReconnects.org) is a system of interacting, engaging and perspective shifting that is based largely upon the work of Joanna Macy, an environmental activist and student of deep ecology. This is their mission: “The central purpose of the Work That Reconnects is to bring us back into relationship with each other and with the self-healing powers in the web of life.”

 

Yoga: Yoga is another healing practice, much like herbalism, that has at its foundation a goal of creating unity, harmony and connection. This ancient and rich practice aims to bring awareness and balance not only to our physical bodies, but also to more subtle ways of being, intuition, emotions and spiritual life.

 

Em Gilmore, MS in human physiology, is a yoga teacher, women’s herbal educator, Earth community activist and educator. She is the manager and owner of Dillsburg Yoga and a yoga teacher at Rising Locust Farm. For more information, call 717-502-2870, email [email protected] or visit DillsburgYoga.com and RisingLocustFarm.com.