It is our belief that we must develop and nurture healthy relationships with ourselves, each other and the planet if we are to build a better world. There is a tenet in Transformative Justice that says there is a core self in all of us and that core self is good, wise and powerful. This self cannot be taken away or removed. It exists in EVERY BEING, beyond any emotion or action, and is the source of all dignity. This is our inner light.

The harsh realities of the world, however, often cause that light to become covered, dimmed or hidden.

Without a daily recognition of that light and practices to bring the core self out into the open, it will likely remain in darkness. When this happens, our potential is minimized as is the world’s. Because without each of our lights, we are less capable of living our purpose and of creating a world that is full of safety, belonging and possibility.

Return to the Roots reminds us that the light is there and there are ways of bringing it back out into the open again.

How do we do this? Through Transformative Movement Practices, Storytelling + Theater, and Deep Connection to Nature.

Return to the Roots creates spaces for healing through movement, nature connection, creative expression, and the honoring of voices that have long been silenced.

Ways to Access the Light

Transformative Movement

We begin with Movement because it helps us come home to ourselves and build a relationship with our bodies, intuition and that internal voice/light. It turns down the mental noise and allows us to access a purer knowing.

Whether through Nia, Qoya or other modalities we offer, our movement experiences are inspired by forest pathways, flowing water, deep roots, and open sky and are designed to help us attune, process and metabolize a range of emotions and enhance feelings of groundedness, aliveness, joy, and transcendence.

• “Guided using nature-based imagery, breath, rhythm, and intuitive flow.

Storytelling + Theater

We then move towards Storytelling +Theater because by sharing our truth with others, we let both our light and our darkness be seen. This way we can be heard, held and related to by others instead of hidden away.

At Return to the Roots, we honor lived experience as sacred knowledge and center voices that have often been erased, silenced, or marginalized. Understanding healing as relational, embodied, and collective, justice lives in how stories are held, whose stories are told, and whose pain is not turned away.

Deep Connection to Nature

Our movement classes are shaped by the wisdom of the natural world — cycles, seasons, roots, branches, tides, wind, and grounded presence. The storytelling and arts work we do is as well as we practice deep listening, compassionate witnessing, + relentless curiosity.

Alongside this work, Founder Brighid O'Shaughnessy is currently in the process of completing her certification in Nature and Forest Therapy, deepening her practice of guiding people back into relationship with the living world as a source of healing, nervous system regulation, reciprocity and belonging.

Contact Us

Rooted in story, body, land, and justice.

We are located in the Chicagoland area.