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About Lauren (she/her)
I am a biologist, environmentalist, yoga and meditation guide, circle facilitator, seeker and space holder. A deep love, respect and reverence for nature drives my spiritual path. I consider myself a biophile: a person who exhibits a love of living things and seeks a connection with nature and all forms of life.
I am a white settler of English and Irish descent. With deep gratitude I acknowledge that I was raised on lands situated on the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee, and Anishinaabe people.
I have a BSc in environmental biology (Queen’s University) and I’ve studied urban food security (Toronto Metropolitan University), Ontario naturalism (Lakehead University) and marine biology (University of New Brunswick). I am trained in accessible, trauma-informed yoga and meditation, circle facilitation, nature journaling instruction and have my Reiki level 2. I have learned from and benefitted from the teaching of many wisdom traditions including Buddhism, Yogic philosophy, Celtic teachings and the Indigenous peoples of Canada.
I am a life-long traveller, a forever learner and an outdoor lover. In spring, summer and fall you’ll find me in a canoe, diving off the dock, in a tent, or hiking a trail. In winter, I’ll be the one curled up with a book by the fire or gazing out at the moon.
I am a messy, imperfect human who is always striving to stay open, to be curious and to learn. I will make mistakes, I will do wrong, and I will show up, listen and repair. I am deeply committed to the idea of holding brave spaces where all are welcome and accepted.
I used to believe that nature was where I went to play and to unwind. Now I know it is where I must be to live, to thrive, to feel alive.
I feel kinship with all the more than human life on this planet. I revere and respect the power, beauty and energy in living and non-living creatures alike.
I dream of a collective conscious awakening that puts life - animal, plant, human, elemental - back at the centre of our values & decision-making. I seek a life in tune with the cycles of the seasons and the rhythms of nature, where every person is in deep relationship with the community around them - not just human but the full biological ecosystem including the smallest bacterium, the largest tree, the oldest fungus, the most charismatic animal - and is in awe of the intricacies of the interconnect world.
I am an idealist who still believes a better world is possible.
My Story
Being outdoors is in my bones. My childhood memories revolve around time spent in nature. Overnight camps on remote lakes where we learned to canoe, build fires and fend off mosquitoes. Family trips hiking in the rockies, camping in northern Quebec and exploring maritime beaches for tidepool treasures. At 13, I completed a 21-day wilderness canoe trip in remote northern Ontario with 5 other girls in one of the wettest summers on record - and I had an absolute blast.
My first biology class at age 16 changed how I viewed the world as I fell in love with the marvel of life from the cellular level up to the vast ecosystems. I completed a bachelor of science specializing in environmental biology and have since studied food sustainability, urban agriculture, marine biology and the natural history of Ontario.
My passion for protecting our beautiful, finite planet led me to work for environmental non-profits like the World Wildlife Fund, grassroots organizations and renewable energy / transportation startups. I’ve volunteered in community gardens, on organic farms and in local food kitchens. I’ve marched in climate rallies, organized community groups and fundraised. I am forever called back to the woods and the coasts to soak in the power and beauty of nature and marvel at the tenacity and diversity of life.
I began practising yoga and meditation through a drop-in group back in university but wasn’t able to integrate the practices into my daily life. After attending a 10-day silent Vipassana meditation retreat in Thailand, the way I saw the world changed once more. Learning about non-dualism and the connectedness of all things aligned so perfectly with my understanding of biological systems that suddenly spirituality and science aligned. As a scientist I know there is far more about the natural world and the universe at large that we don’t understand, than that we do. Meditation allowed me to connect with the natural world in a profound, energetic, unknowable way. Exploring the separate yet togetherness of matter and spirit, of mass and energy, of gross body and subtle body, of earth and heaven, of body and consciousness, has fascinated me ever since.
I completed my 200-hour yoga teacher training with the Accessible Yoga School who believe yoga is a practice for everyone and teach practitioners how to make it an accessible, equitable, and liberatory practice for all. The ancient wisdom of yoga parallels much of what I learned through Vipassana and subsequent teachings of Buddhism.
It is through these powerful teachings that I believe we modern humans can return to the truth held in our spirit and know in our bones: that each person, each creature, each being is worthy of our respect, care and compassion, that nature is beautiful, divine, complex, interconnected and worth of our respect, care and reverence, and that love ultimately is the energy that powers the universe.
Modalities
Learn more about the earth-based rituals & practices I use to help you find your way back to your wild, true nature
