Embodiment, Boundaries, & The Ancestors
Support for Empaths and HSPs Through Ever-Changing Times
NOTE: this course is available as part of the curriculum in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School and is not available for stand-alone purchase.
These times are intense! And overwhelming. With so much fear, confusion, and uncertainty swirling through our nervous systems, knowing how to set effective boundaries and how to discern what is and what isn’t ours (to feel, to fix, to change, to heal) becomes crucial.
If you are reading this page, I’d guess you are highly empathic and/or have a highly sensitive nervous system. This simply means that you, perhaps more than others, are highly attuned to the feelings and emotions of others.
Living in times of heightened collective fear and anxiety can be devastating and utterly overwhelming for empathic and highly sensitive persons (I know because I am one as well). It’s not unusual to just want to hide under the bed all day and/or to constantly eat chocolate or check instagram (or, or, or…) in order to distract from all the collective ‘static’.
In truth, these diversion tactics aren’t so bad.
Why? Because if we were to pause and attempt to feel all that we are feeling we would open the door to feeling the collective fear/uncertainty/overwhelm and it would be too much. Without some foundational skills in boundaries, discernment, and knowing when/how/who to ask for help, ending up in a puddle on the floor is, perhaps, the best of outcomes.
In short, in times like these (and always but especially now) knowing how to set boundaries and how to discern what IS or what ISN’T ours is crucial.
This course is part of the foundational curriculum in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School.
What: a foundational intensive weaving together embodiment, boundaries, and the ancestors to decrease overwhelm and increase ease, clarity, support, and magic into your life. This course includes the audio recordings of the three live classes, seven audio lessons, summaries of the audio material, embodied practice reminders, and supplemental articles, podcasts, and other resources.
Where: available to the witchy ones enrolled in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School.
If you struggle with boundaries and discernment, you are not alone.
Even prior to the current events that are evoking such intense reactions in this moment, I was hearing time and again from my clients and students how much they struggle with both boundaries and discernment.
Fortunately, as we work together, this changes. They begin to know what is theirs (to fix, change, heal) and what isn’t. And, they become more and more adept at setting appropriate boundaries (kindly, firmly) with both disruptive collective energies (fear/overwhelm/grief) AND living humans as needed.
Here’s the secret:
Setting effective boundaries and knowing what is or isn’t ours is dependent upon us being in our bodies, upon embodiment.
When we are not in our bodies, we are unable to feel how our bodies respond to different situations or options. This inability to track our internal responses leads to lack of clarity around what is or isn’t ours which makes it impossible to set effective boundaries.
This isn’t a failing on your (or my) part. We are not broken.
Rather, this inability to set effective boundaries is a normal/natural side effect of unresolved trauma.
Whether this unresolved trauma originates in our lifetime or is flowing to us from our ancestors makes no difference. Unresolved trauma interferes with our ability to be in our bodies and with our ability to set effective boundaries.
Here’s another secret:
The root of many boundary issues and inability to discern what is or isn’t ours is ancestral interference.
What I see time and again with my clients is that as they learn to set appropriate boundaries with the unwell dead, their ability to inhabit their bodies, discern what is and isn’t theirs, and to set boundaries (kindly, firmly, fiercely when required) increases exponentially – and swiftly! With ease even! It seems miraculous.
“This idea of consciously creating boundaries has been one of the most useful things I’ve worked on. It’s been profoundly helpful in being a parent to three really crazy boys. Sometimes recognizing that trying to tease out what’s what in a dynamic with multiple kids is confusing as in ‘what just happened? What is the boundary here?’ I'm recognizing that I have to step in as the dad and create the boundary and stick to it and draw a really firm set of boundaries. It’s been honestly remarkable for me to step into that foreign skillset. It’s been awesome. So I’m really grateful for that and I’m starting to see how it translates more into the ancestral work that we are doing as well.”
This course is for you if you:
- suspect the overwhelm, uncertainty, fear, grief etc you are feeling isn’t just yours – that you are absorbing the feelings of others.
- often feel ungrounded, disconnected from your body and the earth
- spend much of the day in your head thinking, analyzing, worrying, replaying conversations…
- struggle with saying no or speaking up for (or knowing) what you want or need
- feel guilty when you do speak up or feel grief/regret/frustration for NOT speaking up
- find yourself easily overwhelmed and caught up in the drama/emotions of others
- have difficulty staying connected to your own body and inner knowing especially when around people with strong opinions or energy
- keep hearing the terms ’embodiment’ and/or ‘boundaries’ but lack a clear sense of how to be embodied or have boundaries
My vision for you is for you to:
- experience in your body how it feels to have healthy, effective boundaries
- gain skills and tools to begin to shift patterns of disembodiment and/or lack of healthy boundaries flowing to you from your lineage
- have a new set of skills and practices that you will use for the rest of your life
- know what steps to take to regain clarity when you feel overwhelmed, uncertain, disconnected, confused
- have a solid foundation in embodiment and boundaries prior to beginning ancestral lineage healing work (or a place to gain these skills if you’ve already began this work and could use more support)*.
- be able to recognize when what you are feeling is not just yours and to have the skills to clear what isn’t yours and ask for help being with what IS yours (to feel/process).
*This is a stand-alone course that offers foundational embodiment, boundary, and ancestral relating skills applicable to anyone wanting to strengthen these ‘muscles’. Doing ancestral lineage healing work is not required to take this course.
As a practitioner who holds space for other people, and as a sensitive and emotional person myself, I feel I can always use more sturdy and dependable boundaries.
As a community song leader, and as a person who has at times been overly intellectual and dissociative as a way to handle old traumas, I am keenly interested in embodiment.
I knew that Larisa would have a unique and tender way of putting these topics together with Ancestral support that I wanted to experience. I was right, and the techniques I learned and support I cultivated in this class have become more or less daily companions for me, as well as go-to processes I use with clients.
What I didn’t know was how powerful Larisa’s ability is in tending a non-local container. I felt an astonishing amount of support while I was in her online class, and my visions and journeys under her guidance were utterly palpable and unforgettable.
This course likely is NOT a good fit for you if you…
- are unwilling to entertain the possibility that unwell ancestors might be at the root of some of your difficulty with discernment and setting healthy boundaries;
- have no ability to track sensations in your body. You don’t need to be an expert sensation tracker as a large part of this course will be devoted to deepening in this ability. However, you do need to be enough in your body to be able to notice, for instance, a sense of tightness or openness in your chest at a minimum. If not, working with me 1:1 work is likely a better fit.
- are unwilling to engage in the practices offered. This might seem obvious. And, what I’m offering in this course does have the ability to change your experience of yourself and the world around you… IF you show up and engage the material. It’s ok if you aren’t ready to do that now. Reach out when you are!
- expect to be an expert at embodiment and boundaries by the end of our time together. This course will steep you in the skills and practices necessary for both while also supporting you in connecting with the wellness and protection of your well ancestors. You will make huge gains in both your ability to inhabit your body and to know what you want/need. However, these are skills you deepen into over your lifetime. You will still need to put in the ‘dirt-time’ to fully integrate all you learn/experience into your daily life ongoing.
Step 1: Embodiment
Note: while I have separated out this course into three steps (to give you a sense of what we will be covering), in reality all three steps will interweave throughout the course.
In this step, you will learn:
- skills to enhance embodiment in a safe, effective, gradual way that allows old trauma to resolved;
- to recognize how YOUR body and nervous system responds when unresolved trauma is activated;
- what your baseline is and how to notice when it changes (and what to do if/when you become activated into fight, flight, or freeze);
- over time, how to more fully inhabit your body and live from a settled baseline/relaxed body
- how the magic and medicine of Owl and of the Well Ancestors titrate overwhelming experiences/sensations/emotions and support a return to wholeness.
Step 2: Boundaries
In step 2, you will experience…
…how your body feels when you are safe. Further you will experience how being surrounded by loving, supportive friends and allies (including Owl) increases safety and ease when setting and maintaining boundaries.
You will also become aware of how your body feels when anything that is too much for your nervous system (even too much goodness) approaches your physical, emotional, or energetic space. And, you will have a clear, embodied knowing of how it feels when your boundaries have been crossed including what to do about it (the steps to take to re-establish appropriate boundaries).
We will also explore:
- what to do if your boundaries have been crossed (4 steps)
- how to discern what is yours vs when you need to set a boundary
- how to skillfully meet and lean into any guilt (or grief) that may arise
- the positive feedback loop that exists between embodiment and boundaries
Step 3: The Ancestors
In step three you will:
- become aware of whether or not you are experiencing interference from unwell ancestral spirits
- call in the support of your well ancestors (they exist and are willing to help, I promise) to assist with setting boundaries with the unwell ones (and the collective overwhelm/fear)
- meet an ancestral guide who will mentor you in fully inhabiting your body and in the specific magics and protective ways of your lineage with regards to boundaries
Further, you will learn about how making offerings to wellness can both feed your own wellness and bring increased support from your well ancestors. And, with the support of your well ones, you will begin to discern when feeling a challenging feeling will lead to healing (for you; for your lineage) vs when clearing work and boundaries are needed.
I learned a lot about myself - what I was doing well, what I was not, how I could improve, mostly around being in my body. Boundaries has been an issue for me for years and many of my friends and clients. Working with the ancestors in this way is new for me and so helpful. The class was short enough to not get too behind with interesting, short lessons to make participation easeful.
Larisa has a beautiful calm energy. This energy radiates from her website, her emails, her presence in the class.
This self-study course includes:
- downloadable audio recordings of the three live 75-min experiential classes
- seven (most less than 15 minute) audio teachings and/or guided practices (7 total)
- email summaries of the video/audio material and embodied practice reminders
- supplemental articles, podcasts, and other resources
Here’s the full course outline:
Class #1 – Introduction to Embodiment and Boundaries
Audio #1: What Keeps Us From Fully Inhabiting Our Bodies? (audio lesson #1)
Audio #2: Animism + The Intersection of Embodiment, Boundaries, & the Ancestors (audio lesson #2)
Audio #3: Meet a Powerful, Protective Ancestor-Guide (audio lesson #3)
Audio #4: Offerings and Altar Work + Acts of Beauty (audio lesson #4)
Class #2: Gaining Awareness Of and Setting Boundaries with Unwell Ancestors
Audio #5: Discerning What IS Ours vs What Isn’t (audio lesson #5)
Audio #6: Breathwork for Embodiment + Feeling What IS Ours (audio lesson #6)
Audio #7: Calling Our Power Back (audio lesson #7)
Class #3: Expanding into Wholeness
The investment:
This course is part of the foundational curriculum in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School.
What: self-study course on the intersection of Embodiment and Boundaries including how the Ancestors influence both.
Where: available to the witchy ones enrolled in the Witchy Healer Wisdom School.
ps. This course contains all the skills and perspectives I wish I’d been taught 20+ years ago. It is the accumulation of hard-earned wisdom and embodied skills that I’ve gathered, practiced, and refined over the past two decades.
Bringing this course to you fills me with such joy because I know the profound clarity, inner knowing, ease, and relief it will bring into your life.
About me (Larisa):
I’m an ancestral healing guide specializing in embodiment, boundaries, and trauma-resolution work.
Even though I work mostly online, my work is truly body-centered meaning I’m not just here to help those I work with have mental or emotional healing insights. I’m here to help my clients and course participants truly integrate and embody healing on a physical/nervous system level.
My nearly two decades of body-centered trauma resolution work informs this passion/obsession of mine. I commonly hear from my clients that it wasn’t until working with me (often despite years of other healing-counseling-embodiment work) that they actually knew what it means and how it feels to be in their bodies.
I support this online course from my home in Sandpoint, ID, the ancestral lands of the Q’lispe (Kalispel) tribe.
Photo credits: Embodiment Owl by Lubos Houska, Boundary Owl Lenka Novotná, Ancestor Owl by Brigitte Werner.
Praise for this course
I was very impressed with how clear everything was in the course. The communication, the timings, next steps, the tasks. The way Larisa created the space and held it was amazing.
Connecting with the ancestors, especially the first time I experienced the well and not so well ones, was a powerful experience.
And then I think it was the last day we met, when we asked for some guidance about boundaries, the guidance was very clear and unexpected!
I understood that my main issue with boundaries is that I never was modeled them as I should've been and I grieved that a lot. Also, I allowed myself to feel at ease with a male ancestral presence, something that at the beginning of the course sounded ultra scary. I also had the experience of calling my power back to me; it felt really.... real (haha).
I loved the course. The delivery was amazing, I loved the accountability of the live calls, it really made a difference in the effort I put into actually going through the exercises (vs just signing up and trying to find a time "later" aka never).
I don't know what I'd change about the course. I really think it was one of the best I've taken. It was simple, to the point, and useful.
I'm really thankful I got to participate in this, thank you so much for everything! You are one of the best facilitators out there, you really are!
You embody what you're teaching so thoroughly that the time spent with you is incredibly potent. You're also extremely compassionate and encouraging. No matter what a participant was experiencing, you created space for that experience and helped the person be more compassionate with themselves. Made the class overall feel like a safe, accepting space with is important when the material puts me in a vulnerable place.
Love working with you and I love your work. Amazing how radical addressing my struggles with compassion, kindness, and witnessing is. How something as simple as witnessing what's going on in my body opens a door to so much healing. Thank you.
I have in the past few years become more aware of ancestral work and discovering my own ancestral issues.
I have been searching for peace for half a lifetime, Larisa's story so resonates with me, and I really get that all of what has gone before is too much for little incarnate me! I was told previously that I could give back to the ancestors what was there's but I didn't know how to do that and how to recognise what was theirs, and had a lot of confusion around this; I am clearer now.
I so appreciated Larisa's clarity and ease of explanation of some difficult stuff, her presence (even over the internet) and apparent calm and holding, her thorough grasp of this subject, and her generosity in sharing her knowledge, experience and resources.
The healing has begun. I see the common thread to my experiences as a clear connection with my well ancestors and embodiment work. I started out a questionnaire with “I didn’t know I had no boundaries. Now I do and I am feeling more relaxed. I know how to soothe and comfort the tears the begin to grow in my throat. I feel safer. When I don’t feel safe,I can imagine a protective membrane around my body. This gives me time to turn away from the ‘overwhelm’ before I got sucked in and sit in a sense of introspection and next moves. Very practical."
Thank you, this class was monumental. I felt nurtured. The meditations and audio lessons in between class time were genius. They helped me feel connected to the class and offered me a way to move into the next step.
I am so grateful to have found such a wise, nurturing and intuitive guide in Larisa to help me move to a different level with my emotional issues. She gives such a richness and depth so that in addition to understanding what I want to change, I feel like I now have tools to actually embody those changes and to put me on a path towards wholeness.