Rooted & Wild
Rooted & Wild is a journey through health, healing, human potential, and the mysteries that have kept us curious about ourselves and our world for thousands of years.Hosted by Henry Hawk, Certified ThetaHealing Practitioner, Psychic, Herbalist and Nutrition Coach, the podcast wanders between worlds that are too often kept separate: modern science and ancient wisdom, conventional healthcare and alternative medicine, physical health and spiritual life, emerging technology and the natural world, evidence and lived experience.Through immersive solo explorations and conversations with practitioners, physicians, healers, researchers, teachers, innovators, and fascinating people with stories worth hearing, Rooted & Wild explores wellness, science...
Mercury Retrograde: It’s Not What You Think It Is | Leslie McGuirk
What if Mercury retrograde isn't the cosmic disaster we've been led to believe it is?
From communication breakdowns and technological glitches to travel delays and unexpected encounters with the past, Mercury retrograde has become astrology's favorite scapegoat. But is this planetary phenomenon really responsible for all the chaos we attribute to it? Or have we misunderstood its meaning entirely?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk welcomes internationally recognized astrologer, author, and teacher Leslie McGuirk for a fresh perspective on one of astrology's most misunderstood concepts.
With more than three...
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): The Ancient Herb of Wounds, Protection & Divination | Kari Balderston
A plant for the wound. A plant for the boundary. A plant people have turned to when seeking answers.
With its finely divided leaves and clusters of small flowers, yarrow might seem like an unassuming part of the meadow. Yet its story reaches into herbal medicine, mythology, folk magic, and the deeply human desire to feel healed, protected, and connected to something beyond ourselves.
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined by Kari Balderston, herbalist, intuitive healer, and founder of ApotheKari Healing Arts, for a conversation about yarrow, Ac...
Being Human in the Age of AI: Consciousness, Purpose & What Makes Us Unique | Matthew James Bailey
What happens to our understanding of ourselves when machines can hold conversations, create art, and offer guidance on our most personal questions? As artificial intelligence becomes woven into everyday life, how do we preserve our own judgment, creativity, and sense of purpose?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk welcomes technology pioneer, inventor, author, and teacher of consciousness Matthew James Bailey for a conversation about artificial intelligence and the human experience.
Bringing together decades of technology leadership and spiritual exploration, Matthew offers his perspective on the relationship between intellect and consciousness, the...
Sacred Objects: Where Faith, Magic & Presence Meet | Dr. Eric Breault
A rosary worn smooth by someone’s fingers. A statue surrounded by offerings. A candle lit before an image that has received generations of prayers.
What makes an object sacred? Is it the history it carries, the intention brought to it, or a presence someone experiences when they approach it?
For many practitioners, these encounters are intimate and deeply personal. An altar becomes a place of conversation. A devotional image becomes part of a relationship. Something made of wood, stone, or metal occupies a living place in someone’s spiritual world.
In this epis...
Vibroacoustic Therapy: Exploring How Sound Vibrations Travel Through the Body | Tim Lang
What happens when sound becomes something you feel throughout your body?
A deep bass note resonates in your chest. A familiar song changes your mood. The physical presence of sound is something many of us have experienced—but we don’t often stop to consider what we’re feeling, or how that experience might become an intentional practice.
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk welcomes Sedona-based holistic wellness practitioner and certified vibroacoustic therapist Tim Lang for a conversation about experiencing sound through the body. Bringing together his background in counseling, psychology, and re...
The Remembrance Method: Finding Safety in the Body | Leilani Garcia
What does it mean to feel safe in your own body?
Sometimes, even when life grows quiet, something within us remains on guard. We’re tired, but we struggle to rest. We want connection, but letting ourselves receive it can feel unfamiliar. We may understand what we’ve been through without knowing how to stop carrying it.
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk is joined by Leilani Garcia of The Artful Alchemist, creator of The Remembrance Method, to explore the relationship between safety, fear, spiritual connection, and the process of returning to ourselves.
Where Chinese Medicine & Western Medicine Overlap | Dr. Autumn Edwards
What happens when two medical traditions, shaped by vastly different histories, philosophies, and understandings of the human body, begin to find common ground?
For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has approached health through the interconnected relationships between the body, mind, emotions, and natural world. Rooted in concepts such as Qi, Yin and Yang, the Five Elements, and meridian theory, this ancient medical tradition has developed its own sophisticated framework for understanding illness, maintaining balance, and supporting the body's capacity for healing.
Meanwhile, Western medicine has transformed our understanding of human anatomy, physiology, disease...
The Energetics of Esoteric Acupuncture in Chinese Medicine | Dr. Autumn Edwards
What if acupuncture could offer more than physical healing? What if its ancient principles also provide a framework for exploring consciousness, spiritual awareness, and the subtle energetic dimensions of human experience?
For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has approached the human body as an interconnected system, one in which physical health, emotional well-being, and the natural rhythms of the universe are deeply intertwined.
While acupuncture is widely recognized for its use in managing pain and supporting various aspects of health, some practitioners explore a more esoteric dimension of this ancient tradition, one that...
Meridians: The Invisible Rivers of Chinese Medicine | Dr. Autumn Edwards
What if the human body contains an intricate network of pathways that connects our organs, emotions, and vital energy, much like rivers flowing through a vast landscape?
For thousands of years, practitioners of Chinese medicine have described a system of interconnected channels known as meridians, or jingluo. Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, these pathways are understood to carry Qi, the vital life force, throughout the body, connecting its internal systems with the external world.
Unlike blood vessels or nerves, meridians are not established anatomical structures in Western medicine. Yet they remain central to the...
The Five Elements: How Nature Shapes the Body in Chinese Medicine | Dr. Autumn Edwards
What if the same patterns that govern the changing seasons, the growth of a forest, and the movement of the natural world could also help us understand the human body, our emotions, and the delicate balance of health?
For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has explored this relationship through an ancient philosophical framework known as the Five Elements, or Wu Xing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water.
But these elements represent far more than the physical substances their names suggest. Within Chinese philosophy and medicine, they describe interconnected phases of transformation, cycles of...
Qi: The Ancient Life Force Behind Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine | Dr Autumn Edwards
What is the invisible force that ancient Chinese philosophers believed animates all living things? What connects the breath we take, the food we eat, the blood flowing through our bodies, and the rhythms of the natural world?
For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has explored these questions through one of its most fundamental concepts: Qi (pronounced “chee”).
Often translated as life force or vital energy, Qi is far more complex than either definition suggests. Within traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine, Qi is understood as a fundamental aspect of existence, influencing everything from the form...
Yin & Yang: The Ancient Philosophy of Balance in Chinese Medicine | Dr. Autumn Edwards
Most of us recognize the familiar black-and-white symbol of Yin and Yang. But behind this ancient image lies an extraordinary philosophical system that has shaped Chinese medicine, Daoist thought, and our understanding of the relationship between humanity and the natural world for thousands of years.
What if balance isn't about eliminating opposites, but understanding how they depend upon, influence, and transform one another?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, host Henry Hawk welcomes Dr. Autumn Edwards, a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine and licensed acupuncturist whose work integrates Traditional Chinese Medicine, Five...
Why We Repeat the Same Patterns: Exploring Subconscious Beliefs Through ThetaHealing | Elias Kanakri
Why We Repeat the Same Patterns: Exploring Subconscious Beliefs Through ThetaHealing
You recognize the pattern. You understand why it hurts. You promise yourself you’ll choose differently. So why does it keep happening?
Sometimes the circumstances change, but the experience feels familiar. A new relationship brings the same disappointment. A different job awakens the same doubts. An opportunity appears, and something inside you begins searching for reasons you aren’t ready.
We can spend years trying to understand these experiences, tracing their origins and making sense of our reactions. Yet...
The Courage to Be Heard: Cultivating Confidence & the Art of Public Speaking | Esther Sarlo
What if the greatest obstacle to finding your voice isn't that you don't know what to say, but that you're afraid of what might happen when you say it?
For some, it's the thought of standing on a stage in front of hundreds of people. For others, it's speaking up during a meeting, introducing themselves to strangers, sharing an idea, or simply finding the courage to express what they really think.
The circumstances may be different, but the feelings are often remarkably similar.
The racing heart. The dry mouth. The sudden awareness of...
The Hard Truth About Grief: What Meeting Wynonna Judd Taught Me About Loss, Love & Living On | Henry Hawk
How do we keep living when someone we love is no longer part of our everyday life? And what happens when grief brings anger, injustice, and questions we may never be able to answer?
In this deeply personal solo episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk reflects on meeting Wynonna Judd backstage at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado during her concert with Melissa Etheridge. Having admired Wynonna since childhood, through her music, gospel performances, and appearance on Touched by an Angel, Henry experienced the evening as something far more meaningful than meeting a beloved artist.
<...Repair After Conflict: The Science of Rebuilding Trust and Connection | Jim Rottman
The argument is over. But are we okay?
Sometimes conflict leaves something behind. A hesitation before speaking. A guarded response. The sense that someone we once felt close to now feels a little further away.
We may want to move forward, yet still wonder whether it’s safe to be open again. And when we’re the person who caused the hurt, we may struggle to understand why saying “I’m sorry” hasn’t made everything right.
In Part 3 of this three-part Rooted & Wild series, I’m joined by Jim Rottman, C...
Healthy Conflict: How Teams and Relationships Can Turn Tension Into Growth | Jim Rottman
Can a relationship hold disagreement without losing connection?
It’s easy to feel close when we see things the same way. The deeper challenge comes when our needs compete, our perspectives clash, or something important needs to be said and we’re unsure how it will land.
At work, at home, and in the relationships that matter most, tension asks something of us. Can we speak honestly? Can we listen when we feel challenged? Can we remain curious when we’re convinced we’re right?
In Part 2 of this three-part Rooted & Wild series<...
Reframing Conflict: How Your Personal Conflict Story Shapes the Way You Respond | Jim Rottman
What did you learn about conflict before you ever had words for it?
Perhaps disagreement meant raised voices. Perhaps it meant silence, distance, or keeping the peace at the expense of what you really wanted to say. Whatever the experience, we each carry a personal conflict story into our relationships, often without realizing how much it shapes the way we respond.
In Part 1 of this three-part Rooted & Wild series, I’m joined by Jim Rottman, Co-Founder of Rottman Consulting and co-author of The Confluence Method™, to explore the beliefs, expectations, and fami...
Mynd Myself: A Curated Space for Complementary and Integrative Health | Esther Sarlo
We have access to more health information than at any other point in history.
And somehow, figuring out who—or what—to trust has become harder than ever.
Search for almost any health question online and you’ll find thousands of articles, videos, opinions, products, practitioners, and promises. And when you step into the world of Complementary, Holistic, and Integrative (CHI) Health, the possibilities become even greater—but so does the challenge of navigating them.
How do you find credible information?
How do you know whether a practitioner is experienced and trustwor...
Awakening from the Matrix: Reclaiming the Life That’s Your Own | Henry Hawk
The blue pill or the red pill?
There’s a moment when the familiar begins to feel strange. You’re going through your day, doing what you’ve always done, and suddenly you wonder how so much of your life became something to get through.
You followed the instructions. Earned the degree. Got the job. Took on the payments. Each promise of freedom came with another obligation—and living kept slipping further into the future.
After the debt. After the next promotion. After retirement.
But somewhere inside, you’re growing tired of waiting...
The Inner Sanctuary: Finding Safety in an Uncertain World | Dr. Melanie Gray
The world can change faster than our bodies know how to process.
Political division, economic uncertainty, violence, technological disruption, climate anxiety, changes in our communities, and the constant stream of troubling information can leave us feeling as though the ground beneath us is always shifting. Even when we are physically safe in the present moment, our nervous systems may remain braced for what could happen next.
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry welcomes Dr. Melanie Gray, a PhD-prepared nurse, educator, and trauma-informed wellness strategist, for a conversation about creating an inner sanctuary when the...
Music as Medicine: Emotional Healing & the Art of Being Present | Penn Johnson
What if the song you need most is the one that helps you finally feel what you’ve been carrying?
A familiar melody can bring back a moment you thought you’d forgotten. A lyric can give words to grief you’ve never quite been able to explain. And sometimes, simply listening gives an emotion enough space to rise without asking us to fix it first.
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk welcomes songwriter, musician, and somatic mentor Penn Johnson for a conversation about music as medicine. Penn has spent more than seventeen years...
Your Innate Pace: Reclaiming Your Intrinsic Autonomy & Authenticity | Amy Rogg
What happens when you stop living at the pace the world taught you—and begin listening for the pace that was yours all along?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined once again by Amy Rogg for a deeply personal conversation about autonomy, authenticity, and what Amy describes as our innate pace—the rhythm that begins to emerge when we are no longer constantly responding to external expectations, urgency, pressure, or someone else’s definition of who we should be.
So much of modern life asks us to overr...
A Stepwise Guide to Physical & Mental Discipline | Juan Carlos Pleitez
What if discipline isn’t about pushing yourself harder—but creating a life that requires less unnecessary effort?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined by Juan Carlos Pleitez for a practical conversation about physical and mental discipline, and how simplifying the way we approach our days can give us something many of us desperately need: more time, more energy, and less stress.
We often associate discipline with intensity. Wake up earlier. Work longer. Exercise harder. Squeeze another task into an already packed schedule.
But Juan C...
When Astrology Meets Geography: Understanding AstroCartoGraphy | Leslie McGuirk
What if your birth chart isn't only written in the stars—but stretched across a map of the world?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined by Leslie McGuirk for an introduction to the fascinating world of AstroCartoGraphy—a branch of astrology that explores the relationship between your birth chart and specific locations on Earth.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of a natal chart: a snapshot of the sky based on the date, time, and place of our birth. AstroCartoGraphy takes that same information and as...
When Astrology Meets Geography: Understanding AstroCartoGraphy | Leslie McGuirk
What if your birth chart isn't only written in the stars—but stretched across a map of the world?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined by Leslie McGuirk for an introduction to the fascinating world of AstroCartoGraphy—a branch of astrology that explores the relationship between your birth chart and specific locations on Earth.
Most of us are familiar with the idea of a natal chart: a snapshot of the sky based on the date, time, and place of our birth. AstroCartoGraphy takes that same information and as...
Fawning, People-Pleasing & the Nervous System: When Survival Looks Like Being “Nice” | Luis Mojica
What if being “nice” isn’t always a personality trait—but sometimes a survival strategy?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined again by Luis Mojica, founder of Holistic Life Navigation, for a conversation about fawning, people-pleasing, boundaries, and the nervous system—and what can happen when keeping other people comfortable becomes one of the ways we learn to keep ourselves safe.
Most of us are familiar with the language of fight, flight, and freeze. But our responses to perceived threat can also be deeply relational.<...
Non-Drug Alternatives for the Treatment of Asthma & Allergies | Dr. Brad Wolf
What if managing asthma and allergies could involve looking beyond symptoms to explore the broader environment in which those symptoms occur?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined again by Dr. Brad Wolf for a conversation about non-drug and complementary approaches that may support people living with asthma, allergies, and respiratory sensitivities.
For Brad, this subject is also personal. His own childhood experiences with asthma, allergies, and recurring illnessbecame part of what eventually led him to explore health beyond a strictly conventional model. Over the years, th...
The Magic of Mabon: Harvest, Gratitude & The Autumn Equinox | Henry Hawk
There comes a moment every September when summer begins to loosen its grip. The sunlight turns more golden, shadows stretch a little farther across the ground, apples grow heavy on their branches, and darkness arrives a little earlier each evening.
Something is ripening. And something is ending.
In this seasonal episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry explores the magic, history, astronomy, mythology, and traditions of Mabon and the Autumn Equinox—one of the great turning points in the journey of the Earth around the Sun.
What is actually happening in the sky at...
Movement Mapping: From Dance to Nervous System Repair | Aline Wachsmuth
What if the way you move is telling a story your conscious mind doesn't even realize it's telling?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined again by Aline Wachsmuth for a fascinating exploration of movement mapping—and how her lifelong relationship with dance eventually became part of the way she understands the nervous system, pain, compensation, and healing.
Long before Aline began working therapeutically with the body, she understood movement through dance.
Dance teaches us to notice things most people rarely think about: where weight is b...
When Tired Became a Status Symbol: Breaking the Culture of Perpetual Exhaustion | Dr. Melanie Gray
We live in a culture that has made exhaustion strangely competitive.
Ask someone how they are doing, and the answer is often some version of the same thing: busy, overwhelmed, stretched thin, running on fumes. One person mentions getting five hours of sleep, and someone else responds with three. Calendars stay full, rest comes with guilt, and being constantly needed can begin to feel like proof that our lives matter.
But what happens when perpetual exhaustion becomes so normal that we no longer recognize it as a warning?
In this episode of Rooted...
Can You Feel Someone's Energy? The Science & Mystery of “Vibes” | Henry Hawk
We’ve all experienced it. Someone walks into a room and something changes.
Maybe you immediately feel at ease. Maybe you’re drawn toward them. Maybe every instinct tells you to keep your distance. Sometimes a person can change the entire atmosphere of a room without saying a single word.
We call it chemistry, intuition, presence, a gut feeling, energy... or simply a vibe.
But what are we actually feeling?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry explores the mysterious space between human beings and asks whether there may be m...
The Sixth Sense: How Much Are You Perceiving Without Knowing It? | Henry Hawk
Most of us grew up learning that human beings have five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. But your body is actually receiving and processing far more information than those familiar five—and much of it happens without ever entering your conscious awareness.
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry explores the extraordinary world of human perception and the hidden sensory systems quietly operating every moment of your life. From proprioception, the vestibular system, interoception, and somatic awareness to gut feelings, unconscious pattern recognition, and intuition, we begin to uncover just how much the bo...
You Are Electric: The Strange Science of the Bioelectric Body | Henry Hawk
Your body is generating electricity right now.
Every heartbeat, every movement, and every signal traveling through your nervous system depends on electrical activity. But the electrical story of the human body goes much deeper than the heart and brain.
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry explores the fascinating world of bioelectricity: from Luigi Galvani’s twitching frog legs and the experiments that helped inspire the age of Frankenstein, to the giant squid that transformed neuroscience, the tiny electrical potentials maintained by our cells, and remarkable research showing how bioelectric signals participate in de...
“Everything Is Energy”… But What Does That Actually Mean? | Henry Hawk
We say it all the time: everything is energy. But what do we actually mean when we say it?
In this solo episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk explores one of the most familiar phrases in modern spirituality by following the idea of energy through physics, biology, quantum theory, ancient healing traditions, consciousness, psychic perception, and energy healing.
What begins with the scientific story of energy quickly leads somewhere stranger. Henry explores the quantum world, why Ant-Man and Interstellar offer fascinating ways to imagine realities beyond ordinary perception, and...
The Breath Behind the Breath: Why Spirit, Life & Air Became Entangled | Henry Hawk
What if one of the most ordinary things you do every day is also one of humanity’s oldest spiritual mysteries?
In this solo episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk explores why breath, spirit, life, and air became so deeply entangled across human history. Long before anyone understood oxygen, carbon dioxide, the lungs, or the nervous system, people recognized something profound: the living breathe, and when life ends, the breath disappears.
Travel across thousands of years of history as Henry explores ruach in Judaism, pneuma in Greek ph...
The Spark of Life: What Actually Makes You Alive? | Henry Hawk
What makes you alive?
It sounds like a simple question, but the deeper you go, the stranger it becomes.
In this solo episode of Rooted & Wild, Henry Hawk explores the mystery of life through science, philosophy, theology, ancient wisdom, and human experience. From Aristotle’s ideas about the soul and Darwin’s theory of evolution to abiogenesis, the Big Bang, the extraordinary conditions that allow life to exist on Earth, and humanity’s enduring belief in a Creator, this episode asks what truly separates living matter from everything else.
Henry also explor...
The Health Wealth Connection To Relieving Pain | Njideka N. Olatunde, ND, PhD, MSW, CRI
What if wealth isn't only about how much money we have, but about whether our resources support a life in which we can actually be well?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined again by Dr. Njideka N. Olatunde, ND, PhD, MSW, CRI, founder of the Focus On Healing Wellness Institute, to explore an often-overlooked relationship: the connection between financial wellness, physical health, emotional stress, and our experience of pain.
Dr. Olatunde’s work takes an unusually broad view of pain. Through her Touchology™ framework, she co...
When Spaciousness Disappears: Healing Compression in Body, Mind & Culture | Amy Rogg
What happens to us when there is no longer enough space to simply be?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined once again by Amy Rogg, creator and facilitator of Underbelly: The Art of Slowing Down®, for a deeper exploration of something many of us experience but may struggle to name: compression.
Compression can show up physically as tension, bracing, shallow breathing, constriction, or the feeling that we need to make ourselves smaller. It can happen mentally when our attention becomes crowded by information, expectations, dec...
The Architecture of Safe Childhood: How Structure Creates Freedom | Elisabeth Stitt
What if the thing children need in order to experience more freedom isn't fewer boundaries, but a stronger foundation beneath them?
In this episode of Rooted & Wild, I’m joined once again by Elisabeth Stitt, parenting expert, author, educator, and founder of Joyful Parenting Coaching, for a conversation about the surprising relationship between structure, safety, independence, and freedom in childhood.
Elisabeth often describes parents as the architects of their families. After 25 years as a public-school teacher and more than 50,000 hours working directly with children, she has seen ho...
