Lauren Snyder
(they/she)

If you’re here reading this then it is safe to assume you are here to get to know ME.  However, even I am not quite sure who that is from day to day.  My journey through this life has been one of a constant state of learning, unlearning, growing, and expanding.  

The most simple and succinct way I can state who I am is,
“I am fluid”. 

Raised in the unceded lands of the Chumash people; I was a kid who always had their hands in the dirt and was always deeply contemplating the magic and beauty within the natural world.  I have this undeniable and primal connection to the green and growing things of the earth and the seasonal rhythms of the world around me.

The study and practice of Yoga has been a part of my life since childhood; first introduced through my own mother’s practice and by my best friend’s mother (my very first Yoga teacher).  As a person who dances in many of the “in-between” spaces of privilege; I was drawn to the study of Yoga as a holistic practice of unity, deep connection, and awareness of not only my own personal journey; but the greater interconnected journey of all beings.  I was very naturally drawn to teachers who integrated accessibility, equity, and social justice into their teachings.  I began my teaching journey in the outdoors and have always been drawn back to practice under the open sky.  The contemplations and explorations of Yoga philosophy seem more discerning with feet firmly planted in the dirt.

My fascination and study of plant medicine and plant magic was born from my earliest memories.  Growing up on a family ranch and attending a rural elementary school, close encounters with flora kind were frequent and intimate.  No matter where life took me, I would have at least one small flower, herb, or vegetable growing in a vacant window or open porch corner.  However, it wouldn’t be until my early thirties that I dove into a more formalized education of gardening and herbalism sciences and started my studies with Evolutionary Herbalism School.

The only two areas of practice that have been in my life longer than plants and Yoga are art and writing.  From a very young age, the urge to create was incredibly strong.  Whether it was jotting down poems, painting fairies on the walls of my childhood bedroom, decorating the edges of my school notes, embellishing my clothes, or hungrily flipping through art books…if it could be explored with creativity; I would create!
For me, creativity is as natural as breathing; and for much of my life, the subject matter and focus of that creativity was as vast and varied as the stars.  However, the more I explored into the world of plants; the deeper the inspiration flowed.  Nature based writing and art are my primary focus these days, as I am endlessly inspired by the magic and wonder found on my hikes, in my garden, and even sitting in the grass at the local park. 

Plants are my divine teachers; Yoga is the vessel in which I find connection to them; and art/writing are my devotions to their wisdom.

 “A healer's power stems not from any special ability, but from maintaining the courage and awareness to embody and express the universal healing power that every human being naturally possesses.”

― Eric Micha'el Leventhal 

IDENTITY & COMMITMENT STATEMENT

As a person deeply committed to honoring my places of privilege, and nurturing my spaces of marginalization; I think it is important to name the identities I hold in this world and my commitments to the world in which I live:
I am a white, queer, non-binary, femme presenting person with moderate chronic illness and neurodiversity. I am a college educated, married, mother of two, who has financial privilege and relative safety within my day to day life. I learn and study Yoga primarily with South Asian, LQBTQIA+, and BIPOC teachers and actively choose to work in spaces that platform and support teachers of marginalized identities as well as value ongoing education around equity and accessibility in Yoga classes.
I attend ongoing trainings within Social Justice, Accessibility, and Trauma Informed frameworks in addition to my study of Yoga philosophy and practices.

In my herbalism/plant studies I focus on teachers and training programs, who honor and respect traditional ethnobotanical wisdom as valid and equitable to modern scientific wisdom. I believe in respecting the wishes of indigenous peoples in regards to the use of their sacred plant medicines; as well as holding awareness and respectful practices around over harvested or endangered plants.
I commit an ongoing portion of all my income to mutual aid and financial reparations for local and global communities from whom the wisdom of Yoga and plant medicine originate.
I understand that this is an ever evolving and ongoing process of learning and unlearning and commit to continually doing better every day.