When the roots are deep, there is no reason to fear the wind.
April 9 - 12, 2025
Brenham, Texas
Tickets are now available
Success lies in the relentless pursuit of the basics
Sometimes our work can feel complicated. It can seem like there’s a new idea or practice coming out all the time and we’re constantly scrambling to keep up.
But the truth is, the new shiny thing isn’t where our greatest opportunity for growth lies.
Join us, along with practitioners from around the world, as we go back to the basics. Over four days, we will come together to connect and begin again. Together, we’ll go back to the body, the breath, and the relationships that are the foundation of everything else—because it’s from this place where our success is determined.
We call this rising rooted.
Our Speaker Lineup
Keynote Speakers
Juliane Taylor Shore, LMFT, LPC, SEP
Therapist, author and teacher
The Neurobiology of Self-Compassion
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“Before every session, I take a moment to remember my humanity. There is no experience that this man has that I cannot share with him, no fear that I cannot understand, no suffering that I cannot care about, because I too am human. No matter how deep his wound, he does not need to be ashamed in front of me. I too am vulnerable. And because of this, I am enough. Whatever his story, he no longer needs to be alone with it. This is what will allow his healing to begin.” -Carl Rogers.
What is so wonderful about science is that it often reminds us of what we already know to be true, deep down. Simply being with each other, whether as therapists, coaches, carers, or helpers is still the fundamental need of every client we have. What we do in session matters so much less than how we are. The science of self-compassion tells us that this practice literally soothes the brain through the release of specific neurotransmitters. We are better prepared to remember our humanity and be present to others when we have an active relationship with self-compassion. It is an essential component of caring for ourselves, and caring for others.
Join me as we dive into the incredible science and practice of self-compassion, that thing we already knew was so vital to our lives, for us, and for all of those we meet.
Callie King
Founder of HorseClass, trainer and blogger
Reading Our Horses: Essentials of Equine Body Language and Behavior
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Most of us come to this work through our love of horses – we feel a deep connection that goes below and beyond words, and reignites our understanding that we are more than just thought machines. And yet, a deep love does not always equal understanding, or clear communication. Horses are communicating to us all the time, but our skills at nonverbal communication have gotten rusty over our evolution as a thinking and speaking species. For many of us, learning to understand what our horses are trying to tell us takes intentional time and practice.
Working in the field of equine assisted services, it is imperative that we learn to read our horses well – so that we are participating in their ongoing choice and consent, and maintaining our overall ethics of including equines in human activities.
Join me as we explore the foundational skills needed to “hear” our horses speak to us – with demo and live observation, we will all hone our skills in equine non-verbal communication.
John Hart Asher
Senior Environmental Designer, Blackland Collaborative
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When you think of the word “rooted”, do you imagine a single tree standing tall, stretching roots within the earth below? Or do you picture what is really beneath our feet – an unfathomable web of intertwining root systems that connect across miles and species, holding groundwater, settling the soil, and feeding each other to support their own rich ecology, as well as that of the animals and elements above the ground? For too long, humans have forgotten this web of which we are a powerful part – we have attempted to bend nature to our needs, and have come up very short. But through small restorative actions in our own corners of nature, we can set a ripple in motion, shifting us back into balance. Whether you choose to plant native trees, create a pocket prairie, or allow the falling leaves and rotting stumps to remain (offering an incredible tiny ecosystem of their own!) – we can all contribute to restorative practices, and in doing so bring ourselves into more of our own rootedness in this brilliant Earth to which we belong.
Rooted Breakout Sessions
During this conference, all workshops and breakout sessions will be focused on helping you rise from a place of deep understanding and build stronger, more attuned relationships.
Pre-conference Deep Dives
Open to NL Members Only
NL Members—join us for a special pre-conference experience where we will dive more deeply into some essential concepts for your practice. These will be the only 3-hour presentations offered and will include practical, applicable ideas and skills.
Choose from one of the following four engaging deep dives to enrich your current practice or jump start a new endeavor!
- Treating Addiction with Compassion: Three Comprehensive Approaches with Kathleen Choe, Courtney White, and Helene Jobe
- Preparing your Herd for EAS work with Reccia Jobe and Rebecca Hubbard
- Essential Considerations for Facilitation of Group Retreats with Jennifer Cohen Harper
- Attachment: Going Beyond the Interpersonal with Kate Naylor and Sara Sherman
Not yet an NL Member? Join us!
Conference Breakouts
- Working with Horses in a Pasture with Tanner and Tim Jobe
- How a “Small” Horse Moment Can Create a Huge Learning Opportunity with Meagan Good
- Relational supervision, NL principles in action with Tami Bahr and Tim Bautch
- Harnessing the Power of Connection: Brand Messaging and Marketing in EAS with Danielle Cotter
- The Assessment is Done, Now What? How to Create Your Session Structure and Content with Rebecca Hubbard
- Embodying and Incorporating Somatic Work: Concrete Tools for Your Practice and Your Life with Laura Hutler and Beth Burgmeyer
- Equine Assisted Post Traumatic Growth & Struggling Well with Veterans and First Responders with Kim Copps and Chris Jackson
- Understanding Attachment Protest Behavior in Clinical Work with Gina Staves
- The Aroma Soul Bath: An Immersive Sensory Ritual with Jenna Murph
- Navigating Distance: Parental Self-Regulation During Detachment from Birth to Adulthood with Danielle Cotter
- HeartMath in EAS with Elizabeth Markie
- Foundational Experiential Facilitation Skills with Reccia Jobe
- Equine Assisted Experiential Learning: Leaping Learning Hurdles with Tess Reed
- Mind-Body Skills for Healing and Transformation with Meghan Bass-Petti
- Building Bridges: Cultural Competency with Ateeka Contee
- Finding the Pocket: Creative Connection through Rhythm & Movement with Alyssa Rowe
- Savoring the Connection with Gabby Remole
- Understanding the principles of pressure on our internal environment with Amy Nistor and Emily Bechler-White
- Processing Trauma Through the Somatic Lense with Ateeka Contee and Mary Sue McCarthy
- Fight, Flight, Freeze, and Shutdown: Meeting the storm head on with Tami Bahr and Gretchen Hoernke
Post-conference Personal Growth and Development Retreats
Open to NL Members Only
NL Members – Don’t forget that your greatest tool in your work is YOU—your self-awareness, your regulation, and your well-being are all essential to good equine assisted services. So here is our offer to you: Small group, 2-hour retreats for your own growth and development.
Choose one from these four nourishing retreat opportunities to slow down and take care of you:
- Personal and Professional Growth through the ENNEAGRAM with Kathleen Choe and Laura McFarland
- Growing Your Relationship with Self-Compassion with Julianne Taylor Shore
- Bringing a Somatic/Yoga Blend of Grounding and Regulating Practice into Practical Application with Jessica Benton
- Our Relationship with Fear with Shannon Knapp and Krystal Raley
Not yet an NL Member? Join us!
Conference Schedule
Beginnings, Endings, & Everything In Between
Here at Natural Lifemanship we give great thought to beginnings and endings as we honor the thinness of these threshold moments.
At the start of Rooted 2025, Tim and Bettina Jobe will guide us as we come together to set and honor our intentions through a special fire and ash ceremony. We will also share a family dinner and prepare for our time together through a sound healing with Mary Oliver.
Throughout the conference each participant will carry a special memento with them as a reminder of their intention and as an important piece of our closing ceremony.
Our time together will end with a tree planting and water ceremony where we will, as a community, Rise Rooted as we take our experiences back to our own communities. We hope that we have scheduled the conference in a way that makes it possible for you to attend these very special communal ceremonies.
Are you working on NL Certification?
Attending the full conference satisfies the Specialty Training requirement of Advanced Certification.
Connected in our Growth, Fortifying Our Foundation
The conference begins the evening of April 9th with an NL family dinner, community sound healing, and special fire and ash ceremony.
Then from April 10-12, we will dive into keynote speakers, breakout sessions, experiential learning opportunities and community events.
NL Members are also invited to attend our Pre and Post Conference Workshops and Retreats.
"I am leaving with a full heart, new and refreshed relationships, increased knowledge, and a magical empowerment that only a sense of home-base and belonging can give. I can’t wait for the next one....this one fed my whole being so well."
– Chris Tucker, Horse Sense of the Carolinas
Choose Your Experience
COMMUNITY PASS
The Community Pass includes access to ALL presentations, including:
- An opening ceremony on the evening of April 9th to kick off our time together – we will set intentions with a special fire and ash ceremony, share a family dinner, and settle in with sound healing under the Texas sky
- Access to all conference sessions, keynote presentations and breakouts.
- Your own dedicated small group to process your learning and connect more deeply each day
- Community Circle at the opening and closing of each day
- Breakfast and lunch for all three days of the conference
- Nightly opportunities to gather together around a campfire with live music or participate in healing and integrating activities with your peers
- On-site parking
- A collective tree planting and water ceremony on April 12th to ground and connect us all, before heading home
- Earn up to 14.5 CEs
$1599
NL MEMBER BONUSES
As an NL Member, you unlock discounted pricing during early bird registration and additional sessions pre and post-conference.
- All benefits of the Community Pass
- A special pre-conference experience where we will dive more deeply into some essential concepts for your practice. These will be the only 3 hour presentations offered and will include practical, applicable ideas and skills.
- A selection of 2-hour post-conference Personal Growth and Development Retreats to work on your greatest tool—YOU—where we focus on your self-awareness, your regulation, and your well-being as they are essential to good equine assisted services.
- Earn up to 19.5 CEs
These bonuses are available to NL Members only.
Not yet a Member? Join us and unlock your savings and bonuses!
The Perks of Being an NL Member
Join us! NL Members enjoy access to a huge video resource library, free monthly events to support their learning and connection with others in this field, and discounts on trainings, conferences, courses, products and more. They also have exclusive access to special sessions like our pre-conference Deep Dives and post-conference Personal Growth and Development Retreats at no additional cost. These benefits are only open to members! Sign up for membership and start saving today!
This Conference is Made Possible by Our Generous Sponsors
Tickets for this event are limited and will not last. Get yours now!
Whether you are just entering the field of Equine Assisted Services, or are a seasoned professional, this conference will help you build and maintain your foundation of knowledge and skills to do ethical and effective work.
