What is intuitive Healing?

(Reflexivity and subjectivity) I am a 29 year old, biracial, American woman. My father is a Black man and my mother a full-blooded Native American woman of the Menominee tribe that is located in Wisconsin, USA. 

As I grow older my interest in the Menominee culture, and other Native groups, has become more apparent. I believe in ancestors, spirituality, and that there is a higher power- referred to as God, source energy, the universe, etc. I lean on astrology too- this is my Saturn return, which in short means the universe is asking me to be my authentic self no matter what structures, relationships, or limiting beliefs I may have. This is my take on what intuitive healing is.

Thesis: Intuitive healing is not about fixing emotions, but about listening to them, hosting them, and learning from them through journaling, movement, and reuniting with nature.

(Introduction) “What does intuitive healing even mean?” -Defining a concept

Have you seen Disney' Pixar’s Inside Out? Yes, of course you have. lol The animated film gives us a special look at emotions as if they were characters living inside our minds with their own motives and objectives. This framework is similar to the story told by Vernon Foster- member of the Klamath Modoc Native American Tribe. A respected spiritual leader and educator who has dedicated over 40 years to sharing Native healing practices. Foster’s work focuses on personal growth and spiritual connection through the integration of traditional ceremonies and the understandings of modern psychology.

In this video, he tells a story of Depression coming to visit his home…(Time stamp 11:30)

His words brought me to tears. “I am one of those examples.” Yes, I remember when I thought of myself as a depressed person. Spoke of myself as being depressed. Unable to see myself beyond what it felt like to have an emotion in my body. It was not until later in life that I could see that I was more than how I felt in a moment, more than what I experienced, and more than what I was capable of doing. This detachment from emotions helped me to free myself from expectations as well as from the guilt and shame that came with not meeting those said expectations, from others and from myself. Now, I am being more curious about emotions when they come to visit me. I have noticed that they are often just bringing messages, like Anger comes when someone crosses my boundaries, Nostalgia comes to remind me what it is like to love without fear, and Depression can even be a sign to slow down and reconfigure my routine into one that brings me joy.

Intuitive healing is not about fixing emotions, but about listening to them, hosting them, and learning from them through journaling, movement, and reuniting with nature.

(Body Paragraph One) “Listening to the Visitor” – Emotional Detachment & Self-Witnessing

Our experience is: Mental. Physical. Emotional. I also believe in the spiritual experience but I will keep that to myself, so we can at least agree that we have brains, bodies, and feelings. Okay, glad you are here with me.

So this is the science of it:

“When facing a threat, all animals – including humans – are evolutionarily wired to unconsciously and automatically respond with certain somatic behaviors to protect themselves, including fleeing, bracing, stiffening, and collapsing.

The main difference between wild animals and humans is that animals naturally recover from these states by engaging in other action patterns such as yawning, trembling, and shaking to release the excess of energy generated by the threatening experience (Levine & Frederick, 1997).

However, humans have learned to hinder these counter-responses due to several circumstances, thwarting the natural response of resetting the nervous system. This interruption leads to the nervous system’s dysregulation, leaving a memory in the body with glimpses of the traumatic experience.” (Positive Psychology, 2025)

Basically, we have created a performative world (shoutout to Erving Goffman’s sociological theory) where we are not allowed to take time or action in ensuring that we are OK. The life we operate in requires routine, discipline, and 100% of our effort- we simply do not have time to be OK.

What can you do?

You have to make the choice to take care of yourself- no matter the cost - or else you will pay the cost in mental and physical health issues due to the absence of this self-care. This is karma: receiving the consequences of our actions (or inaction), not some magical hex, just the results of our efforts or lack thereof.

Taking care can be glamorous like a 1950s movie star stating to the other characters, “I need some air!” before storming off. Personally, a walk helps- but if I cannot muster the energy for a walk then lying in the fetal position or “ground time” can be of great service. More on this later…

Journaling can be another useful tool- especially when you are spiraling. Listen to the feeling, name it and then reframe the situation.

“Making friends with your feelings is making friends with yourself” -Vernon Foster.

Reframing is to play with perspective. A creative act of writing your own story: saying “yes and…” as if your life is improv comedy. Integrating an unfortunate situation into your journey as progress, creating a stepping stone, allowing for the misfortune to exist in a way that benefits you and helps you move forward.

I choose to journal my reframed perspectives- and everyday I look back at the entry from 30 days ago. This way I get to see how I have integrated, grown, or even softened.

*Ex. 03/12/2025 (what really happened: I had to advocate for a boundary and weather someone’s wrath. Scary. Necessary. vs what I wrote)

“I like that I have boundaries. Thanks for allowing people to get upset. Emotions are cool. Everybody has them. Others’ emotions are like water on a duck’s back- they roll right off me. Thank you for detaching from others’ expectations of me. I do soooo much that will go unthanked, thankless! That’s OK. Thank you for believing I am more than their needs of me. Be so much. Be everything. I believe in me.”

Thirty days later, 04/12/2025, when another boundary situation came up (with a boy I was seeing) I noticed something: I was not afraid. I trusted myself to be clear, firm, and caring. There was nothing wrong with me, nothing to fix. My growth came from witnessing myself through journaling and listening to my emotions.

This very specific example stems from the lack of presence in my childhood. I never got to be the kid, I was forced to mature in order to answer to my own needs, so Perfectionism and Guilt were always pushing me beyond my limits and telling me that I was not enough. However, it was true at the time. I was a child- Perfectionism and Guilt were trying to keep me alive. I have to thank them for all that they did that kept me moving and existing in spaces that I was not mature enough to navigate but still needed to in order to survive.

Now I understand why these emotions were driving me. I can thank them, release them, and choose to live differently.

This is reframing. This is creativity. This is balance. This is growth.

(Body Paragraph two) “Movement As Medicine” – Defining Somatic Practices

Aligning body, mind, and spirit: physical, mental, and emotional health. Remembering that movement was one of our first forms of communication before we had complex words, we had our body: reaching, running, shaking, breathing. Movement is more than “fitness” or achievements, it is the way the body asks for release, for stillness, and for self-expression.

I find solace in yoga, not the polished instagram yoga, but stretching in my room because my heart feels heavy. Sometimes its walking outdoors that helps me get into my body: feeling the temperature on my skin and looking up at the trees, admiring their stillness and strength. I have also turned to “ground time.” lying in the fetal position when it feels like everything is moving too fast and you need to feel at ease.

Ease is always available.

Studies show that walking can help lower cortisol levels and regulate your nervous system. (positivepsychology.com, 2025) Indigenous traditions intuitively understood this long before clinical studies. Movement was woven into ceremony—the dances, the songs— returning the body to the rhythm of life, to the wisdom of those who came before us.

Moving intuitively is not about achievement- it is alignment.(Click here to read: Alignment vs. Achievement)

Choosing to move is choosing to listen and receive messages like:

Slow down.

You are safe now.

It is a choice to go with the flow— not against it— that allows us to surrender to what is, without judgement. To be present in these moments prevents the body from becoming a container for pain. Instead, It can become a companion for healing.

*My companion is truly Yoga with Adriene, I have flowed with her for years. I have gained so much wisdom from practicing yoga. Although, I think the mind and body connection has a lot to teach us no matter the activity choice. I just never did participate in organized sports so I didn’t pick that up until later in life.

(Body Paragraph three) “Healing in a sustainable way” – Indigenous Wisdom & Community Healing

I do not recommend healing alone- everything is better when you do it with people you love. Everything.

Alone time has often been my refuge because in my early experiences I rarely had the opportunity to unravel in front of others. But now, I am learning to let people see me in my vulnerability.

I almost died in silence— so now I speak on what I am going through.

True healing is relational. Everything is a relationship; Relationship to your breath, to your self, to the Earth, to your community, to activities, to vices, etc.

Indigenous traditions have always followed this framework: Relationships are about reciprocity, respect, and reverence for the interconnectedness of all things. Vernon Foster teaches that emotions as not weaknesses to hide, but messengers to honor. Grief, Anger, and even Depression are all sending invitations to reconnect to the land, to self, and to each other. Healing is remembering that we belong here, together. Intuitive healing ought to be understood as an individual effort to restore the threads that bind us.

How can you get involved?

Easy! There are many relationships that will value your participation.

It is important for you to remember: your participation is valuable.

Personally, enjoying where I am has become a priority for me. Asking questions like:

What is my home like?

What is it like to live in my city?

Where can I go to find the people that share my values?

How can I bring joy into the spaces that I am in?

I promise you: your participation in life WILL give you a better understanding of yourself.

(Be careful tho. There is nothing like being stuck in a life you created.)

Right now, you may think you are “too shy” or “too uncertain”, but now you know that Shy and Uncertainty are just visitors. You can talk to them.

You could ask them, “why are you holding me back?”

and once you have listened to their plea, you can gently remind them:

Life is meant to be lived.

(Conclusion) “A moment of clarity” -Emotions are messengers, not enemies.

Okay, so: a reminder —> healing is not about being finished, becoming perfect, or avoiding confrontation.

All of the those options are impossible so they cannot be set as your goals.

Intuitive healing is about learning to host space for your full, messy, intricate emotional reality.

Yes, healing is listening— really listening— and choosing to move with life, not against it, and certainly not hiding from it. This perspective really changed the way I breathe in my everyday life so I wanted to share it with you.

Thank you Native American culture for revealing this way of connection to our nature and providing an understanding of emotions as part of our spiritual life and interconnectedness.

I have learned a lot from being “alone”. It is in the silence that I can hear what my mind, body, and spirit need, my inner desires.

The whispers of my surroundings or my connection to all that is- defies the illusion of loneliness and delivers a remembering that we are a small part of a big thing at all times. We are not alone in our experiences- ever.

This realization of a deep sense of belonging, a gift that we can share with those around us. We can remind each other: you are not alone.

This is community. This is humanity. This is returning to our nature and seeing ourselves as part of it- not as visitors.

We are home.

Thank you for reading.

Your participation is so valuable.

Here is more information related to the topic:

—————— Vernon Foster Sources

Foster, Vernon. About Vernon Foster. Vernon Foster – Wisdom Retreats ;This page introduces Vernon Foster and his spiritual lineage within the Klamath Modoc / Yahooskin Band. It highlights his life’s work sharing Native American healing traditions. This source is foundational for crediting and contextualizing the Indigenous origins of intuitive healing practices.

“Native American Insights on Healing – Vernon Foster.” YouTube, uploaded by Daniel Hanks, 14 July 2021; In this interview, Foster discusses emotional healing, ceremony, and personal transformation. The source brings in Foster’s own voice and lived wisdom to support themes of spiritual and intuitive healing.

⸻ Somatic Healing Sources

Harvard Health Publishing. “What Is Somatic Therapy?” Harvard Health, 7 July 2023; This article introduces somatic therapy and its role in trauma recovery. It provides scientific framing for the embodied aspects of intuitive healing.

Mayo Clinic Press. “The Benefits of Somatic Exercises.” Mayo Clinic Press, 2023; This piece supports the idea that somatic practices like mindful movement and body awareness exercises promote physical and emotional well-being.

PositivePsychology.com. “Somatic Experiencing Therapy: 10 Best Exercises & Examples.” Positive Psychology, 2025; This resource outlines somatic therapy exercises and explains how these practices foster self-regulation and emotional clarity, which are core to intuitive healing.

Gonzalez, Evette Dionne. “Grieving My Father’s Death Left Me in Physical Pain. Turns Out, That’s Pretty Normal.” Self published, 1 Nov. 2023; This personal essay reflects on grief as a somatic experience and supports the connection between physical sensation and emotional healing.

⸻Indigenous Wellness Sources

Peppino, Claudia. “Integrating Indigenous Wellness Traditions into Modern Health Practices.” Peppino.org, 2024; This article explains how traditional Indigenous wellness values, such as harmony and connectedness, can complement modern health approaches and support holistic healing.

Novotney, Amy. “The Healing Power of Native American Culture Is Inspiring Psychologists.” Monitor on Psychology, American Psychological Association, Oct. 2023; This APA article explores how Indigenous spiritual and community-based healing models are being integrated into modern therapy, highlighting the relevance of collective and culturally grounded healing.

Burkhardt, Barbara, and Jacob Alex Klug. “Indigenous Native American Healing Traditions.” The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, vol. 6, no. 6, 2010, pp. 477–478. A scholarly article detailing Native American healing traditions, including their spiritual and holistic dimensions. It offers an academic foundation for honoring and integrating these traditions respectfully.

Narvaez, Darcia. “10 Indigenous Holistic Healing Practices.” Psychology Today, 24 Feb. 2019;This article outlines key Indigenous healing principles—such as ceremony, connection to land, and emotional integration—supporting your view of intuitive healing as relational and earth-centered.