Meet two values-aligned providers—examples of how alliances and referral relationships can take shape. You're invited to join us May 5th as we continue this evolving experiment in community-building.
Meet a Certified HeartMath Coach, Meditation & Yoga Teacher and Trainer + a Certified Earthing Specialist, Yoga Teacher, and Ayurveda Specialist
Decentralizing and strengthening community through collaboration and reciprocity.
Synopsis of This Post
You are invited to join the Health Explorations Collective at our next gathering on May 5th. The Collective is a six-session exploratory series (with four sessions remaining), designed to identify resonance among practitioners, clarify individual and shared priorities, and develop tools and models that can be carried forward in a decentralized way. You’ll also find two sample provider introductions below and are invited to prepare a brief introduction of your own.
Who We Are, and You Are Welcome
You are invited to be a part of the Health Explorations Collective and join our next gathering on May 5th.
We are independent thinkers in our lives and professions, working across a wide array of proven modalities as teachers, providers, coaches, and supporters — united by a shared commitment to thoughtful, effective, human-centered service. (For more detail on what resonates for us, see “Addendum: Heeding the Call” below.)
We gather to connect, collaborate, learn, envision, inspire, and create. This is a focused, limited-scope initiative to develop practical tools and models for community-building, small business ownership, and meaningful collaboration.
In our first two meetings, we connected with practitioners whose experience spans yoga and meditation instruction, osteopathic medicine, somatic healing, herbal medicine, corporate wellness, respiratory therapy, nutrition research, health and diabetes coaching, psychotherapy, trauma release, Ayurveda, and Reiki.
Participants described a heartfelt sense of resonance arising from authentic sharing and deep listening, and a desire to carry that forward into collaborations, working groups, and continued co-creation.
About the Six-Session Series
The Collective is structured as a six-session exploratory series (with four sessions remaining), designed to identify resonance among practitioners, articulate individual and shared priorities, and develop tools and models that can be carried forward in a decentralized manner. Some participants may choose to build on this foundation through additional initiatives.
We are not aiming to create new bureaucratic systems, formal regulations, or a traditional networking organization — nor to compete with existing or emerging groups. Rather, the intention is to remain adaptive and inquiry-driven while producing tangible, useful outcomes including community-building tools and models.
The broader purpose is to support individuals in forming decentralized, reciprocal collaborations that foster both autonomy and shared growth.
Taking Note of the Emergence of Decentralized Alliances
As part of this process, I am beginning to curate examples of emerging collectives and alliances. There is a noticeable shift toward more independent, alternative-minded collaborations — some resembling traditional partnerships to share space and admin support, for example — and others focused on research, cancer recovery, or other specializations.
The goal in identifying emerging alliances is to have an opportunity to learn from, connect with, and better understand the broader, evolving landscape we are all now a part of.
A Brief Segment of the Next Meeting: Exploring a Helpful Collaboration Tool
At our next meeting, Mark will introduce a private tool designed to decentralize communication, reduce administrative overhead, and eliminate bottlenecks like manual coordination. Getting started is simple — just accept an invitation.
In the short term, it will facilitate easy information sharing such as meeting notes and help participants highlight their offerings and connect with aligned collaborators. Over time, it can expand to support additional functions based on group needs.
Sample Introductions
It seems that values-aligned providers can benefit from direct pathways to connect and refer clients and students for complementary services and, in some cases, to grow those connections into meaningful collaborations.
Certified HeartMath Coach, Meditation & Yoga Teacher and Trainer
Contact
Cara Greenslade, Wellness Instructor
Specialization
Simple, accessible meditations for people who feel overwhelmed, disconnected, or like meditation hasn’t worked for them before
“Through my work in schools and wellness spaces, I’ve guided students, educators, and professionals through these practices, as well as the HeartMath Advantage program, and I’ve seen how quickly small, consistent tools can create meaningful and lasting change”
“I also offer The Stillness Method, a 10-hour certification that teaches you how to integrate these tools into your own life and share them with others. The course includes YACEP (Yoga Alliance) certification and Canfitpro CECs, supporting both personal growth and professional development.”
Professional Background
Yoga Teacher, Trainer, and Continuing Education Provider, E-RYT 500, RCYT, YACEP
HeartMath Certified Coach
Canfitpro Continuing Education Provider
Certified Earthing Specialist, Yoga Teacher, Ayurveda Specialist
Contact
Kent Wadenpfuhl, CYT, NSS
985-249-3692
Specialization
Combining the benefits of Earthing with yoga to help reduce inflammation and/or anxiety among other conditions
“My ultimate goal is to help people stay healthy and out of the medical complex”
Professional Background
Level 3 certification from the Earthing Institute
Certifications in multiple disciplines of yoga including Restorative Yoga and Yin Yoga
Certified Ayurvedic Specialist
Certified Neurosensory Specialist
BARE®️Workout Instructor
Do You Want to Participate?
Please have the following ready to share:
Basic Information
A one-sentence description of your skills and offerings
A brief expansion (2-4 sentences) further describing your work
Preferred contact email
Websites or other informational sources
Potential Initiatives
Current priorities, opportunities
Challenges
What you want other providers to know
Addendum: Heeding the Call
We gather to share our perspectives, listen deeply, and learn from one another — contributing, in our own ways, to a future that is more connected, responsive, and humane.
While each provider brings their own priorities and perspectives, a shared orientation has emerged, reflected in an alignment of values, priorities, and intentions. Participants resonate with one or more of the following ideas and invitations:
A vision of health and wellness that is decentralized, grounded in evidence, and led by independent providers.
A commitment to practicing in ways that are relational rather than transactional, and guided by discernment rather than policy alone.
A belief that compassion and accountability are essential to meaningful, trustworthy care.
A commitment to reconnecting with what is authentic, humane, and sustainable in both principle and practice — recognizing how increasing automation and systemization has eroded our quality of life. While tools like efficiency, metrics, and institutional alignment have their place, we do not buy into the assumption that more scale and automation inherently lead to better outcomes.
An awareness that we are living through a time of rapid and often disorienting change — one that presents real challenges, but also unprecedented opportunities to build diverse, decentralized networks of support, in part because many people are rethinking how they live, heal, and relate — creating openness to new approaches as they witness both the limitations of current systems and the possibilities for genuine healing and improved health.
An openness to dialogue, collaboration, and mutual inspiration as we explore what is possible together, and a desire to connect with peers to share perspectives, explore how our work fits into a larger whole, and learn from one another’s experiences — what is working, what is not, and what is emerging in our respective communities.
A willingness to critically examine the current systems we operate within and the engineered status quo for what it has produced: the failure, the corruption, the immoral business model, the corrupt centralized authority, and the enforced conformity.
A desire to empower ourselves and each other to connect and collaborate within a decentralized, participant-driven community and make it easier to find others with aligned values and complementary skills.
Sincerely,
Shelly Thorn