Bridging Worlds: Healing Through Inheritance

From Dance to the Jungle to Midwifery: Claire on Plant Medicine, Service, and Reclaiming Life ForceElani Engelken, a Denver-based depth psychotherapist and somatic healer, welcomes guest Claire—someone she knew from the Denver dance world—to discuss Claire’s path from disciplined dancer training in Denver and New York to initiation in Colombia with yagé (ayahuasca) and years of apprenticeship with Indigenous elders in the jungle, including supporting her late teachers through their deaths. Claire shares complexities of being a white Western woman in Indigenous spaces, and how her elders framed plant medicine as service to family, nature’s laws, territory stewardship, cultural preservation, and human rights. After returning to the U.S. due to a breakup and lack of resources, she committed to birth work, moved to New Mexico for a midwifery apprenticeship, and is pursuing licensure. They discuss Western credentialing versus community-witnessed authority, acceptance of reality, ancestral healing beyond guilt.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:56 Dance Studio Connection03:25 Claire Returns and Spiritual Blend06:18 Claire's Journey to the Jungle08:36 Loss and Coming Home09:53 Midwifery Path in New Mexico11:28 Working Within the System13:35 Indigenous Leadership and Authority19:33 Why Colombia and Ayahuasca20:56 Boundaries and First Ceremony Risks23:07 Elders Teach Integrity and Purpose24:40 Jungle Healing Beyond Visions25:45 Matriarchy and Natural Law27:00 Return Home Saturn Lessons28:05 Called to Midwifery School28:44 Therapy and Masculine Repair32:28 White Guilt and Ancestry35:54 Indigenous Lineage and Belonging42:34 Breaking Cycles Through Integration44:01 Workshop Libido and Life Force47:16 Where to Find Her ClosingWhere to Find Claire:sagefemmewomb.com