The Vitalist

What if your body already knows how to communicate with plants? In this episode of The Vitalist, Dr. Sera sits down with spiritual herbalist Tracy James to explore the living intelligence of plants, the five elements, and our innate ability to reconnect with nature as a source of healing, regulation, and wisdom. We dive into how the earth, water, fire, air, and ether elements shape the way plants communicate through the body, emotions, mind, and spirit. Tracy shares her journey into plant communication, her time learning from Shipibo shamans in Peru, and how practices like plant bathing, meditation, and sensory attunement can restore our sense of belonging to the natural world. This conversation explores modern disconnection from nature, the nerve system impact of land dislocation, and practical ways to rebuild relationships with the plants already around you, whether through tea, supplements, rituals, or simply sitting with a tree. If you're curious about plant intelligence, phytosomatics, nerve system healing, or how nature supports emotional regulation, grief, boundaries, and purpose, this episode offers both ancient wisdom and grounded, actionable insight. BIO: Tracy James is a spiritual herbalist and coach whose work explores the intersection of shamanism, leadership, eco-sentience, and embodiment. Over the past 25 years, she has developed Elemental Energetics™, a somatic coaching methodology that weaves ancient and modern approaches to personal growth and embodied leadership. Her years apprenticing with indigenous healers in the Peruvian Amazon and studying with mystics in India and Nepal inform her Regenerative Leadership methodology and her teaching on Phytosomatics, the practice of listening to how plants communicate through the body. She facilitates Reverence, a community for building relationship with the intelligence of plant spirits and the living world. HIGHLIGHTS: How the 5 elements relate to our ability to communicate with plants. Beginning with the earth element and what Tracy defines as phytosomatics. (0:54) Water element: emotional intelligence, adaptability, and how plants support fluid emotional regulation. (2:35) Fire element: passion, purpose, compassion, and the felt warmth of plant connection. (3:17) Air element: plants influencing thought, vision, inspiration, and mental clarity. (4:16) Ether element: space, unity, and the experience of oneness with all of life. (5:00) Tracy James shares how attuning her senses and sitting with trees transformed her health and awareness as a child. (6:39) Tracy's first journey to Peru and learning from Shipibo shamans who speak the language of plants and the body. (8:54) How the industrial age fractured our relationship with nature and why fear of nature limits our healing. (10:40) A simple question to deepen your relationship with nature right now: Where is nature already present in your life? (12:34) Working with Rose: heart-opening compassion paired with boundaries and resilience. (15:30) Forming a relationship with the plants in your supplements. (18:22) How Amazonian shamans know which plant to use and why lineage and deep listening are essential. (20:30) The foundational teaching Tracy received from the shamans: listening begins with faith. (21:50) Plant bathing as a ritual for communication, regulation, and embodied wisdom. (23:03) A story of grief, plant baths, and releasing loss through the intelligence of nature. (24:16) Where to begin if you feel disconnected from plants and learning to trust that nature communication is hardwired into your biology. (25:24) The unique personalities of plants; why a rose, a tree, and a cactus each teach something different. (27:06) Tracy shares a guided meditation to connect with the ancient spirit of the rose. (27:49) How plants sense us and why their relationship to humans is fundamentally benevolent. (29:42) Dr. Sera shares a practice for building relational "threads" with all living beings around your home. (31:31) Exploring land dislocation and how being removed from place impacts the nervous system and identity. (32:47) How displacement from place impacts the body and how intentional relationship with new land restores belonging. (35:00) How learning the plants native to your area restores belonging and feeling at home. (36:05) Using the PictureThis app to identify plants and deepen everyday plant awareness. (37:14) Tracy shares details about her monthly coaching and plant-based programs. (37:28) Tracy's 7-day guided plant meditation journey; one plant relationship per day. (38:32) RESOURCES: Connect with Tracy https://www.livingelemental.com/ https://www.instagram.com/coachtracyjames 7 day Guided Plant Spirit Meditation Journey https://www.livingelemental.com/7day Picture This Plant Identifier App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/picturethis-plant-identifier/id1252497129 The work of Philip Shepherd: https://embodiedpresent.com/ Never miss an episode. Subscribe to get notified about what's coming next. Follow us @TheVitalistPodcast www.TheVitalistPodcast.com Visit us @KinfolkOptimalLiving www.KinfolkOptimalLiving.com