‘Once I got to Europe that was it. I felt like I was coming back to older roots than the roots I was born with. My grandparents came from Europe, and although if they were alive, they would have thought it horrible that I'd left the New World to return to the old one. But I was…that was the right direction for me’ - Karyn Prentice

Karyn Prentice left her childhood roots in Los Angeles to study in Paris after being unexpectedly orphaned at the age of sixteen when intuitively she knew would never return to live in America. Her adopted homes of Normandy and Cambridge now offer the space and place to live and breathe with the natural ebb and flow of the five seasons. She encourages us to awaken our senses through the additional season of ‘Late Summer’ based on Chinese Medicine and Native American wisdom which brings additional depth, richness and metaphors into our lives.

True elder in the last quarter of her life Karyn reflects on the bold desert nature of her youth that held her grief, her life long love affair with Paris and invitation to ‘Take Courage’ based on the beer adverts that captivated her attention during her first visit to England. We trace her professional journey training as a transpersonal psychotherapist and coach in the early 90s, influenced by the work of Dr Susie Orbach and the decision to take her practice outdoors.

Bio

Karyn was born in the United States and left there to move to Paris. She has been living and working in the UK and Europe ever since.

Karyn has run her own learning and development consultancy since 1995 and has worked with corporate businesses in the UK and abroad as well as with not-for-profit organisations and in higher education. She has been a coach for 25 years and a coaching supervisor since 2008, working in French and English doors.

Her book ‘Nature’s Way, Designing the life you want through the lens of nature and the five seasons’ (2020) draws upon the huge resource and inspiration of nature for many years bringing discovery and learning to the coaching and supervision arena with creative approaches and restorative practices. She has delivered ‘Nature’s Way’ workshops to international audiences evoking the seasons as a metaphor for creative thinking and soulful well-being .

Karyn collaborates regularly with fellow creative Elaine Patterson. Their deep and richly varied programmes: ‘Cultivating and Choreographing the Rich Tapestry of Wholehearted Creativity’and ‘Bridging the Unknown form Role Work to Soul Calling in Later Life ‘ draw participants from many parts of the world.

Website: www.fletcherprentice.com

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Resources

Book: Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Book: The Signs by Tara Swart

Dr Susie Orbach

To find out more:

www.rootedrisingpodcast.com

"It's deepening into…an apprenticeship, it's deepening into a love affair, it's deepening into friendship. It's so kind of nuanced and colourful. It's difficult to put into words. But I'm opening like a flower.

The more time I'd spend with nature, not just in nature, but, like, really being in conversation with nature, and listening which is an ongoing practice, it's just been extraordinary, the impact that it's had on my life. I don't quite know where it's going. I don't really want to, but it's… the magic and the mystery of it all continues to unfold" - Hamish Mackay-Lewis

Somerset based purpose and wilderness guide Hamish Mackay-Lewis joins us with a blend of autumn and spring energies held gently within his life and work respectively. We trace his lived experiences being lost on the journey of life where comparison can be poison to the soul; then enchanted by a twinkle in eye that led him to a ten-day meditation retreat on the Sunshine Coast in Australia and much-needed balm to soothe his soul. We dance between the past, present and future; then settle into his need for stillness and a simple life.

From an innate desire to belong, seek familial approval and adventure that led to the British Army, his gaggle of unruly inner children parented by a brutal and unskilful teenager and his desire to play with playfulness Hamish exudes a deep connection to the natural environment, universal consciousness and spirit.

About

Hamish is a purpose and wilderness guide who helps people find belonging both in themselves and in the natural world. He believes that land and people are medicine for each other, and that wisdom is found in the immediacy of our lived experience.His journey from serving in the British Armed Forces to guiding others into nature and purpose has given him a deep understanding of what it means to feel torn between the life that feels secure and the one that’s quietly calling you to be more fully yourself.

Drawing on ancient and indigenous wisdom, embodiment practices, and contemporary psychology, Hamish helps people cultivate the courage to be radically honest with themselves and invite greater depth, aliveness and adventure.

He lives in Somerset and seeks out wilderness whenever he can. He loves nothing more than witnessing the moment someone rediscovers their own wildness.

Website: www.hamishmackaylewis.com

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hamishmackay-lewis/

Substack: https://substack.com/@hamishmackaylewis

To find out more:

www.rootedrisingpodcast.com

‘I feel almost parental towards it. I've seen it as a tiny little trickle, and I've seen it beautifully pure, the water, as if you could take a drink out of it.

There are elements of the walk that take you away from the river. There's either diversions or just naturally areas that we can't walk past, and I miss it. It doesn't feel like our walk. It doesn't feel like our journey when we're not next to the Thames.

I'm almost tracking and tracing its journey, and I have 3 children, so I've seen their journey as they're reaching their mid to late teens, and it almost feels the same for the river and me’ – Ellie Lloyd-Jones

In-person connections and chance conversations life at the heart of this episode. After a fleeting exchange at the Coaching Outdoors LIVE @ Henley Business School in June 2024 Jonathan and Ellie embarked on a journey along the banks of the River Thames. The journey from Source to Sea with career coaching conversations along the way has been captured in their book; ‘Outdoor Coaching – A Practical Guide for Coaches and Supervisors to Working with Clients, Teams and Groups Using Blue-Green Psychology’.

Set against the backdrop of seasonal change through spring into summer then autumn with blossom, blackberries and Virginia Creeper the River Thames remains a constant companion where deep bonds are formed. Our conversation weaves through an urgent need for land stewardship, the future of outdoor coaching and emergence of a new community based on shared values.

About

Ellie Lloyd-Jones is the founder of Elevate Netwalking and is passionate about helping people reconnect with themselves and others through nature. After experiencing the pressures of corporate life and the resulting burnout, she found solace and clarity in the outdoors. This experience inspired Ellie to create spaces where others can step away from their busy routines, reduce stress, and gain fresh perspectives.

Combining her experience in leadership and coaching with the proven benefits of nature, Ellie leads team coaching sessions and Elevate Netwalking events in Cheshire and has ambassadors in Cambridge and North Wales where the events are designed to foster meaningful connections and personal reflection.

Website: https://www.elevatewithellie.co.uk

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ellie-lloyd-jones-wild-coaching/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevatewithellie/

Jonathan Passmore is an internationally respected psychologist and one of the top 10 professional coaches in the world. He is also Senior VP at Coaching Hub, and part-time Professor of Coaching and Behavioural Change at Henley Business School and Professor Catedrático at the University of Evora, Portugal. Prior to joining Henley, he founded the UK’s first Coaching Psychology post-graduate masters degree programme in 2008 at the University of East London where he was programme director for five years.

Jonathan has wide experience in consulting, having worked for both bespoke leadership development consultancy firms, and global companies including PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM Business Consulting. Also, a prolific writer, Jonathan has authored more than 100 scientific papers and over 30 books.

Website: https://www.jonathanpassmore.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-passmore-08427b57/

To find out more:

www.rootedrisingpodcast.com