Welcome to Episode 2 of the Embodied Permaculture Project, a 6‑episode podcast series exploring what embodied presence and life-centric inner practice can offer permaculture, changemaking and the culture shift from our current paradigm to alignment with life on Earth. This series is based on a project in which 20 permaculture practitioners from across Europe were immersed in applied life‑aligned embodiment practice for 18 months. The project was funded as part of the Alef Trust’s Conscious Communities Initiative, and it was designed and facilitated by Earthbound. To find out more about our work, please visit earthbound.fi.
Episode 2
In this second episode of the Embodied Permaculture Project podcast, we ask: What is embodiment, really? And how does it support those seeking to live in alignment with the Earth?
Johanna is joined by Dan, lead facilitator of the project, to explore how disconnection from the body mirrors disconnection from the wider living systems we’re part of. They trace how much of modern life draws us up into the head, away from the subtle signals of the heart and gut, and how this internal misalignment is mirrored in our external culture — from infinite growth models to ecological breakdown.
Drawing on reflections from project participants, this episode explores how returning to the body supports resilience, trust, and connection. We hear stories of burnout, illness, and inherited conditioning, and what began to shift when people slowed down, grounded themselves, and tuned in to their felt experience.
Together, we introduce the four principles that shaped the project:
Grounding – creating a felt sense of safety
Attunement – tuning into self, others, and Earth
Opening – softening into connection and flow
Integration – weaving inner work into outer work
These movements support a different kind of change: one that doesn’t push from urgency, but emerges from presence. One that reconnects us not just with ourselves, but with the land, with one another, and with life itself.
If this conversation resonates with you, we invite you to go deeper. The Embodied Permaculture online course is a nine-week, self-paced journey rooted in the practices and insights from this project. Hosted by the Permaculture Association Britain, it’s open to anyone — no prior experience needed, just a willingness to reconnect with your body, your land, and the wider field of life. You can find it here.
We’d love to hear how this work lands for you, so please do leave a comment or share it with someone you feel would be interested.
