Awaken Your Roots: Reclaim Your Identity, Ancestral Story, and Place (feat. Lorena Saavedra Smith)
Do you feel cut off from your family story and heritage, unsure where you belong?
Today’s guest, Lorena Saavedra Smith, offers a grounded path back home. She transformed intergenerational pain into practical wisdom. Lorena will show how to reconnect with your roots through nature, reciprocity, and everyday rituals based on Andean teachings on living well that calm anxiety and shame.
Lorena Saavedra Smith is a pacha philosopher and ecopsychologist. Originally from Perú and replanted to the US, Lorena is a lifelong storyteller and keeper of Andean ancestral wisdom and medicine. With more than two decades of experience in the wellness industry, Lorena draws on a multidisciplinary background to help others find healing through inner wisdom and the healing powers of nature.
Tune in to learn how to meet fear with steady presence, and weave your dreams with your deep roots. You will walk away with clear language for your story, nature-based practices you can try today, and a kinder way to hold yourself, your family, and your future.
Interview timestamps:
[00:05:02] Lorena shares her story of mixed heritage, identity, and growing up between two cultures
[00:09:59] Returning to ancestral roots as a path back to personal sovereignty
[00:10:37] Finding a deep sense of belonging and healing through time in nature
[00:17:20] Simple daily ways to connect with nature through breath, wind, and mindful walking
[00:19:39] Walking as an ancestral ritual and core practice in Pacha philosophy
[00:21:02] What “Sumak Kawsay” means in Kichwa teachings and how it guides a life of good living and harmony
[00:28:03] Exploring the meaning of personal medicine and what it looks like in everyday life
[00:29:33] Transforming struggle and trauma into purpose, calling, and meaningful work
[00:32:33] Working with breath and wind to call back scattered parts of the soul
[00:35:21] Why cultural memory survives, even under oppression and attempts to erase it
[00:40:05] Lorena shares her perspective on cultural appropriation and the protection of sacred rituals
[00:44:50] The CARE method for healing, grounding, and being fully present
[00:51:01] The ancient roots of Andean and Pacha philosophy and its lasting influence on the people
[00:52:01] How Lorena traced her lineage by restoring her grandmother’s wisdom and family stories
