by Alyssa Ford

Close your eyes and imagine a world where rather than numbing our feelings and pushing them deeper into our subconscious, we embrace them and accept them for what they are. In this world, we are not made to feel guilty for listening and responding to our needs or setting boundaries. In this world, wellness is not a commodity, but an everyday practice that starts with an individual, and ends with community. This is a world that Jean Edrada, founder of Movement and Medicine, is helping to create. 

As stated on their website, Movement and Medicine “empowers individuals and communities in the journey towards their Highest Selves through experiential events that center healing justice.” They’re working to provide all expressions of life with equitable access to resources and spaces for healing through events, workshops and community classes.

A wearer of many hats, Jean is a 200 hour Registered Yoga Teacher, board member of the Cannabis Equity Illinois Coalition, Spirit Lab facilitator, member of the Sana Healing Collective and co-founder of the social impact creative studio, Radical Womxn. Through each of these outlets, Jean aims to guide the higher self in service of the greater good. Jean has served various communities in Chicagoland, the Bay area and Los Angeles for over two decades.

I had the pleasure of diving deeper into Jean’s world of radical self-care and healing justice, and our conversations shed a newfound light on the power that individual healing holds for the wellbeing of the collective and the planet.

“In order for us to really make an impact on our larger community and the world, we have to first take care of ourselves. This is something that has been said again and again in different ways, but you can’t pour from an empty cup. Healing yourself is a part of healing the collective.” -Jean Edrada

Embracing the Journey

The practices and tools that Jean shares with her community have shaped who she is and brought her kindness, compassion, joy and gratitude during times of grief, sadness, hurt and anger. To live in this world can be heavy task, but when we surrender to and embrace life for what it is, it becomes easier to accept the dark and bask in the light.  

Much of the messaging surrounding modern health places the focus outside of oneself, but Jean has learned that true healing happens from within. Too often, individuals search outside of themselves, believing that “this doctor, or this therapist, this guru, etc. can heal me” because this is what contemporary wellness trends promote. Living in a capitalistic society means that everything is commodified, including our natural right to feeling well. 

Movement and Medicine not only guides others, but is also a way for Jean to continue to show up for herself each day. Through immersive wellness classes and events, Jean and her community learn to look inward, together. Before you can be a guide and source of support for others, you must practice what you preach. Everything that she shares with other people is something she has practiced on her own, which creates a sense of trust and comfort between the instructor and the student. 

Healing is not a Destination

Healing is not a magical place where you suddenly arrive. It is a slow, ongoing, lifelong evolution and process. It is also highly individual, offering unique experiences to each human being. With so many varying perspectives and realities taking place, it only makes sense that people will respond to different forms of healing. 

“We’re complex beings. We’re always healing and always transforming. We are whole- even with our brokenness. When we feel broken and when we feel lost, that’s part of the journey, part of the healing process.” -Jean Edrada

In her offerings, Jean never claims that she herself can heal anyone. Instead, she empowers all bodies along their personal healing journey, and each class and event is a direct response to identified community needs. Jean creates sacred spaces that allow individuals to tap into the body’s innate healing system. When each person enters the space, they can expect to be asked what their needs are and what they hope to walk away with after the session. 

Jean approaches each event, each session, each circle, not as an expert, but as an equal to the people who show up. Her teaching philosophy is to guide and teach to “who and what shows up in the room.” She practices alongside her community.

“Of course it’s really important to go to experts and people who have been educated, but I never want to be like ‘I have the power to heal you.’ Your best teacher, the best expert of your life, is yourself.” -Jean Edrada

Cannabis as a Tool for Healing

Harnessing the power of plant medicine, Jean often bends cannabis with healing. We talked about the image of the That 70’s Show Circle, and how people have been gathering in circles for centuries. There is a ritualistic aspect to it, and Jean provides the space for those to indulge with intention. Throughout her practices, she often incorporates cannabis as a tool and something to play and experiment with.

Jean started this movement in the Bay Area and then moved back home to Chicago. At the time, there was only a medical marijuana program so everything was done underground through grassroots efforts. She relied heavily on word of mouth and sharing within the community to bring their people into the circle. Now Jean mostly does pop-up events, and works with local organizations such as The Joy Room , a minority women owned business and the nonprofit Healthy Hood Chicago.

She also is a member of the Sana Healing Collective, which provides ketamine therapy and psychedelic therapy. Here Jean offers one on one cannabis supported movement and meditation with sound healing as well as cannabis integration services. According to her website, “these services are grounded in Hatha Yoga and Somatics while also allowing for an individualized, emergent and explorative process.” She also offers an ongoing chakra healing series.

Decolonizing Wellness

It’s no secret that the contemporary wellness industry profits off of sacred practices that have been used by Indigenous peoples and communities of color for thousands of years. In our interview, Jean noted that even the term “decolonize” has been commodified and capitalized on. When asked what decolonizing wellness might look like, she shared that it's hard to imagine because to her, it means to completely deconstruct the systems currently in place and rebuild a more equitable, holistic and people-centered healthcare system.

So many of our systems were designed to uphold racist and religious beliefs and in order to bring forth healing justice and a more equitable future, the current system must be dismantled and rebuilt. Jean believes that in order to achieve this, we must center Indigenous communities who have been at the forefront of healing for decades and learn from their wisdom. Each of us plays a role in our collective healing. 

Throughout our conversation, Jean placed great emphasis on learning from each other and on the power of connecting with local communities. She encourages everyone to get involved and learn from and alongside their local community. As wonderful as the internet can be for bringing people together, it can be difficult to replicate the real life sentiment found through gathering together in the same time and space. 

“So much of what we’re moving through is around grief. I think we as individuals, as a collective, as humanity, have gone through incredible amounts of loss and violence. We don’t really know how to grieve or how to be with that grief.” -Jean Edrada

Advice on Healing

It all starts with yourself. Your own body, your own family, your own community. In order to make a larger impact on the world, you must first look within. When on this journey, always remember that healing yourself must come alongside healing the collective. According to Jean, this process is a slow one, and although late stage capitalism wants everyone to believe we are in a rush to heal, we must find gratitude right where we are.

“I think if we’re able to find gratitude for where we are in any given moment, that’s where the magic comes.” -Jean Edrada

Jean reminds us that humans are complex beings who are constantly evolving and transforming. We are whole exactly where and who we are; it is necessary to honor all of the little pieces that make up our being.

Every individual has a role to play, whether you are an educator, a healer, an activist, an artist, a scientist etc. Ask yourself: what role can I play that honors myself as an individual, but also helps to lift up the collective? The fight for a sustainable future requires all hands on deck. 

Photography by Loren Toney.