Jess Groneman

Community Herbalist, Midwife, Biodynamic Craniosacral Practitioner

Approach

I approach my work with the heart and hands of a Midwife. Able to stay with ‘what is’, I attune myself to the landscape of process as it emerges into light. I know what it means to create a safe space for things to be born. I strive to create a container that is co-creative, calling forth the innovation and intuition of your body to accomplish the work of healing. I do not see my self as a ‘Healer’. I facilitate a process that innately belongs to you and your body.

I love working with any and all folks who grew in a womb … and I have special passion to support birthing families of all kinds as they navigate the threshold of birth and beyond. I have deep gratitude and respect for this work and feel fortunate to have landed upon my deepest calling. 

I am inspired by the way our body, mind and spirit respond to and repair from the challenges that call us forth in life. I believe that repair is always an accessible option, that it is both a choice and a process. It is through the act of growth and repair that we maintain connection with our most whole selves and with the world.

Access

I am committed to access for folks who are marginalized within our culture. I endeavor to create a safe space for people from all walks of life, including LGBTQ, BIPOC, neurodiverse and trauma survivors, to name a few. I am open to feedback about how my efforts ‘land’.

I offer all of my services at a sliding scale and also do what I can to offer low-fee or free care on a regular basis, as I am able. I have created the Tender Courage Community Fund to offer free care to our community. Please let me know if you would like to contribute to or draw from this fund.

Path

My path toward the Healing Arts began with a call from the plants. It formally took place at The California School of Herbal Studies in Forestville, California in 1995. In 1996, I lived and worked at The Heartwood Institute In Humboldt County, California for one year where I began my study of massage and bodywork. From there I studied for two years both with Herbalist Karen Sanders, as well as Curandera and Ethnobotantist, Camila Martinez through Kalpulli Tonantzin.  

As this unfolded, I heard my call to Midwifery. I completed a Doula certification at  The Santa Rosa Birth Center in 2000 and began attending births. At the same time I became certified as a massage therapist at Alive and Well Institute of Conscious Bodywork. I became a Certified Professional Midwife through NARM in 2006 by apprenticing with Cindy Lara Haag and at The Northern New Mexico Birth Center founded by Elizabeth Gilmore in 1978.

I practiced in Boston and the Pioneer Valley of Massachusetts as a primary homebirth Midwife from 2006-2015, as well as serving as Vice President and President of the Massachusetts Midwives Alliance. I continue to offer my midwifery skills as a midwife-assistant and as a birth and postpartum doula. I most recently completed training at Turtle Back Craniosacral Education with Margery Chessare to become certified as a Biodynamic Craniosacral Practitioner.

Fun

In my free time I love to garden, wildcraft and make medicine, wrangle chickens and children, make beautiful things with my hands, hike with my family and our sweet dog, kayak, and play music.