Conversations with the Inspiring Eleanor Hooper

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleanor Hooper.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I was six years old, I told my class I wanted to be a therapist. Yup… I’m one of the few who knew their career path, right from the start. I went to see a therapist when I was young because my family believed it was important that we talked about our feelings. Sadly, I was put on Attention Deficit Disorder meds because I had a hard time sitting still and “outdoor recess” was my favorite class. As a little one, I didn’t like the meds and I would ask the therapist, “Can we play outside instead?” This was not an option.

As I have grown, I have found that I crave deep, authentic relationships in and with the natural world. So… I call myself a “relationship therapist.” In other words, I work with people in all kinds of relationships! In my private practice, clients and I address their relationships with mindset, movement, nutrition, and nature.

In order to become a therapist, I got an undergraduate degree from The University of Denver, in psychology with double minors in philosophy and religion. Then, I moving to the gorgeous mountain town of Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a few years until I realized I needed to go back to school to get my Masters.

While I was preparing to graduate from Regis University, with a Masters in Marriage & Family Therapy, like most “soon to be grads,” I was looking for a place to work. In my search, I found most mental health centers, hospitals or clinics worked from a therapy model that viewed their clients as “sick.” The clients seemed to identified with this story of sickness as well. I asked if there were any natural, or holistic components of their work where they addressed the body, or soul in therapy, and most said, no. Fundamentally, this did not align with my values.

I believe that my purpose is to see people in their wholeness, first. I see them in their health, not their sickness. I feel a connection to spirituality through nature and therefore, I want to meet my clients outside! Nature is the most healing, and spiritual place I have ever found. So, I went to the drawing board. I asked myself, “What do people really need to see themselves in their wholeness? How do I see myself in mine?” This is how I created The Makaranda Method: a holistic approach to relationship therapy, set in nature.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
For the first year of my business, I met every client outside, every day, rain, snow, wind or shine. Most people thought the idea was either creative, cool or crazy! They would say, “You are meeting clients outside? What if the weather is bad? Why would you do that?” My response was usually, “Well, if the weather is bad, then the weather is bad! It actually works in our favor because it will inevitably bring things up for us to talk about and feel that wouldn’t normally come up in an indoor office. And, I’ve got to say, it did feel a little bit crazy! But I do this because it takes us “outside of the box.”

I see so many people who live a life in “boxes.” We wake up in our “house box.” We drive to work in our “car box.” We have meetings in an “office box.” We work out in a “gym box”… I didn’t want to be just another therapist who meets clients in a box.

I wanted to have a completely different way of connecting with my clients. Part of seeing them as a whole, also looks like, meeting them in places that make us feel that way. Nature is grounding, alive and therapeutic. It felt foolish not to incorporate nature into my approach… rather, it felt essential!

I started my private practice, The Makaranda Method, with the vision of having a mobile office for easy access to nature, but it took about a year to build my business from scratch and save up the funds for the Sprinter van purchase. I must say, walking and talking with clients outside, without an office, was wearing on my body. I was walking up to 15 miles a day, sometimes. As you can imagine, the winter was brutal here in Colorado. Through this trial and error, my clients and I found that being outside is not ALWAYS the best thing. Sometimes, having shelter from the elements feels good! Imagine that!

So, a few weeks ago, I bought Black Beauty, a Ram Promaster Sprinter van, as a birthday gift to myself and my clients! My partner and I started the build-out on July 1st.

What should we know about The Makaranda Method? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Makaranda Method is a 10-week intensive therapy model. We meet one hour a week, for 10 weeks and we talk “as needed” throughout The Method. We set up what “as needed” looks like for each individual or couple, so our boundaries are clear from the start. I do it this way because I know that life happens outside of the hour of therapy and having communication with one’s therapist can be really helpful while in this kind of deep work. I want to be available to my clients during these 10 weeks so they can practice and discuss as many tools as possible before our work is over.

For example, I ask for each of my clients to sit in meditation every day for at least 20 minutes, and then text me afterwards, with the “quality of their thoughts.” Was the meditation quiet and calm? Or was it chaotic, uncomfortable or fidgety? Or was it a little bit of each of those sensations? This kind of inquiry and communication back and forth allows for us to see how different days show us different aspects of ourselves as whole.

Makaranda means “nectar” in Sanskrit. We explore the “nectar of life” by addressing clients relationships to their mindset, movement, nutrition, and nature.

The Makaranda Method sessions broken down —

Session 1 and 2: We get to know each other a bit and I teach some basic skills that we will refer to throughout our work together.

Sessions 3 and 4: We discuss your mindset. What are stories you are caught in and tell about yourself over and over that either help or hinder your growth? I use lots of Narrative Therapy techniques during this part of the work.

Sessions 5 and 6: We look at your relationship to movement. I really like for these sessions to be walk and talk sessions, where we get our bodies literally moving. This way, we aren’t just “talking” about movement but actually feeling the movement experientially in our bodies. I use a lot of somatic therapy techniques to achieve this.

Session 7 and 8: I give you a book called, The Conscious Cleanse by Jo Schaalman & Julie Pelaez. I ask that you read the book. Then, either decide to do that particular cleanse or most simply to take gluten, dairy, processed sugar, alcohol and caffeine out of your diet for 2 weeks. Food is medicine and this cleanse shines such a beautiful light on this.

Sessions 9 and 10: This is the last part of the method where we actually go into the mountains of Colorado and move very slowly, intentionally through nature. When the weather is appropriate, we often take our shoes off and walk barefoot to really feel the Earth. The Earth can be our sanctuary, our grounding, our place to find true presence and we have to listen to what is has to say. We bring binoculars, a bird book and do not do as much talking as these sessions. This is slow and thoughtful, practicing mindfulness with each step by tuning into our scenes.

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In this method, we have a few options for how it all works! We can meet for walk and talk sessions outside at local parks or trailheads. We can meet in my mobile office and/or we have the option to connect on the phone when I am not in Colorado. This is all case by case, depending on what works for us!

For me, this is a career that requires as much of the spiritual side of me, as it does the healing. I have designed my life and my practice around this passion of self-curiosity and exploration. If I am not exploring this spiritual work on myself, with nature as my ally, then I am not showing up as the therapist my 6-year-old self, so clearly saw. I want deep relationships for myself and for all living beings.

With my clients, we go on journeys together to find their “makaranda”; their nectar. For me, there is nothing I would rather do.

It would be great to hear about any apps, books, podcasts or other resources that you’ve used and would recommend to others.
Podcasts: Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday, Aubrey Marcus

Apps: Insight Timer (for meditation), PlantSnap (flower/tree identification), Flo (for mensural cycle tracking), Audubon (bird app)

Books: The Conscious Cleanse by Jo Schaalman & Julie Pelaez, Nature and the Human Soul by Bill Plotkin, Attached: the new science of adult attachment and how it can help you find- and keep- love. The Psychedelic Explorers Guide by James Fadiman, Be Here Now by Ram Dass, The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer, Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, The Lupin Lady by Barbara Cooney (my favorite children’s book).

Contact Info:

• Website: www.themakarandamethod.com
• Phone: 5037546246
• Email: eleanor@themakarandamethod.com
• Instagram: @themakarandamethod
• Facebook: @themakarandamethod

Image Credit:
@jeffjonephotography

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