LIFE AS
MEDICINE
WAY
February 20th- October 25th, 2025
With Francisca Santibanez and Guest Teachers
Join us for a nine-month intensive initiation in the Medicine of You~
Life as Medicine Way is a nine-month intensive online and in-person initiation. It is a guided journey into the sacred teachings of your ancestral inheritances, lived experiences, relations, plant teachers, and Pachamama. Life as Medicine Way is an alchemy of the mind, heart, and soul.
Weaving Andean-Amazonian cosmology, plant spirit medicine, folk herbalism, shamanic practice, ancestral healing, and other contemporary earth-based wisdom modalities, Life As Medicine Way is a course on embracing lifestyle as the conduit for ceremony and medicine.
By providing a safe space to explore, participants are supported and held as they harness the skills and tools to step into the role of the healer of their own lives. Through this offering, we learn the art of communing with plants as our teachers and wisdom stewards and nourish a practice of deep connection with our spiritual and ancestral resources.
Life As Medicine Way Includes
Initiation into Personal Medicine Stewardship: Uncover your potential as a healer and steward of life, aligning with ancient traditions and practices.
Reconnect with Ancestral Wisdom: Explore pre-colonial knowledge and integrate the living wisdom codes of the Andean Amazonian Cosmology.
Sacred Agreements & Purposeful Living: Retrieve and renegotiate your original sacred agreements, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging.
Plant Spirit Healing Practices: Learn to integrate health and harmony through cleanses, initiatory dieting, tonifying, and embracing the medicine of plants.
Facilitating Ritual Space: Gain skills in creating and managing sacred spaces for rituals and healing ceremonies.
Folk Healing Therapies: Experience soul-retrieval and re*membering ancestral healing practices, enhancing your spiritual journey.
Mystical Dream Work: Engage with dream work as a mystical tool for personal growth and insight.
Social Justice Herbalism: Combine herbalism with social justice to promote healing and liberation on personal and collective levels.
Dancestor Medicine & Somatic Practices: Connect with the wisdom of your ancestors through somatic practices that honor the body and spirit.
Divination and Animism: Explore divination techniques and animism to deepen your spiritual connection with nature.
Future Ancestors' Wisdom: Embrace teachings and guidance from the future ancestors, ensuring a meaningful legacy.
What People Are Saying
“This lovely program supported me delve deeper into my connection and love of plants, elements, animals, this Beautiful Earth/Pachamama. My heart feels full and supported from the connections made with other attendees, and for the wise and loving council of Francisca. Offering one's medicine to our own life and community is a profound growth and joy.”
— Mariefrance Cote, class of 2023
“I am so appreciative for this space and teachings through Life As Medicine Way. The consecutiveness of this series provided me with the accountability to really refine and sharpen the tools I have, learn and expand in my personal journey and offerings, dive deeper into diets and my relationships with my spirit council. I look forward to experiencing this new birth of self, as well as with all that is interwoven in this journey.”
— GXD, class of 2023
“Life as Medicine Way truly transformed me, this medicine container ushered in countless rebirths, stepping closer and closer to my truth with every month. I feel that I have re-membered so much about my spirit, and feel deeply supported by my ancestors, council, and guides. I feel that I am a more aligned earth steward, friend, lover, ceremonialist, and space-holder with the tools and healing that I have received during our time together. My spirit has truly been shaken in necessary ways, rupturing my heart open over and over again. So much gratitude for Francisca's tenderness and wisdom, this medicine container and all of my fellow cohort will hold a special place in my spirit”
— Jo, class of 2023
Is This Program Right For You?
This transformational program is ideal if:
You're Ready for Personal and Relational Healing: If you aspire to lead a life enriched by self-guidance and earth-centric wisdom, tapping into intuition and harmony, this journey awaits you.
You Desire to Embrace Your Sacred Purpose: If you're prepared to release outdated narratives of disempowerment and step confidently into your true calling, this program provides the path forward.
You Seek Belonging and Ancestral Connection: If you yearn to nourish your roots and honor your ancestral heritage while updating your living agreements, this experience will guide your way.
You Feel Drawn to Plant Wisdom: If establishing deep, lasting relationships with plant kin speaks to you, this course offers you the opportunity to commune and learn.
You Want to Reclaim Traditional Medicines: If reclaiming your lineage's traditional medicines and wisdom resonates with you, this program paves the way for living in health and harmony.
You're Open to Transformative Change: If you're prepared to embrace transformative processes, reshaping habits, beliefs, and stories, this journey will ignite your inner fire.
You're Committed to Sacred Reciprocity: If full engagement and nurturing right relationships through sacred reciprocity align with your goals, this program is designed for you.
You're Courageous in the Face of Growth: If you're ready to face the discomfort of growth with courage, radical self-love, compassion, and curiosity, this path will support your evolution.
You Crave Community: If you've been longing to connect with a vibrant community of like-minded and like-hearted individuals, you'll find your tribe here.
Join us in this life-changing journey and step into a world of wisdom, connection, and transformation.
“This course went above and beyond my expectations and intentions! This course ruptured me open in ways that I didn't realize I needed, but my spirit celebrated this rebirth and sacred re-membering”
2025 Schedule
Online Class Sessions
Thursdays 6pm-9pm
February 20th- October 16th
except weeks when we meet in person
In Person
Saturdays 11am-4pm
March 22nd, May 3rd, August 2nd
September 27th, October 25th
Retreat
Saturday & Sunday
June 14th -June 15th
Breaks
May 30th to June 13th
August 24th -September 3rd
Meet your Instructors
Francisca Santibanez
Founder of Plant Spirit Talk, and lead guide of Life As Medicine Way, Francisca is a passionate wellness guide, herbalist, and ritualist.
Her deep connection with plants and the spirit world was nurtured from an early age, influenced by her rich cultural roots in Brazil, Chile, and California.
After facing a severe health crisis in 2012, she embraced herbal medicine as a path to healing, self-discovery, and personal growth.
In 2013, she began formal studies at the Berkeley Herbal Center and later deepened her knowledge with Indigenous teachers in Peru.
Today, she dedicates herself to helping others reconnect with the earth, guiding them to find healing and purpose in their own lives. Through Life As Medicine Way, she brings together all the teachings of her healing work from the past decade.
Miah McClinton
Teaches Social Justice Herbalism
Adam Elmaghraby
Teaches Mystical Dream Work
Asha Kohli
Teaches Dancestor Medicine
Sami Knowles
Teaches Divination Animism
Throughout our 9 month journey you’ll receive:
28 three-hour-long online sessions
5 day long in-person workshops
1 overnight weekend camping retreat
access to recordings of all online classes
online community forum
FREE MSI Hive membership
Life As Medicine Way Certificate of completion
Exchange
Exchange is a sliding scale tuition of $6,950- $8,500
* 12 month payment plan currently available. (payment(s) are fully refundable if not accepted into the program)
In fulfillment to our mission to support systemically marginalized groups within our community, we prioritize providing a limited number of need based scholarships to BIPOC, queer, trans, and persons with disabilities.
*Scholarship applications for this program are due by December 15th
* A portion of all of our class proceeds go towards our community projects supporting cultural preservation and generational continuity.
Nine-month course starts February 20th- October 16th
This level of tuition supports the BIPOC Love Fund Nine-month course starts February 20th- October 16th
2025 Life As Medicine Way Application
To register, please complete the application below and choose the payment option above. We will confirm your enrollment once we have both of these items. If you’re applying for work-trade, please complete this form, or if you’re applying for a BIPOC scholarship, please complete this form.
Scholarship applications are due by December 15th.