About Lauren G. Koch
Spirit Worker • Clergy • Trauma-Informed Educator
My work is rooted in animism, Appalachian folkways, Northern European ancestral traditions, and the contemplative clarity of Zen Buddhism. I stand at the crossroads of lineage, land, and lived experience, weaving traditional tools with modern integrative approaches to support mind, body, and spirit.
I walk this path as a once-evangelical Christian who is consciously deconstructing my upbringing and helping others do the same—returning to the body, reconnecting with the rhythms of nature, and reclaiming spiritual sovereignty. Through years of study, practice, and community leadership, I have become an inclusive Norse Heathen and serve as pagan clergy, committed to helping others reconnect with the sacred, their own inner wisdom, and the worlds both seen and unseen.
For over twenty years, I have taught in academic settings, community spaces, retreat centers, and beyond—guiding others in music, visual art, ritual crafts, herbalism, somatics, and spiritual practice. As a psychopomp, I assist both corporeal and non-corporeal beings in traversing transitions, offering orientation, compassion, and peace where needed.
At the heart of my work is a simple throughline: to help people remember who they are—by returning to their bodies, honoring their authenticity, reconnecting with their ancestors, and re-rooting into the
land they belong to.
The Creative
My artistic and written work explores the subtle marks left by time and experience—the memory carried in the body, the stories embedded in landscapes, and the inheritance of identity across generations. As an interdisciplinary creative, I blend fine art, traditional craft, somatic awareness, ritual practice, and experimental alchemical processes to reveal what is often unseen at first glance.
My poetry, mixed-media work, and sculpture trace the residues of lived and inherited memory pulsing through the veins of Appalachia, the liminal spaces between worlds, and the shifting contours of the self. These works invite witnesses into quiet, contemplative encounters where the familiar meets the unexpected and where land, ancestors, and Spirit speak in layered symbols, shadows, and textures.
Whether through a painting, a ritual object, the written word, or a guided experience, my creative practice is an act of devotion to the worlds we inhabit and the ways those worlds shape us.
The Educator
After years of teaching in academia, at John C. Campbell Folk School, in yoga studios, and in community spaces, my educational approach has become intentionally spacious, trauma-informed, and highly experiential.
I prefer to meet people exactly where they are, rather than overwhelming them with tons fo information all at once.
I create environments where participants can:
STOP BREATHE FEEL CREATE
These are spaces to pause, observe, and respond—without overthinking—so that genuine inspiration and embodied awareness can arise. From this place, I integrate tools, techniques, and skills that build upon the student’s own spark of curiosity.
My teaching style offers far more freedom of expression than traditional project-based instruction. It invites openness, play, and vulnerability—which can be challenging to surrender to—but it creates profound opportunities for discovery, confidence, and transformation.
Training
Ordained Clergy & Ritualist
-
MFA in Studio Arts, UMD, 2020
-
BFA in Printmaking & Sculpture with an Art History Minor, 2016
-
20+ years of classical & folk music - along with traingin in pedagogy (the method and practice of teaching)
Gentle Movement & Mindfulness Facilitator - 200 YTT
Usui Reiki Master / Teacher
-
Certified Reflexologist, 2024
-
Raven Keyes Medical Reiki Certification, 2023
-
2 Year Energy Healing Certification, Etheric Connections, 2023
-
Usui Reiki Level 1 (2021), Level 2 (2022), Master/Teacher (2023)
Herbalist & Essential Oil Practitioner (20+ years education & experience)
Medium & Seer with the Gràrvölur Seidr Team
