Animá Lifeways & Herbal School and its teachers, Kiva Rose, Jesse Wolf Hardin and Loba have inspired and nurtured thousands of students, seekers and teachers on their quests for truth and purpose. The following are excerpts from the many treasured testimonials of personal transformation and letters of gratitude.

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To my new friends and teachers - My time here has been so necessary and fulfilling, and I'm thankful for each of you and this place of sacred power: Loba- for your kind and loving spirit, generous nurturing, magical food and warm hugs. Kiva - for your gift of understanding and healing, conviction, commitment and laughter. Wolf - for your undying dedication to this land and years of healing its wounds, your wisdom, teaching and your gentle listening heart. Rhiannon - for being my tour guide, caretaker and fantastic teaching in the making. And this canyon, which touched my soul so deeply. You are all inspiring , whole-hearted, giving people and I feel blessed to have crossed your paths. With gratitude.
-Melissa (Santa Fe, NM)

As I walk this path in The Medicine Woman Tradition, I am grateful for the courage I found in myself to finally step with two feet and whole heart into this journey. I am in awe at the support, the love, and the sincere guidance Kiva, Loba, Wolf, Rhiannon and the Canyon have repeatedly given me. This past year has been one of great unfurling and and discovery, challenges and pain, and pure enthusiasm and confidence in which to continue this walk of life.
-Stacey (Edgewood, NM)

I just wanted to say thanks for an amazing weekend. It was the first time in a long time that I was able to begin to really connect with myself. I learned things about myself this weekend that are permanently with me. It is an amazing feeling to be grounded and present. It was so much fun to play again! I had just about forgotten what it felt like to be free. I had no worries and was able to just flow with everything.
-Sue (Santa Fe, NM)

Kiva Rose inspires me. Her passion, fascination and perpetual curiosity of plants, people, nature, and the relationship that binds them in wholeness stirs those touched by it; encourages our own listening, our own insights and musings. Making it all better, she writes beautifully. Her ability to capture and convey the spirit of the plants she writes about and the essence of the ideas that guide their use is a gift shared with both humility and mettle. Kiva, in a word, rocks.
-Jim McDonald, Practicing Herbalist, Teacher & Author (Great Lakes Bioregion, MI)

It was like living in a fairy tale at the Sanctuary. The magic was real, rooted in love, fueled by earthen energy. I've had enough magical experiences to know the memory of them dissipates like a fragrance and soon I'll be questioning even my most profound experiences there. But there are some moments that transform who we are for the rest of our days. Their energy nests in us and reminds us when we need it most. The canyon has nested in me and I thank the land for this gift.... It was an incredible, intense, challenging, energy-shfiting experience.
- Lynnda Pollio (NYC)

Being and living is beginning to take on new meaning. I got a lot from you all... It's time in my life to move forward. It's going to take time and practice. But you all are brave enough to live full out, and I feel honored to have the opportunity to be and live more myself. Your examples and support are providing me with the necessary power and self-acceptance I need to go forward. Thanks so much and forever. You all are teachers.
-Lee Hurwit (Boulder, CO)

Kiva, I have occasion to read your blog and have to say that you inspire me so much. It just proves to me that the only way we can truly learn the language of plants is to learn from the plants themselves. I spent 9 years studying herbal medicine through books at a college. I have learnt more in the last 6 months from the plants themselves than what i learnt in all that time in a man-made institution. After reading of your experiences with the wild green I am loathe to think that I could call myself a herbwyfe. Thank you for being an inspiration, for letting the rest of us know what it actually means to work with plants. Many blessings,
- Michelle Carnochan (Australia)

Ever since I got back from NM, my head has been swimming in songs! I can barely capture the notes of one song before another comes in... I haven't solved all of my problems, but I do feel more empowered. I also realize that I can move through the creative process more gracefully as long as I allow myself some alone time with nature.
-Kim Bold, Dallas (TX)

That is why we appreciate you so much Kiva, you seem to reach out in your own way in this path. And you dont look much older than my oldest daughter (who turned 24 a few weeks ago) which makes me stand in awe of your passionate knowledge.
-Kristena Roder, Herbalist and Midwife (AK)

Thank you Wolf, for your presence and teachings and quick e-mail response to mine and your expressed concern for our safe departure from this sacred canyon. Thank you Loba, for all your kitchen magic in the wonderfully and deliciously prepared meals for our bodies and souls. . Thank you Kiva, for all your insightful and healing observations and plant medicine magic and sharing of your journey in life bringing you to the canyon. And thank you for your warrior response and putting yourself out there by swimming the crossings to make sure we all got out safely. Thank you Riannon for sharing the innocence, awe, wonderment , joyful and playful exeberance and love of nature and the canyon.
-Dana Ross (Sedona, Arizona)

Kiva, I just wanted to share with you how happy (excited! and thankful also come to mind) I was to come across your writings, and Anima Sanctuary itself. What you (and your partners) are doing collectively there in the Gila is just... well, beautiful, enchanting and inspiring in every sense of the word. I felt gratitude that there are still people out there doing what you are all doing, to honor Mama Nature... So, again, just a little gratitude coming your way, for sharing your oasis, for your obvious passion and commitment.
-Kimb'

Kiva & Loba, You two are so very amazing and inspiring. Your support and care of us, your wisdom, your inner light and joy, your passion, your openness, your inner and outer beauty, your connection to the Earth and to one another, your examples of personal transformation... Our short time with you was so much more than ‘a breath of fresh air’. It was a glimpse into the beautiful magic that life is usually so hidden from human consciousness today. I just want to thank you for being exactly who you are, and for being there to welcome the wounded of body and spirit into your healing embrace.
-Allison, (Tucson, AZ)

Kiva, I have been quietly reading and digesting your writings from your blog and the Wise Woman Forum for a couple of years. I have also poured over the Anima Center teachings. Wonderful information and teachings! I am in absolute awe of your dedication to the plant world and healing medicines.... Looking forward to many new stories from the Gila and how you came to be a Medicine Woman. With gratitude and many blessings for your teachings,
-Annie

Thank you for your words, your music, your spirit and your wildness! Your presentation touched me very deeply in a way I haven’t been touched in so long. All my best memories of childhood came back to me. Not a day goes by now that I don’t think of all the beauty in the world that I have seen and felt.
-Jennifer Ann Marx (Ft. Collins, Colorado)

There is an unsaid respect and joy in our meeting. Thank you for welcoming me into your home. I am forever touched and inspired by this beautiful canyon and by your work... straight from the heart!
-Jamey (CA)

Thanks for adding ‘spirit and vigor’ to the lives of so many people through your words and presence.... a rare and wonderful spirit in my eyes, and in my heart!
-Jasper (CO)

What can I say? You touched me so deeply, Wolf. Somehow I was expecting you to be different than you are, more sheathed in a tough exterior, more difficult to reach. But you are sensitive and truthful and unafraid, Wolf — unafraid to let yourself be exposed and vulnerable, open! You offer your heart to those that will accept it. Somehow I feel that I can trust you.
-Joanne Rand, singer-songwriter ( N. CA)

Blessed is this land and the whole Mother Earth. Let everyone living on this land, in this Canyon, in these mountains, in this water, who drinks the waters of the rains, let them live and be happy. Let them enjoy every second of this life, let them be full-filled, overflowing like a river in the days of rain. Let this land and people be blessed. I’m grateful to every particle, every stone for my being here, to this land for being open for me, for ALL of THIS that is becoming more and more a part of me with each second and that is opening us. Blessed is this place and blessed is the whole Mother Earth.
-Sukavi Yuzefpolsky (Russia)

I really appreciate the interview Derrick Jensen did with you. I was having a difficult time understanding the feelings I was having around the loss of some land that I have spent the last year trying to acquire in the White Mountains of NH...it wasn't about owning the land...it was about finding a place that was my home. Everything did not come together and it fell through at the eleventh hour. In any event, Wolf's words gave clarity to the strong feelings that I had/have concerning the forest, streams, cliffs, etc, that this land encompassed and are most appreciated!
-John Ferris (Salem MA)

I do not believe a day goes by that I don’t think about some aspect of my experience at the Animá Center. The gifts of love are a source of strength for me today helping me realize that, with my heart, I can do anything.
-Charles H. Herrick

Your lithographs and poetry have not only given me new insights into myself and the world around me but have also been a source of inspiration
-Steve (Eugene, OR)

What a beautiful and inspiring slice of river life. Thanks so much for sharing the skunks in the compost, the yogurt queen's joy, the blessings of the folks you both continue to touch-- the sweet life keeps on flowing. So, so glad you are keeping the spirit of the wild alive!
-Nick Morgan, (San Francisco)

Thanks for your sharings...for being so caring and responsible toward the land and creatures...the deep love, appreciation, guardianship, caring, communing, and daily blessings you feel for all of existence help balance...those who live the opposite to your ways. It is uplifting to know that the sanctuary is providing sanctity of life, an example to those who have forgotten that Spirit lives in all things and that we humans need to once again respect and share so that all have a chance at fulfilling potentials.
-(sent anonymously)

Your teaching of the Burden Basket, with its joy/pain identity leads us into permission to be fully human. It reminds us that tears and laughter exist in the same circle, in the same place. So I carry my love for you in my Burden Basket, its weight encouraging my strength and resolve to grow my assignment. I will forever be grateful to you, for my truth so vividly exposed. I am assigned a new path. Fueled now by my fear, delight and the accelerating passage of time— I am moving ever faster, more consciously, toward my purpose.
-Peter Gallant, psychotherapist (MA)

The meaning and significance of this place and teaching continues to unfold for me, equal to my ability to open to it. Thank you for the willingness, the integrity, the ultimate sacrifice, and your determination to keep your promise to this place of power. You are true heroes and inspired spirits in a world that is so lost. Thank you for the medicine and for providing us with such a real experience. I owe you and this canyon all that I am. I am truly blessed.
-Jon Rosseau (Asheville, NC)

Thanks to you and that marvelous canyon for the beauty you gave us everyday, for your support and help in my quest which wouldn’t have been the same without the magic of your trees, your land, your rocks, your animals, your river, your sky, and the witnesses living within.
-Severine (France)

I had to sit down and cry when I read your email. How is it you are so profoundly intuitive about someone you've never met? (smile) I may know the answer: humans accept limits that our hearts are totally unaware of and thus are unlimited by. One statement you made struck me as the most profound gift I have been given since birthing the magazine, that it taught me ‘to insist on a life of spirit and service.' Thank you! The journey continues!
-Jill Love, Sowell Review (MI)

This canyon is where the lifeblood of creation and consciousness runs right below the surface. Place your fingertips carefully, feel the beat of the Great Heart. The grasses sway with her breath, the mourning dove’s sighs are hers. And the ancient ones songs still echo among the Kachina Cliffs, for those who listen hard enough. Thank you so much, Wolf, Loba and Kiva Rose!
-Debra Webb

I feel extremely honored to have been to the canyon in all of its magic and sacredness, and to have brought a piece of it's presence to the places I am now. I am amazed by what I felt there and what I am feeling. The weekend I spent with you dramatically shifted something for me. I am realizing how much fear there is inside, and I’m taking small steps to meet it and embrace it. Every embrace brings me closer to home, to feeling, and I suppose that knowledge is a kind of mantra for me right now. Thank you for all of your guidance Loba! I am greatful beyond words at the presence and ground that the canyon is holding for the planet and for the people who tread on it.
-Catherine (Silver City, NM)

I came to the university to hear you talk on a dark day in February, and I went home feeling a little braver — connected again to some of my deepest feelings. I really appreciated your presence, your truth, your energy....just then!
-Alison Loren Halderman

I knew in my heart that this holy place, this sacred canyon existed, and I ran to find it. The canyon and its teachers opened their arms to me, and I knew with the first steps, the first drink of river water, and my first smells in this place of power, that I had reached my destination. This experience brought me back to life, for I was as the walking dead. Thanks be to Wolf, Loba and Kiva Rose, the spiritual caretakers of this special land.
-Paul Arnold (Demopolis, AL)

Wolf’s performance and words are what stays with me, continuing to work on me long afterwards. They prick and poke at me with unanswered questions pushing me towards action. He is living his vision and sharing it with others.
-Eric Duncan

The direction of our lives— both individually and as a couple— have been radically altered by our time there. I send profound appreciation for your wisdom and grace.
-Pam Richardson (Wendell, MA)

I feel born of the earth, born into self, born to live again. Awesome! Loba is a bringht new, crisp, windy Fall day that is blowing away darkness from my soul and lifting me into the happiness of the universe beyond.
-Suzanne Mahoney

Your book just came to me. You are a step towards my higher self. One day we will meet, but until then know that you have given me strength and helped me see my path more clearly. From all of me, thank you!
-R.R

Thanks for the powerful lessons and your commitment to this work! The canyon was so nourishing, and I feel an even deeper and more solid relationship with this powerful place that you so lovingly care for! I love you! You have really made an impact in my life!!!
-Sarah Mace (Seattle, WA)

This weekend workshop was one of reconnection, to awaken something inside of me that had long since died. My commitment is to reconnect. I am going to risk!
-Kimberley White

A shy child peeks around the corner of a great experience. She falls into the safe arms of the canyon, opens her heart and shares her fears and pain. Soon she is dancing with the river and the insects, learning to love herself and the all again. I’ve just begun.
-Amanda Jarres (Albuquerque, NM)

Loving myself for the first time is easier than I thought. Thank you! I now know that its okay to be a wild woman! With much love....
-Erin

There are no words in my language to express this feeling of awakeness, or the limitless wisdom of your place... or my gratitude, admiration and love for the guardians and messengers of the canyon.
-Mishell (Oaxaca, Mexico)

Thank you so much for both what you gave to me, and for what I was yet unwilling to accept. I learned much in my short stay there about earth, service and myself. I am impressed as hell with your intent, your clarity and your commitment. I will continue to work and learn, and the path goes ever on.
-Shawn Rosacker (NC)

It was as if the canyon demanded I open my heart, and only through my heart could I accept and take ownership of all its gifts. There are no words to describe my feelings for Wolf and his love.
-Charles Herrick (Salem, MA)

Thank you for your inspiring presentation. Through meditation and reflection, through frequent immersion in places that remain largely in balance, I pledge to know these things anew each day.
-Dion Kelly

My mind races with memories of the many feelings and experiences I had in my short time there. It is such a truly magical, powerful, spiritual place... but the place is only part of the equation. The people— all of you— are what truly brings your canyon to life for us. When I first stumbled on your information this Fall— and I’m still not exactly sure how— it spoke to my heart, and I knew instinctively that it was an experience I needed to have. Thoughts of going there and Wolf’s writings got me through a chaotic Winter, and made me feel not so all alone. After my time there I knew what my choices and plans had to be. Thank you Wolf, for your vision and spirit that made all this possible.

-Robin Hamerdinger (GA)

It’s a process of getting new eyes: a new way of seeing. Once all the theory is absorbed—textbook science, restoration ecology, conservation biology—it’s time to get out on the ground & learn to listen, to actually use your eyes, then to ask questions beyond the scope of your studies. Here we pick up needed skills at the same time we do good deeds. Here we grow into our potentials as citizens of Turtle Island.
-Dennis Fritzinger (Berkeley, CA)

What a gift your beautiful writing was to me yesterday. I was immersed in a feeling of hopelessness and fear, devastated by the evil terrorism that fell over our country and then I sat down to read those highly contrasted words that restore my faith and reassure me of how pure life can be. You are amazing, and your insight is inspiring. Your letter is the most beautiful I’ve ever received, ever! I can’t tell you how much it means!
-Chelle Rose, singer-songwriter (TN)

Just wanted to thank you for your comment: ‘the truly spiritual path is the one that leads us back to the instructions of earth and spirit - the path that leads us home.’ So much of my life I have spent trying to escape the world, escape my body, without realizing that was what I was doing. At fifty, I've finally come home to being an embodied being, with all its flaws and contradictions. Thank you!
-Lauren Raine, Poet and Maskmaker (Tucson, AZ)

To meet you is a gift for me. To receive your letters and essays is to hold this gift in my hands. Your vision is so sharp and encompassing. Your written words are both knives and a motherly hug. What to say about your spoken word? You are killing and giving a new birth. Love you.
-Oleg (Anwar Pradesh, India)

I came home from the Wild Women’s Gathering changed. Though I've spent many weeks away from cities, in the wilderness, this time the return was different. I suddenly felt confident about being here full-time, following my own muse, finding my path...
-Jean Eisenhower (AZ)

I sold my business, and have been off the clock for a year now – and as you told me, ‘creating my own reality.’ There is not a day that goes by that I don’t think of you all and the Sweet Medicine Canyon. My trip there helped me realize that my dream is not out reach.
-Paul Arnold

Wow, what an article in Mother Earth News! It’s rare that I write to someone, so obviously I’m inspired. Your article confirmed everything I’ve always believed... Thanks for having the courage and vision to take on this project. It gives all of us hope in a world where most of what we hear is a fictional reality.
-Bob Pizzimenti (Detroit, MI)

Today I haved lived with more grace and love than ever, and in that l experienced life in a deeper way. I felt more connected to life: the time, the plants around me that I water, the views outside my windows, the air I breathe.... I feel like I have broken through a barrier to a new world. Remembering my time with you, the examples you are, and your teaching has a lot to do with that breakthrough. Thank you soooo much for expanding my horizons, in all ways.
-Lee Hurwit (Boulder, CO)

I just want you to know that I am learning so much! And that I really feel that it’s all because of the Canyon, and you all, and well, myself. I really feel like my very first step onto that place opened up a door inside of me! And, I feel so much closer to the me I was meant to be because of it!
-Amanda Brown (Portland, OR)

I hope you are all still wonderful there. I think of you often and continue to be inspired and feel supported by your presence in the world. It is so encouraging for me to know I’m not going through this struggle alone, that I have kindred spirits out there dedicating themselves to our mother. Love always!
-Fiona (Australia)

I can’t express all the love I feel for you and your sacred land. I feel blessed to be connected and you’ve touched my heart for life!
-Paula Jeane (Denver, CO)

While living in Gallup we became acquainted and I was given a copy of your book by you. It's been probably 25 years since that time but I never forgot what gift you had and I want to thank you for inspiring me to be humble and live life with no judgments. I hope all is going good because you deserve it.
-Armando Romero (CA)

As Wolf spoke I could feel his passion for his beliefs. It struck a chord with me: to go for — with a passion — what I truly believe. Don’t hesitate, just do it!
-Corey Simas, Arcata (CA)

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