Meet Cindy Butler

The Roots of the Work

The 12 Petalled Lotus framework is grounded in decades of practice, as a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, bodyworker, and companion in both birth and death. It grows from a lifetime of studying how people heal, connect, and make meaning.

Even as a child, I was drawn to the quiet spaces where people felt things they couldn’t yet name. That early pull toward the unseen shaped everything that followed. My adult life has been devoted to exploring the territory between the body, the heart, and the soul and helping others find their way through it.

The roles that I've held over the years all begin with the same commitment: to meet human experience with presence. Job titles come and go; what remains is a simple truth - I am a human being living with, and in service to, other humans.

I’ve held space for mothers as they welcomed a first breath and for families as they released a last. I’ve worked in palliative care and trauma settings, in classrooms and living rooms, teaching how the nervous system, attachment, and meaning-making shape every layer of our lives. My grounding is in somatic practice, trauma recovery, grief integration, relational repair, and present-moment awareness. Through decades of bodywork, this has become what I call the anatomy of being human. 

When You are Ready...

My work extends beyond the classroom and courses into direct connection and collaboration.

• Speaking & Retreats — Keynotes or immersive sessions on embodiment, trauma recovery, and human development.
• 1:1 Coaching — For individuals or couples navigating parenting, relationships, or healing after trauma.
• Mentorship & Consulting — Support for practitioners, facilitators, and educators building trauma-informed or end-of-life programs.
• Workplace Facilitation — Bringing more humanity into the workplace through grounded communication, emotional intelligence, and team connection practices.