PhD in Geology, Yoga Instructor and Nature Illustrator

Helena Chacón, PhD

All my life I have been asking the same question from different perspectives: how does one inhabit a body, how does one inhabit a territory, how does one learn to look at what sustains us? First, I explored and researched planet Earth; then the body; and now the connections between them.

The story

Science and Sensibility

Ever since I was a child, I’ve been curious, restless and very sensitive — what is now known as a highly sensitive person. That sensitivity and my analytical mind didn’t sit well together, and for years I thought I had to choose between the two.

My fascination with nature led me to complete a degree in Geology at the University of Huelva in 2000 and to obtain my PhD in 2006 with a thesis on Petrology and Geochemistry that received European recognition. In the middle of my degree, at the age of twenty, I went through an anxiety crisis which was treated with medication for a year. I now realise that it was one of the best things that ever happened to me: I realised that an anti-anxiety medication wouldn’t resolve that conflict, and I began practising yoga in search of a way out – a discipline that has been with me ever since.

Geology taught me that the Earth has undergone all manner of processes – rapid and slow, local and global – as well as cycles, changes and periods of stillness. Yoga taught me that human beings also go through different processes and that we are not so different from the planet that sustains us.

Change of course

In March 2006, I completed my doctoral thesis and left the academic world to devote myself professionally to yoga and natural therapies. It was neither easy nor quick: I found far more doors closed than open. But some people put their trust in me, and that enabled me to forge a career that began with training in natural health disciplines such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, aromatherapy, manual therapies, forest bathing… and, over time, to develop my own methodological approaches.

In 2009, I met Javier Muriel, who is now my partner and business partner. In 2010, we opened a yoga and therapy centre together in Huelva, which remained open until 2019. It was there that, in 2014, Holistic EcoYoga — HEY, a school and system of integrative yoga, was launched.

Return to the territory

In 2018, we moved to the Sierra de Huelva in search of a life more in tune with what we were teaching. Four years later, we had the opportunity to live on a farm in San Vicente de Alcántara, where we built a yurt and ran training courses, workshops, forest bathing sessions, nature trails and so on. But after three years there, we decided, in the summer of 2025, to return to the Sierra de Aracena, specifically to Navahermosa, a hamlet in Galaroza. Here we run in-person activities and broadcast online. This landscape — its rock, its forest, its water — is now a fundamental part of our work.

Drawing what you see

Drawing is both the newest and, at the same time, the oldest form of art. I used to draw a lot as a child until my responsibilities took me away from it. A personal crisis led me to take up drawing again through field sketchbooks and naturalist illustration. Drawing allows me to observe, to look slowly, to appreciate details, to be surprised by what I see… and, of course, to relieve stress.

I specialise in nature and geological illustration, and I keep a nature diary as a way of practising observation. This is an area that will become increasingly important over the coming months, as it brings full circle what I want to convey: experiencing the land, understanding it and recording it.

Part of a wider ecosystem

Holística Nature

I co-direct with Javier Muriel Holística Nature, Ecotourism, Training and Wellbeing SL, School of Human Ecology. Three schools operate under the same roof:

Holistic EcoYoga

Yoga teacher training and practice accredited by Yoga Alliance (RYS500, E-RYT500, YACEP). Courses valid towards the official Certificate of Professional Competence in Yoga Instruction. Our own structured and rigorous methods that combine tradition with contemporary teaching standards.

Umanagea

Training in inhabited nature and forms of ecotherapy: forest bathing, ecopsychology, mindful walking, ecosomatics, nature journaling… Processes that restore individual health and our relationship with the environment.

Geolatra

Interpretive trails, environmental education and workshops in the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche. Promoting the Earth Sciences and Biodiversity through geotourism and ecotourism

Credentials

Education and Career

A yoga practitioner since 1999 and a teacher since 2006. A certified forest bathing guide (TMT) since 2022. Over twenty years of ongoing training in yoga, traditional medicine, natural therapies and nature.

Formal education

PhD in Geology with a European qualification, specialising in Petrology and Geochemistry (2006) · Dissertation as part of the «Earth and Environmental Sciences» PhD Programme in 2002 · Bachelor’s Degree in Geology, University of Huelva (2000) · Certificate of Professional Competence in Yoga Instruction AFDA0311 (2018) · Teacher Training Course (2005)

Yoga and Meditation

Hatha Yoga RYT200 (Samyak Yoga, India) · Hatha Vinyasa RYT300 (YogaShala Institute) · Rocket · AcroYoga (Yoga Beyond, Bali) · Yin Yoga with Paul Grilley · Yoga Nidra · OSHO® Active Meditations by Garimo Ackermann

Traditional medicines and therapies

Advanced Diploma in Acupuncture, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) · Ayurvedic Therapist (India) · Crystal Therapy (Crystal Academy of Advanced Healing Arts) · Bach Flower Remedies · Scientific and Ayurvedic Aromatherapy · Natural Cosmetics · Reiki Master · Chiromassage, Ayurvedic massage and traditional Thai massage

Nature

TMT Forest Bathing Professional Guide · Natural Mindfulness Guide (Ian Banyard) · Nature Guide · Ecotourism

Shall we get started?

If you’ve got this far, it means something has struck a chord with you. Tell me what you’re looking for and we’ll see where it makes sense to start.