Current Ritual brings holistic health to the light

Kat McAfee, founder and owner of Current Ritual, is not your average occupational therapist.

With over 12 years of experience working in various healthcare settings from the newborn intensive care unit to hospice, McAfee knew she was ready to break away from the mainstream healthcare model to offer her clients a different approach; an approach that would facilitate accessible and inclusive healthcare.

In her practice, McAfee has successfully intertwined her extensive clinical background with her passion for holistic healing to present Current Ritual.

Current Ritual is a virtual wellness center where people of all ages and abilities can explore their mind-body connection through self-guided videos and audio, according to McAfee. 

Within the virtual library, McAfee offers three learning tracks for nervous system regulation and health: Family Cohesion, Self Exploration and Beyond the Diagnosis. To help guide members on their journey, each track includes five practices: self-care, mindfulness, sensory exploration, foundational movement and therapeutic touch. Each lesson is designed for members to go at their own pace and to be simple enough for daily integration.

Another key component of McAfee’s work is to provide a safe environment for people to explore their unique capabilities, by breaking down socio-economic and ability barriers.

“When you come to my site, you don’t feel like you’re being sold on something,” McAfee said. “It’s meant to be a safe and neuroprotective place for people with neurodiversity, but it’s also for people who are in fight-or-flight mode, which is all of us from the pandemic. I built the site to be neuroprotective, which is why there are free lessons and a seven-day free trial, because I want people to feel safe and held within the virtual realm.”

In addition to financial inclusion, the Current Ritual website is in alignment with American Disability Act regulations by providing transcripts for all audio lessons and closed-captioning for the video lessons to support individuals with varying capabilities.

While McAfee’s virtual library is self-guided, her private practice includes extensive in-person services here in the Roaring Fork Valley. Emphasizing nervous system health, McAfee offers hands-on myofascial release work and work with the noteworthy Lucia Light — a therapeutic, flickering light practice that modulates the nervous system by calming the fight-or-flight response and promoting the rest-and-digest response, according to McAfee. 

The Lucia Light is unique in that, “the resultant altered state of consciousness is similar to advanced meditation, and creates synergy for releasing restrictions in fascia throughout the body,” McAfee said.

The Current Ritual website could be used by people who are self treating with psychedelics and/or plant medicine as support for preparation and integration phases. In her private practice, Kat promotes harm reduction and safety awareness by sharing evidence-based education with her clients who have questions about psychedelics and plant medicine.

Whether online or in-person, McAfee notes that it is important for her clients to be empowered to heal themselves, regardless of who they are or what their needs may be, and that she is simply honored to support them along the way.

On the airwaves

Now, with a growing business, McAfee is ready to bring her insight to the airwaves with her new public affairs show on KDNK, aptly called Current Ritual.

Airing the first Wednesday of every month, McAfee’s show explores how we approach our daily habits and rituals through mindset and behaviors. Each episode highlights one health topic — such as eating disorders, sexual intimacy and plant medicine — by inviting an expert from the field to have an open dialogue.

In alignment with her mission to normalize accessible, holistic healthcare, McAfee focuses on creating a neuroprotective environment for triggering topics.

“I want to have honest conversations where we bring things into the light,” McAfee said. “The reason I want to do these interviews is because it’s not about what I think is right. I just want to have conversations to help you ask yourselves questions or reflect on your own way that you are handling that part of your life. It’s a non-confrontational way to reflect on your own habits, routines, and behavior.”

With this mindset, McAfee hopes to continue reframing how we connect with each other, our environments and ourselves.

Current Ritual’s first show focused on breaking down mental barriers when faced with adversity with Kirstie Ennis, veteran and founder of Kirstie Ennis Foundation. Her second topic was the importance of discussing intimacy from an authentic place with Advanced Erotic Blueprint Trainer and Somatic Sexologist Anne More.

“The ultimate goal of the show, of my website and of my services is to get your nervous system into a place where you can connect with your internal wisdom,” McAfee said. “You can guide yourself and you can feel centered as your own ally, and as your own advocate.”

Listeners can catch McAfee’s next show on Wednesday, Feb. 2 at 4:30 p.m. She will discuss healing through nutrition with Amber Harmony Crowley, a consultant, private chef and founder of Itzy Bitz of Health.

To learn more about Current Ritual, visit www.currentritual.com or @current__ritual on Instagram. Future clients can also reach McAfee via email at Kat@currentritual.com to book a session or to simply connect.