Beau Leonhart was completely hooked in 1980 when she heard Stephen Foster and Meredith Little speak at the high school where she was a math teacher and active outings program guide for over 31 years.

As a child, she was one of six brothers and sisters.
Understandably their mother Martha’s favorite kind advice was “Go outside and play.”
When not in school, Beau grew up having tea parties up in the branches of her favorite magnolia tree, swimming in the Severn River, walking barefoot whenever possible, sledding down snowy hills, gazing at the clouds and stars, and simply drinking in the natural environment around her.

Beau loves bringing others back to natural settings where they return to themselves.

She has been practicing Qigong and Tai’ji since 2002, guiding VQs since 1983, and is a Wilderness First Responder..

James Shipman has been leading VQ's with his wife, Beau, since 1983.

He is a student and reader in World History, Politics, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, and Shamanism.

Having practiced and taught the Art of Aikido for over 40 years, James combines his Aikido and VQ experience with his very active hiking regimen (more than a thousand miles a year), to provide a strong natural base for his work.

As he says “Time spent on the mat, in the desert, or hiking in the woods keeps me away from four walls and a screen.”
He adds further: “Take a minute out of your busy life and contemplate the fact that you are a human being and not a machine.”

James is also a Vietnam Veteran and an avid bridge player.

SageHeart honors indigenous cultures everywhere; we do not do a specific native American ceremony of any kind.
Our work draws on many sources, none of which are particularly “owned” by any group.
We are most interested in the sacred alone time.

SageHeart is a Limited Liability Company (LLC). As such, it is a business first.
We investigated many options and the LLC was our best fit.
Although we would like to be a non-profit at some point—or even a foundation—the LLC enables us to move more quickly and adapt more easily to our clients’ needs.