Vanessa Chakour

Vanessa Chakour is an author, herbalist, naturalist, boxing coach, and land steward whose work fosters intimacy with inner and outer wilds. Her multidisciplinary approach blends writing, plant medicine, movement, and ecological restoration, rooted in decades of study and land‑based practice across the Northeastern U.S., Costa Rica, and Scotland. Her books Awakening Artemis and Earthly Bodies reflect this integration, exploring personal and ecological healing through kinship with the more‑than‑human world. She has collaborated with organizations such as Project Coyote and the Jaguar Rescue Center, and her writing has appeared in Orion, Terrain, Psyche/Aeon, Yes! Magazine, Beyond with Jane Ratcliffe, Psychology Today, and is the creator of Wild Voices Collective audio magazine.

Chakour’s work is shaped by her own long journey of rewilding the self. After early trauma and physical challenges—including chronic asthma and a serious car accident—Chakour rebuilt her strength through disciplined training, creative expression, and reconnection to Earth. Boxing became a central part of this process. She trained as a professional fighter at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn and spent more than fifteen years coaching others. Now based in Western Massachusetts, Chakour weaves these threads together in HEX Boxing Club. A boutique boxing club within a private membership association centering women and gender‑expansive individuals, HEX teaches boxing as both a healing practice and a disciplined craft, offering pro‑level skills alongside herbalism, meditation, and creative arts. It is a space for integrated training and healing for inner and outer wilds.