Workshops
Here are some of the Workshops and Trainings I am authorized to offer at this time. I am available to bring them to your area under your Sponsorship as well as Sponsor them myself in your area. See Calendar for specific dates and availability of Workshops and Events.
Basic Training in Shamanism
Part 1 - The Shaman’s Journey: A Path to Power and Healing
In this experiential workshop, you will be introduced to some basic methods used by shamans to enter non-ordinary reality, obtain hidden knowledge, answer personal questions, and contribute to your own health as well as that of others. Our training will focus on the key ingredient of shamanism – the journey - one of the most remarkable visionary methods used by humankind to explore the hidden universe known mostly through myth and dream. Aided by drums, rattles, ceremony and sacred space, you will be initiated into journeying, where you will meet spirit guides who can give you insights to regain personal power, balance, and harmony.
Other practices include a method of divination, long distant healing, and shamanic drumming and dancing. You will experience connecting to the “web of life” through ritual and ceremony throughout the weekend.
Please bring a rattle or drum, if you have one. Wear comfortable, loose clothing, and bring a bandana or eye cover, a cushion, and a pen and notebook to record your journeys. You will also need to bring a rock about the size of a grapefruit to class. No experience or belief is necessary - only your imagination and curiosity.
The workshop will run 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday, with lunch breaks each day. Please plan to have a quiet evening Saturday night. Other Formats are possible.
Part 2 - Deepening the Journey – Power and Healing
This workshop will expand on the journey work learned in The Shaman’s Journey, deepening your knowledge of non-ordinary reality and your connection with your Spirit allies. The journeys we will do and the information shared will help you build personal power and demonstrate how you can integrate these practices into your daily life for the benefit of yourself, others, and the planet. Using ceremony, various journeying and healing techniques, movement, and song, you will learn to work with the spirits of Nature and the Ancestors on behalf of yourself, others, community and place. Bring your drum, rattle, notebooks, and a bandana to make a Siberian Eye Curtain with.
Pre-Requisite: The Shaman’s Journey or a Basic Introduction to Shamanism workshop.
The workshop will run 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday, with lunch breaks each day. Please plan to have a quiet evening Saturday night. Other Formats are possible.
Extraction: A Shamanic Healing Technique
You will be introduced to and trained to see with shaman’s eyes in order to perform extractions, a traditional shamanic healing method for removing localized negative intrusions from the spirit body which causes pain and illness. To do this work, skilled experience with shamanic journeying is essential, as well as a working relationship with your Spirit Teacher(s) and/or Power Animal(s). This co-creative relationship with your Spirit Teachers and Power Animals is key to the real magic, power, and mystery of Shamanic Healing. The workshop is for people who wish to incorporate Extraction into their healing practice. This workshop is not for personal healing. More work with movement and song, ritual and sacred space, and working with the power of words is also part of this training. Bring your drum, rattle, journal, and pen, and Siberian Eye Curtain (or a bandana to make one).
The workshop will run 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday, with lunch breaks each day. Please plan to have a quiet evening Saturday night. Other Formats are possible.
Soul Retrieval: Healing the Fragmented Self
You will be trained in working with issues of the loss of vitality and feeling depleted, due to personal trauma and illness, from a shamanic perspective; and will learn how to use the Shamanic Journey to track a person’s essence and return it. Special emphasis will be given to communication skills, tracking methods, and how to integrate the healing into a healthier daily life. This four-day workshop is for those who wish to bring this healing technique into their practice with others and not for personal healing.
Bring your drum, rattle, notebook, pen, Eye Curtain or Bandana.
Prerequisites:
Basic Training in Shamanism: The Journey or similar workshop, and a Pre-admission Interview. It is highly suggested that you attend the Extraction Training prior to Soul Retrieval as well.
Suggested reading:
• Soul Retrieval – Mending the Fractured Self by Sandra Ingerman.
• Welcome Home, Following Your Soul's Journey Home by Sandra Ingerman.
The workshop will run 9am – 5pm on the first day, usually a Thursday, 9am-10pm on the second day, with an afternoon break and a break for lunch and dinner. The third day will run from 9 am to 10 pm with the same breaks, and the fourth day will run from 9 am – 2 pm, with a lunch break. Different format are possible – especially if it is a residential training.
Medicine for the Earth: Healing Personal and Planetary Toxins
Using a specific spiritual methodology, we will work together to restore harmony and balance in our external environment by creating positive change within ourselves. During this training we will create a sacred space where miracles are possible. Using a powerful combination of journeywork and ceremony, our work will focus on transmuting not only physical toxins in the environment but also emotional and mental toxins that poison perceptions of reality. To prepare for this training you will need basic shamanic journeying skills, unless it is one of the versions I will offer that uses Guided Imagery instead of Journeying. And I strongly suggest that you read Sandra Ingerman’s book, Medicine for the Earth (available on Amazon.com and at major book stores). Please bring a notebook, mat or blanket to lie on, pillow or backjack to sit on, and a bandana or eye shade. Also please bring drawing materials, paper, and colored markers/pens/pencils.
This material is offered in two formats: a weekend training and a five day residential workshop.
It is also recommended that you read How To Heal Toxic Thoughts by Sandra Ingerman.
CHUA K’A: Mongolian Self Massage
The ancient Mongolian warriors were known as “the purified bodies.” They were undefeated for hundreds of years and conquered much of the known world during their heyday. Legend has it that they performed self massage after their battle wounds were healed over. They understood that if they “removed” the memory of the injury – fear - they would be even stronger and wiser. I was privileged to learn and then teach this esoteric self massage, sometimes known as Chua K’a, through the auspices of The Arica Institute, during the 70’s and 80’s. Chua K’a is done methodically, section by section, using hands and fingers, and sometimes pieces of jade and stone as tools that sculpt out one’s own body parts, liberating muscle and bone, thus “freeing” the Zones of Karma, which are taught along the way. Some benefits of doing Chua K’a are: increased flexibility and vitality, improved circulation, renewed awareness, emotional release of injured areas, and a deeper connection with the spirit body.
During the 2-Day workshop we will work on most areas of our own bodies, working in partners for the face and the back. Since this technique is performed on the spirit body as well as the physical body, which may release old fears and unblock frozen areas, class will be conducted with respectful, quiet energy. No prior experience is necessary. Participants will wear bathing suits and bring sheets and towels. I will provide the oil and the scents used as well as offer a hand-out regarding the Zones of Karma. It is suggested that you bring a light lunch, plenty of liquids to drink, and be willing to shorten your fingernails for this deep work. All participants must be in good health and taking no serious medications.
The workshop will run from 9 – 5 each of the two days, with frequent breaks and a short lunch break.
The Power of Touch: The Healing Power of Therapeutic Touch
Since ancient times human touch has been “used” therapeutically all over the world, for soothing, longevity, comforting, healing injury, recovery from childbirth, moving away from trauma, etc. We are experiencing a return to that wisdom as we witness the blending of Eastern and Western medical traditions in our lifetimes.
In this daylong workshop we will explore some healing touches, which include acupressure from the Chinese Tradition, Medical massage from the Swedish Tradition, Chua K’a from the Mongolian tradition, and energetic healing touch, and emotional release touch from the eclectic Western traditions. We will touch ourselves and others during the day. Please wear loose, comfortable clothing and bring a blanket or yoga mat. Please do not wear perfume, cologne, or hairspray. It is best if you shorten your fingernails before you come. Please bring plenty of liquids to drink and a sack lunch.
This workshop is a one day event and can be designed to take to professionals in hospitals, clinics, hospices, retirement homes, or whatever venue would welcome this information, as well as for the general public.