3 Courses in Bristol

spirit of the inca

Lying flat on my back for 16 days back in 1980 something, I was in so much physical pain that I could not move. It was then that I began to realise that I needed to change my life! I had been literally 'floored'! Stopped in my tracks. I had nowhere to run, or hide. "It wasn't by chance that during that time I came across a reflexologist who helped me to see that this was a turning point in my life. As a result of that meeting, and the healing that followed, I trained to become a reflexologist. My healers journey had begun and everything changed. "Over the course of the next few years, I noticed that some clients healed and others did not. My curiosity and desire to be of service led me to explore all kinds of therapeutic processes... counselling, gestalt, person centred therapy, psychosythesis. It was a great help in understanding how the mind affected the body. And I noticed that now I was able to help more people to heal.. and yet I noticed that still some clients did not. "My wondering about this led me fully into the healing arts and I began to understand that we each have a soul's journey. I had to ask myself: 'Why am I here?' 'What am I meant to be doing with my life?' "At the level of the soul I needed to know that my life has meaning and purpose beyond the everyday, and I learned that creative expression is vital to my wellbeing, as is finding a meaning and purpose that fits who I am. During this time I had many teachers. I trained to be a yoga teacher, I discovered 5 Rythms dance, and explored ways to use my voice... each time reaching out beyond my comfort zone, beyond who I thought I was.. to discover aspects of me that had been hidden or surpressed in the simple act of living this everyday reality. "My wondering led me to run a women's group for ten years. I wanted to explore what it means to be a woman in today's world. Together, we explored the sacred feminine, the goddess, the myths that we live by, we explored sacred landscapes, ceremony and ritual and found ways to connect with Mother Earth, a connection lost in working world today. During those years I took groups on Outward Bound courses in the landscape of Dartmoor. It was as much my journey as it was for those who shared it with me. We all learned a lot about ourselves, about what we were truly capable of. Incredible transformations took place in us all. Above all I learned the resilience of the human spirit, how stepping beyond fear creates inner trust and confidence... and that when we truly face our fears and embrace them we liberate ourselves then our presence liberates others. "Finally my journey led me to Shamanic Training. I have worked with a number of shaman in my life, and now, Incorporating the processes and techniques that I have learned both from the Inca tradition and many other great teachers along the way, I have developed a training which is powerful, beautiful and for me is the final piece in the puzzle. "Working at the level of energy affects all of the bodies: the soul's journey, the mental body, the emotional body and the physical body. I have also learned on this journey that it is a sacred journey, a journey towards wholeness... and the more I heal of myself, the more I affect those around me in a positive, life enriching way. "This is the work that I do in the world, it's the gift that I bring. "My medicine stones form a powerful healing tool called a Mesa. "My Mesa contains the wisdom that comes from my personal healing, the transformation of old worn-out stories of powerlessness, turned into power; of pain and suffering turned into compassion; and ancient wisdom handed down through the ages, through a lineage of medicine men and women whose grace, dignity and childlike innocence reminds me of what we have lost in the Western world. "And now I teach others how to build theirs."