Spring has sprung again, reminding us that winter will not last forever no matter what it may feel like sometimes. In a wonderfully fun zoom recently we discussed the idea that while we are here in this 3-d world experiencing our finite lives there are rhythms that if we honor will help us on our way. In fact, all around us the world shows us that there is a dance, a coming and going, a filling and emptying that is fundamental to our life process and health. Here are just a few examples. The breath: Inhaling – growth, expansion, new experiences. The pause – the infinite one-ness ..read more

Working with the Medicine I have seen many participants begin their journeys with Aya and along the way I have run into a lot of myths and misconceptions around what the medicine is and how it works. This month, I thought it would be fun to list out the top 5 Myths and Misconceptions about Ayahuasca and why they aren’t true. I didn’t want to just go off my own experience, so I turned to the SOLA membership to get their suggestions as well.  So here we go in no particular order – 1. Ayahuasca is a psychedelic drug, and a successful journey looks like a “classic” trip with pretty colors and ..read more

I wanted to touch upon an important topic in relation to the medicine – Intimacy, Sex and the Medicine. Let’s start with Sex and the Medicine – there should be NO sex involved in the medicine. None. If a Maestro, Shaman, Leader, Guru, staff or other participant tells you that sex is a part of Ayahuasca or that you need to have sex for your healing or just asks you for sex – it’s a hard no and depending on the situation, you may want to leave when it is safe to. It is incredibly sad and angering to me that too many “shamans” have used this medicine and others like it to prey upon participants ..read more

Working in the healing arena I often hear this question asked in many different ways – What does healing look like?  Along the way, I have heard a lot of unhelpful ideas about what being “healed” looks like.  It’s important to call out these misguided and unhealthy ideas because they can get us stuck and make our process harder and longer than it needs to be. Here are just a few – Healing is a destination, a goal to achieve. Life will be happily ever after once you’ve reached a certain level of healed. Healing means perfection – if you’re still making mistakes then ..read more

Time for some Spring Self-Care! Last year I bought some fruit trees. It’s been a learning curve for me as I learn how to care for them. This is my first Spring with them and after much YouTube watching I went out to do my first pruning not long ago. Pruning the trees encourages healthy growth. It helps focus the trees resources to the healthiest branches and also creates enough space for the flowers and fruits to flourish. Without pruning the trees energies will be spread out as it tries to nourish healthy and unhealthy branches alike which weakens the tree and can lead to little to no fruits ..read more

Happy Winter Solstice! Longer nights, colder weather, slower pace – it’s that time of year to sink into the Dark. In our dichotomic world view we have created two opposing forces. The Dark and the Light.  We treat them as rivals, enemies to each other. The Light is the good, the right, the acceptable and the Dark is evil, frightening, wrong and something to resist.  Why is it that the Dark scares us so much? I think it’s because it is in the dark that we find all the aspects of ourselves that we banished.  Those things that were different or judged bad by those around us and mad ..read more

You’ve probably heard the old adage that it’s about the journey, not the destination.  That is true for a lot of life and especially true for our healing journey.  It’s good to remind ourselves that a journey has a lot of different components and doesn’t look or feel the same all the time.  No one’s path is the same, they are as unique as we are. Too often I run into people who feel like if they aren’t constantly doing intense healing work then they’re doing something wrong or not pushing themselves enough. Not true. The one thing you can ..read more

 I have the privilege of working for Ayahuasca which means that I also get the chance to be coached by her in the medicine space often.  Every time I drink she goes through a check list with me of things to do, remember and practice. I have found these practices to be helpful both on the mat and in life. Recently, Aya suggested that I share them with you. These are in no particular order and often you will find yourself circling back through them several times and in a different order depending upon what you are working through. Hope they help you as much as they continue to he ..read more

So you want to expereince an Ayahuasca ceremony. There are 5 questions you need to ask before choosing the right place for you. 1. What are you drinking? There are many different recipes for the brew. The 2 main ingredients need to be Aya vine and a form of DMT (Chacruna, Cholliponga, Mimosa). But there can be many more medicinal plants added and each additional ingredient brings more health and medication interactions and considerations. Always find out what you will be drinking. 2. Who is leading the ceremony? It is important to know who is leading. How long have they worked with the medicin ..read more

For anyone who has experienced an Aya ceremony you are aware how transformational it is, but it can also be very uncomfortable when we go home. The Ayahuasca ceremony can crack the door open on deep, core issues and then leave us to do much of the processing back in our everyday lives. Sometimes after ceremony our axis has changed, our foundation has shifted and we return to our lives feeling ungrounded, unsure of our footing, scrambled or even feeling a bit crazy. When this happens don’t be quick to reac for old, comfortable patterns. Those unsettled feelings are a part of your transformation ..read more