October 26, 2024 • 44 mins
What if you could unlock a transformative power within yourself using just your breath? Join me, Naomi, on the Joyful Shaman Podcast as we explore the profound impact of shamanic breathwork and its sacred ceremony.
Discover how breathwork serves as a ceremonial practice, bridging a connection to the divine and your subconscious, and learn about various styles like somatic and holotropic that can seamlessly blend into your daily life, promoting relaxation and self-awareness.
In this episode, I take you on an immersive adventure into the world of shamanic breathwork. We emphasize the importance of crafting a safe, comfortable space for this sensory journey, complete with tools like mats and blankets to enhance the experience. With a carefully curated playlist that aligns with the body's chakras, participants may encounter vivid visions and ancestral connections, leading to a profound shift in consciousness. We also highlight the significance of grounding exercises post-session to help integrate these experiences, with creative expression such as art therapy.
I open up about my personal transformative experiences during breathwork sessions—meeting spiritual guides, including Egyptian gods and goddesses, and how these encounters have facilitated my growth and healing. Dive into my journey of confronting deep-seated anxiety and dissociation, finding new coping mechanisms, and exploring the shadow parts of my mind. As we wrap up, I introduce Somatic Reiki, a powerful healing practice available at my studio, and encourage listeners to connect with their inner shaman while spreading the message and impact of the Joyful Shaman Podcast.
Resources:
Shamanic Breathwork: Linda Star Wolf
https://www.shamanicbreathwork.org/about-venus-rising-university
Somatic Reiki: Central Florida Studio
https://satnamwellness.com/noemi/
Shamanic Healing Journey-Online Session
https://joyfulshaman.com/online-services
I'd Love To Connect With You..Send Me A Message!
To Connect With Me, Visit Me At: www.joyfulshaman.com
Follow Me On Instagram: @joyfulshaman
Have Questions Or Episode Ideas?? Email Me!
Naomi@joyfulshaman.com
Thank You So Much For Supporting Me & Energetically…The Collective
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the Joyful Shaman Podcast.
I'm Naomi, your host with themost, and I am back again with
another episode this week.
We're going to start to getinto some rituals and some
practices that have been soprofound for me, but before we
do, I just want to say that Ihost my podcast on Buzzsprout
(00:24):
and I recently just downloadedthe app so I can follow along,
using AI and other tools,whenever I'm uploading my
episodes, and it also gives methe stats of how many people
have downloaded episodes of thepodcast, which ones and actually
where they are listening from,and I was so happy to see how so
(00:48):
many people are across the pond.
So, all of you listeners outthere in the UK, thank you so
much for the love and support.
Also, my friends in Canada,thank you as well.
And then, of course, there'speople all over the United
States that are listening, notjust here in my local community,
(01:09):
but I'm just so grateful thatthese messages, whether it's the
meditation, whether it's thetalk episodes, are finding their
way to the people that needthem.
So thank you so much, and ifyou ever just want to chat, if
you ever have any questions orwant to share an idea about a
podcast episode.
(01:29):
Feel free to send me an emailat naomi at joyfulshamancom.
I'd love to know who you areand, you know, maybe I'll take
your idea and create a wholeepisode just for you.
So I just wanted to start off bysaying that.
But this week's episode isgoing to be about breath work,
(01:51):
and the reason I wanna startwith this is breath work for me,
in the style that I havelearned, that I have experienced
, and the way that I actuallyfacilitate doing my own version
of it with my in-person clients,is the number one way that I
feel that I have changed my life.
And you're thinking breathinghow can that change you?
(02:15):
Well, we are going to get intoit, because it's not just any
breath, it is intentional breath, it is powerful breath, it is
breath that is so connecting tosource, to the divine, to your
subconscious, to yourself.
It's like anything other thanwhat I have experienced.
First, I do want to define whata ritual is and what a ceremony
(02:39):
is, because in shamanicbreathwork it is a very
ritualistic practice inside of agreater ceremony.
My teacher Allie always says tome you are a walking ceremony.
And I think about that and I'mlike what does she mean by that?
Is it.
You know the shamanic tattoosthat I have, is it?
(02:59):
You know the way that I conductmy life?
You know what does she mean bythat?
Well, let's define it.
So.
A ritual is a series of acts,generally performed in some kind
of ceremony, that are done in acertain order.
To simplify it, think aboutyour morning routine.
Maybe your morning routine isyou get up, you take a shower,
(03:23):
you make your coffee, do alittle journaling, maybe you're
meditating, maybe you'rewatching the news, then you're
getting in your car listening toa podcast, maybe you're
listening to me or listening tothe radio and you're heading
into work.
Some of you may start the dayby getting up and going and
exercising, coming back, doingthe coffee, doing the shower,
doing all of that.
That is your morning ritual.
(03:46):
A ceremony is a series of eventsthat are put together to
celebrate a special occasion orin honor of something.
For me, a ceremony is a seriesof rituals that we put together
to have a general overarchingtheme or intention.
(04:08):
So maybe the ceremony is in themorning, my me time, and my
ceremony looks like this I getup, I always say my morning
gratitudes Thank you that I'malive, thank you that I have
breath in my body.
Thank you for my angels and myteam of light for protecting me
and helping me sleep, but I'mjust grateful to have all of my
(04:30):
energy called back into me.
So then I get up, you know, Igo wash my face and then I go
make a decaf chai, where I use alot of herbal plant medicine
inside of my decaf chai, and Ido my ritual of blessing the
chai, kind of like spell work,and then I drink my plant
(04:50):
medicine tea to start the dayand then I'm getting dressed and
I'm out the door.
So, that being said, once weunderstand that at a basic level
, component rituals are a bunchof different actions that you're
taking.
Ceremony is a bunch ofdifferent rituals that you're
doing for a specific reason.
We can then jump in to thetopic of breath work and how
(05:17):
that in of itself is a ceremony,and then the actions that are
taken within that ceremony tobring about that connection.
So many of you have probablyheard of somatic healing or
somatic breath work orholotropic breath work, and
these are cyclical styles ofbreathing, meaning you are
(05:39):
breathing in a certain manner,you are taking action to breathe
in a circular pattern,generally guided by somebody,
whether you're listening to itor you're doing it in person or
you're watching on a video, butyou are breathing in a certain
style to elicit a certainphysical response in the body.
(05:59):
So somatic breath work for mecan be as simple as what I call
yogic breathing the in throughthe nose, filling your belly,
and out through the mouth.
And if you're doing that, say,about 10 times, that's a form of
very gentle somatic breath work.
(06:20):
You're going to get morerelaxed.
Your body, your muscles, allthat tension is going to start
to melt away.
You're giving your mind a taskbecause you're focusing on the
physical act of breathing inthrough the nose, filling your
belly and then letting it go.
This type of breath work Iencourage everyone to do the
(06:44):
first thing.
In the morning, when I havetime, I do some somatic breath
work and then sometimes I do ashort round of holotropic breath
work as well.
Holotropic breath work is goingto be a little bit more intense
and more rapid pace.
Generally, holotropic breathwork is a breath in through the
mouth and out through the mouth.
(07:05):
If you've ever taken akundalini yoga class, this is
almost like breath of fire.
You are engaging your core.
You're not hyperventilating,you're not breathing in your
chest, but you're breathing inthrough the mouth and out
through the mouth by engagingyour abdominals.
It is quite a bit of a coreworkout, but when you do that
(07:29):
you are increasing that bloodflow, you are increasing your
heart rate a little bit, yourbody temperature is going to
increase as well, but it isgoing to give you a very
different result.
I love Breath of Fire toactivate, to really call in, to
awaken that kundalini life forceenergy.
It clears your mind and you'relike I can handle anything.
(07:52):
Somatic breathwork is reallywonderful to start, maybe a yoga
practice or a meditationpractice, and then you can cycle
it by including some holotropicpractices in there.
So maybe it sounds a littlelike this so in through the nose
(08:13):
, out through the mouth, andthen maybe I hold my breath and
then let go and then maybe Istart holotropic again.
You are cycling your breath ina certain way to open up and
(08:34):
activate the brain.
Now a lot of people don't knowwhat's actually happening in the
brain and scientifically I willkind of go over that.
I did write some notes, so ifyou're watching this on YouTube,
I'm gonna look down and let youknow.
So what actually happens in thebrain is you are activating the
amygdala, the emotionalregulation.
(08:57):
You are reducing negativeemotions, you are stimulating
positive mood and cognition.
You are actually expanding thebrain.
You are releasing oxytocin,serotonin and DMT.
We naturally make these thingsin our body, but sometimes
certain people don't make themif they have health conditions
(09:19):
or on certain medications,certain diets.
That can really wreak havoc.
That can increase our anxiety,increase depression, make us
have brain fog, make ourmemories not be as great, and
overall it could maybe, if we'renot balanced, have a certain
level of lethargy.
And so breathwork helps to kindof reset the brain like this
(09:46):
you know the neurons are firingbecause of the amount of oxygen
that you are taking into thebody, it starts to fire a
different way inside of thebrain.
We're bringing that oxygen intoour brain, we're resetting
things.
You know it's like we'returning it on.
We're turning on the oven andwe're putting it to full blast,
you know.
So that being said,scientifically, it is really a
powerful way to regulate thenervous system, reduce stress,
(10:13):
amplify mood, release thechemicals that make us feel good
in our body, helps toimmediately reduce pain and
tension in our muscles and inour joints because we're
flushing in fresh oxygenatedblood into those areas.
So there is a profound amount ofbenefits for us to do this type
(10:36):
of breath work.
You can do it, just as ingeneral, for a health benefit,
but the shamanic way, there isalways a powerful intention.
When I do what I call a breathwork journey, I am doing it
generally to reset myself if I'mhaving a particularly hard time
(10:57):
in my life.
I think it's a great way toclear the chakra energy you know
, all the energetic meridianpoints of our body but it's also
a wonderful practice when lifeis just really challenging.
I'm really stressed out.
I'm not tapping into myintuition, I'm not being
consistent in my meditationpractices, I'm not being
consistent in connecting withspirit, and so sometimes I just
(11:21):
got to breathe.
You know, I just got to breathe.
I just have to breathe in thiscertain way to be able to just
clear everything down to thecore, root level.
Now, when we breathe in theshamanic fashion, we are
accessing altered state ofconsciousness, the way that
we're functioning.
(11:41):
Now, when we do this breathworkceremony and the rituals that
are part of the breathworkceremony, we are asking
ourselves to surrender and openourselves up to a different,
altered state of consciousness.
The really cool thing aboutshamanic breathwork is, if done
(12:01):
by a minimum of an hour, andit's pretty easy to do it.
Once you surrender into thatprocess, you are actually
releasing the same amount, ornear the same amount, of DMT,
which is powerful for mentalhealth healing, as if you were
doing a trip with ayahuasca orany other psychotropic plant
(12:25):
medicine.
And I really want to emphasizethis because breathwork can be
controlled.
You can breathe and you canstop breathing in that manner.
You are always in control.
Even though you're in an alteredstate of consciousness, you can
still come back into thepresent.
It's not going to physicallyharm the body.
Of course there are certainhealth conditions, like if
(12:48):
you're pregnant, if you have anytype of epileptic conditions or
if you have any type ofrespiratory conditions.
Obviously, breathwork is notintended for you.
Most other people can do thiswork as well, at any time.
You know you can be withsomebody and somebody can watch
you and make sure you're nothyperventilating by any means.
But you have control over this,whereas ayahuasca you do not
(13:12):
have control.
Plus an hour, I feel, is betterthan several hours, than being
on plant medicine, but that'sjust my opinion.
You know if I can receive thesame amount of benefits in a
more controlled way and have ahealthy way of processing
emotionally, mentally andspiritually.
After my session, you know,through a variety of different
(13:33):
means, you know, I feel likethat would be a better journey
for me to connect with my ownsoul, to connect with my own
mind and to connect with my ownmind and to connect with the
divine, you know.
So we are accessing alteredconsciousness to open up the
subconscious for profoundhealing.
There is also really reallystrong somatic benefits somatic
(13:56):
in the body, emotion in the body.
You know we are intending, inshamanic breathwork, to remove
emotional blockages, to connectwith our intuition, to gain
insight for transformation, notjust breathing.
To breathe, I mean we can, butthere is a reason.
We always set an intention.
(14:16):
You know if, whenever I ambreathing, I'm always asking
spirit please clear me ofanything that has attached
itself to me, negative entities,negative energies, anything
that is blocking my mind and myheart from knowing and speaking
my inner truth.
(14:37):
That's always my intention, nomatter if I'm alone or if I'm
doing breathwork within a groupof people.
That's always my intention andI feel it deep down in my heart
and I just have gratitude,before I go in to this journey,
to not also have expectations aswell, but also just to have
(14:57):
gratitude that I have breath inmy body and my body is able to
function in that way.
To breathe when we approachshamanic breath work, you want
to do it in a state where youare in a safe container, and
what I mean by that is if youare breathing alone, which you
(15:18):
can do.
You need to be in a dark roomor a room with not a lot of
light.
You need to be laying down on acomfortable mat on the floor or
lying down on a bed and havingample space around you that's
not cluttered with furniture,you will probably start lying
down, but I, like myself, getreally activated and sometimes I
(15:42):
have to stand up and movearound.
I mean, sometimes I'm just likepunch kicking and like I don't
know dancing, but just moving mybody in a way because of the
way that the energy is movingthrough me.
I may not always do that, butmost of the time that I do so
you need to have an open spacethat's comfortable, where you
(16:02):
can lie down or stand up or movearound.
If you are going to breathealone, make sure that there's
nothing harmful that could hurtyou along the walls.
Why?
Because you actually blindfoldyourself or you keep your eyes
closed if you have issues withclaustrophobia and you can't
have something over your eyes.
(16:23):
This is a deep, deep sensoryexperience.
This is an experience where youare allowing the universe to be
your eyes, to be your ears andto come into your body and to do
profound healing and shiftingfor you.
Okay, so you're going to have avery deep spiritual experience.
(16:44):
You need to be safe while doingso.
So in shamanic breathwork, westart lying down.
We have mats, blankets, pillows, whatever makes us comfortable,
because sometimes you can getcold or you can get hot, or back
and forth, you have an eye maskto cover your eyes.
During the experience, theentire experience, especially if
(17:06):
you go to a breathwork class ordo a breathwork journey with a
group of people, no one islooking at anybody at all.
Only the person facilitating islooking at you to ensure that
you are safe and not runninginto the walls or not running
into other people.
Okay, and so once we begin,there is a very specific
(17:28):
activating playlist that isplayed very, very loud.
It's meant to flood out thethoughts in the chatter of your
mind, whereas your mind has tohyper fixate on this music I use
a playlist that has words.
I have breathed with playliststhat do not have words and
(17:49):
that's totally fine, but everysong is moving through the main
meridian chakras.
So we're going to start with afaster, more upbeat song for
root chakra, just meant toground you, activate you, get
you going.
And then maybe an even fastersong for sacral chakra.
I mean really fast, a lot ofdrumming, a lot of yeah, it's
(18:11):
just a lot of drumming, reallyfast.
Or maybe a lot of like moretechno kind of beats, just beats
that you can dance to.
It's going to be veryrepetitive and those are gonna
be very activating.
All lower chakras, from solarplexus down to root, are more
activating songs.
And then, as you move throughand you're breathing in and out,
(18:32):
you know, and you can breathein the somatic way or you can do
breath of fire, but you'rebreathing to the music and when
your body gets going with thebreath and you're listening to
the music and you're lettingthat rhythm take over, your mind
(18:54):
starts to expand.
You're gonna start to seecolors, you're gonna start to
see images.
You're going to not be here onthis earth, I promise you.
I promise you.
Some people see numbers, somepeople see colors, you're going
to start to see images.
You're going to not be here onthis earth, I promise you.
I promise you.
Some people see numbers, somepeople see colors, some people
see their ancestors, some peoplesee aliens, some people see a
whole bunch of different things,and I'm going to get into a
(19:15):
story about my first breathworkjourney in a moment and what I
saw and experienced.
But as you're breathing, themusic is changing and moving up
and up into the chakras until weare back in almost a shavasana
or like the yogic rest pose, andit is a gentle, more calling
(19:35):
song to open up the mind and tocall you back into the present.
Generally, breathwork journeyslike this are about 45 minutes
to an hour, and the way that Ihave experienced them and the
way that I like to lead mine isI always start with a very short
meditation with live drumplaying.
(19:57):
The drum boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,
boom, boom, boom.
The heartbeat, the call of theheartbeat.
It brings you back into homestate, it is what begins the
journey and sets you on the pathand it's what calls you back
into this dimension and intothis reality.
(20:19):
It's a very, very, verypowerful experience.
After that journey, in a groupsession, it is best to process
what it is that you felt, yousaw, you heard, and the fact
that your brain is so heavilyaltered, your consciousness is
so heavily altered.
You need some kind of groundingexercise to be able to get back
(20:43):
to this earth, this planet, andalso be able to explain to
yourself, when you're not inthis state, what it is that you
recall.
And to do that, the best way todo it is through artwork is
literally taking a piece ofpaper, some color pens, some
crayons, some markers, whateverget creative and you are writing
(21:03):
down and maybe you're drawingout what you saw maybe some
symbols, maybe an animal, maybea word, maybe some colors or a
feeling that you are trying toelicit.
It doesn't have to be the mostperfect drawing, but actually
the act of drawing it out andcreating this form of spiritual
mandala helps to bridge that gapand helps to integrate the work
(21:27):
that you just did.
So that is the ceremony ofshamanic breathwork from start
to finish.
The rituals are the music, theblindfold, the mat or bed with
the blankets and the pillow, andthe breath work in of itself,
(21:49):
and then the artwork to process.
Those are the rituals insidethe overall ceremony, and so I
love this.
I go to see Allie, I try to go.
Even now it's been after twoyears.
I still try to go to herwhenever she's in town, to her
house, to do it there, because Iam such an activated breath
(22:13):
walk journeyer.
I cannot lay down.
It puts too much pressure on me, on my chest, and maybe because
I'm just a fuller girl rightnow.
But I have to move and the waythat my body moves trauma
releases, stuck emotion isthrough my hips, is through my
pelvis.
So I'm doing a lot of gyrations, a lot of almost Middle Eastern
(22:38):
belly dance style movements,because that is just what helps
me to move.
That's where my kundalini fireenergy is down, in that core
area, and it starts to move up.
Now sometimes I'm just, likeyou know, fit karate punch,
kicking things.
If I'm, you know, been holdingon to a lot of anger and rage
(23:01):
and I'm just like punch, youknow, kicking it out, that
sometimes happens.
Sometimes I might get on thefloor, I might do like some yoga
, some exercises, some bridge, Idon't know.
It's just I have to move mybody.
I will eventually lay down aswe move into throat, third eye
(23:21):
and crown chakra music, but I'mnot going to be doing that from
heart down, but everybody isdifferent.
You don't know until you know.
The thing is, though, once youstart breathing our grandmother
teacher, linda Starwolf, who isthe creator of shamanic
breathwork and has been teachingthis for 40 years at her
(23:44):
renowned shamanic school up inWestern North Carolina and thank
God it was A-OK during thislast hurricane Helene Venus
Rising University, where you cantake various programs, and she
offers week-long retreats whereyou are doing multiple
breathwork journeys she alwayssays breathe.
There's no right or wrong wayto breathe, you just have to
(24:06):
keep breathing.
And you breathe until you'resurprised.
And even when you are surprised, you just keep breathing.
So that is the first ceremonythat I wanted to talk about, is
the first ceremony that I wantedto talk about, and so I'm going
to share with you all.
The first time that Iexperienced shamanic breath work
(24:27):
and it was with Allie, and it'sdefinitely been about two years
ago that I experienced this Ijust struggle a lot with anxiety
, and sometimes my mind is justruminating, and I'm a very, very
logical person.
I am a very spiritual person.
I like to be in the heart space, but I'm also logical and a
(24:49):
great shaman and the shamanicmind needs to be able to be a
walker between both worlds,between the physical, the 3D,
and be able to go into the 5Dand beyond.
Okay, and that's really hard todo in this meat suit, in this
avatar.
So when I'm too here in my mind, I'm too logical, all of these
energies build up and if Ihaven't been doing my clearing
(25:11):
and if I haven't been doing myconnecting, I'm then just
carrying everybody else's shitinside of my body and it bogs me
down.
So I remember I was just likeof my body and it bogs me down.
So I remember I was just likejust having a meltdown and I was
going to one of my sessions andI brought my friend that I
talked about, my podcast, myother spiritual friend here in
(25:32):
the community with me so thatshe could meet Allie, and also
Allie had been asking me tobring in a volunteer for me to
practice a shamanic energymedicine with, and so she said I
want you and your friend tohave an experience.
She used the word experienceand she said I need to know if
(25:53):
this is a part of your medicinefor you and also a part of your
medicine to give to others.
And I was like, okay, she saidyou need to come in comfortable,
loose-fitting clothing, don'teat anything an hour prior,
bring two bottles of water andjust be ready to expect the
(26:15):
unexpected.
And I'm like, okay, you know,I'm just like I got to roll with
it.
So, me and my friend, we get toher studio and she has the mats
out, she has yoga bolsters out,she has the yoga blankets, and
we're like, okay.
And so she went into this briefexplanation of shamanic
(26:37):
breathwork journey and she did ademonstration with music.
She put on her blindfold, shestarted to breathe, she started
to embody the energy of thejaguar, so she was on all fours.
You know kind of growling andthings like that.
You know, some people may yell,some people may scream, some
people may growl.
It is a profound energeticrelease of the body with this
(27:00):
breathwork.
And so we're sitting there andshe finishes.
She's like, okay, you get wherewe're going.
And I'm like, okay, cool.
So she actually has a start.
You know, putting on ourblindfolds, we're both laying
down on our mats and she hasthese big speakers and a
microphone.
She also has her drum and shealso has her rattle as well and
(27:23):
she said I'm going to drum, I'mgoing to rattle, I'm going to
sing, you know throughout, andI'm going to speak into the
microphone when I need to.
And she said I'm going to makesure, if you guys get up and
move, that you're not runninginto the walls.
I may guide you, I may gentlytouch you and move you back to a
safer area.
She did say and this is veryimportant, especially if you're
(27:46):
doing group breathwork you havethe right to say no if you do
not want to be touched.
I have done breathwork groupswhere I have been a participant
and people have touched my body.
I do not like to be touchedwhen I'm in my breathwork
journey.
I know how I am.
I don't like to be touchedbecause the moment you touch me
(28:06):
I'm out of it like that and nomatter how hard I breathe, I
cannot get back into thataltered state of consciousness.
So if you grab me, touch me,squeeze me, more than just a
gentle guide or push so that I'mnot running into something, I'm
out of it.
I don't like my belly beingpressed down.
I don't like my mouth beingopen.
I've seen some of this.
(28:27):
That's not my jam.
I would never do that tosomebody.
I don't want that done to me.
So I just want to put that outthere as a disclaimer.
If you're doing breathworkjourney in a group, you have a
voice.
Please tell the person that'sleading it or is watching over
you if you're doing some kind ofpartner work that you do not
want to be touched.
It's very important.
(28:48):
So she said if you don't likewhat I'm doing, just say stop
and I'll stop.
And I was like okay.
So she starts with this playlistand it's tribal music, it's
indigenous music, North Americanindigenous music.
They're singing, they'rechanting and I'm sitting on my
mat and I'm breathing.
(29:08):
I'm doing kind of the shamanicbreath, a variation of Breath of
Fire.
So I like to rock.
It helps me to loosen up myspine, it helps to move the
energy and as I'm doing thispodcast, I'm imagining the music
.
So automatically I'm rocking.
(29:28):
If you hear my chair squeakmore than usual on this podcast,
that's why podcast, that's whyAll of a sudden I see this
indigenous man inside of my mind.
I mean he is painted, he has redpaint over his eyes, dark hair,
(29:52):
he has the indigenous dress andhe's looking at me and he's
smoking a pipe and he's likesitting cross-legged and I'm
just like breathing.
You know, I'm like you know inthere.
And he says are you ready totravel with me?
And I'm like, what the fuck?
But I'm in it, man.
I'm like in it and I said yeah,and he goes okay, because I'm
going to transform you andyou're going to go through a
(30:13):
myriad of different places andanimals.
And he goes I need you tosurrender.
And I'm like, all right, when Isay yes, I immediately feel my
body seize up and not in likeI'm going to have a seizure or a
spasm, but in a way where Ibecome a bear, like my skin, my
(30:36):
human body, my skin suitexplodes and I am forming, like
my bones are cracking.
Have you ever seen one of thosewerewolf movies where they're
like transforming into thewerewolf?
They're like that's me becominga fucking bear.
And so I'm like growling andjust like getting on the ground.
(30:57):
I remember, and I am likegrowling and like walking on all
fours as far as I can remember,and then all of a sudden, I'm
an eagle and then I'm a snake.
I'm going through all of mytotem animals that I now have
tattooed on my body and this wasbefore I had them as tattoos
(31:19):
and so I am transforming intoall of these different animals.
And then I start to scream andI'm like screaming so loud and
then I'm sobbing because I'mreleasing all of this tension
and this stress that's pent upin my body.
And then the music changes andthen I feel like I'm amongst
(31:39):
these tribal women in Africaaround this large fire and we're
dancing because we're all inthese beautiful, like grass
skirts and we have grassheaddresses, and it's nighttime,
we're moving side to side, andthen I'm like an ancient Middle
East, probably Persia, you know,and it's a Bedouin tribe, and
(32:00):
there's a belly dancer woman andshe's dancing in the fire and
I'm trying to see her face, butshe has like blue eyes, so she
almost looks like a djinn.
And then I'm just going to allof these different places.
I'm in India, and then I am tosome planet.
I have no idea where I'm at,but it looks like rainbow
(32:24):
bubbles everywhere and it's thecoolest place and I was like I
don't know where this is, butthis place is dope.
And so all of this is happeningevery single time.
The music changes and sometimesI'm standing there and I
remember, you know, having myhands on my heart, that
sensation and then the musicwill change again and I'm back
dancing and I have no idea wheremy friend is across the room.
(32:46):
All I know is that Allietouched me twice so I wouldn't
like run my face into the wall,she told me.
And then she said the mostamazing thing happened On the
very last song for the crownshocker, just gentle and soft.
Before she guided us back toour mats, she said that my
friend and I, on opposite sidesof the room, turned at the same
(33:09):
time and diagonally, withoutknowing, started walking towards
each other and we had our handslike out towards each other and
we stopped and then we grabbedhands and we hugged one another.
I had no idea, I couldn't seeanything, I wasn't even on this
planet.
But that moment spirit guidedus to come and to come together
(33:30):
and to hug and to love oneanother.
And it was so profound, likewhen we finished, I like took my
eye mask off and I was likewhat the fuck was that?
I was like holy shit and I wasso altered.
She said you're going to bealtered for 48 hours.
I need you to draw.
(33:51):
So we were like drawing and I'mlike trying to draw and I'm a
terrible artist, you know andI'm trying to draw bears and
eagles and snakes and everythingthat I saw, the words, the
messages, everything.
And then she said you're goingto be up here in the clouds.
You're going to feel high as akite and you will.
When you do breathwork journey,you're high as a kite and then,
when you start to come backdown and ground, she's like
(34:13):
you're wide open, your state ofawareness and your state of
observation is wide open.
She's like that's when youactually start to purge, that's
when everything starts to comeout and that's when you shift
your energy and vibration.
So your external world,whatever you're putting out,
starts to shift and change too.
And it takes about three weeksto integrate.
And I was like whatever man, Ifeel fucking awesome, you know.
(34:38):
And then the next day I woke upand fucking nonstop cried.
I was like like just purgingand releasing, texting her, and
I was like what the fuck ishappening to me?
And she's like this istransformation, this is the
shedding.
She's like this is the ceremonywhere you're putting yourself
(34:58):
in the fire and you're burningyourself over and over and over,
and now all of that crustiness,that scab is coming off and
that pink underbelly, like asnake, is coming through.
She's like this is the part.
This is where you do thehealing.
Well, for me, I have beenworking with a mental health
(35:18):
counselor weekly and so I wasjust going and telling her like
I went and experienced thisbreathwork journey.
It was profound, it was verysomatic.
I need to process everythingthat I've been feeling and I did
that and that's how Itransformed my life from fucking
disassociating and havingmassive anxiety disorders to
(35:40):
being able to be safe in my bodyand having a greater awareness
and better coping mechanisms formy anxiety when I start to kind
of go off balance.
So that is the first time I hadbreathwork journeys.
And then after that, you know,they're very similar.
My animal spirit guides alwayskind of come through and there's
(36:01):
different animals I alwaystransform into an animal.
Egyptian gods and goddessesstarted to come through this
year, which is very profound forme, and actually it's through a
breathwork journey I did inFebruary where I was led to go
to Venus Rising up in NorthCarolina Even though Allie has
been talking about her teacherfor such a long time I actually
(36:23):
went and did a retreat that wascentered around Isis, death and
rebirth, and so I saw thegoddess Sekhmet, you know, and
she's a fire goddess, you knowshe has the head of a lioness
and she has.
You know, she's powerful, she'sa warrior and she, you know she
just kept saying I'm Sekhmet,come find me, come find me.
And I was like who is this?
I didn't know anything aboutthe Egyptian pantheon and this
(36:46):
was in February, and so afterthe breathwork journey, I told
Ali, I just looked at her and Isaid who's Sekhmet?
And she got wide eyed and she'slike you need to go to North
Carolina with me in April.
You need to go to the retreaton Isis.
Sekhmet is a temple and agoddess statue that she has on
the mountain.
She's calling you for a reasonand I was like, oh shit.
(37:08):
So I booked my flight.
It's still in an altered state.
I booked my flight and bookedthe retreat.
I highly recommend that youdon't make any rather important
or rash or impulsive decisionsand just go home after doing a
breathwork journey, because youdo need to integrate for at
least 24 hours.
But that is my experience andthat is the powerful,
(37:31):
transformative practice that Iembody, the number one way I
tell people you want to shiftyour life, you want to get out
of the shit and the cycles thatyou're in, you want to stop that
looping thought.
Breathe.
Breathe it out and allow thebreath to act as fire to go in
and extract the shit, the rootof your problem.
(37:54):
Bring it up to the surface, ripit out, burn it away and then
allow that healing energy tocome in and transform you.
Now I do this practice in akind of a different way, because
I myself have not trainedspecifically with Linda Starwolf
, but I have trained with Allie,and because I love vibrational
(38:15):
therapy and because I know thatvibration, frequency and sound
is such a powerful somaticpractice as well.
I actually combine breathworkand vibrational therapy, as well
as shamanistic extraction orpsychic surgery, as some other
people in the spiritualcommunity call it, to really
(38:36):
heal and activate that person.
I just create the container.
They come to see me, we have anin-depth discussion, we set an
intention.
I start them with some gentlebreathing.
We slowly work up.
I have a very, very specificplaylist that I play and they
are breathing through it.
Now their breathwork is goingto be more about 40 minutes the
last 20 minutes of our sessionor so.
(38:58):
I'm doing Reiki, but as they'rebreathing, I'm going in and
helping to move energy andcreate the space and the
uncomfortability to help toextract the energetic root of
whatever it is that they arewanting to release in their body
.
And every time around thefourth or fifth song of my
(39:18):
playlist, I see the emotionalrelease whether it's a scream,
whether it's a laugh, whetherit's a cry, whether it's a deep
breath, and they're coming offthe table and then dropping back
down.
It happens Every single timeand I've been doing this work
for two years and it's just veryprofound.
(39:38):
And then afterwards their formof processing is.
I refer them to an amazingspiritual and holistic life
coach in my community that is alicensed mental health counselor
in the state of Colorado, butshe lives here in Lakeland,
florida, and she actuallyspecializes in spiritual
(39:59):
experiences, near-deathexperiences and has written
several books on quantum physics.
So when they come to see me forsomatic Reiki, as I call it, I
tell them okay, you need to booka session with Valerie Varan is
her name and you need to doemotional processing.
Or, if they have their ownmental health counselor that
they trust, they are processingthat week.
I actually have a veryextensive intake form that if
(40:24):
you want to book this onlinewith me, you have to fill it out
and if you say I don't have amental health counselor or I'm
not gonna do therapy, I don't doit.
If you say I do a lot ofrecreational marijuana
psilocybin, ayahuasca, peyote,anything like that frequently, I
don't do that type of workbecause it's going to fuck with
your mind and I'm not opening upchannels in your mind that
(40:46):
can't be closed Okay, and so ifyou're pregnant, obviously
that's going to be a no.
If you have peacemakers, youknow defibrillators we have to
be careful.
If you have any type of massiverespiratory infection or
anything like that, no, this isgoing to be something that is
just not going to be ideal foryou physically.
There are other ways to heal,but this breathwork way and the
(41:08):
way that I do it will not, andso I just wanted to share that
with you all, and what I'm goingto do as a gift is I'm going to
record my somatic Reiki breathwork journey for you.
This will be long, so I willstart by doing a recorded
(41:30):
drumming meditation to helprelax you, but I'm going to play
every single song that I haveon my private playlist that I
play for my clients for you allto listen to.
I have instructions for you tofollow, and I encourage you to
do this weekly, biweekly,whenever you feel the need, but
(41:54):
do the breathwork journey andsee how that resonates with you.
Obviously, you need to do someart therapy or, if you are
starting a profound mentalhealth journey, make sure you
have a therapist that you cantrust before you start
incorporating breathwork, okay,but I hope that this has
inspired you or given you anindication as to how shamans
(42:17):
really alter consciousness, forprofound healing, for spiritual
connection, for helpingthemselves and people release
trapped emotions, regulate moods, heal the body physically.
I mean it's through breath, youknow, breath represents spirit,
breath, breathing is a miracleof life.
It's the connection that wehave to the universe, you know,
(42:40):
to the earth.
It's through breathing, the actof breathing, meditation that
I'm going to create for you.
And if you need any guidance, ifyou need any support after you
(43:01):
do it, please feel free to reachout to me, because I'm here to
support you Wherever you are inthis world.
Reach out to me and if you wantto experience this, live with
me.
Via Zoom you can do that.
You can go on my website,joyfulshamancom, and select
Shamanic Healing Journey and wecan do a breathwork journey.
And if you're here physicallyin Central Florida whether it be
(43:21):
Lakeland, tampa, orlando, anyof the nearby areas.
You're more than welcome tocome and see me in person.
It's called Somatic Reiki insideof my studio, but you will just
need to make sure that youqualify to do this session,
because it is extremely profound.
So I just want to say to thoseof you that are listening you
(43:43):
are an amazing person, there isa purpose and a plan for you,
and that you are so powerful,okay, and you can create the
reality that you want.
You can heal your mind and youcan create the reality that you
want.
You can heal your mind, you canheal your heart and you can
connect to your spirit andactivate your own inner shaman.
(44:04):
I just want to say thank you somuch for supporting me and the
Joyful Shaman podcast.
If you liked or saw what youheard today, please feel free to
share it with a friend.
Send them this episode, sendthem the podcast, because I'm
here to share a message and Iwant to spread it far and wide
in this world.
No-transcript.
Welcome to the Joyful Shaman Podcast.
I'm Naomi, your host with themost, and I am back again with
another episode this week.
We're going to start to getinto some rituals and some
practices that have been soprofound for me, but before we
do, I just want to say that Ihost my podcast on Buzzsprout
(00:24):
and I recently just downloadedthe app so I can follow along,
using AI and other tools,whenever I'm uploading my
episodes, and it also gives methe stats of how many people
have downloaded episodes of thepodcast, which ones and actually
where they are listening from,and I was so happy to see how so
(00:48):
many people are across the pond.
So, all of you listeners outthere in the UK, thank you so
much for the love and support.
Also, my friends in Canada,thank you as well.
And then, of course, there'speople all over the United
States that are listening, notjust here in my local community,
(01:09):
but I'm just so grateful thatthese messages, whether it's the
meditation, whether it's thetalk episodes, are finding their
way to the people that needthem.
So thank you so much, and ifyou ever just want to chat, if
you ever have any questions orwant to share an idea about a
podcast episode.
(01:29):
Feel free to send me an emailat naomi at joyfulshamancom.
I'd love to know who you areand, you know, maybe I'll take
your idea and create a wholeepisode just for you.
So I just wanted to start off bysaying that.
But this week's episode isgoing to be about breath work,
(01:51):
and the reason I wanna startwith this is breath work for me,
in the style that I havelearned, that I have experienced
, and the way that I actuallyfacilitate doing my own version
of it with my in-person clients,is the number one way that I
feel that I have changed my life.
And you're thinking breathinghow can that change you?
(02:15):
Well, we are going to get intoit, because it's not just any
breath, it is intentional breath, it is powerful breath, it is
breath that is so connecting tosource, to the divine, to your
subconscious, to yourself.
It's like anything other thanwhat I have experienced.
First, I do want to define whata ritual is and what a ceremony
(02:39):
is, because in shamanicbreathwork it is a very
ritualistic practice inside of agreater ceremony.
My teacher Allie always says tome you are a walking ceremony.
And I think about that and I'mlike what does she mean by that?
Is it.
You know the shamanic tattoosthat I have, is it?
(02:59):
You know the way that I conductmy life?
You know what does she mean bythat?
Well, let's define it.
So.
A ritual is a series of acts,generally performed in some kind
of ceremony, that are done in acertain order.
To simplify it, think aboutyour morning routine.
Maybe your morning routine isyou get up, you take a shower,
(03:23):
you make your coffee, do alittle journaling, maybe you're
meditating, maybe you'rewatching the news, then you're
getting in your car listening toa podcast, maybe you're
listening to me or listening tothe radio and you're heading
into work.
Some of you may start the dayby getting up and going and
exercising, coming back, doingthe coffee, doing the shower,
doing all of that.
That is your morning ritual.
(03:46):
A ceremony is a series of eventsthat are put together to
celebrate a special occasion orin honor of something.
For me, a ceremony is a seriesof rituals that we put together
to have a general overarchingtheme or intention.
(04:08):
So maybe the ceremony is in themorning, my me time, and my
ceremony looks like this I getup, I always say my morning
gratitudes Thank you that I'malive, thank you that I have
breath in my body.
Thank you for my angels and myteam of light for protecting me
and helping me sleep, but I'mjust grateful to have all of my
(04:30):
energy called back into me.
So then I get up, you know, Igo wash my face and then I go
make a decaf chai, where I use alot of herbal plant medicine
inside of my decaf chai, and Ido my ritual of blessing the
chai, kind of like spell work,and then I drink my plant
(04:50):
medicine tea to start the dayand then I'm getting dressed and
I'm out the door.
So, that being said, once weunderstand that at a basic level
, component rituals are a bunchof different actions that you're
taking.
Ceremony is a bunch ofdifferent rituals that you're
doing for a specific reason.
We can then jump in to thetopic of breath work and how
(05:17):
that in of itself is a ceremony,and then the actions that are
taken within that ceremony tobring about that connection.
So many of you have probablyheard of somatic healing or
somatic breath work orholotropic breath work, and
these are cyclical styles ofbreathing, meaning you are
(05:39):
breathing in a certain manner,you are taking action to breathe
in a circular pattern,generally guided by somebody,
whether you're listening to itor you're doing it in person or
you're watching on a video, butyou are breathing in a certain
style to elicit a certainphysical response in the body.
(05:59):
So somatic breath work for mecan be as simple as what I call
yogic breathing the in throughthe nose, filling your belly,
and out through the mouth.
And if you're doing that, say,about 10 times, that's a form of
very gentle somatic breath work.
(06:20):
You're going to get morerelaxed.
Your body, your muscles, allthat tension is going to start
to melt away.
You're giving your mind a taskbecause you're focusing on the
physical act of breathing inthrough the nose, filling your
belly and then letting it go.
This type of breath work Iencourage everyone to do the
(06:44):
first thing.
In the morning, when I havetime, I do some somatic breath
work and then sometimes I do ashort round of holotropic breath
work as well.
Holotropic breath work is goingto be a little bit more intense
and more rapid pace.
Generally, holotropic breathwork is a breath in through the
mouth and out through the mouth.
(07:05):
If you've ever taken akundalini yoga class, this is
almost like breath of fire.
You are engaging your core.
You're not hyperventilating,you're not breathing in your
chest, but you're breathing inthrough the mouth and out
through the mouth by engagingyour abdominals.
It is quite a bit of a coreworkout, but when you do that
(07:29):
you are increasing that bloodflow, you are increasing your
heart rate a little bit, yourbody temperature is going to
increase as well, but it isgoing to give you a very
different result.
I love Breath of Fire toactivate, to really call in, to
awaken that kundalini life forceenergy.
It clears your mind and you'relike I can handle anything.
(07:52):
Somatic breathwork is reallywonderful to start, maybe a yoga
practice or a meditationpractice, and then you can cycle
it by including some holotropicpractices in there.
So maybe it sounds a littlelike this so in through the nose
(08:13):
, out through the mouth, andthen maybe I hold my breath and
then let go and then maybe Istart holotropic again.
You are cycling your breath ina certain way to open up and
(08:34):
activate the brain.
Now a lot of people don't knowwhat's actually happening in the
brain and scientifically I willkind of go over that.
I did write some notes, so ifyou're watching this on YouTube,
I'm gonna look down and let youknow.
So what actually happens in thebrain is you are activating the
amygdala, the emotionalregulation.
(08:57):
You are reducing negativeemotions, you are stimulating
positive mood and cognition.
You are actually expanding thebrain.
You are releasing oxytocin,serotonin and DMT.
We naturally make these thingsin our body, but sometimes
certain people don't make themif they have health conditions
(09:19):
or on certain medications,certain diets.
That can really wreak havoc.
That can increase our anxiety,increase depression, make us
have brain fog, make ourmemories not be as great, and
overall it could maybe, if we'renot balanced, have a certain
level of lethargy.
And so breathwork helps to kindof reset the brain like this
(09:46):
you know the neurons are firingbecause of the amount of oxygen
that you are taking into thebody, it starts to fire a
different way inside of thebrain.
We're bringing that oxygen intoour brain, we're resetting
things.
You know it's like we'returning it on.
We're turning on the oven andwe're putting it to full blast,
you know.
So that being said,scientifically, it is really a
powerful way to regulate thenervous system, reduce stress,
(10:13):
amplify mood, release thechemicals that make us feel good
in our body, helps toimmediately reduce pain and
tension in our muscles and inour joints because we're
flushing in fresh oxygenatedblood into those areas.
So there is a profound amount ofbenefits for us to do this type
(10:36):
of breath work.
You can do it, just as ingeneral, for a health benefit,
but the shamanic way, there isalways a powerful intention.
When I do what I call a breathwork journey, I am doing it
generally to reset myself if I'mhaving a particularly hard time
(10:57):
in my life.
I think it's a great way toclear the chakra energy you know
, all the energetic meridianpoints of our body but it's also
a wonderful practice when lifeis just really challenging.
I'm really stressed out.
I'm not tapping into myintuition, I'm not being
consistent in my meditationpractices, I'm not being
consistent in connecting withspirit, and so sometimes I just
(11:21):
got to breathe.
You know, I just got to breathe.
I just have to breathe in thiscertain way to be able to just
clear everything down to thecore, root level.
Now, when we breathe in theshamanic fashion, we are
accessing altered state ofconsciousness, the way that
we're functioning.
(11:41):
Now, when we do this breathworkceremony and the rituals that
are part of the breathworkceremony, we are asking
ourselves to surrender and openourselves up to a different,
altered state of consciousness.
The really cool thing aboutshamanic breathwork is, if done
(12:01):
by a minimum of an hour, andit's pretty easy to do it.
Once you surrender into thatprocess, you are actually
releasing the same amount, ornear the same amount, of DMT,
which is powerful for mentalhealth healing, as if you were
doing a trip with ayahuasca orany other psychotropic plant
(12:25):
medicine.
And I really want to emphasizethis because breathwork can be
controlled.
You can breathe and you canstop breathing in that manner.
You are always in control.
Even though you're in an alteredstate of consciousness, you can
still come back into thepresent.
It's not going to physicallyharm the body.
Of course there are certainhealth conditions, like if
(12:48):
you're pregnant, if you have anytype of epileptic conditions or
if you have any type ofrespiratory conditions.
Obviously, breathwork is notintended for you.
Most other people can do thiswork as well, at any time.
You know you can be withsomebody and somebody can watch
you and make sure you're nothyperventilating by any means.
But you have control over this,whereas ayahuasca you do not
(13:12):
have control.
Plus an hour, I feel, is betterthan several hours, than being
on plant medicine, but that'sjust my opinion.
You know if I can receive thesame amount of benefits in a
more controlled way and have ahealthy way of processing
emotionally, mentally andspiritually.
After my session, you know,through a variety of different
(13:33):
means, you know, I feel likethat would be a better journey
for me to connect with my ownsoul, to connect with my own
mind and to connect with my ownmind and to connect with the
divine, you know.
So we are accessing alteredconsciousness to open up the
subconscious for profoundhealing.
There is also really reallystrong somatic benefits somatic
(13:56):
in the body, emotion in the body.
You know we are intending, inshamanic breathwork, to remove
emotional blockages, to connectwith our intuition, to gain
insight for transformation, notjust breathing.
To breathe, I mean we can, butthere is a reason.
We always set an intention.
(14:16):
You know if, whenever I ambreathing, I'm always asking
spirit please clear me ofanything that has attached
itself to me, negative entities,negative energies, anything
that is blocking my mind and myheart from knowing and speaking
my inner truth.
(14:37):
That's always my intention, nomatter if I'm alone or if I'm
doing breathwork within a groupof people.
That's always my intention andI feel it deep down in my heart
and I just have gratitude,before I go in to this journey,
to not also have expectations aswell, but also just to have
(14:57):
gratitude that I have breath inmy body and my body is able to
function in that way.
To breathe when we approachshamanic breath work, you want
to do it in a state where youare in a safe container, and
what I mean by that is if youare breathing alone, which you
(15:18):
can do.
You need to be in a dark roomor a room with not a lot of
light.
You need to be laying down on acomfortable mat on the floor or
lying down on a bed and havingample space around you that's
not cluttered with furniture,you will probably start lying
down, but I, like myself, getreally activated and sometimes I
(15:42):
have to stand up and movearound.
I mean, sometimes I'm just likepunch kicking and like I don't
know dancing, but just moving mybody in a way because of the
way that the energy is movingthrough me.
I may not always do that, butmost of the time that I do so
you need to have an open spacethat's comfortable, where you
(16:02):
can lie down or stand up or movearound.
If you are going to breathealone, make sure that there's
nothing harmful that could hurtyou along the walls.
Why?
Because you actually blindfoldyourself or you keep your eyes
closed if you have issues withclaustrophobia and you can't
have something over your eyes.
(16:23):
This is a deep, deep sensoryexperience.
This is an experience where youare allowing the universe to be
your eyes, to be your ears andto come into your body and to do
profound healing and shiftingfor you.
Okay, so you're going to have avery deep spiritual experience.
(16:44):
You need to be safe while doingso.
So in shamanic breathwork, westart lying down.
We have mats, blankets, pillows, whatever makes us comfortable,
because sometimes you can getcold or you can get hot, or back
and forth, you have an eye maskto cover your eyes.
During the experience, theentire experience, especially if
(17:06):
you go to a breathwork class ordo a breathwork journey with a
group of people, no one islooking at anybody at all.
Only the person facilitating islooking at you to ensure that
you are safe and not runninginto the walls or not running
into other people.
Okay, and so once we begin,there is a very specific
(17:28):
activating playlist that isplayed very, very loud.
It's meant to flood out thethoughts in the chatter of your
mind, whereas your mind has tohyper fixate on this music I use
a playlist that has words.
I have breathed with playliststhat do not have words and
(17:49):
that's totally fine, but everysong is moving through the main
meridian chakras.
So we're going to start with afaster, more upbeat song for
root chakra, just meant toground you, activate you, get
you going.
And then maybe an even fastersong for sacral chakra.
I mean really fast, a lot ofdrumming, a lot of yeah, it's
(18:11):
just a lot of drumming, reallyfast.
Or maybe a lot of like moretechno kind of beats, just beats
that you can dance to.
It's going to be veryrepetitive and those are gonna
be very activating.
All lower chakras, from solarplexus down to root, are more
activating songs.
And then, as you move throughand you're breathing in and out,
(18:32):
you know, and you can breathein the somatic way or you can do
breath of fire, but you'rebreathing to the music and when
your body gets going with thebreath and you're listening to
the music and you're lettingthat rhythm take over, your mind
(18:54):
starts to expand.
You're gonna start to seecolors, you're gonna start to
see images.
You're going to not be here onthis earth, I promise you.
I promise you.
Some people see numbers, somepeople see colors, you're going
to start to see images.
You're going to not be here onthis earth, I promise you.
I promise you.
Some people see numbers, somepeople see colors, some people
see their ancestors, some peoplesee aliens, some people see a
whole bunch of different things,and I'm going to get into a
(19:15):
story about my first breathworkjourney in a moment and what I
saw and experienced.
But as you're breathing, themusic is changing and moving up
and up into the chakras until weare back in almost a shavasana
or like the yogic rest pose, andit is a gentle, more calling
(19:35):
song to open up the mind and tocall you back into the present.
Generally, breathwork journeyslike this are about 45 minutes
to an hour, and the way that Ihave experienced them and the
way that I like to lead mine isI always start with a very short
meditation with live drumplaying.
(19:57):
The drum boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom,
boom, boom, boom.
The heartbeat, the call of theheartbeat.
It brings you back into homestate, it is what begins the
journey and sets you on the pathand it's what calls you back
into this dimension and intothis reality.
(20:19):
It's a very, very, verypowerful experience.
After that journey, in a groupsession, it is best to process
what it is that you felt, yousaw, you heard, and the fact
that your brain is so heavilyaltered, your consciousness is
so heavily altered.
You need some kind of groundingexercise to be able to get back
(20:43):
to this earth, this planet, andalso be able to explain to
yourself, when you're not inthis state, what it is that you
recall.
And to do that, the best way todo it is through artwork is
literally taking a piece ofpaper, some color pens, some
crayons, some markers, whateverget creative and you are writing
(21:03):
down and maybe you're drawingout what you saw maybe some
symbols, maybe an animal, maybea word, maybe some colors or a
feeling that you are trying toelicit.
It doesn't have to be the mostperfect drawing, but actually
the act of drawing it out andcreating this form of spiritual
mandala helps to bridge that gapand helps to integrate the work
(21:27):
that you just did.
So that is the ceremony ofshamanic breathwork from start
to finish.
The rituals are the music, theblindfold, the mat or bed with
the blankets and the pillow, andthe breath work in of itself,
(21:49):
and then the artwork to process.
Those are the rituals insidethe overall ceremony, and so I
love this.
I go to see Allie, I try to go.
Even now it's been after twoyears.
I still try to go to herwhenever she's in town, to her
house, to do it there, because Iam such an activated breath
(22:13):
walk journeyer.
I cannot lay down.
It puts too much pressure on me, on my chest, and maybe because
I'm just a fuller girl rightnow.
But I have to move and the waythat my body moves trauma
releases, stuck emotion isthrough my hips, is through my
pelvis.
So I'm doing a lot of gyrations, a lot of almost Middle Eastern
(22:38):
belly dance style movements,because that is just what helps
me to move.
That's where my kundalini fireenergy is down, in that core
area, and it starts to move up.
Now sometimes I'm just, likeyou know, fit karate punch,
kicking things.
If I'm, you know, been holdingon to a lot of anger and rage
(23:01):
and I'm just like punch, youknow, kicking it out, that
sometimes happens.
Sometimes I might get on thefloor, I might do like some yoga
, some exercises, some bridge, Idon't know.
It's just I have to move mybody.
I will eventually lay down aswe move into throat, third eye
(23:21):
and crown chakra music, but I'mnot going to be doing that from
heart down, but everybody isdifferent.
You don't know until you know.
The thing is, though, once youstart breathing our grandmother
teacher, linda Starwolf, who isthe creator of shamanic
breathwork and has been teachingthis for 40 years at her
(23:44):
renowned shamanic school up inWestern North Carolina and thank
God it was A-OK during thislast hurricane Helene Venus
Rising University, where you cantake various programs, and she
offers week-long retreats whereyou are doing multiple
breathwork journeys she alwayssays breathe.
There's no right or wrong wayto breathe, you just have to
(24:06):
keep breathing.
And you breathe until you'resurprised.
And even when you are surprised, you just keep breathing.
So that is the first ceremonythat I wanted to talk about, is
the first ceremony that I wantedto talk about, and so I'm going
to share with you all.
The first time that Iexperienced shamanic breath work
(24:27):
and it was with Allie, and it'sdefinitely been about two years
ago that I experienced this Ijust struggle a lot with anxiety
, and sometimes my mind is justruminating, and I'm a very, very
logical person.
I am a very spiritual person.
I like to be in the heart space, but I'm also logical and a
(24:49):
great shaman and the shamanicmind needs to be able to be a
walker between both worlds,between the physical, the 3D,
and be able to go into the 5Dand beyond.
Okay, and that's really hard todo in this meat suit, in this
avatar.
So when I'm too here in my mind, I'm too logical, all of these
energies build up and if Ihaven't been doing my clearing
(25:11):
and if I haven't been doing myconnecting, I'm then just
carrying everybody else's shitinside of my body and it bogs me
down.
So I remember I was just likeof my body and it bogs me down.
So I remember I was just likejust having a meltdown and I was
going to one of my sessions andI brought my friend that I
talked about, my podcast, myother spiritual friend here in
(25:32):
the community with me so thatshe could meet Allie, and also
Allie had been asking me tobring in a volunteer for me to
practice a shamanic energymedicine with, and so she said I
want you and your friend tohave an experience.
She used the word experienceand she said I need to know if
(25:53):
this is a part of your medicinefor you and also a part of your
medicine to give to others.
And I was like, okay, she saidyou need to come in comfortable,
loose-fitting clothing, don'teat anything an hour prior,
bring two bottles of water andjust be ready to expect the
(26:15):
unexpected.
And I'm like, okay, you know,I'm just like I got to roll with
it.
So, me and my friend, we get toher studio and she has the mats
out, she has yoga bolsters out,she has the yoga blankets, and
we're like, okay.
And so she went into this briefexplanation of shamanic
(26:37):
breathwork journey and she did ademonstration with music.
She put on her blindfold, shestarted to breathe, she started
to embody the energy of thejaguar, so she was on all fours.
You know kind of growling andthings like that.
You know, some people may yell,some people may scream, some
people may growl.
It is a profound energeticrelease of the body with this
(27:00):
breathwork.
And so we're sitting there andshe finishes.
She's like, okay, you get wherewe're going.
And I'm like, okay, cool.
So she actually has a start.
You know, putting on ourblindfolds, we're both laying
down on our mats and she hasthese big speakers and a
microphone.
She also has her drum and shealso has her rattle as well and
(27:23):
she said I'm going to drum, I'mgoing to rattle, I'm going to
sing, you know throughout, andI'm going to speak into the
microphone when I need to.
And she said I'm going to makesure, if you guys get up and
move, that you're not runninginto the walls.
I may guide you, I may gentlytouch you and move you back to a
safer area.
She did say and this is veryimportant, especially if you're
(27:46):
doing group breathwork you havethe right to say no if you do
not want to be touched.
I have done breathwork groupswhere I have been a participant
and people have touched my body.
I do not like to be touchedwhen I'm in my breathwork
journey.
I know how I am.
I don't like to be touchedbecause the moment you touch me
(28:06):
I'm out of it like that and nomatter how hard I breathe, I
cannot get back into thataltered state of consciousness.
So if you grab me, touch me,squeeze me, more than just a
gentle guide or push so that I'mnot running into something, I'm
out of it.
I don't like my belly beingpressed down.
I don't like my mouth beingopen.
I've seen some of this.
(28:27):
That's not my jam.
I would never do that tosomebody.
I don't want that done to me.
So I just want to put that outthere as a disclaimer.
If you're doing breathworkjourney in a group, you have a
voice.
Please tell the person that'sleading it or is watching over
you if you're doing some kind ofpartner work that you do not
want to be touched.
It's very important.
(28:48):
So she said if you don't likewhat I'm doing, just say stop
and I'll stop.
And I was like okay.
So she starts with this playlistand it's tribal music, it's
indigenous music, North Americanindigenous music.
They're singing, they'rechanting and I'm sitting on my
mat and I'm breathing.
(29:08):
I'm doing kind of the shamanicbreath, a variation of Breath of
Fire.
So I like to rock.
It helps me to loosen up myspine, it helps to move the
energy and as I'm doing thispodcast, I'm imagining the music
.
So automatically I'm rocking.
(29:28):
If you hear my chair squeakmore than usual on this podcast,
that's why podcast, that's whyAll of a sudden I see this
indigenous man inside of my mind.
I mean he is painted, he has redpaint over his eyes, dark hair,
(29:52):
he has the indigenous dress andhe's looking at me and he's
smoking a pipe and he's likesitting cross-legged and I'm
just like breathing.
You know, I'm like you know inthere.
And he says are you ready totravel with me?
And I'm like, what the fuck?
But I'm in it, man.
I'm like in it and I said yeah,and he goes okay, because I'm
going to transform you andyou're going to go through a
(30:13):
myriad of different places andanimals.
And he goes I need you tosurrender.
And I'm like, all right, when Isay yes, I immediately feel my
body seize up and not in likeI'm going to have a seizure or a
spasm, but in a way where Ibecome a bear, like my skin, my
(30:36):
human body, my skin suitexplodes and I am forming, like
my bones are cracking.
Have you ever seen one of thosewerewolf movies where they're
like transforming into thewerewolf?
They're like that's me becominga fucking bear.
And so I'm like growling andjust like getting on the ground.
(30:57):
I remember, and I am likegrowling and like walking on all
fours as far as I can remember,and then all of a sudden, I'm
an eagle and then I'm a snake.
I'm going through all of mytotem animals that I now have
tattooed on my body and this wasbefore I had them as tattoos
(31:19):
and so I am transforming intoall of these different animals.
And then I start to scream andI'm like screaming so loud and
then I'm sobbing because I'mreleasing all of this tension
and this stress that's pent upin my body.
And then the music changes andthen I feel like I'm amongst
(31:39):
these tribal women in Africaaround this large fire and we're
dancing because we're all inthese beautiful, like grass
skirts and we have grassheaddresses, and it's nighttime,
we're moving side to side, andthen I'm like an ancient Middle
East, probably Persia, you know,and it's a Bedouin tribe, and
(32:00):
there's a belly dancer woman andshe's dancing in the fire and
I'm trying to see her face, butshe has like blue eyes, so she
almost looks like a djinn.
And then I'm just going to allof these different places.
I'm in India, and then I am tosome planet.
I have no idea where I'm at,but it looks like rainbow
(32:24):
bubbles everywhere and it's thecoolest place and I was like I
don't know where this is, butthis place is dope.
And so all of this is happeningevery single time.
The music changes and sometimesI'm standing there and I
remember, you know, having myhands on my heart, that
sensation and then the musicwill change again and I'm back
dancing and I have no idea wheremy friend is across the room.
(32:46):
All I know is that Allietouched me twice so I wouldn't
like run my face into the wall,she told me.
And then she said the mostamazing thing happened On the
very last song for the crownshocker, just gentle and soft.
Before she guided us back toour mats, she said that my
friend and I, on opposite sidesof the room, turned at the same
(33:09):
time and diagonally, withoutknowing, started walking towards
each other and we had our handslike out towards each other and
we stopped and then we grabbedhands and we hugged one another.
I had no idea, I couldn't seeanything, I wasn't even on this
planet.
But that moment spirit guidedus to come and to come together
(33:30):
and to hug and to love oneanother.
And it was so profound, likewhen we finished, I like took my
eye mask off and I was likewhat the fuck was that?
I was like holy shit and I wasso altered.
She said you're going to bealtered for 48 hours.
I need you to draw.
(33:51):
So we were like drawing and I'mlike trying to draw and I'm a
terrible artist, you know andI'm trying to draw bears and
eagles and snakes and everythingthat I saw, the words, the
messages, everything.
And then she said you're goingto be up here in the clouds.
You're going to feel high as akite and you will.
When you do breathwork journey,you're high as a kite and then,
when you start to come backdown and ground, she's like
(34:13):
you're wide open, your state ofawareness and your state of
observation is wide open.
She's like that's when youactually start to purge, that's
when everything starts to comeout and that's when you shift
your energy and vibration.
So your external world,whatever you're putting out,
starts to shift and change too.
And it takes about three weeksto integrate.
And I was like whatever man, Ifeel fucking awesome, you know.
(34:38):
And then the next day I woke upand fucking nonstop cried.
I was like like just purgingand releasing, texting her, and
I was like what the fuck ishappening to me?
And she's like this istransformation, this is the
shedding.
She's like this is the ceremonywhere you're putting yourself
(34:58):
in the fire and you're burningyourself over and over and over,
and now all of that crustiness,that scab is coming off and
that pink underbelly, like asnake, is coming through.
She's like this is the part.
This is where you do thehealing.
Well, for me, I have beenworking with a mental health
(35:18):
counselor weekly and so I wasjust going and telling her like
I went and experienced thisbreathwork journey.
It was profound, it was verysomatic.
I need to process everythingthat I've been feeling and I did
that and that's how Itransformed my life from fucking
disassociating and havingmassive anxiety disorders to
(35:40):
being able to be safe in my bodyand having a greater awareness
and better coping mechanisms formy anxiety when I start to kind
of go off balance.
So that is the first time I hadbreathwork journeys.
And then after that, you know,they're very similar.
My animal spirit guides alwayskind of come through and there's
(36:01):
different animals I alwaystransform into an animal.
Egyptian gods and goddessesstarted to come through this
year, which is very profound forme, and actually it's through a
breathwork journey I did inFebruary where I was led to go
to Venus Rising up in NorthCarolina Even though Allie has
been talking about her teacherfor such a long time I actually
(36:23):
went and did a retreat that wascentered around Isis, death and
rebirth, and so I saw thegoddess Sekhmet, you know, and
she's a fire goddess, you knowshe has the head of a lioness
and she has.
You know, she's powerful, she'sa warrior and she, you know she
just kept saying I'm Sekhmet,come find me, come find me.
And I was like who is this?
I didn't know anything aboutthe Egyptian pantheon and this
(36:46):
was in February, and so afterthe breathwork journey, I told
Ali, I just looked at her and Isaid who's Sekhmet?
And she got wide eyed and she'slike you need to go to North
Carolina with me in April.
You need to go to the retreaton Isis.
Sekhmet is a temple and agoddess statue that she has on
the mountain.
She's calling you for a reasonand I was like, oh shit.
(37:08):
So I booked my flight.
It's still in an altered state.
I booked my flight and bookedthe retreat.
I highly recommend that youdon't make any rather important
or rash or impulsive decisionsand just go home after doing a
breathwork journey, because youdo need to integrate for at
least 24 hours.
But that is my experience andthat is the powerful,
(37:31):
transformative practice that Iembody, the number one way I
tell people you want to shiftyour life, you want to get out
of the shit and the cycles thatyou're in, you want to stop that
looping thought.
Breathe.
Breathe it out and allow thebreath to act as fire to go in
and extract the shit, the rootof your problem.
(37:54):
Bring it up to the surface, ripit out, burn it away and then
allow that healing energy tocome in and transform you.
Now I do this practice in akind of a different way, because
I myself have not trainedspecifically with Linda Starwolf
, but I have trained with Allie,and because I love vibrational
(38:15):
therapy and because I know thatvibration, frequency and sound
is such a powerful somaticpractice as well.
I actually combine breathworkand vibrational therapy, as well
as shamanistic extraction orpsychic surgery, as some other
people in the spiritualcommunity call it, to really
(38:36):
heal and activate that person.
I just create the container.
They come to see me, we have anin-depth discussion, we set an
intention.
I start them with some gentlebreathing.
We slowly work up.
I have a very, very specificplaylist that I play and they
are breathing through it.
Now their breathwork is goingto be more about 40 minutes the
last 20 minutes of our sessionor so.
(38:58):
I'm doing Reiki, but as they'rebreathing, I'm going in and
helping to move energy andcreate the space and the
uncomfortability to help toextract the energetic root of
whatever it is that they arewanting to release in their body
.
And every time around thefourth or fifth song of my
(39:18):
playlist, I see the emotionalrelease whether it's a scream,
whether it's a laugh, whetherit's a cry, whether it's a deep
breath, and they're coming offthe table and then dropping back
down.
It happens Every single timeand I've been doing this work
for two years and it's just veryprofound.
(39:38):
And then afterwards their formof processing is.
I refer them to an amazingspiritual and holistic life
coach in my community that is alicensed mental health counselor
in the state of Colorado, butshe lives here in Lakeland,
florida, and she actuallyspecializes in spiritual
(39:59):
experiences, near-deathexperiences and has written
several books on quantum physics.
So when they come to see me forsomatic Reiki, as I call it, I
tell them okay, you need to booka session with Valerie Varan is
her name and you need to doemotional processing.
Or, if they have their ownmental health counselor that
they trust, they are processingthat week.
I actually have a veryextensive intake form that if
(40:24):
you want to book this onlinewith me, you have to fill it out
and if you say I don't have amental health counselor or I'm
not gonna do therapy, I don't doit.
If you say I do a lot ofrecreational marijuana
psilocybin, ayahuasca, peyote,anything like that frequently, I
don't do that type of workbecause it's going to fuck with
your mind and I'm not opening upchannels in your mind that
(40:46):
can't be closed Okay, and so ifyou're pregnant, obviously
that's going to be a no.
If you have peacemakers, youknow defibrillators we have to
be careful.
If you have any type of massiverespiratory infection or
anything like that, no, this isgoing to be something that is
just not going to be ideal foryou physically.
There are other ways to heal,but this breathwork way and the
(41:08):
way that I do it will not, andso I just wanted to share that
with you all, and what I'm goingto do as a gift is I'm going to
record my somatic Reiki breathwork journey for you.
This will be long, so I willstart by doing a recorded
(41:30):
drumming meditation to helprelax you, but I'm going to play
every single song that I haveon my private playlist that I
play for my clients for you allto listen to.
I have instructions for you tofollow, and I encourage you to
do this weekly, biweekly,whenever you feel the need, but
(41:54):
do the breathwork journey andsee how that resonates with you.
Obviously, you need to do someart therapy or, if you are
starting a profound mentalhealth journey, make sure you
have a therapist that you cantrust before you start
incorporating breathwork, okay,but I hope that this has
inspired you or given you anindication as to how shamans
(42:17):
really alter consciousness, forprofound healing, for spiritual
connection, for helpingthemselves and people release
trapped emotions, regulate moods, heal the body physically.
I mean it's through breath, youknow, breath represents spirit,
breath, breathing is a miracleof life.
It's the connection that wehave to the universe, you know,
(42:40):
to the earth.
It's through breathing, the actof breathing, meditation that
I'm going to create for you.
And if you need any guidance, ifyou need any support after you
(43:01):
do it, please feel free to reachout to me, because I'm here to
support you Wherever you are inthis world.
Reach out to me and if you wantto experience this, live with
me.
Via Zoom you can do that.
You can go on my website,joyfulshamancom, and select
Shamanic Healing Journey and wecan do a breathwork journey.
And if you're here physicallyin Central Florida whether it be
(43:21):
Lakeland, tampa, orlando, anyof the nearby areas.
You're more than welcome tocome and see me in person.
It's called Somatic Reiki insideof my studio, but you will just
need to make sure that youqualify to do this session,
because it is extremely profound.
So I just want to say to thoseof you that are listening you
(43:43):
are an amazing person, there isa purpose and a plan for you,
and that you are so powerful,okay, and you can create the
reality that you want.
You can heal your mind and youcan create the reality that you
want.
You can heal your mind, you canheal your heart and you can
connect to your spirit andactivate your own inner shaman.
(44:04):
I just want to say thank you somuch for supporting me and the
Joyful Shaman podcast.
If you liked or saw what youheard today, please feel free to
share it with a friend.
Send them this episode, sendthem the podcast, because I'm
here to share a message and Iwant to spread it far and wide
in this world.
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