Shamanic Healing techniques focus on the energy field that envelopes the physical body. For tens of thousands of years, shamans have understood that these "luminous bodies" contain the blueprints of our lives - our health, our ageing, our death. "The luminous energy field informs and organises the physical body in the same way that the energy fields of a magnet organise iron filings on a piece of glass," says Dr Alberto Villoldo. When we recognise and correct a problem in the energy body, corresponding changes take place in the physical body or the psyche, sometimes instantly, sometimes gradually.
The basic Shamanic Healing practices are:
Energy Attunements - the energy field and the chakras are cleansed and balanced
Soul Retrievals - the shaman journeys beyond ordinary reality to retrieve a soul element that has fled because of trauma, fear or abuse
Extractions - intrusive energy forms - and in rare cases, entities - are removed from the energy field
Some Shamanic Healers also offer clairvoyant readings, protection, death rites and "despachos" - offerings. Most of these procedures take place in a sacred space and are rich in ceremony. Shamanic healing may be particularly useful for energy-related problems, weakened immune systems, chronic pain, depression, stress, pre and post-operative care and side effects of chemotherapy.
Several respected national organisations offer training and certification in Shamanic healing, including Michael Harner's The Foundation for Shamanic Studies in California, and Dr Alberto Villoldo's The Four Winds Society in Florida and California.
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