Work with Me
My first memory, as weird as this may sound, is of chasing a nature spirit through the tall, unmown grass of the field that surrounded my first home - a yoga retreat my parents had created in the heart of Portland, Oregon. Since then, connecting and communicating with the unseen has been a natural way I walk through life. And when the going has gotten tough, especially during my journey navigating creating my family, it is help from the unseen world I have leaned on the most. It wasn’t until I began my formal shamanic training and apprenticeship under the tutelage of Michelle McKinney, a longtime student of Sandra Ingerman and Michael Harner, though, that I recognized this as shamanism. Called to the work after years of leading group ceremony and ritual, I soon discovered a true love for working with one-on-one clients.
Private Shamanic Sessions
Specialties
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Grief & Loss
Tell your story free of agenda. Whether it’s miscarriage, stillbirth, failed IVF, you name it, nourish your broken heart. Learn embodied practices to ride the waves.
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Infertility
Strengthen and bring more peace to yourself as you walk this path. Learn how to connect to unseen help to call upon during medical appointments and tough days.
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Pregnancy Release
No matter how far along, or what the reason - your story belongs here. A judgement and religious free space to be heard, healed and tended.
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Parenting after Loss
When parenting follows loss, infertility, or birth trauma - it’s just different. Fortify your spirit with a soul retrieval, connect to unseen help.
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NICU Parenting
It’s never in the plan. Whether your baby is still in the hospital or been home for years, receive healing and learn energetic strategies to show up for this path.
What is shamanism & why have a session?
Shamanism has been used to heal individual and collective health for over 30,000 years. It’s the oldest healing technology there is, passed down from teacher to student for hundreds of generations, born within almost every culture - across continents. Where traditional therapies or medicine tend to the health of the mind or the body, shamanism tends to the health of the soul and spirit.
When someone experiences trauma, you might hear them say, “a part of me left that day. I’ve never been the same since”. It’s traditionally thought of as dissociation. The shaman, however, considers this soul loss and asks where did this part dissociated to. Then, with skill, the practitioner enters what’s called shamanic consciousness, retrieves the soul part, and restores it back to the individual. It’s called a Soul Retrieval and one of the main roles of a shaman. The effect can be powerful and life-changing. An energetic shift and “coming home to oneself” is experienced. Wholeness, power, and vitality is restored, allowing both mental and physical wellness breakthroughs to follow.
What happens in a shamanic session?
After an initial greeting and hearing an overview of what’s going on for you, sacred space is opened. Here, held within a sacred container, we dive deeper and move into the shamanic work. This is performed with the use of a shamanic drum or rattle and typically includes a soul retrieval, though it can also include a power animal retrieval, energy clearing, and other practices depending on what’s needed. After receiving the healing, gratitude for the container is given, and sacred space is closed. Before the session ends, I teach you how to integrate the healing, as well as shamanic-based daily at-home tools to support you.
“Shamanic journeying is the inner art of traveling to the 'invisible worlds' beyond ordinary reality to retrieve information for change in any area of your life - from spirituality and health to work and relationships.”
— Sandra Ingerman, Author
Circle & Ceremony
In addition to private one-on-one sessions, I also offer the occasional women’s circle.
Ceremony and ritual give tangible presence to invisible emotions and experiences. They speak a language the grieving mind can absorb and help provide a type of embodiment, which in turn calms the nervous system and connects you back to your body, heart, soul, truth and strength.
What Women Are Saying
“My fears couldn’t have been farther from the reality. Yes, there was deep sadness. But because we all shared a similar experience, it wasn’t just listening to others heartbreak and pain... it was joining them in that, and creating a safe and secure river of truth and vulnerability to jump into. Compassion grew in me, for myself, as a result of having great compassion for the other women in the room.”
— Kelly M, Sacred Grief Circle
“I was hesitant to go at first but then realized that I could offer something by being a witness, too. I’m so glad I went. What you are doing by creating space and ritual around loss of infants and pregnancies is nothing short of radical! I have deep deep gratitude for it.”
— Krista A, Sacred Grief Circle
It was so wonderful to be surrounded by women, open to giving and receiving love and trust and strength. Laurel not only pulled us together during such a special event hosted by Mother Nature, but then provided us with a structure that allowed us to connect emotionally and visually and personally to our issues and our needs and our desires, and our strengths. It was something my spirit was starving for, and I didn’t even know it.”
— Lisa K, Moon Circle
