Blog: Peruvian Healing in North Hollywood

Several years ago I had the urge to see Peru, but choices I made prevented it from happening. When Giana Cicchelli came to The Green Man I was reminded of this desire. 

My first experience with Giana was during a shamanic ritual she led at The Green Man.  The ritual really triggered some childhood memories, and I found it both positive and negative in the moment.  In traditional therapy I had been encouraged to do some ‘inner child’ work, and had come up blank. After that ritual, I seemed to make tentative connections with the 'inner child' concept. I attended Giana's second ritual, which was a Fire Ceremony to “let go” of something holding us back. I honestly don’t know what I specifically let go of at that ritual, but the desire to work with Giana just kept growing.

In November, I gifted myself a “Soul Retrieval” working with Giana.  It is hard to describe the transformative work that occurred, but it helped explain so many of my reactions to change in my life. The setting was a quiet room. Using stones and rattles to work the energies, Giana guided me to sift through memories and track the root of a pattern of behavior and responses. Awareness is key to making most positive changes in our lives, and the knowledge I gained during the session has served me well since.  So many choices we make are based upon previous experiences; when those experiences were painful, traumatic or just neglectful, our continued choices are often not in our best interest.  Pulling back the energy from the experience and re-patterning choices is part of the soul retrieval process.  After the session, Giana mentioned that I would probably be feeling the changes for the next month or so. To be honest, it’s been over four months now, and I am still seeing the ripples of positive changes showing up from that work.  It has affected my mental, physical and emotional being in ways too numerous to count, but a regular routine of exercise and more emotional balance and resilience are two of the most obvious.

In January, Giana facilitated a Peruvian Shamanism 101 six-week series that I was excited to attend. This is a hands-on class working with archetypal figures and making use of rocks, stones and other natural items to effect change in our lives, as this is core to the Peruvian Shamanic tradition. During the class we regularly ‘checked in’ and we all noted the change in many areas of our own lives and that of the other class members, including Giana. As the class finished, I have found this practice to fit nicely into my life and I continue to find it supportive to my daily routine.

As I found this work and practice to be very positive, I checked in with Giana about some of her thoughts and experiences.

1. Why are you drawn to Peruvian Shamanism practice?

I was drawn to the Peruvian shamanic practice because I have always had an interest in shamanism. Shamanism is the kind of practice that you need to have a teacher for, and I was waiting for some shamanic teacher to eventually 'pick' me! Hahaha. I met Esther Jenkins (School for the Shamanic Arts, Glendora, CA) through a friend of mine who had taken some workshops with her. The second time that my friend mentioned Esther's name I told her that she needed to give me Esther's contact information. That night I had a dream, wherein Esther showed up and told me that I needed to call her. I called her the next day and we met for coffee. She told me about her upcoming workshops, and that was that! I was in! I had found a shamanic teacher. 

While working with Esther I fell in love with the Peruvian practices: speaking to the plants, rocks, trees and working with archetypical energies of the universe. After my first year with Esther I took a trip to Peru to visit Machu Picchu and the sacred valley. My trip and my work with Esther sealed the deal! I felt akin to these practices, the vibration of the cosmology, and knew that I was in line with my highest purpose. 

Also, in my ten plus years of practicing magick, I always knew I was a healer but didn't know any methodologies to practice healing people. Too often I would try to heal people, but just end up feeding them all of my energy while being drained. The Peruvian tradition is mainly focused on healing, and the different modalities with which to heal, so I feel I have found a practice that is functional and practical for what I wanted to do. The Q'ero modalities of healing are diverse, insightful, highly effective, and I don't come away drained anymore.

2. Explain the Soul Retrieval process.

The soul retrieval process is the reclamation of the wounded self. I have a video that goes into further detail here (www.youtube.com/watch?v=otqY9zpN2FE)

In the Soul retrieval process I take my client on a journey into the underworld to find their lost soul pieces. People's soul pieces fragment off when they experience a trauma that they cannot emotionally process or comprehend at the time of occurrence. When we travel down to the underworld, we find the trauma, disconnect from it and reclaim the soul part. I have been told that soul retrieval is like 5 years of therapy pushed into one hour! I feel it is a profound way in which to heal the past and disconnect oneself from being a victim. 

3. What benefits have you found personally as a result of your Shamanistic practice?

Ha!! You should ask my mom and sister!! They both tell me of a visible change that occurred in my demeanor and attitude since I began practicing the shamanic path. Personally I have found that through shamanism I am able to step into my power, and step into my life's purpose. Before I began this path I was walking around a fragmented soul who was very very angry. Through the shamanic practice I have become more relaxed, more whole, and happier.

4. How do you think Peruvian practice can help others?

The practice of Peruvian shamanism is a very clean one, very high vibration, and very healing. In the world today, with all the people who are walking around as fragmented selves, I believe this practice can begin to heal the wounds of centuries. Being able to reclaim one's childhood, one's memories, is so ultimately healing and cleansing that I imagine Peruvian shamanism could begin to bring balance to our world (though I also believe that other mystical paths are doing the same thing!). 

I encourage you to check out the links to learn more about Giana and her practice. She has a YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/user/gianabrynne and she posts new informational videos every Tuesday. She is available for energy healing work, and readings, at The Green Man, here is a link for more information: http://thegreenmanstore.com/2012/06/giana-cicchelli/. She is at The Green Man on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 11-7; please call the store at 818-985-2010 to schedule an appointment. Giana will also be leading a Peruvian Shamanism 101 six-week series starting May 14th, here is a link with more details http://thegreenmanstore.com/2012/06/peruvian-shamanism-101-with-giana-cicchelli/ .