We live in interesting times.
Our fundamental paradigms of science are shifting and knowledge in every field is burgeoning. From cosmology to quantum physics, the world we live in has expanded by exponential proportions. Meanwhile, the old world is unravelling- socially, politically, economically, environmentally. We are not facing merely a change of systems, but a profound transformation of civilization itself. In these turbulent times a new vision is struggling to be born.
In perilous times we need precisely what sacred ceremonies have to give; the capacity for profound insight, generative creative possibility, expanded vision, epiphany and revelation. We need our prophets and visionaries, our artists and troubadours, seers and mystics. We can no longer afford a shallow and superficial kind of art. For decades visionaries have pursued the ‘cutting edge’, a mercurial periphery of fashion and fad. Our consciousness, hijacked by materialism and nihilism, must rise from these ashes to re-inhabit the spaciousness of the soul – a territory alone sufficient to meet the pressing needs of our time.
With this noble calling in heart and mind, we lovingly invite you to the SomaHeart Retreat!
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This full immersive weekend includes:
– 1 SomaHeart Plant Medicine Ceremony & Full Integration Support
– 1 Numa Somatics Breathwork Journey and Sound Bath with guest Ocian Ward
– 1 Kambo Session (optional)
– 1 Transformational Art Process
– Gentle Movement Practices, Yoga, and Meditation
– High Quality Ayurvedic Food
– Personalized Attention
– Fireside Teachings, Healing Vibes and Good Company!
This long-weekend retreat is a rejuvenating and replenishing deep dive into plant medicine realms and beyond! We hope you can join us in these magical realms.
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Maxiumum 8 participants
Cost: – $950-$1350 (sliding scale)
Includes: – Ceremonial offerings, integration support, lodging and meals
To begin the registration process email us at thesomaheart@gmail.com
Or visit https://www.thesomaheart.com/event-details/somaheart-weekend-retreat and click the RSVP button!
More information below!!
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— SCHEDULE —
FRIDAY SEPT. 4
2:00 – 3:00 – Arrival / Check-in
3:00 – 5:00 – Opening Ceremony
5:00 – 6:30 – Dinner
6:30 – 9:00 – Numa Somatics Breathwork & Sound Journey
9:00 – 10:00 – Tea / Relaxation
SATURDAY SEPT. 5
8:00 – 10:30 – Kambo Ceremony
10:30 – 11:00 – Light Breakfast
11:00 – 1:00 – Intention Setting / Free Time
1:00 – 9:00 – SomaHeart Ceremony
9:00 – 10:00 – Dinner
SUNDAY SEPT. 6
8:00 – 8:30 – Tea / Journaling Time
8:30 – 9:30 – Hatha Yoga / Meditation
9:30 – 10:00 – Breakfast
10:00 – 2:00 – Integration Circle (w/Tea & Snacks)
2:00 – 3:00 – Lunch
3:00 – 6:30 – Pool / Park / Free Time
6:30 – 7:30 – Dinner
7:30 – 11:00 – Fireside Satsang / Hangout
SUNDAY SEPT. 7
8:00 – 9:00 – Breakfast
9:00 – 12:00 – Transformative Art Process
12:00 – 12:30 – Lunch
12:30 – 2:25 – Gifting Circle
2:25 – 2:30 – Closing Ceremony
2:30 – 3:00 – Packing Up / Video Testimonials (optional)
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— SOMAHEART PLANT MEDICINE CEREMONY —
SomaHeart ceremonies work with the sacred forest medicine and small amounts of Syrian Rue. These two plant medicines work synergistically with one another, offering a journey unlike any other. Syrian Rue is an MAOI, which means it allows your body to metabolize more of the forest medicine, strengthening and lengthening the effects which unlock greater depths throughout the duration of your journey and beyond.
The profound entheogenic effect of the forest medicine has many beneficial effects on the entire neuro-biological system. It has been used to successfully treat PTSD, Bi-Polar disorder, depression and anxiety. By de-centralizing brain activity from the default mode network (which house perceptions of our identity and established belief systems), one is granted expanded awareness and new, heightened perceptions of subtle aspects of reality and the Self.
The euphoric and calming effects of the harmaline in the Syrian Rue give clarity to the experience; granting you strength and inner guidance to open more fully and to go deeper into the intensity of the medicine; detailed and vivid, geometric fractal visuals accompanied by profound depth, realization, and psycho-somatic healing that are uniquely suited to each individual.
These ceremonies last approximately 6-8 hours.
–> What is Ceremony? Description of the Ceremony Space and Setting <–
Typically, each participant will be sitting, reclining, or lying down on the perimeter of the ceremonial space. Each person will be drinking medicine from a cup. Once everyone has ingested the Medicine, we begin with a meditation and the facilitators will begin singing medicine songs and play ceremonial instruments to guide the inward journey as the medicine comes on. It is important to understand that the first half of the ceremony is a time to go inward for self-exploration and self-discovery. The ceremonial leaders will be guiding the work with the medicine through singing, drumming, chanting, energy work, and meditation. Throughout the night, the facilitators will be offering one-on-one treatments, personalized attention, and energy work (also called Lympias), to the participants when necessary.
The second half of the ceremony becomes much more expressive and is where we begin to integrate the depth our experience. There may be guided verbal exchanges, teachings or shares as we go through a real-time reprogramming of limiting beliefs and new seeds are planted into fertile soils of the mind. This portion of the ceremony unfolds differently every time depending on the energy in the room and the processes unfolding for each participant. It is important to know that this medicine is more expressive than other plant medicines.
Comprehensive preparation and integration materials will be provided to registered participants.
For more details and information, or to register, please contact us at thesomaheart@gmail.com
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— KAMBO —
Kambo is a liberating medicine of empowerment providing a deep cleanse for body, mind, and spirit. Those who work with the frog are assisted in releasing deeply rooted trauma and suppressed emotion that have been hiding in the subconscious and weighing you down. When we have cleared these layers of emotional, mental, and physical blocks, we live in a deeper experience of balance, peace, and clarity.
Kambo is a secretion from the Giant Green Monkey Tree Frog used as a traditional Amazonian medicine for thousands of years amongst the tribes of the Upper Amazon. In these traditions it was used as a “vaccine” to help treat infections, fever, snake bites, and malaria. This secretion was used amongst the women to aid in fertility and amongst the hunters to improve stamina, strength, courage, and clarity.
It is said to clear “panema”, dark or negative energy, that is said to be at the root of disease. When panema is cleared life becomes easier, obstacles become obsolete, and one is able to live harmoniously within the flow of life.
In recent years Kambo has made its way over to the West and is quickly gaining popularity for it’s wide range of benefits. Many people who suffer from chronic conditions, that haven’t been remedied by the allopathic approach, find relief or recovery with the help of Kambo.
Scientists have attributed Kambo’s positive effects to it’s unique cocktail of peptides that hold potent antimicrobial, antiviral, antifungal, antibacterial, and analgesic properties. Italian scientist, Vittorio Erspamer called this secretion a “fantastic chemical cocktail with potential medical applications, unequalled by any other amphibian.” Erspamer was the first person to analyze Kambo in a laboratory, since then he went on to being nominated (twice) for a Nobel Prize.
Several peptides have been isolated from the secretion and many have been synthesized. Today there are 70 kambo patents lodged, most of which are in the US.
Due to it’s unique cocktail of peptides, Kambo is said to be one of the strongest anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antimicrobial, and anaesthetic substances found in the natural world along with being one of the strongest ways to strengthen the immune system. It is incredibly effective at detoxing the body on a cellular level, clearing out the liver and the intestines.
Kambo connects us to the spirit of water and its medicine of ease and flow; a purifying energy that opens us up to receive the blessings of life more fully. The Spirit of Kambo aligns you with your true nature, helping you to ground in vitality, joy, strength, and stamina—living from this place of authenticity on a regular basis. The mind becomes calm and optimistic, you feel lighter and life becomes easier to manage.
This master teacher of trust and surrender is the remover of obstacles. Many people who sit with Kambo find that they become more resilient to stress and the challenges of life become easier to navigate or become totally obsolete.
For more information and research visit IAKP’s website – https://iakp.org/ or Aga’s website – https://www.kamboflow.com/
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— NUMA SOMATICS BREATHWORK —
A transformational practice that strategically weaves together the power of conscious breathwork, deep bodily unwindings of somatic movement explorations, mindful somatic psycho-therapeutic investigations, and the medicinal vibrations of sound therapy.
Nūma Breathwork is a psychosomatic therapeutic process, an insightful dive into non-ordinary states of consciousness, an exploration of the continuum of human experience, and a catalyst for resolving suffering.
Conscious Breathwork is a practice in returning to natural, unhindered breathing. It is a practice that starts with mimicking, as best as possible, this natural breathing experience and ends with being breathed. When the mimicking of natural breathing – i.e. relaxed exhales and no unconscious pauses in the breath cycle – is sustained for long enough in a session the old stresses that one’s physiology hasn’t yet discharged or integrated start to rise to the surface of consciousness.
These unconscious experiences are suppressed or repressed through both physical and physiological restrictions, particularly in one’s breathing, so when a person consciously invites a change to the patterned restrictions the unconscious experiences begin to surface within the body-mind. As they do, they can also trigger feeling states that were tied to the original stressing experiences and the person’s reaction to them.
By catalyzing the lifting of these old stresses into consciousness, a person is then able to address them with corrective experiences while learning from and integrating them.
What are some of the benefits of receiving Nūma Breathwork and Nūma Somatics sessions?
– Deep relaxation of body and mind
– Detoxification, restoration, and oxygenation of the cells
– Improved respiratory functioning
– An increased sense of and capacity for aliveness and pleasure
– Recognition and resolution of self-limiting beliefs
– Resolution of suppressed and repressed emotions
– Reduced stress and increased inner peace
– Development of new resources to engage life more stably and fully
– Increased self-love, acceptance, compassion, joy, and trust
– Deepening mental clarity, insight, expanded awareness, and spiritual growth
For more information please visit the Nūma Somatics website – https://www.numasomatics.com/
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— SOUND JOURNEY —
The mythical healing potential of sound has been a deep exploration of many traditions from around the world; one that the scientific mind of the Western world is now embracing. Uniting ancient medicine songs with sacred instruments in a ceremonial container is an expression of the new paradigm of our emerging culture: earth-based traditions merging with and uplifting modern day civilization.
When the rhythmic energy of drums and rattles begin to oscillate throughout the brain it synchronizes the two cerebral hemispheres. When the logical left hemisphere and the intuitive right hemisphere begin to vibrate in harmony, the inner guidance of your intuitive knowing can flow unobstructed into your conscious awareness.
The power of sacred music is well known among the plant medicine community, but it is also gaining a lot of attention from the scientific community for its potent effect on health and well-being.
What are some of the therapeutic benefits of sound healing?
– Reducing tension, anxiety and stress
– Helping to control chronic pain
– Boosting the immune system
– Releasing negative feelings, blockages and emotional trauma
– Accelerating physical healing
– Calming and focusing the mind
For more information on Ocian Ward’s sound healing offerings please visit her website – https://www.ociansound.com/
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— TRANSFORMATIVE ART —
Art has the power to penetrate to core levels of our Being, reaching below the surface to the primeval substrates of the subconscious and above to the highest levels of super-consciousness. Graced among our many human endeavours, the arts have a unique capacity to transport us past the confines of matter, time and space. Intuitive revelations, discoveries and inventions, ‘super-conscious’ solutions and inspired visions stream from this potent font of Being beneath the surface of Becoming.
Transformative Art recognizes that art has the capacity to transform consciousness- both personally and collectively. Around the world ‘troubadours of transformation’ are bringing forth a new renaissance of art, culture and consciousness. Transformative Art Facilitators are at the forefront of this movement, approaching the Arts from the ‘inside out’.
We work from the source within to bring forth a mighty flowing stream of creativity, discovering the joy of this inexhaustible fountain within. The results are astonishing; radiant freedom of self-expression, dissolving of inhibitions, enhanced creativity, and a luminous sense of vitality and well-being.
When we open the aperture of the inner life, we access a vitality and sense of purpose that reinvigorates our lives. When we activate the genius of our innate creativity, we can apply it to every area of our lives- and to the transformation of the world around us.
Through Transformative Art processes, we use all the modalities of the arts as vehicles for uplifting consciousness. This approach is simple- available to everyone regardless of skill or experience. It is also profound and life changing.
For more information on Transformative Art visit the Awakening Arts Academy website – https://awakeningartsacademy.com/
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— ABOUT THE FACILITATORS —
SOMAHEART
Working out of Vancouver BC, Deus & Aga facilitate a wide variety of transformative offerings including plant medicine ceremonies, sound journeys, 1-on-1 & group coaching, and full immersion workshops in the realm of plant medicine integration, transformative art, & empowered relating. Together they weave extraordinary ceremonial experiences with majestic soundscapes & powerful medicine songs to heal & liberate the mind, heart & spirit.
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AGA POSTAWSKA
Born in Lublin Poland, Aga grew up in Metro Vancouver, BC, which is the unceded Coast Salish territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-waututh nations. She has over 9 years of professional experience working in a variety of healing arts; she is a IAKP Certified Kambo Practitioner, Plant Medicine Facilitator, Yoga Teacher, and Certified Holistic Health Coach specializing in gut health.
She has worked closely with Amazonian plant teacher medicines since 2011 where she was training to run an Ayahuasca healing retreat center working closely with curanderos of the Shipibo linage in Pucallpa, Peru. Aga has also been supporting the Blackfoot sundance on the Blood Reserve, in Alberta since 2018. Aga’s approach to healing is a holistic combination of both Western and Eastern approaches, infused with Earth-based teachings, magic and playfulness.
www.thesomaheart.com
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DEUS FORTIER
Deus Fortier grew up in Calgary, AB, which is the unceded territory of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) first nations people. He has been a fire-keeper and drummer for a Blackfoot Sundance on the Blood Reserve in southern Alberta since 2013, and has been actively participating in and supporting Indigenous traditions since 2011.
Deus is initiated into Kriya Yoga through Self-Realization Fellowship, founded by Paramahansa Yogananda of the Giri branch of the ancient Swami order; an ancient spiritual science and Yogic practice for attaining direct Self-Realization.
He is a certified Transformative Art Facilitator and is the founder of Consciousness Architecture: a full-spectrum system of self-mastery and enlightenment for the modern multi-dimensional explorer.
Deus has been working deeply with the plant medicine teachers and entheogenic sacraments since 2007 and incorporates over a decade of rigorous study and practice in the realms of consciousness into his ceremonial facilitation.
www.deusfortier.com
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OCIAN WARD
Ocian is an established sound medicine practitioner offering sacred sound healing to clients all across Canada, the United States and beyond. Since 2010, she has been weaving together deeply transformative and profound healing spaces. She hosts and co-creates circles, ceremony and journeys, with the intention of creating resilient, self-aware individuals and empowered communities through experiencing the ‘Art of the Muses’: Music & Sound.
By combining this fundamental building block of life (sound) with Usui Reiki (masters level), Massage & Touch Therapy and most recently The Alchemists Path: Celtic Shamanism, Wildwood Priestess Training and Numa Somatics Breathwork, Ocian facilitates deep and profound experiential journeys for participants to safely explore the inner world and all it contains. These sessions can include instruments such as: Crystal Bowls, Crystal Lyre, Chimes, Rattles & Feathers, Steel & Medicine Drum, her latest the Sansula and Triple Drone Flute and most specially her etheric and powerful vocal harmonics.
These sessions are deeply relaxing and rejuvenating, bringing people into deep states of cathartic release. Many participants have reports of incredible physical, mental, emotional and spiritual shifts after their sessions.
www.ociansound.com