What is Shamanic Healing?
Shamanic healing is a religious and therapeutic phenomenon centered on the shaman, a person believed to achieve healing powers through trance or ecstatic religious experience, with the ability to heal the sick, communicate with the otherworld, and often escort souls of the dead. The practice operates on the understanding that illness and suffering originate in the spiritual realm and manifest in the physical body. In shamanic worldview, all disease of the physical body begins in the energy bodies, with blocks in the energy bodies creating stress on systems or organs that over time causes dysfunction.
Shamanic healing encompasses multiple techniques, most notably soul retrieval—the recovery of fragmented aspects of a person’s life force lost through trauma—and extraction, the removal of intrusive energies or spiritual blockages. Unlike conventional Western medicine that treats symptoms, shamanic healing addresses the spiritual roots of imbalance through direct engagement with non-ordinary reality.
Origins & Lineage
The term shamanism comes from the Manchu-Tungus word šaman, meaning ‘one who knows,’ and in the strictest sense applies to the religious systems and phenomena of the peoples of northern Asia and the Ural-Altaic, such as the Khanty and Mansi, Samoyed, Tungus, Yukaghir, Chukchi, and Koryak. Anthropologists suggest that shamanic practices date back to the Paleolithic era, as evidenced by ancient cave art depicting shamanistic rituals and symbols. It is generally agreed that shamanism originated among hunting-and-gathering cultures, and that it persisted within some herding and farming societies after the origins of agriculture.
Shamans are particularly common among Arctic peoples, American Indians, Australian Aborigines, and those African groups, such as the San, that retained their traditional cultures well into the 20th century. Each culture developed distinct shamanic expressions: Siberian shamans worked with spirit flight and drumming, Amazonian curanderos specialized in plant medicine, North American medicine people conducted vision quests, and Tibetan Bon practitioners developed elaborate soul retrieval ceremonies called lalu and chilu.
The modern Western encounter with shamanism began through ethnographic research in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Romanian historian of religion Mircea Eliade published Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy in 1964, establishing shamanism as a legitimate field of academic study and describing it as humanity’s oldest spiritual technology.
How It’s Practiced
Shamanic healing involves a shaman or healer journeying into non-ordinary reality to recover lost soul fragments and return them to the individual, with the practitioner entering a trance state using drumming or chanting. The shamanic journey is the foundational technique: practitioners use rhythmic percussion—typically drumming at 4-7 beats per second—to shift consciousness and access what shamanic cultures describe as the Lower World, Middle World, and Upper World.
During soul retrieval, the shaman journeys into altered state with the aid of his/her guides and is able to return missing soul pieces as well as information surrounding it. Fragmentation occurs during acute incidents such as abuse, accidents, surgery, or the sudden death of a loved one, with the psyche ejecting a fragment of its energetic anatomy to preserve the whole organism’s sanity and survival.
Extraction work addresses the opposite problem: unwanted energies or intrusions. Shamanic extraction is the removal of dense or intrusive energy that does not belong in the body, as adverse emotions can take energetic form, becoming stored in the body and eventually contributing to emotional and physical illness. Practitioners locate these intrusions through heightened perception in trance states, then remove them with the assistance of helping spirits or power animals.
Other common techniques include power animal retrieval (connecting clients with protective spirit allies), psychopomp work (guiding souls of the deceased), divination, and hands-on healing. Sessions typically last 60-90 minutes and may include preparatory consultation, the journey itself, and integration discussion afterward.
Shamanic Healing Today
Michael J. Harner, PhD (1929-2018) was an American anthropologist and founder of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS), and in 1980, Harner’s classic bestselling book The Way of the Shaman was published. Together with his wife, psychologist Sandra Harner, he founded the Center for Shamanic Studies in 1979 and created the Foundation for Shamanic Studies in 1985. Harner synthesized shamanic techniques from diverse cultures into “core shamanism”—a non-culture-specific approach emphasizing universal elements like the shamanic journey, spirit helpers, and healing protocols.
Contemporary seekers encounter shamanic healing through multiple channels:
- Private sessions with certified shamanic practitioners, offered both in-person and remotely
- Training programs such as the Foundation for Shamanic Studies’ Basic Workshop (typically 2-3 days) and advanced specialty programs
- Retreat centers combining shamanic work with plant medicine ceremonies, particularly in Peru, Ecuador, and Costa Rica
- Integration with psychotherapy, as clinicians trained in both modalities offer shamanic healing alongside conventional counseling
- Online communities and virtual circles, which expanded significantly after 2020
Shamanic healing has entered integrative medicine settings, with some hospitals and wellness centers offering it alongside acupuncture and energy medicine. Sandra Ingerman, Alberto Villoldo, and Tom Cowan are prominent contemporary teachers who have trained thousands of practitioners worldwide.
Common Misconceptions
Shamanic healing is not a New Age invention; it represents humanity’s oldest documented healing system, predating organized religion by tens of thousands of years. It does not require belief in specific deities or adherence to particular cultural traditions, though respect for indigenous origins is essential.
Shamanic healing is not a substitute for emergency medical care or psychiatric treatment. Reputable practitioners work collaboratively with conventional healthcare and recognize when medical intervention is necessary. The work addresses spiritual and energetic dimensions of illness, not physical pathology directly.
Not every practitioner who uses drums or calls themselves a “healer” practices authentic shamanism. Legitimate training involves years of study, personal initiatory experiences, and often apprenticeship with experienced teachers. Cultural appropriation remains a serious concern; ethical practitioners distinguish between learning universal shamanic techniques and claiming Indigenous identities or specific tribal lineages they do not possess.
Shamanic healing does not produce instant results. Soul retrieval may bring immediate relief, but integration typically unfolds over weeks or months. The practice requires active participation from clients, not passive reception of healing.
How to Begin
Begin with reading The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner, which provides clear, practical introduction to core shamanic techniques and includes guided journey exercises. Sandra Ingerman’s Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self offers specific insight into trauma healing through shamanic practice.
For experiential learning, attend a Foundation for Shamanic Studies Basic Workshop or similar introductory program from reputable organizations. These weekend workshops teach the shamanic journey using drumming recordings, connecting with power animals, and basic healing concepts. Many graduates continue practicing independently or pursue advanced training.
Seek a session with an established shamanic practitioner if addressing specific trauma, chronic illness, or spiritual crisis. The Society for Shamanic Practice and the Foundation for Shamanic Studies maintain practitioner directories. Look for practitioners with clear training lineages, professional ethics, and willingness to discuss their methods.
Develop a daily practice of meditation or contemplative sitting to build the inner stillness necessary for shamanic work. Spend time in nature, as the natural world provides the original context for shamanic experience. Begin working with dreams through journaling, as dreamwork cultivates the symbolic perception central to shamanic consciousness.
Approach the practice with respect for its indigenous origins, recognizing that what is taught in Western contexts represents adaptations of living traditions. Consider supporting organizations that preserve indigenous shamanic knowledge, such as the Foundation for Shamanic Studies’ programs working with tribal communities.
