About Ana

I come from a rich heritage of Spanish and Basque ancestors. In fact my last name, Larramendi, means meadow-mountain in Basque.

Since my early childhood I had a deep connection to nature. I sought the natural world wherever I could find it when I was in need of comfort or calming. I didn’t actually recognize this as a spiritual practice until I went on my first Vision Quest in 1989. That Quest transformed me forever, for it was the first time I began to understand the relationship of spirituality and the Earth, and that this ancient understanding was rooted in something called shamanism.

I began my shamanic studies immediately afterward, first through classes with The Foundation for Shamanic Studies, and then through numerous teachers from different shamanic disciplines. But these teachings primarily gave me tools to navigate through a deep personal initiation that began to unfold in my life. I had many unresolved wounds and deep emotional scars which profoundly affected how I walked my life. These wounds and scars were a shadow that developed into a crisis in my life of dramatic proportions which transformed me forever.

I would be lying if I said that this personal annihilation wasn’t of my own making…like falling off a cliff of my personal blind spot. Yet the Spirits knew that the only way I would face my fears was to be “cooked” in them…to walk through the fire till I could make ‘Big Medicine’ of the inner shadows that stalked me.

So the initiation began, and my teacher was the Wilderness.

Shamans have a distinctive relationship with the wilderness, their natures are not altogether human, but, rather, wild. They live in a unique balance with things that are natural and draw their wisdom from the rhythms and cycles of life and nature…they are the wilderness. They know that the Earth flows through their veins like streams down a mountain and that all teachings of balance, love, compassion and wisdom are held in the bones of the Earth.

I did not understand that this was the nature of what I was becoming, I was just frightened, lonely, severely depressed and in deep pain…yet I discovered in the whispering of the trees and the miraculous visits of animals and Spirits during my desperate times, that there was a profound love and tenderness that this beautiful Grandmother Earth would yield. It is in these experiences that I transformed and grew the roots for my teaching and healing work.

I take great joy in helping people on their healing paths. By sharing these shamanic tools, each person can learn to heal themselves and find a way to develop their own divine relationship with the Great Mystery. Although I teach many different shamanic techniques, the teachings of greatest passion for me are those that deepen our relationship with the Earth and the Creator.

I feel blessed with a life full of beauty and magic and hope to have a place in the countryside where I can live, practice and teach the Spiritual Medicine of the Earth.

In addition to my private healing practice, I am also a minister who performs ceremonies to honor birth, death and marriage in my community. I teach numerous workshops on shamanism, from basic levels to advanced levels. My passion is teaching and practicing earth healing and I have an apprenticeship dedicated to educating practitioners on this topic (see, Caretaker of the Earth). This is an area of my passion, where I have chosen to specialize my shamanic knowledge. I am also a founding member of the Society of Shamanic Practitioners, www.shamansociety.org, an organization created to support the re-emergence of using shamanism as a form of spiritual healing in our culture and integrating it with western medicine.

If you have questions, or wish to be on an email list for workshops, you may contact me at: coyote@thehollowbone.com

The following is a list of some of my human teachers and the trainings I have taken. I have included their organizations with links:

Trainings:

Sedonia Cahill,

My dear friend, a Vision Quest leader, teacher, and mentor. Sedonia was killed in an automobile accident in February of 2000. An amazing woman who I owe my medicine journey to.

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies, www.shamanism.org

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies is a non-profit educational organization which teaches core shamanism workshops across the USA and in many other countries. The FSS also documents, studies and supports indigenous shamans, and funds many different research programs across the world.

Angeles Arrien, www.angelesarrien.com

A fellow Basque, Angeles is a dynamic teacher, storyteller and author. Her 4 - Fold Way intensive training is an excellent program which shows how to incorporate the teachings of the archetypes of: Visionary, Healer, Teacher and Leader. Angeles is a cultural anthropologist, award-winning author, educator, and consultant to many organizations and businesses. She lectures and conducts workshops worldwide, bridging cultural anthropology, psychology, and comparative religions. Her work is currently used in medical, academic, and corporate environments.

Betsy Bergstrom, www.betsybergstrom.com
Betsy Bergstrom is a full-time Shamanic Practitioner and teacher who is a specialist in entity clearing and doing depossession work. She has been trained by a number of indigenous shamans and healers who have encouraged her and shared with her their wonderful teachings. She has worked in various fields of Alternative Healing for nearly 20 years. Her calling is to work in partnership with the Helping Spirits, to help the living and the dead.

Tom Brown Jr. Tracker School, www.trackerschool.com

Tom Brown, Jr. is legendary for his tracking and nature skills and has published over 16 books on the subject. His Tracker School has been in existence for 25 years and teaches a broad range of wilderness, survival, awareness, tracking and spiritual skills.

Tom Cowan, www.riverdrum.com

Tom is a delightful teacher who is a shamanic practitioner specializing in Celtic visionary and healing techniques. He combines universal core shamanism with traditional European spirit lore to create spiritual practices that can heal and enrich one’s own life and the lives of others. He is an internationally respected teacher, author, lecturer, and tour leader.  

Myron Eshowsky, www.communityshamanism.com and www.peacehealing.org

A long time friend and instructor for the Foundation of Shamanic Studies. I have learned many advanced esoteric shamanic studies from Myron who is an excellent resource of information. Myron has recently created a non-profit organization named Pathways Foundation for Peace and Healing, (www.peacehealing.org) which incorporates shamanism with healing and peacemaking to create a society of Spirit.

Jose Luis Herrera and Q’ero shamans, www.rainbowjaguar.org
Jose Luis Herrera has spent the last twenty years exploring and studying the high Mountain, Amazon, and Coastal medicine traditions of his native Peru. He’s an accomplished mountain climber, explorer, author, speaker, naturalist and has studied under the most respected medicine people of Peru and teaches Inka Medicine Traditions across the US and Europe.

Sandra Ingerman, www.shamanicvisions.com/ingerman.html

Sandy is an excellent teacher who trained me in soul retrieval, extraction, and transmutation work. She teaches workshops on shamanism around the world and was formerly the Educational Director of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies directed by Michael Harner. Sandy is recognized for bridging ancient cross-cultural healing methods into our modern day culture addressing the needs of our times. Her books, Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self Harper San Francisco 1991, Medicine for the Earth, Three Rivers Press 2001. and The Beginner’s Guide to Shamanic Journeying. Are classics in Shamanic literature.
Sandy’s current focus in on transmutation work.

Luzclara, www.luzclara.com

Chilean Mapuche healing traditions. Luzclara is an internationally known Chilean Medicine Woman, ceremonial leader, ritual dancer and sound healer. Her work is dedicated to awakening the sacred feminine.

Nan Moss and David Corbin, www.shamanscircle.com
Nan and David teach the spiritual aspects of weather, they have been teaching and doing research on this topic for more than 10 years. In addition they are faculty members of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies and are certified by the Foundation as shamanic counselors.
They presented their introductory workshop, WeatherDancing: Shamanism and the Spirits of Weather, in 1999 in the U.S. and Canada. Since then they have published, CloudDancing: Wisdom from the Sky, a set of shamanic divination cards and guidebook using cloud images, as well as two articles on the spirits of weather in Shamanism, the journal of the Foundation for Shamanic Studies. Their new book, Weather Shamanism, is scheduled for release in March 2008. Nan and David have also studied with indigenous healers from various cultures, including Siberian, Tuvan, Saami, Chinese, and Native American.

Robert Moss, www.mossdreams.com

A famous writer and dreamer, Robert teaches the Shamanic aspects of dream-work with fun, dynamic workshops.

Larry Peters, Ph.D., www.tibetanshaman.com

A Tibetan Shamanism expert, Dr. Larry Peters is a licensed psychotherapist, world renowned scholar, and initiated shaman in the Tibetan tradition. Dr. Peters holds advanced degrees in both Anthropology and Psychology, has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with shamans in Nepal, China, Mongolia, and Siberia, and is a Research Associate of The Foundation for Shamanic Studies.

Marko Pogacnik, www.ljudmila.org/pogacnik
Marko Pogacnik is a Slovenia-born author, sculptor, artist and specialist in working with the elemental beings, nature spirits, geomancy and earth energies. He has developed a technique called “Lithopuncture” which involves using carved stone sculpture spikes as acupuncture needles to awaken and balance meridians on the earth. Marko’s innovative thinking makes him a pioneer in awakening us to GAIA and the upcoming earth changes.

Brant Secunda, www.shamanism.com

The leading expert on Huichol Shamanism and founder of Dance of the Deer Foundation.

Jaes Seis, www.pachamama.cc
Jaes is the founder of Pachamama, Inc. a non-profit shamanic organization in Richland Center, Wisconsin. Jaes is a fabulous teacher, friend and colleague with over 20 years of experience. She is on the cutting edge of new advanced, esoteric shamanic studies and healing practices, which are evolving to address our modern society’s healing needs.

Herb Stevenson, www.onewhitehorsestanding.com
Herb Stevenson bridges the worlds of business and spiritual healing. Until recently, he was Executive Vice President of Young & Associates, Inc. in Kent, Ohio. Now, as part of his efforts to reclaim his Native American Indian heritage (Shawnee and Cherokee), he has been exploring indigenous healing practices, such as the shamanic use of rocks and crystals in the healing process. He has established a private practice in crystal energy healing, specializing in trauma-related work. Herb has also developed, Medicine of Men, a one-year, male initiation program designed to assist men through the process of maturity. Herb teaches people to work with crystals and rocks, as well as workshops on the medicines of Bear, Wolf, Buffalo and Cougar

Alberto Villoldo & Q’ero elders, www.thefourwinds.com

Founded by psychologist and medical anthropologist, Dr. Alberto Villoldo, The Four Winds Society, is an international research and training organization, which focuses on preserving a thousand year old tradition of knowledge to achieve personal and planetary healing. Alberto studied with the Q’ero people of Peru who carry the ancient Inka shamanic traditions, which include Illumination work, soul retrieval, extraction, depossession, death rites and much more.