Considering Shamanic Practitioner Training? What You Need to Know

If you've been feeling drawn to deepen your shamanic practice - whether with the intention of working professionally or primarily for your own personal and spiritual development - you may have questions about what practitioner training actually involves.

What will I actually learn? 

Shamanic practitioner training is about much more than learning a collection of techniques.

Yes, you'll learn practical shamanic healing methods, including power and soul retrieval and energy extraction, alongside energy healing practices and the Munay-Ki Rites.

But just as importantly, you'll learn how to bring those different elements together and begin developing your own way of working.

Because when someone comes to you for healing, they don't usually arrive knowing which technique they need. They simply know that something isn't right.

Part of becoming a practitioner is learning how to listen - not only to your client, but to your own intuition and guidance - so that you can respond to the person sitting in front of you rather than simply following a set formula.

Throughout the Hollow Bone Shamanic and Energy Healing Practitioner training, you'll have opportunities to practise what you're learning, work with others, reflect on your experiences and gradually build confidence in using the different approaches.

By the end of the training, you'll have a varied toolkit to draw upon - the aim isn't to create practitioners who all work in exactly the same way.

It's to help you develop the skills, confidence and discernment to begin finding your way of working.

Do I have to want to become a practitioner? 

Not necessarily.

Some people join Hollow Bone because they already work therapeutically and want to add shamanic healing to the way they support clients.

Others feel drawn to the training primarily for their own personal and spiritual development.

You don't need to have everything mapped out before you begin.

The programme is taught at practitioner level, so you'll learn the skills, ethics and practical experience needed to work with others safely and confidently. But whether you eventually choose to build a professional practice, integrate the work into something you already offer, or simply allow the training to deepen your own journey is entirely up to you.

Why combine Shamanic Healing with Energy Healing? 

Over the 10 years or so that I've been a shamanic practitioner, I've become increasingly convinced that if we want to support our clients well, we need to understand more than individual healing techniques.

Someone may come to me specifically for a Soul Retrieval, and that may be exactly the shamanic healing they need. But when I then check their energy field, I may find other imbalances that could also benefit from attention. 

Rather than ending the session when the Soul Retrieval is complete, energy healing gives me additional ways to bring balance where it's needed, help the client's energy field settle and gently support the beginning of the integration process.

Our role as practitioners is to respond to the person in front of us, rather than simply reach for a particular technique.

Shamanic healing remains at the heart of the work I teach and combining it with energy healing allows us to respond more fully to the individual person and what they need in that moment.

For me, the two approaches complement each other beautifully - allowing us to create more complete, responsive and individually tailored healing sessions.

Why does the training unfold over a year? 

It doesn't take a year to teach you the core shamanic and energy healing techniques.

But learning a technique and becoming confident using it with another person are two very different things.

Between each teaching module, you'll have time to practise what you've learned, reflect on your experiences, ask questions and gradually discover your own way of working. You'll have space to wobble occasionally too - because that's often where some of the best learning happens! 😀

You'll also receive ongoing mentoring and support as you begin putting everything into practice, rather than reaching the end of the final teaching weekend and suddenly being expected to work everything out for yourself.

Becoming a practitioner isn't simply about knowing what to do. It's about developing the confidence, discernment and trust to know when and how to use what you've learned.

Can Shamanic Practitioner Training really work online? 

It's a fair question. In fact, for many years I probably would have asked exactly the same thing.

Shamanic healing is deep, experiential work, so when I decided to create an online version of Hollow Bone, it was important to me that none of that depth was lost.

But after hundreds of hours of teaching circles, mentoring sessions and training online, I've come to realise that what matters isn't where you learn - it's how you learn. I've watched people experience profound journeys, support one another and build genuine connections without ever sharing the same physical room.

The online Hollow Bone programme is taught live on Zoom in a dedicated cohort. We'll journey together, work in pairs, practise healing techniques, share experiences and have plenty of opportunity for questions and discussion - just as we do during the in-person training.

You'll also have recordings of every session to revisit afterwards, along with printed and digital copies of your training manuals.

And online isn't the only option.

I also teach Hollow Bone in person here in Argyll, Scotland. For the time being, I've chosen to keep the online and in-person groups as separate cohorts, so I can focus fully on creating the best possible experience for each group.

So if online learning isn't for you, that doesn't necessarily mean Hollow Bone isn't for you. The in-person training may simply be a better fit.

Where do the Munay-Ki Rites fit? 

The Andean Munay-Ki Rites form another important strand of the Hollow Bone journey. They're deeply healing in their own right, supporting your personal and spiritual development and becoming part of the process of “becoming the Hollow Bone” - clearing and healing what we carry ourselves so that we can become a clearer channel for the work we offer to others.

Receiving the rites is only the beginning. Each rite plants a seed, and you'll have time and support within the programme to work with those energies, integrate them and explore how they continue to unfold in your own life.

As those seeds grow, you'll also have the opportunity to learn how to pass the rites on to others, giving you another tool for your practitioner medicine bag - something you may choose to offer in its own right or weave into your wider work.

And if you've already received the Munay-Ki or just don't feel they're right for you then there are options to receive them again or opt out of that element of the training altogether.

Is Hollow Bone right for me? 

There isn't one particular type of person who finds their way to this training.

You may already work as a therapist or healer and be looking for a deeper or different way to support your clients. You may have been exploring shamanism for some time and feel ready to take your practice further. Or perhaps something about this path is calling to you, even though you're not yet sure where it might lead.

You don't need to have all the answers before you begin.

If you'd like to explore whether Hollow Bone feels like the right next step for you, you can read the full programme details and download the course brochure here.

Before each new cohort begins, I also offer a free online Overview & Q&A, where you can meet me, hear more about the training and ask any questions you have. And if you'd prefer to talk privately about whether the programme is right for you, you're always welcome to arrange a chat with me.

Dawn x