Why I chose Shamanism over Tradional Therapy

 Why I Chose Shamanism Over Traditional Therapy

When I first began my healing journey, I turned to traditional therapy because it seemed like the most logical, structured path. And for a while, it was incredibly helpful. Therapy gave me space to explore my mind, my patterns, and my past. But something in me yearned for something beyond words and cognitive understanding. I felt as though I needed to dive deeper into the spiritual and emotional layers that therapy wasn’t fully reaching. That’s when shamanism came into my life, and it profoundly changed how I approached my own healing.

The Limits of Traditional Therapy (For Me)

Don’t get me wrong, traditional therapy has a lot to offer. I’d be the first to say that the grounding it provides can be powerful. Sitting with a therapist helped me untangle mental knots and better understand how my past affected my behaviors and beliefs. But after a while, I hit a wall. I realized that despite having a good intellectual understanding of my issues, I still felt incomplete. There were wounds that seemed to live in my body and spirit, wounds that talk therapy couldn’t quite reach.

Therapy had helped me see my story, but I felt trapped by it, circling the same old narrative. I was yearning for a more holistic approach that looked beyond the mind, something that could touch my soul. I wanted to heal on all levels, not just mentally, and I was ready to try something new.

Shamanism: A Pathway to the Soul

When I encountered shamanism, I was both curious and cautious. Part of me worried it was too “out there,” but another part of me felt a strange, almost ancestral pull. After my first session with a shaman, I knew I’d found something transformative. Instead of just talking about my experiences, I was invited to connect with them on a spiritual level, to look at my life through a different lens.

Shamanism, in my experience, is a journey into the unseen. It’s an exploration of energy, intuition, and ancestral connections. Rather than focusing solely on the mind, shamanism speaks to the body and spirit. My first few sessions were like diving into the depths of myself, meeting parts of my psyche that I hadn’t even known were there. The healing didn’t come from talking about my pain but from experiencing it in a safe, guided way, and then releasing it.

Connecting to the Earth and Ancestral Wisdom

One of the most beautiful aspects of shamanism for me has been its connection to nature. In many shamanic traditions, healing doesn’t happen in isolation; it’s a conversation between us and the natural world. Rituals, ceremonies, and even plant medicine can be part of the process. In working with a shaman, I found myself drawn back to the earth, learning to ground myself in the cycles and rhythms that have been part of human healing for millennia.

I was also introduced to the concept of ancestral healing. In shamanic practice, we recognize that we carry patterns, strengths, and wounds from those who came before us. By connecting with this lineage, I felt myself healing not just for me but for my ancestors and for future generations. This was something therapy hadn’t touched, and it brought a profound sense of connection and belonging.

Healing on a Cellular Level

Another significant difference I felt with shamanic work was how deeply it connected with my physical body. Through practices like breathwork, drumming, or even soul retrieval ceremonies, I could feel stuck energy releasing from places I didn’t even know were holding tension. Shamanism views trauma as something stored in our energy and cells, not just our minds. This embodied approach felt like the missing puzzle piece for me.

One of the most impactful experiences I had was during a journey where we addressed a deep-seated fear I’d carried for years. My shaman guided me to visualize and feel this fear, allowing it to come up in a safe, ceremonial space. I cried, shook, and let the emotions come in waves—and when it was over, I felt lighter than I had in years. There was something profoundly cleansing about feeling through the body rather than only processing through words.

Embracing the Mystery of Healing

In traditional therapy, I had sometimes felt a bit too much in my head, overanalyzing and rationalizing everything. Shamanism, on the other hand, embraces the unknown. It allowed me to tap into the mystery of healing, which is something I believe we all need but rarely find in conventional settings. There’s a spiritual element to shamanism that honors the mystery and intuition in healing, something that goes beyond logic.

Shamanic practices encouraged me to trust my own intuition, to let go of needing to understand everything intellectually. I found that as I leaned into the mystery, I experienced profound healing shifts that felt beyond words. This was something I couldn’t have predicted but which felt incredibly freeing.

Integrating Both Worlds

I’m not here to say that one is better than the other. In fact, I still see a therapist occasionally, and I value the grounded approach that traditional therapy provides. But shamanism added something that was missing, a connection to spirit, nature, and the wisdom of my own body. I feel as though I’m more whole, more connected to myself and the world around me. Therapy helped me understand my story; shamanism helped me transform it.

I believe that for anyone feeling called to deeper healing, exploring beyond traditional therapy can be invaluable. Shamanism isn’t for everyone, and that’s okay. But for those who are open to it, it can offer a path of healing that touches every layer of who we are. It has for me.

~Shanti Freedom Das