The indigenous people never used to live down in the Valley. They used to live only high up in the Apus (the mountains) where the energy was the strongest and could easily enter the body through the breath.  

Everything involving nature is giving a receiving energy, once you notice this energy you begin to harvest it.  (sound familiar to those who practice qi-gong or yoga?)

When a local is digging up the ground, they use the energy or receive the energy the Earth is giving off, they are also giving their energy back to the Earth with each movement.  When the locals walk in the Apus, they use a strong, confident nostril breath to both conserve and best utilize their internal energy, this is why they do not get winded in high elevation and can safely travel many miles.....

Before working with plants, they have a conscious exchange of energy with the plants, same thing for when they harvest a fruit or a leaf.  Energy moves circularly, when breathing you see both the past and the future, therefore time does not exist, you walk between time.  Not wearing shoes also helps to connect to the energy of Allpamama through direct contact.

Coca Offering -
Take 3 Coca Leaves, hold 3 leaves in both hands with your thumbs touching, thumb side toward you and dark side of leaf away from you.  Blow your intention into the leaves, hold to 3rd eye, wipe leaves down from top of middle finger down palm to wrist, exchanging DNA and intention with the leaves,, offer to the Earth in gratitude or you can give to someone

Allpaykunshis - Giving
Urpichaysonqoy  - Thanks You, when receiving, there is a bird fluttering in my heart

Allpamama Energy Exchange -
Standing - bent over facing ground - Interlace fingers
Inhale - bring palms up to face
Exhale - turn palms down energetically press towards the ground (x3)
Inhale - hands come forward with straight arms, palms face the sky, hands come up overhead
Release hands over head, continue to retain the breath for 5 - 9 seconds
Exhale - hands slowly come out and to your side

*Energy hit me in the head like a ton of bricks, light headed journey brought me wobbling to the ground, shaken up at first, but was fine afterwards, it was like a Space Monkey or a Nitrous Hit

Shamanic Breath Retention -
Seated, Tall Spine, Palms face down on knees or lap or legs - Breath only through nose
Inhale - deeply sit tall draw belly in
Retain for 12 seconds
Exhale - slowly with control

• Repeat increasing retention time by 1 second or up to 5 seconds on each new cycle
• Calm Body and Breath > Meditate

Shamanic Running in Place -
Run in place with arms swinging
Strong controlled powerful nostril breathing
Continue for at least 10 minutes
Come to a seated position
Calm the body and breath
Meditate

Shamanic Energy Exchange -

• Inhale arms to shoulder height with intensity in movement, action, intention and breath
• Strong focused gaze on object
• First offering, Then Receiving
• Lower Arms Softly and Slowly

It had been almost exactly one year since my last trip to Peru, one year after finally completing my 500hr certificate which was years in the making.  It had also been one year since finally (after over 15 years of interest and research) I had the opportunity to connect with Peru's Medicine.  At that point a year ago, my life was in a way turned upside down, the business I had worked so hard to start was unfairly torn from me through the shady dealings of a business partner, my future was a bigger question mark then the already large question mark that attempts to loom over us, and I had begun my last year in my 20s.

I returned to the high country of Peru and I only feel it's powerful energy stronger and stronger, especially now as I sit here at sea level on a small island in Florida. The humidity giving way to a small tropical storm, the energy of the storm creating an interestingly calm aura of energy around everything it touches, the gentle rhythm of the rain and the far off thunder calming and steady.

We've come full circle again, I thought to myself as we entered the beauty of the Sacred Valley.  Lacey and I had organized a small group to join us in Peru and I am still in awe at the openness and support that we found from four of our dearest friends, two other couples who decided to join us on our adventure, to be guided in the mountains, guided in the heart, guided into the unknown.  To leave the plush lifestyle of the States and travel to Peru, where they didn't speak the language, didn't eat the food, didn't know the customs, the culture, the history, the struggles, the triumphs.  But this is where we shine, taking our friends and students from a place of discomfort to a place of bliss, is this not the ultimate goal as a guide and conduit?  To shed the light on the discomfort of our darkness and step into the power, beauty and connectivity of this life, of this blissful special moment, this peak, this energy.

Our retreat flowed along it's own amazing path, we tried to organize a lot before we got to Peru, but not everything was possible to organize and set dates for.  We spent our first day with Doris and Jose, openly connecting and planning. Our groups first day was plant baths, mud, massages and Coca Leaf readings.  Our second day was a Cacao Ceremony and Sound Healing with our friends Jimbo and Mares, the rain began to slowly tickle our faces when we moved inside for tea, a fireplace and a jam session with all the present musicians.  Our next day was an intense hike with Wachuma in Chincheros, a challenge, an opening, an awakening.  It was hard to just breath at that altitude let alone travel a great distance with an elevation gain of 2000 feet or more.  The peak of our trip was a waterfall, intense in it’s nature and breathtaking in it’s beauty and cooling energy.  A day of rest was followed by a daytime Ayahuasca ceremony.  During that time one of my best friends of many years injured himself and showed great courage as he needed to wait many hours before seeing a doctor.  The group retreat was over before we knew it and our friends on their ways back to their normal day to day lives.  But we stayed on.

My next 2 weeks in Peru was nothing short of Bliss.  Hiking in the mountains daily, exploring the unknown, befriending the llamas, connecting with the local culture and joining in the music and magic that is happening all over.  

We joined the 300hr group for a night of Kirtan with Lulu and Mischka a young kirtani couple.  I was honored to be able to play djembe for their concert with two beautiful drums at Sacha Munai, to accompany the two beautiful souls before us..  It was really great to have a moment to connect face to face with the students that we had been communicating with for months and to see the wonderful work that the facilitators have been doing in Peru.

On our last full day in Peru, we connected with our dear brother Jayananda and took the medicine into the mountains with us.  We got a very late start (most of the hikes take at least 2 hours to get to a point of interest) and we headed up into the Puma Wanka Valley in Urubamba.  Lacey and I had hiked their recently but we decided to explore a new route.  We followed the tree line till we found a beautiful shaded piece of terraced property, with giant boulders strewn about the land and the river diverted through the property line.  We caught our hearts and then continued out of the shade to a very dry mountain.  We suddenly spotted a Huaca way up the mountain.  But how do we get to that path we wondered, so we wandered to a neighboring property but there was no obvious trail.  I followed my instinct till I found what looked like an animal trail, it was overgrown with brush and it looked just big enough to crawl through army style on hands and knees.  I looked at Lacey and Jaya and said I'll check it out.  I crawled, feeling much like the serpent or the jaguar through this hole in the brush up the mountain till I emerged on a proper trail.  I removed some brush and Jaya and Lacey followed.  Up and up we traversed, we were even in altitude with the opposing side of the valley and could almost see the lake on the plateau near Chincheros.  Up and up we went till we landed finally at the ancient granary, the ancient storage houses that were built into the side of the mountain, unknown and not visible from the road, few people have stood here.  The view was breathtaking, expansive and dizzying as we loomed over the valley, watching the river flow down to the jungle.  Watching the valley rise up to the glacier capped mountain of Apu Chicon.  We had a few moments to explore before needing to head down to our taxi, that night we would lead a Sound Healing Circle near Cusco over an hour and a half away and our taxi was soon to arrive.  Our taxi drive was intense.  As we drove through the valley the sun began to set below the cloud cover and in between the mountain, causing a natural phenomenon known as the eyes of God.  The light rays squeeze between the top of the mountains and the low lying clouds, the rays of light beam down from the sky in straight lines into the valley, it looks as though the rays of light are coming from God's eyes powerfully illuminating all that there is to see.  Beautiful heart warming music came from the radio and we were all struck with a sense of awe, a purpose of "being", a feeling of love.

We arrived in Cusco and the group we were meeting was just returning from their own similar Wachuma guided journey in the mountains.  We changed clothes and prepared our sound healing space in a beautiful temple.  Jaya lead the opening conversation and prayer, I was fully immersed in the power of vibration of the moment.  We started as planned with the chimes, bells and singing bowls, beginning to build the energy and the tension.  As the participants settled into the space we continued to build the energy, the gong rang through it's sound shooting from one end of the room to the other, the doppler effect.  Out of the sound arose silence as we walked through with the sheep claws and rattles.  The sound circling the room as the participants lay, some shaking with light convulsions of energy moving through their system.  Jaya pulled out the healing Didgeridoo while I held a sometimes steady and sometimes tension building drum beat.  As the Didge subsided into silence I pulled out the North American flute and then the South American Double Flute, the sound foreign and beautiful.  We returned to the ceremony drums and allowed our voices to unite in a wonderful rendition of "Aho Itchy Tai..We all fly like Eagles."

It seemed like only minutes went by, maybe it was just minutes, the energy subsided, we played the guitar and slowly released the energy of the circle to dinner.  After dinner we gathered around the fire and shared songs of love and beauty.  We closed out our final night in Peru and prepared for our long journey to the Northern Coast of Florida. We moved from a place of shadows and revelation, a place of giving and learning, to a place of nourishment as we visit our families in Florida and soon New Jersey.  We will next circle back to California to be reunited with many of you at the celebration of our love and the gift that we received when we first met each other many years ago.  Our next leg of the journey finds us in Mexico for our "Luna de Miel," until we have to tear, tear away from each other as Lacey heads back to our beloved Peru for a training and I head once again into uncharted territories to teach in Israel at their largest gathering of yogis.

I am reminded as I write this reflection of the cycle that we go through as teacher, student, guide, participant, light holder, darkness holder.  Once you enter the path you enter the circle.  The lines between your title blur and you must be ready to be any of these at anytime.

























-- 
"May Peace Be the Journey"

• Darin Lehman Yoga
  
• Yoga Society of San Francisco
  
• School Yoga Institute
• The Digital Detox

After our drinking ceremony we grabbed our backpacks and followed Jose to a beautiful piece of terrace land overlooking the valley.  The terraced land was filled with blossoming peach trees and a large avocado tree dominated the terrace of our arrival. Remnants of buildings and walls gave the feeling of being surrounded by ruinas. 

We circled up, and began by opening our Wiracocha (sacred space of the 8th chakra) and began our shamanic exercises, starting with yoga.  We then moved to our circulatory movement of running in place, getting the blood and circulation flowing, we ran in place for what seemed like an eternity, the medicine began to “kick in” on the walk up to the land, some where already beginning to purge.  We moved on to our Shamanic Breathing, inhaling arms up overhead after three pump exchanges with allpamama, I almost hit the ground from the vibration and watched more than one person in our group “Fish Out” as though they had taken too much Nitrous into their body.

We then learned to give energy with our breath and receive with our breath.  We were instructed to find our own space and perform a conscious exchange with Earth, a flower, water, a rock, whatever called to us.

I turned and walked up the ruins of the terrace behind me.  The blossoming trees growing directly out of a small stream along the walls of the ruin.  I began to try the energy exchange with the tree, the feel of the tree was raw and energetic, I could feel the dryness of its age, I looked up to the sun spiraling through the roof of its blossoms.  As my senses heightened, as the energy in everything waved and waivered, to and there, I looked into the branched to discover another world seldomly focused on.  Teal colored air plants growing out of multicolored moss and lichens, even the dead branches of the tree harbored their own ecosystem of plants and parasites. 

Walking along the wall of carefully placed stones, shaping and exchanging with their rock neighbors and the plant life, I jumped down to the brook that made its way on a diagonal transverse across the land.  I prepared my good intention to share with the river, I blew intention into my hands and gently placed them below the soft cool moving water.  I drew the coolness of the water into my hands, bringing them to meet my breath, I felt cooled and liquified, I repeated this ceremoniously many times, drawing the cooling watery energy up to my breath to enter my body.  I then returned to the grass, I grabbed my sketchbook and began to pur ideas and sketches of my surroundings, page after page without stalling, I continued to create images that ment words and words that created imagery, I loved especially, the clouds.  The clouds so full of life as they breathed along the sky, following their own path, full and empty, light and dark, the landscape took deep breaths.  The rocks, the trees everything alive along the path of the wind.

Without words, we slowly began to descend to a lower terrace, a perfectly flat grassy area, we began as a group but on our own, to practice tai chi and qigong, dance with the earth, dance with the wind, the Qi practice was the most connected I have ever felt, the pulsating land around us, breathing intention, every breath we gave energy, receiving the gifts of the earth, each breath better than the one before, I had to sit.

After sometime had passed or maybe no time at all, I stood again.  Moved back to my Qi practice before retreating up to the temple terrace of our arrival.  I took out the sketchbook and began to pour into it every thought that came to mind before drawing the image of a dancing blossom tree, set against the steep backdrop of the mountains.  The way the tree grew, it seemed to move at the same pace as the girls practicing Tai Chi on the terrace below, my view was filled with connective beauty, the colors and gentle twisting of the tree, the elegance of the dancing girls on the terrace down below.

Coby came to visit and greeted me as “rabbi” the first words I heard in maybe hours sent me into a laugh.  He loved the drawing and felt connected to the tree and dancing girls as well.  The drawing of the blossom against the mountains, pouring forth from the ruins.

I at some point sat on some stairs and had a stretch deep into my left hip and belly, an obnoxious blockage of energy kept me from fully relaxing my belly and my side.

I gently made my way down to Lacey and we cuddled on a manta, watching the clouds passed across the edgy mountains, enjoying each others breath.  Beautiful warm and connected thoughts flooded my minds eye.

Coby appeared again. and sent us all to Jose one by one.  Jose had prepared multiple piles of Coca Leaves to give to each one of us as an offering to the Earth and Spirit.  I slightly noticed that he had went for one pile of leaves for me and then quickly moved his hands to another pile (the meaning of which I would find out later.)  Lacey and I parted ways after kneeling together to receive our Coca offering.  I went back towards my original brook that my previous energy exchange took place.  I set my intention through my breath and soul, into my Coca leaves, with great care, connectivity and wisdom, I brought the leaves to my third eye, swiped my palms from the tip of the fingers to the wrist and places my Coca leaves gently into my brook.  I then enjoyed the healing of the water, splashing it gently onto my face neck and chest.

We once again returned to our original terrace.  Jose spoke to our group again, beautiful words of love and nature, connecting, giving, receiving, imagery of tree and roots and fruits.  

It was finally time to leave our sacred space.  You never take the same path twice on a journey.  We began to ascend farther up the mountain, through the ruins and the creeks, past the flowers and trees, the gentle rumble of the creeks and winds surrounding us.

We finally came to a thick part of the forest, which led to an outcrop of rocks, hiding a small pool, fed and drained by the river.  Jose took a branch of Blue Eucalyptus, their sweet smelling eaves refresh you to the soul.  One at a time we approached the pool, standing on a smooth rock at the pools edge.  Jose dipped the branches in the cooling river and gently patted our bodies down, the smell of the Eucalyptus refreshed my senses, the cold water energized my body and soul.

We couldn’t help but sway with the flow of the Tao, as we waited for the rest of the groups baptism.  The Wachuma now coming in waves of energy, we hiked up and out.  Past cows, past fields of flowers used to feed the honeybees, past beautiful rock structures and breathtaking views of the Valley.  Back to the main road, back to the path that led back to home, back to Sacred Mandala, Arin.

We returned in High Spirits, among other things.  We grabbed an incredibly tuned and amazing sounding Jimbe and hung in hammocks by the fire.  I drummed and we smoked as the sun changed and transformed the color of the sky.  A prism of colors ending in darkness and the twinkle of the estrellas.

Around dinner time we returned to the kitchen to eat.  We found most of the girls there, the couches and tables abruptly and halfhazrdly moved out of the way.  Reggae music was playing as the girls continues to rub honey, bananas and any other sweet foods onto their faces, then rubbing, licking, eating, kissing the face cream between them.  Giggles and kisses.  There was also dance moves choreographed to embrace the moment.

Dinner! Finally! or should I just skip to dessert, upside down, backwards pineapple sweet cake, Martin the cooks accidental invention that captivated our expression of taste and feel.  Ommmazing

*At some point Coby told me that when Jose was picking out the Coca leaves for our offering at the terraced land, he across a set that told him there was an artist in the group, a male, Coby realized it could only be me as I was the only other male, this is why Jose moved his hands to a different pile

We have just come from our Cacao Ceremony and my body is vibrating, my mind is flowing, my soul and spirit are free.  Trust in the process and allow yourself to walk through the door, this is the strongest I have ever felt the energy and Spirit of Cacao within me. 

Like most ceremonies, there is some plan and at the same time no plan, the most amazing things cannot be planned and the following reflection is proof of the power of the flow.  

We started our Cacao Ceremony like so many other ceremonies we have moved through so far in this 200hr teacher training.  We set our sacred space with gongs and bells, drums and rattles, flutes and singing bowls, tingshas and wooden song makers.  We smudged ourselves in ceremony with white sage and we stepped into the power of the Om Barn, on sacred Mono land, the land of the Nim.  

You could feel the excited nervousness in the air of what was to come.  With the beat of the drums we moved into a favorite song of the training “Heya Hey Yo Ya Heya Hey o”, the rhythm carrying us forward and upward with it’s vibration.  We then introduced the Spirit of Cacao to the group, the mythology, the use, the practice, the story of rediscovery leading us to this moment.  

We were moving from the Jaguar energy into the Hummingbird energy and there might not be a better teacher in this moment then Cacao.  Cacao medicinal properties are said to open you to the experience before you.  Sometimes we are using the Cacao to work through our “Dark Shadows” our suppressed emotions, fear, hatred, aversion, the energy of that the jaguar helps us to face in the darkness of night.  Other times Cacao leads us to the Power of the Light helping to facilitate love, heartfulness, creativity, the essence of the Hummingbird.  Along with Cacao we added a very special mushroom, Rishi, for creativity and manifestation.  We would move from Jaguar to Hummingbird with the help of our friends Cacao and our brother Rishi.  

After blessing our own cups of Cacao we began to drink, pungent and astringent at first, the back of the brain tingles all the way down the back of the neck, you can feel the healing energy at the first sip.  We continued to drink.  It was time to release the Jaguar, the guitar played on, “I am here, to release all of my fears, come to peace with all my tears and discover what it means to be alive, “Om dum durgayaaa om nama shivaya.”  We sang till the energy built to the max, bringing the rhythm down we need with silence and a sigh, we move into meditation, guided by the energy flowing in the heart, spreading outward to the entire body, the Cacao begins to take affect.  We sing to the hummingbird “En el centro es del templo vive calibri.” 

We move back to silence, and into the sound healing.  Dings and chimes slowly enter the space guided by the drum, I dance around the room with countless instruments drawing sound from all directions, I am supported by my co-leads.  The sounds move and swirl through the energy of the space, building ethereally with the chimes and bells and gong, moving up the pole of sound to the grounding drums and flute, to the sound of the wooden music makers, we move through the circle of sounds, healing here, drawing the sound around there.   Icharos pour from my heart in Shibibo, Quechua, Spanish and English. We continue for hours the room building with creative energy, a drawing here, a poem there, words floating through the air, the music build, we build, we laugh we cry.  “I was born in the river of the light, I ain’t afraid to love cause I ain’t afraid to die”

After sometime the silence creeps on of it’s own accord, the spirit of the Cacao guiding the flow of the ceremony, the ceremony a co-creation of our collective energies.  I pick up the guitar, “Jai ambe Ma” calls itself to the strings.  The song builds and builds, suddenly a flash of lightning a crash of thunder, sounds that haven’t settled on this land in sometime.  They are sounds foreign at first to our ears, followed by another foreign sound, tip tap tap tip tap tap tap taptaptaptaptap, the RAIN!  The energy of the ceremony breaks the clouds in a down pour of rain, harder then any rain we have encountered in over a year.  Tap tap tap “Jai ma kali, ja mahadevi.”  the students rise and begin to pour their souls into the rain, the guitar straps itself across my neck, I am standing in the rain, guitar playing on, the coolness, the wetness, in the rain we sing with our hearts and souls, we build and build with emotion and delight, tears of joy flow down our face, rain, rain, rain!

We are ecstatic, we are ecstatic, we are pure light.  The joy within us was bursting forth, dancing in the rain, no shoes, hugging trees, exploring our inner hearts.  At the height of all our joy, our dear friend Jessie Fairlight pulls a kitten from her shirt, she had been hiding it for fear it was a distraction, as our Hummingbird hearts soared we took in the love of the kitten, too small to be away from it’s mother, but it has no choice in this matter.  

We finally return to the sacred circle of our Om Barn, more music pours from our hearts, “I want to let the sunshine, shine down on me, I want to let the rain cloud, wash over me, Expansive lands won’t you carry me, I wanna let the strong wind, set my spirit free” on and on the songs flow “we all come from the goddess and to her we shall return….todos ninos de tierra, y ya ella regresso.”

The energy still soaring hours have past, the sun has set and we are still together.  We energetically close our ceremony, but recite our new poetry for each other and continue to embrace the love of the Cacao.