Hi! Shelby here :) I have been to different shamans for over 4 years. I, too, was told to lay on the treatment table while the shaman used their techniques. At first, I was amused by the mystery of it all, until I realized that I had to keep coming back and I wasn't learning how to help myself. I also began to dislike the part where I didn't know what was going on; I could feel sensations in my body and sometimes emotions would come up, but I didn't know why. I left sessions feeling different, but also a bit "off," which made me feel unsettled (unsafe). A few years ago, I found a new shaman who changed things for me! (Francesca Raffa at francescaraffa.com if you want to visit her!) In her sessions, she guided me through the healing by asking questions that didn't direct the session, but simply allowed me to notice more about what was going on (what my brain wanted to focus on, sensations, colors, emotions). I found that I was actually doing the healing on myself, and she was just asking questions and providing a safe space. After only a few sessions, I began to notice that I was able to guide myself through my own issues outside of sessions. I didn't have to learn how to do this; it just started happening naturally. Since then, I've learned some of the same techniques (and some of my own) to offer the same support to my clients. Now, in my personal practice, I go to energy workers who guide me through the session, rather than do the work themselves. I have experienced the greatest transformation in my life since making this switch. Everyone's journey is different, so yours doesn't have to match mine! If you like to receive energy work, that's great! There's a reason I did it for so long, too. I support you in that! Sometimes, you might come to sessions feeling really tired. In these turbulent times, I can honor the need to rest and receive, and I will always offer to do the guided session or switch to a restorative practice. If you want a restorative practice, then I will do the traditional shamanic healing: beginning with a guided meditation to ease you into relaxation, then proceed with drumming/rattling/silent techniques to assist your body in releasing what it's ready to shed AND culminate the beneficial energies of power, love, and trust. The entire time, I narrate what's going on, and my clients often share at the end of treatment that they felt exactly what I described just a few seconds before I said it. How cool! My mission is to ebb and flow with the tides of life. We all have different needs from session to session, and there's also enough medicine out there... it's time for more empowering practices! So come as you are, whether that's needing a guided practice or a restorative one, and be open to the depth of transformation that empowering embodiment practices have to offer you!