I smoked my first pipe of hash on my friend’s balcony when I was 18. I’ve always been curious and had a need to explore what life has to offer. I didn’t know at the time that this was the introduction to a relationship that would last until my thirties.

Every year I choose to put myself in the fire by doing something difficult. The last two years doing a dieta in the jungle has challenged me to my core and beyond.

It was a powerful letting go, even more so because I was partaking in a shamanic initiation course.

I had no idea how dysregulated I was from everyday life, until landing in Peru and settling down at the retreat centre Kesten Rono.

Over the winter, I’d been spending way too much time watching movies, playing games, eating sugar, and drinking coffee, and I was in a complete doing mode and nervous system activation.