Category: Shamanism

Shamanic Soul Retrieval, symptoms benefits and sessions

Shamanic Soul Retrieval: Symptoms, Benefits, and How a Session Works

Have you ever had the strange feeling of not being “whole”? As if a part of you disappeared after an emotional shock, a loss, or a period of intense stress? In shamanism, this sense of incompleteness may be linked to Soul Loss. Soul loss is a subtle yet profound phenomenon where fragments of our essence drift away to protect us from overwhelming pain. Fortunately, there is an ancient energetic healing practice to reclaim these missing parts: Shamanic Soul Retrieval.

Shamanic Soul Retrieval helps you reintegrate your vital energy, rediscover your joy for life, and realign with your true self. In this article, I explain how to recognize the signs of soul loss, the benefits of shamanic soul retrieval, and what happens during a session. Could this be the key to reconnecting with your inner light?

What Is Shamanic Soul Retrieval?

An Ancestral Practice to Heal a Fragmented Soul After Trauma

Soul retrieval is a shamanic technique used to reintegrate lost fragments of the soul after trauma or crisis.

This practice is central to many shamanic traditions, from South America to Siberia, and is also a core technique in modern shamanism, rooted in the teachings of core shamanism.

According to these wisdom traditions, the soul can fragment during traumatic events or crises (such as accidents, breakups, grief, or burnout) and difficult transitions (like moving, changing jobs, or major life shifts).
These fragments don’t vanish—they simply wait to be called back so we can become whole again. Shamanic soul retrieval facilitates this energetic reintegration.

What is Shamanic Soul Retrieval and how do I know if I need it

Shamanic Soul Retrieval vs. Traditional Psychological Therapy

In classical cognitive talk therapy, the focus is on talking, reflecting on the past, or analyzing mental, emotional, and behavioral patterns.

In soul retrieval, the goal is to reclaim the parts of yourself that have drifted away. By reassembling the fragmented pieces, you become whole again.

Shamanic soul retrieval is a technique that can be used alongside psychological therapy for a synergistic effect. I’ve had the privilege of facilitating soul retrievals for many clients who were also in therapy with a psychologist. They often share that the shamanic healing helped them overcome a block or reach a new level in their traditional therapy, regain energy, or gain deeper insights into an aspect of their lives—allowing them to continue their classical therapy work more effectively.

I think combining both therapies makes so much sense! Especially since life’s challenges often manifest physically—as pain, discomfort, or even illness. Shamanic healing bridges the physical, energetic, and spiritual realms, connecting past, present, and future.

How Do You Know If You Need Soul Retrieval?

Signs of Soul Loss

You may have had soul loss if you experience:

  • Chronic fatigue (even after a good night’s sleep)
  • A sense of emptiness or disconnection (as if you’re observing your life from the outside)
  • Difficulty envisioning the future
  • Heightened sensitivity to negative energies
  • Recurring blocks (in relationships, career, or personal growth)
  • Overreacting to seemingly minor situations

Also, since soul parts tend to flee during hardships, you might also consider shamanic soul retrieval after experiencing:

  • Trauma or crisis: Accidents, violence, surgeries, an episode of illness
  • Life transitions: Motherhood, menopause, job loss, career changes, moving, family restructuring
  • Emotional struggles: Grief, separation, harassment, stress, or burnout

The Benefits of Shamanic Soul Retrieval

  • Soul retrieval shifts you from a state of survival, emptiness, or fatigue to one of vitality, enthusiasm, and joy.
  • Instead of lacking confidence in the future or feeling stuck in repetitive patterns, you regain mental clarity and find it easier to make decisions and move forward with your projects. You also gain the motivation to break free from cycles (such as attracting toxic relationships).
  • What I find most beautiful about this practice is that, rather than feeling “out of sync,” you reclaim your presence, self-confidence, and intuition.
Benefits of Shamanic Soul Retrieval

What Happens During a Shamanic Soul Retrieval Session?

While every session is unique, it generally follows four key steps:

  • Opening and Preparation
  • Shamanic healing through drum journey, during which I locate and retrieve soul parts,
  • Integration, during which I bring the soul parts back into our world,
  • Exchange and Closing, where I share messages received from the spirit helpers and Power Animals.

Here are the 4 steps in more detail:

Opening and Preparation

We begin with a conversation, sometimes guided by oracle or tarot cards, to identify the experiences that may have caused fragmentation. I then open sacred space, calling in the compassionate guides and spirits specializing in soul retrieval.

Healing Through the Shamanic Journey

While you rest comfortably, I embark on a shamanic journey—accompanied by drumming—to locate your soul fragments in the unseen worlds, with the help of my spirit guides.

Integration

I bring back the retrieved parts of your soul and blow them into your body. Sometimes, I guide a visualization to help you reclaim these fragments. Often, an animal spirit ally or Power Animal appears to support your integration.

Exchange and Closing

We take time to discuss your reunion with your returned soul parts. I share messages from the guides and spirit allies, which may include invitations to take action, adopt a new practice, or incorporate a ritual into your daily life—such as drinking a specific herbal tea, practicing yoga or movement, or visiting a symbolic place. This step is essential, as the true magic of soul retrieval lies in learning to live fully in your everyday life.

My Unique Approach to Shamanic Soul Retrieval

I combine soul retrieval with energetic clearing, power animal retrieval, and practical advice to help you gently and lovingly reintegrate parts of yourself—sometimes lost for decades! The practical advice I share comes from the wisdom of yoga, meditation, herbal medicine and the art of ritual.

→ Discover Shamanic Soul Retrieval in my shamanic healing offerings here

FAQ: Shamanic Soul Retrieval

How long does a session last?

1.5 to 2 hours (in-person sessions are 1.5 hours; online sessions range from 1.5 to 2 hours). Plan for rest afterward.

Do you need to believe in shamanism for it to work?

No! What matters is your intention to heal. Many skeptical clients are surprised by the results.

How many sessions are needed?

1 to 3 sessions, depending on the extent of fragmentation.

Conclusion: Reclaim Your Wholeness with Soul Retrieval

Soul retrieval is a deep and respectful return to yourself. If you feel “scattered”, or feel like you are watching your life “from the outside”, this practice can help you reconnect with your complete being.
Can you live without being whole? Yes of course you can. Just like a car can probably still function even with a missing piece. But it’s so much better to be 100% you and 100% here.

Ready to reconnect with your essence?

Book your soul retrieval session online or in person or share your experience on Instagram #yesyoga_sophie.

Shamanic Soul Retrieval and soul loss
What is shamanism

What is SHAMANISM?

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Shamanism: If you follow me or take my classes, you most certainly have heard the word “shamanism”. But what is shamanism? Who is a shaman? Is there a difference between a shaman and a shamanic practitioner?

What is Shamanism?

We say that Shamanism is one of Humankind’s oldest practices. Ancient traces of death and burial rituals can be found all around the world. Prehistoric cave art also shows the very strong link between Man and nature.

A tribe’s survival at the time depended heavily on their relationship with their environment. Where was the best place to set up camp and sleep? To hunt? Which plants were edible? When was the best time to plant, harvest, move the tribe to another location?

Our ancestors didn’t have Google Maps nor weather alerts!

Their survival was very closely intertwined with their ability to live in harmony with Nature and the unseen forces. It was crucial to be able to understand and communicate with these forces.

Who is a shaman?

Long ago, a medicine man or a woman often took the role of intermediary between the group and the world of forces that are greater than us.

This medicine man or woman would have been the group’s doctor, therapist, perhaps also the ceremony holder, artist, musician, sometimes tribal leader… What we also call Shaman. And the more clearly the Shaman could understand and communicate with Nature, the more his or her tribe was assured of surviving and thriving. Think finding food, shelter, birthing babies, healing from injuries or illnesses…  

Origin of the word “Shaman”

The word “Shaman” itself comes from a Tungus word, the language of a shamanic people in Siberia.

This word is often translated as “He/She who sees”. The Shaman is the one who sees in the dark, who sees with the 3rd eye, or with the heart. The Shaman is also the one who communicates with all the worlds we do not see, who understands Nature’s signs, and holds ceremonies to get answers, help and healings.

What is the difference between a shaman and a shamanic practitioner?

Nowadays, both the words and “shaman” and “shamanic practitioner” are common.

Often, we consider the shaman to be the traditional shaman, and the shamanic practitioner to be the one who practices shamanism in a more “modern, urbanized” context. But of course you will find both terms, used with or without differentiation, depending on who you talk to.

The traditional shaman and the shamanic practitioner, however, share a family of practices.

Both go on Shamanic Journeys to the other worlds, to ask questions and make requests. They journey to the sound of percussion (to the beat of a drum, clicking sticks for example), via songs or  though the ingestion of ceremonial plants.

Along with journeying to the Unseen Worlds, shamanism’s key practice is the great reverence of Nature. This reverence may be to the land and the plants and animals that live there, the cycles of Nature, the elements (Water, Fire, Earth etc).

How to be a shaman?

I am often asked if we are born a shaman or become one.

My perception is that we are all born with the ability to perceive non-ordinary worlds. Maybe you remember having animal, plant or spirit friends as a child. Or maybe you remember you could feel the energies in a space. We might lose some of these abilities as we grow up, but the door never completely closes.

As a student and a teacher, I have met very few people who cannot journey in a shamanic way. Sometimes it takes several tries, but I don’t remember anyone who did not succeed after persevering. Also, just like many practices: you may choose to cultivate and deepen the practice, or not. Life sometimes nudges us in ways that “force” us to cultivate it – “Do the work…. Or else!”

Another key aspect of shamanic work is the relationship we have with our Power Animals and Spirit helpers and guides. These relationships are truly the ones that fuel the power and magic of work – and the ability of a shaman to get results. The more we deepen these relationships, the more powerful the work becomes.

And finally, we often say that we are named Shaman not by ourselves, but by our community.  It’s kinda like a 5-star rating for achieving results!

Ready to experience shamanism?

Come to the next shamanic circle – we journey to the beat of a drum. Each circle has a different theme.

Or learn shamanic practices like drum journeying and Power Animal Retrieval in the 1-on-1 Spirit Animal, Power Animal training

Or book a session just for you! We work on you and your needs over one or several sessions.

What is shamanism
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