#VOZWOMAN | Suanny Upegui
Suanny is an entrepreneur, community organizer, medicine woman, and psychospiritual guide supporting people in their path to wholeness. Suanny collaborates with the elements of nature to help people heal their bodies, open their hearts, and get in touch with their inner peace. We’re honored to share Suanny’s story and editorial series of our latest Forest Collection.
How did you first discover your calling to become a healer, and what was your discovery process like?
I never considered myself a healer so it’s always hard to answer questions of becoming one. My connection to the spirit world and to plants have always been part of who I am and my life journey. I think of what I do as sharing my personal experience and supporting people with the tools I have collected throughout my life and the wisdom that has been shared by my elders and the power of the jungle, that is part of my DNA.
What is the most rewarding aspect of your healing and ceremonial work? what are your preferred modalities?
I love seeing people's life change after sitting in ceremony, or supporting them to develop tools to create wholeness within themselves. It's amazing to be a catalyst in people's lives and an ally in their journey. I work mostly with plant spirit medicine, elementals, channeling our own personal guides and guidance through the heart and mind to create wholeness within.
What is your relationship with plants and plant medicine?
As long as I can remember, I’ve always had a strong connection to the natural world. Plants have been my teachers since I was little. It was a way of me connecting to something more grounding . I discovered that nature was a place of nourishment and care, it has been the strongest connection and the most giving one I ever had. The past ten years I have been reconnecting deeper with my roots and this part of my reality that I had put to the side. Our planet, the plants, the elementals and every living thing that exists in this realm has so much to give to anyone that asks with love, this has helped me through my own finding of wholeness. Having these teachers and as I call it my “ethereal family” has made me feel very supported and never alone. The Natural world is my ally and they are ready to offer anything we ask for as long as we ask with respect and honor.
What advice do you have for someone starting their personal healing journey?
I think patience is key. Keep following your intuition and ask your guides, ancestors or anything you believe in to support you through the process. Get in touch with nature so you can understand the nature and the universe you carry inside of yourself. Even if you feel alone, there are so many people rooting for you and sending you love in the process and initiation you are embarking on. We are all one and what you achieve will be an achievement for the entire collective. If anything feels uncomfortable, it’s an invitation to grow, remember your value and how special each one of us are. there is no needing to be healed, there is only remembering and empowerment. We need to bring back to our existence. Everyone is perfect, we just need to let go of unhealthy patterns so we can thrive and get back to being in the feeling of joy.
Where do you find personal and creative inspiration these days?
In the garden, forest walks, in the sky, the fire, the winds, the earth, the ocean, the waterfalls, the the elders, the trees, all the nature, my spirit guides and the beauty that each one of us is.
How do you think the healing and personal health landscape will change in a post-COVID time?
People are facing their shadows by being alone and creating more space to understand their own energy, this will help us understand the tools of what we need to do to create the wholeness we are all remembering.
Covid is reminding us of how to live within our hearts and how to take care of our body-mind spirit complex. and the importance of creating healthy relationships within us and with others
Do you have a dream for the future you would like to share with us?
I hope we all get to live in presence and in wholeness so we can remember the divine within us.
Tell us about the places and cultures that formed you?
In the medicine path, I have been very blessed to find teachers from different indigenous tribes. Some of my teachers live in The Amazonian jungle of Ecuador from the Kitchwa community and La Sierra Nevada of Colombia from the Kogi community. As for the main place that formed me, it has been my beloved home New York City and the diversity and cultures I get to experience in this beautiful city.
What are your daily rituals?
Tobacco ceremonies, yoga, prayer, running or some kind of movement, gardening, and lots of listening to the elements.
How do you approach an equinox, what is the significance for you?
I usually let my guides and the messages of the universe tell me what the lessons of each equinox is bringing to our awareness. This fall equinox is a time to understand the changes of the seasons in our energetic bodies. It is a time of death and rebirth and the balance of the darkness and light. This equinox will be a time of radical honesty, with the self and others, and has no limitations. This equinox is asking us to let go and keep letting go until all you have is the power of pure creation. We need to start fresh to be supported in the mission that we are here to accomplish.
Can you share a favorite medicinal tea recipe to stave off illness?
I love using ingredients that you can find locally. I recommend some delicious elderberries, either as tea or syrup, perhaps adding some echinacea, pine needle, and reishi mushrooms to keep your immune system strong.
CREDITS
Talent Suanny Upegui
Photography by Osvaldo Ponton
Creative Direction Jasmine Étoile Aarons
Styling jose Miguel Dao
Production Assistance Sam Ward
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This article is for informational purposes only, even if and regardless of whether it features the advice of physicians and medical practitioners. This article is not, nor is it intended to be, a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment and should never be relied upon for specific medical advice. The views expressed in this article are the views of the expert and do not necessarily represent the views of VOZ.