TRAUMA IS AN INITIATION IN THE WRONG PLACE, AT THE WRONG TIME, WITH THE WRONG PERSON &
WITHOUT GUIDANCE
What if the hardest moments of your life were meant to transform you, but got stuck instead?
What if the missing piece isn't MORE healing, but the right kind of closure, witnessing, and ceremony to complete what was left incomplete?
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I help you finish the initiation.
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THE FRAMEWORK
I believe trauma is a kind of ceremony that went terribly wrong.
Like traditional rites of passage mark major life transitions with ritual, community support, and sacred witnessing​
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But unlike a guided initiation:
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Trauma happens in the wrong place (unsafe, chaotic, alone)
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At the wrong time (when you're unprepared, vulnerable, young)
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With the wrong person (an abuser, a stranger, someone who should have protected you)
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And without guidance (no elder, no witness, no ceremony to complete the cycle)
So the initiation remains incomplete.
Your nervous system stays braced for the next blow.
Parts of your soul leave and don't come back.
Your body holds the shape of the wound.
The story never gets closure.
The grief never gets witnessed.
And you keep living as though the ceremony is still happening.
Trauma also marks us.
It changes us.
It initiates us into something new​​
WHY TRADITIONAL HEALING ALONE
ISN'T ENOUGH
You've probably tried:
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Talk therapy (which helps you understand the story, but doesn't discharge it from your body)
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Meditation (which calms the mind, but doesn't retrieve the soul parts that left)
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Self-help books (which give you tools, but don't witness your pain or complete the cycle)
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Yoga or exercise (which releases some tension, but doesn't address the energetic or ancestral layers)
And maybe they helped. Maybe you're 70% better. But there's still something missing.
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It's in
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Your nervous system (the body stuck in survival mode)
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Your energy field (the soul parts still "back there")
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Your lineage (the inherited patterns from your grandmother's trauma)
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Your emotions (the grief, rage, or shame you can't access) - Your story (the narrative that never got closure or reframing)
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You can't think your way out of a nervous system stuck in freeze.
You can't meditate your way out of a soul that's still in the abusive relationship. You can't self-help your way out of a curse that's three generations deep. You need ceremony. You need witnessing. You need the right tool for the right layer.
That's where I come in.
That's because trauma lives in layers:
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I'm a shamanic practitioner, somatic trauma healer, Reiki master, EFT facilitator, award-winning Author, and storyteller based in the Sacred Valley of Peru and West Coast Canada.
I help spiritually aware individuals, creatives, and seekers go from feeling stuck, disconnected, or blocked to experiencing deep healing, emotional resilience, and creative flow.
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But here's the thing about me:
I'm neurodivergent. I'm multi-passionate, and accomplished in many things. This used to feel like a problem (scattered, unfocused, "too much").
Until I realized:
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Because YOUR pain isn't one-dimensional either.
It lives in your body AND your energy field.
It lives in your mind AND your ancestral line.
It lives in your nervous system AND your unfinished stories.
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You need someone who can work with ALL of those layers.
Someone who sees patterns. Who knows which tool to use when. Who can hold the complexity without flattening it.
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That's me.
HI, I'M JUANITA HUFNAGEL
My multiplicity is my medicine.
MY STORY
I didn't arrive at this work by accident.
I've been a mixed media artist, a writer, a language and dance teacher, an international lecturer, always drawn to the intersection of creativity, story, and healing.
Early in my career, I worked with language, archetypes, and narrative as tools for self-discovery. My print work became part of the National Gallery of Canada Library Archives, and I received a prestigious Canada Council for the Arts grant for literature.
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But something kept pulling me deeper.
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I was commissioned by the Universidad de Costa Rica's Department of Movement and Dance to develop special programs on ceremony, collective witnessing, and the relationship between adrenal stress and creative expression.
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That's when I realized:
The body holds what the mind can't process.
Story is a form of ceremony.
Creativity is how we integrate trauma.
And trauma without ritual becomes a wound that never closes.
So I trained in advanced shamanic practice in different lineages (with and without plant medicines), somatic trauma release, sacred dance, TRE, Reiki, and EFT. I did this not because I wanted to collect modalities like badges, but because I needed to understand how healing works at every level. I needed to apply and practice these principals and healing modalities on myself first to start the process of personally rewriting my own early developmental childhood trauma history before I could assist others.
It’s not about just Surviving, it’s about Thriving!!
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​​​There is a sacredness to the act of creativity, especially in the telling of and listening to stories. ​​
I've spent years studying and practicing the work of:
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Bessel van der Kolk, Robert Scaer, Stephen Porges, Dr. David Berceli and Peter Levine (Trauma Theory, Somatic Experiencing, Polyvagal Theory, TRE)
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Karla McLaren (empathy and emotional intelligence)
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Sandra Ingerman (Core & Advanced shamanic practices: soul retrieval, power retrieval, depossession, psychopomp work)
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Epigenetics and generational trauma (Mark Wolynn's work on inherited family patterns)
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Polyvagal theory (nervous system regulation and co-regulation)
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Dance and Sacred Movement
But here's what no certification taught me:
The most powerful healing happens when you're witnessed in sacred space.
When your pain is honored, not rushed.
When the story gets reframed, not flattened.
When ceremony helps the unfinished cycles complete.
I AM A STORYTELLER
You might be wondering: Why is a shamanic and somatic practitioner also writing young adult fantasy novels and children's books? Because...
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My novel series, Invisible Worlds, follows a protagonist who navigates difficult life experiences by interacting with her emotions and trauma in a magical, otherworldly space.
The emotions become creatures.
The inner landscape becomes a realm.
The dissociation becomes a journey.
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Stories allow us to:
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Consciously reframe dissociative experiences
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Create new personal narratives
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Reconnect fragmented parts of the self
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Process the unspeakable through metaphor and imagination
I write these books for young adults, children, and the inner child in all of us, because sometimes the only way to safely approach trauma is through story.
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Many aspects and approaches used in the creative world of visual arts, theatre and dance, are great tools for assistance with and great lenses through which to view and work with trauma.
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One way I have been merging the elements of these disciplines with my integrative practices and treatments is in the form of narrative and writing specifically for children and young adults who need an approachable way to access and process difficult life experiences. Stories allow the reader to consciously re-frame dissociative experiences and create new personal narratives. This helps to authentically , and re-connect fragmented parts of the self.​​​
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Storytelling IS healing work
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​​​​​Through Story, we implement the meaning
and medicine of previous traumatic events ​​
MY CREDENTIALS
Training & Certifications:
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Stress & Trauma-Informed Health & Wellness Specialist (TRE Certified)
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Shamanic Practitioner (Core Shamanic Practice, Soul Retrieval, Power Retrieval, Extraction, Psychopomp Work)
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Reiki Master
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Somatic Trauma Release Practitioner (TRE certified)
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EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) Facilitator
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Ancestral & Epigenetic Trauma Work
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Sacred Dance Initiate
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Cacao Ceremony Leader
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Diploma of Visual Arts (Dean's list), Bachelor of Fine Arts: Theatre (With Distinction)
Recognitions:
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Canada Council for the Arts Grant Recipient (Literature)
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Work featured in National Gallery of Canada Library Archives
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Commissioned Program Developer, Universidad de Costa Rica (Department of Movement & Dance)
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International lecturer and speaker on trauma, ceremony, and creative expression
Published Author / Illustrator:
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Invisible Worlds: Belly of the Beast (Nov 2023), Voyage of Shadows (Aug 2025), Sticky Sovereigns (Future Release 2027)
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Milo and Bella’s Big Adventure: A Friendship Story (July 2024)​​​
WHO I WORK WITH
My clients are:
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Spiritual seekers and healers deepening their practice
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Creatives and writers navigating blocks or wounds
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Women on healing journeys ready to reclaim their power
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Empaths and highly sensitive people overwhelmed by absorbed energy
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Anyone stuck in therapy who knows there's something deeper
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Pet parents with rescue animals or grieving companions who've crossed over
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Expats and travelers in Peru seeking in-person ceremonial work
Common threads:
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You've done "the work" but something's still missing
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You feel parts of yourself are still "back there"
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You sense there's inherited trauma you're carrying
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You're drawn to ritual, ceremony, or sacred practice but don't know how to access it
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You're creative, sensitive, or neurodivergent and traditional therapy doesn't quite fit
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I don't just treat symptoms. I complete initiations.
​Most healing modalities focus on:
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Managing symptoms (coping skills, regulation techniques)
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Understanding the story (insight, awareness)
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Releasing the emotion (catharsis)
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And those are important. ​
But none of them complete the cycle.
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That means:
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Retrieving what was lost (soul parts, power, voice)
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Discharging what's stuck (nervous system activation, frozen energy)
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Witnessing what was never seen (your pain, your story, your truth)
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Reframing the narrative (from victim to initiate, from broken to whole)
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Creating ceremony to mark the transition (closure, celebration, honoring)​
You don't just "feel better."
You become whole again.
You step into the version of yourself that the trauma was trying to initiate you into.
But this time, with guidance, support, and sacred witnessing.​​​​​​
WHAT MAKES MY WORK DIFFERENT
​​​​​My work completes the initiation that trauma started.
WHERE I WORK
In-Person Sessions:
Sacred Valley, Peru (Cusco region)
West Coast, Canada (seasonal)
Virtual Sessions:
Available worldwide via Google Meet, WhatsApp or Facebook video call
Both in-person and virtual work are equally powerful.
Shamanic journeying and energy work, don't require physical proximity—the work happens in non-ordinary space, which transcends location.
MY VALUES
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Sacredness is in the Messy
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​I honor that healing isn't pretty. It's not all white linen and sage smoke. Sometimes it's crying on the bathroom floor. Sometimes it's rage. Sometimes it's the awkward, ungraceful process of learning to feel again. I hold space for ALL of it.
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I won't tell you to "just forgive" or "raise your vibration." Sometimes you need to scream. Sometimes you need to grieve. Sometimes you need to say "-eff this" before you can find peace.
I make space for the shadow as much as the light.​
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​​​Your nervous system doesn't care about the should-tos and aught-tos regarding timelines .
I prioritize what helps you feel SAFE before we go deep. We always work on what is for your highest good. Healing happens at the pace your body sets, not your mind.
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Breakthroughs are great, but integration is where the real work happens. That's why my programs include integration calls—because what you do AFTER the big moment matters more than the moment itself.
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I believe in the healing power of imagination, story, art, and play. Not everything needs to be solemn and serious. Sometimes dancing, drawing, or writing fiction does more than another breathwork session.
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No Spiritual Bypassing
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The Right Pace
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Integration Over Intensity
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Creativity as Medicine
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WHAT PEOPLE SAY
"I have worked with Juanita in various different settings in different modalities like somatic and shamanic work and all were extremely positive experiences. Something I really appreciate about Juanita is her compassion and non judgmental nature. It makes me feel a lot more free to go deep into healing and into my own process. She is a unique person who has unique skills! I would definitely recommend her for therapies of any kind"
— Claire Beiersdorf, USA / Peru
I’ve had the fortune of working with Juanita on a number of occasions and each time she channels such wonderfully clear guidance and healing. They’ve been so impactful for my healing journey and have helped me grow in awareness. She’s an incredibly gifted healer and I can’t recommend working with her more!
— Louis Bruce, South Africa
My dog had inflammation and could not be treated due to Covid restrictions. Juanita did reiki and shamanic work with her and helped her recover and restored Ruby to her sweet self. I also attended a sacred Cacao ceremony led by Juanita and was uplifted by the experience. She has a kind generous heart with a dept of knowledge and understanding. I look forward to doing energy work with her in the future.
I have had the opportunity to receive various therapies from Juanita, mainly Shamanic Journeys and Reiki. Juanita has a very honest and sweet gift for connecting with your energy, with your unconscious and with your soul, managing to stabilize and repair wounds at a very deep level. Thanks to her, I was able to connect and work with my fears during my pregnancy, or with my pain during difficult situations. I fully recommend working with her and letting yourself be carried away by her magic and out-of-this-world energy.
— Susan, Nanoose Bay BC
— Su Palacios, Peru
Estoy muy feliz de haber iniciado en este camino con Juanita, ha sido una guía ideal: preparada, cálida, graciosa y ceremonial. Hice el nivel 1 de Reiki en diciembre de 2023 y ha sido un antes y un después en mi vida.
Gracias a Juanita por el calor y el profesionalismo con el que me enseñó esta práctica maravillosa
— Lara, Argentina
Juanita is the Best teacher ever! I can feel the passion and compassion she has for what she does. She gave me confidence to learn Reiki and feel secure enough to use reiki as a useful tool to heal my patients with energy and becoming more intuitive with their illness. Thanks you so much Juanita for your support and sharing your Knowledge, I really enjoy your classes.
— Dra. Aylin, Mexico
