What It’s Really Like to Get Your Energy Cleansed by a Shaman

Introducing Good Vibes, Well+Good’s new (woo woo) wellness video series where you’ll get a seriously immersive peek into the new age, the energy-charged, and the out-there stuff healthy influencers are buzzing about right now.

Imagine walking down the street and seeing rings of color around everyone that saunters past you. That's what Deborah Hanekamp deals with on the reg—and she's been able to see people's auras (AKA their energetic body) since she was a child.

Also known as Mama Medicine, Hanekamp is a New York City-based seeress and energy healer who got into the whole woo-woo wellness world after ditching the typical debaucherous teenage-dom for yoga and reiki. That led the Connecticut native to studying medicine readings for eight years in the Amazon (along with learning their ancient language), then to her opening her own practice in a chic, crystal-bedazzled studio in Soho.

"The most powerful benefit of a medicine reading is joy for the life that you live."

"The most powerful benefit of a medicine reading is joy for the life that you live," says Hanekamp, who read Well+Good associate editor Rachel Lapidos's aura—which happens to be a unicorn-like, iridescent purple—and then cleansed her energy.

What exactly does an energy cleanse look like? Hanekamp turns to crystals, drums, rattles, and even a bouquet-like bush (sourced from the Amazon, of course) to literally clear your vibes. She also sings and chants. "I remove energy blocks to get a blank canvas," she says, adding that this is to call in your so-called guides so you can be your own healer—which, to be honest, is the best gift of all.

With more women adding shamanic and energy work to their list of monthly to-dos besides facials and doctor appointments, you might want to get familiar and watch Hanekamp work her magic. And though it may seem out-there, know that Lapidos definitely walked away feeling "an increased sense of confidence"—and some seriously high-vibes.

You can also cleanse via heavy sweating—watch what it's really like to sit inside an infrared sauna for 30 minutes. As far as food goes, this is the cleanse you should do once a week, according to the godfather of colonics.