Workshop: Complementary Medicine Techniques for Healing

Rafael Yamberla is a 4th generation yachac from Iluman, Ecuador. “Yachac” is a Quechua word that means “healer.” In addition to being healers, yachacs are leaders in their communities as well.

Rafael is a practitioner of Natural Medicine, a traditional indigenous practice that utilizes the elements of nature to heal a variety of physical and emotional maladies. Practitioners of Natural Medicine employ plants, stones, alcohol, eggs, and smoke as well as energy, dreams, intuition, and visions to heal.

In Ecuador, following years of persecution by the government, yachacs are now permitted to practice Natural Medicine.

Rafael lives in Santa Fe with his wife, Christina, and their son, Rafi.

Workshop Preview

Modern medicine, also referred to as allopathic medicine, has been around for just over 200 years. Alternative forms of healing, such as those practiced in indigenous cultures, have existed for thousands of years. This workshop will explore various forms of healing utilized by indigenous cultures in the Himalayas, the Amazon rainforest, the deserts of Africa, and the Andes mountains. Comparisons and contrasts between different types of healing methodologies will be discussed. Participants in this workshop will be provided the opportunity to experience a traditional Quechua limpia or cleansing, as practiced by the indigenous Quechua people of Ecuador. A question-and-answer session along with a group discussion will close out the workshop, providing attendees the opportunity to share their own complementary healing experiences with each other to facilitate shared learning.