I doubt that I’m the first to admit this, but I turned to Maari when numerous other approaches left me without answers to heal my exhausted tonsils.

The upshot was that I’d lost my voice. For months, I’d undergone a series of silent days to try to fix the problem, only to decline even further once I began to speak again. While my mind pulsed with words, I had to stop talking altogether, which challenged me professionally as much as personally.

 It would be easy to say that my issues were related to stress. Of course, they were! But I knew that other influences, deeply embedded, were also at play. Conjecturing about the root causes dipped into a long history of patriarchy in my family. Developing my own voice was critical to shaking loose from generations of ingrained expectations. Without it, I felt at risk not only of losing my agency, but also my soul.

Maari immediately made me feel comfortable, welcome, and valued, even in my damaged state. Combining sound, scent, Reiki, and shamanic knowledge, she established a sense of peace that seemed just for me. This was a place where I could rest and let go of what was not of use to me and reintegrate the parts that were. My throat was the obvious target, but was not alone in this process. I felt myself filled with bright new energy and my internal flame flickering again. My whole body once more became a wonderful home for my spirit. It was as if we had been separated and then came joyfully back together.

My tonsils were not perfect immediately, but began to improve steadily without setbacks. Within a couple of weeks, my voice had regained volume. Two years later, I’m still happily chatting away. I have enormous gratitude to Maari for opening a door to the bigger world for me where I can now say my piece and actively engage in all kinds of new experiences. 

Bonnie Duncan