Ya'Acov & Susannah Darling Khan bring you their most powerful offering yet built on years of deep partnership with the Pachamama Alliance. Dancing With the Heart of the World moves toward the most in-depth Amazonian offering to our founding Achuar and Sápara partners. This intensive journey, working with a variety of shamanic, movement, and creative processes, will be highly participatory, appropriate for those who have both experiences with inner personal work and a commitment to being part of the solution in these critical times.   

Thank you for your interest in participating in this unique collaborative journey between the School of Movement Medicine and Pachamama Journeys . 

We welcome you to be part of this unique opportunity!

Susannah and Ya'Acov Darling Khan are the founders of Movement Medicine, a contemporary movement meditation practice grounded in an engaged shamanic approach intended to be accessible to all. They have been teaching internationally since 1989 and are two of the most experienced teachers of embodied wisdom on the planet. They have also led many journeys to the Amazon for the Pachamama Alliance and are deep allies of the forest and its peoples. 

Given the depth and intensity of this experience, it is important that we learn more about you to see if there is an appropriate match between you and this particular journey. To register for the application, click on this APPLICATION button and you will be prompted through the process.

Before you decide to commit to this journey, it is important for you to be aware that this is a deep immersion. We travel to the Amazon Rainforest, not as tourists, but as friends and allies, and as part of a growing network of Pachamama supporters who have helped build connections, bridge diverse communities, prioritize inner work and healing, and build trust for almost 30 years. That is the ground for the work of Fundación Pachamama and the Pachamama Alliance. 

This journey includes spending time in nature, in indigenous communities and staying in indigenous owned- and operated lodges, and ecotourism camps. Your participation represents a direct source of local jobs and revenue, enabling these communities to continue their pursue of biodiversity protection, cultural preservation, and sustainable development. 

Pachamama Journey participants are people who understand that the forest and its peoples must stand for the health of the whole biosphere. For that reason, we want you to know that this journey is intended to create a deep connection between you and the Amazon Rainforest, and that we look forward to welcoming you as a supporter of future community projects. It is our sincere hope that the journey will make it clear why this is such a good investment for the generations to come. Thank you.

 Group meets at 5 pm at the historic Quito hotel, Cultura Manor, for a welcome and orientation followed by a group dinner together. Accommodations at Cultura Manor. 

After a gourmet breakfast at Cultura Manor, we’ll head south on a beautiful drive descending the Andes through the Avenue of the Volcanoes. We will stop at Salasaca for a traditional indigenous meal with our friend Alonso before heading towards the town of Baños where we will have a short stop. We plan to arrive at Miramelindo ain time for a Movement Medicine session before dinner.

Following breakfast, we will head to the nearby town of Shell where we will take a flight to the Sápara village of Llanchamacocha. Receive a warm welcome with smiles, embraces, followed by an individualized purification ritual. We’ll get settled into our village encampment which we’ll stay at for the next three nights on the banks of the Conambo river. We’ll spend time with the leaders and elder grandmother discussing their history, customs, and vision for defending their forest for future generations of all life.  After an introduction and orientation to the Naku project and the inspiring vision the Sápara have for the future, we’ll take a refreshing swim in the Conambo river and settle into their community lodge. 

 Early morning dream-sharing, and purification ceremony using time-tested ancient techniques. After breakfast, we’ll hike through the primary forest to learn about the Sápara’s unique physical and spiritual connection to the rainforest, visiting a medicinal plant garden in the primary forest followed by a sacred tobacco ritual and solo meditation in preparation for the evening ceremony. 

After Debriefing the ceremony with our local indigenous Shaman and Susannah and Ya’Acov, we will enjoy a restful morning. Followed by lunch then a river swim before sharing intimate conversation with our Sapara friends, partaking in traditional foods, music, and experiencing Sumak Kawsay (Good Living) together.

After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll prepare our belongings and return to the community to say our farewells. We will then take a 40-minute flight deeper into the Amazon rainforest to the Achuar village of Sharamentsa.

We will take time to settle in before a Movement Medicine session and time to meet our Achuar hosts and hear more from them about what matters most in their lives right now. 

Early morning dream sharing ritual with Achuar families followed by a hike with our Achuar guide to learn about the extensive flora and fauna of this pristine rainforest. Witness how the Achuar live in an interconnected way with their environment, including the use of medicinal plants, natural building materials, and small-scale, sustainable farming. We’ll visit a sacred waterfall and learn about the Achuar cosmo-vision and spiritual practices. Here we will enjoy some quiet and contemplative time to connect with the forest and ourselves, taking in the innumerable forms of life all around us. Gentle Movement Medicine session, followed by an evening shamanic ceremony 

Morning debrief session with the local shaman and Ya’Acov and Susannah. Time for rest in the hammocks, journaling, reflection, etc. After a siesta, we’ll have the chance to float on on the river, taking in the magnificence of the rainforest. In the evening we’ll exchange songs, chants, and dances and enjoy an Achuar feast with locally grown foods.

After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll prepare our belongings and return to the community to say our farewells and take a beautiful canoe ride down the mighty Pastaza River and up the Capahauri River to the Achuar village of Wayunsentsa. Upon arrival, we will receive a traditional welcome then settle into our encampment. All being well, we will meet the shaman Rafael  Taisch and participate in an ancient ritual that evening. 

Time in the community before breakfast and sharing with elder about the prior evening's ceremony. 

In the afternoon we will canoe down the Capahuari river for a beautiful ride to the acclaimed, Achuar-owned and operated, Kapawi Ecolodge.

Early morning bird and animal watching. After breakfast, we’ll set out on a hike to learn more about medicinal plants, Achuar spirituality followed by solo meditation around the massive grandfather and grandmother Kapok Trees. In the afternoon, we will have a short Movement Medicine session followed by rest and relaxation in preparation for the evening ceremony.

Debrief sharing with our shamans and quiet time to reflect and take in the forest surrounding the Kapawi Lodge. After lunch, we will have a leisurely afternoon to reflect on our time in the forest before a cultural sharing with the local Achuar community in the evening.

After breakfast, we’ll canoe up the Capahuari river to a local Achuar community for a 60-minute flight to Tena airport, where our bus will take us to Shandia Lodge, a Quechua community beautifully situated in the center of the Huasila and Rimak Urku hills, surrounded by the Jatun Yacu and Talag rivers. 

Later in the evening, we’ll take time to celebrate with a powerful inquiry and discussion that will deepen the context and meaning of our journey, having just been with the indigenous people who inspired the work of the Pachamama Alliance and Fundación Pachamama. 

After breakfast, our group will have a powerful and focused Movement Medicine closing ceremony of integration and completion. Following lunch, we will depart by charter bus for Quito. Check-in at the Cultura Manor for a celebration meal together. 

 After breakfast and our final goodbyes group departs.