I find myself sitting in a simple lawn chair, inside a tipi, listening to Liz Gómez explain the traditional, Peruvian medicine wheel while the sun sets around us. We are at her home, nestled in the Colorado mountains, where she has created a scared space of healing and peace. A white candle floats in the middle of a glass bowl half-filled with water — representing the four elements — which sits atop a round table in the center of the tipi. The bowl is rimmed with various, colorful stones — some polished and shiny, others rough and jagged. A woven, brightly colored tapestry drapes over a small bed on the other side of the tipi.

Gómez is an energy healer. She sits quietly across from me, listening with her inviting blue eyes; her presence takes in everything I tell her about my feelings of stress and anxiety as my healing session begins.

I lie down on the bed relaxing into a savasana pose. I close my eyes and focus on my breath. Gómez begins her work. I feel an immediate lightness over my entire body. For the next two hours, Gómez ritualistically identifies and removes blockages in my energy system, cleansing my chakras and guiding me through my own powerful healing journey.

Since she was a child, Gómez knew she had a connection to the spiritual world, but growing up outside of Chicago didn’t help her understand what she felt or saw — disincarnated souls and spirit guides are not common in our social milieu.

But, everything changed for Gómez while studying abroad in Senegal and living with a family who taught her that spirits, ancestors and souls coexist in the world alongside us influencing our everyday lives. “I had an amazing experience that opened my eyes to such a different way of knowing things,” she explains. Gómez felt validated and more importantly, she found her calling.

For 10 years, Liz Gómez worked in international public health while continuing her journey to develop her inner practice. She lived in the Caribbean and held ceremonies for people seeking guidance from the spirit world, and she used her gifts to heal others.

But, after the birth of her first son, she decided to move back to the U.S. and focus on raising a family. A series of professional opportunities fell into place that brought financial stability along with a hectic schedule, and she quickly felt unbalanced. She lost touch with her inner wisdom and stopped feeling the deep connection to the natural world that had kept her grounded for so many years.

After selling her successful company, Gómez spent months reconnecting to nature, walking barefoot in the woods and lying on the leaves and dirt. As she describes it, “I wanted to come back to my soul and what my soul wanted to do.” She knew she wanted to work as a healer. She knew others needed to feel nourished and connected to their deepest selves as she had, and so, in 2016, she founded Ewassa — a nature-based healing space in Evergreen, Colorado.

At Ewassa, Gómez works within the healing tradition of the Q’ero shamans of Peru and the nature-based Brazilian spiritual tradition of Umbanda. Through her training, education and experience in these two traditions, she weaves together a beautiful, holistic experience for her clients where she focuses on “bringing people more into alignment with the earth,” she says. “I can’t think of a more important thing to do.”

Practicing shamanic energy medicine is a complex and multi-layered process. Gómez relates the experience gardening — first, you prepare the soil and strip away the weeds until you are left with a clean foundation to plant your seeds. At Ewassa, she guides clients through their own healing process; her feathers brush away old patterns, her stones absorb negative energies and her breathwork releases limiting beliefs.

When the baggage we carry is released, we come into balance — balance with ourselves and the natural world. That is why Liz Gómez does what she does. She is passionate about bringing balance back to humanity. She guides people to live a harmonious life where they are healed and complete. She believes that when we are mentally and spiritually healthy, we can step into our fullest potential and live our life’s purpose. “As we throw off old patterns … limiting beliefs, all those things that hold us back … we naturally rise,” Gómez passionately states.

I left that night feeling somehow transformed. The sensation of being opened, exposed and raw lingered for days afterwards, and I felt that I had gained a new understanding of my own connection to the natural world. Ewassa is a place of connection to the earth where you can release and transcend what no longer serves you.

Find Liz Gómez at ewassa.com.

Photos courtesy of Liz Gómez.

Originally published in the Winter + Spring 2020-21 issue of CO YOGA + Life Magazine

For over 10 years, Marisol Cruz has practiced yoga for its profound healing and revelatory qualities. She believes that yoga is a tool for gaining a deeper understanding of ourselves and the way we relate to the world. In her classes, Marisol focuses on pranayama breathing exercises and vinyasa practice to guide students through their own personal experiences. When she is not practicing yoga, Marisol dedicates her days to serving the community through her work with nonprofits. She lives in Denver with her husband and two little boys.