Jun 30, 2020
In this episode, we meet Gianna Spriggs who is a Curandera which translates to healer. She describes a Curandera as a traditional folk healer who combines herbs and sounds as well as discussion to help people. Her journey into this work began when she was a chef. She noticed the energy that was put into food and knew that negative energy was been transferred to the people eating it. She started paying more attention to energies as she left the restaurant world and because of her mom's work in the metaphysical world, this was a natural place for her to land. She spent her time training with her mom and Coursera as well as reading many books which seemed to be an intuitive download for her. It all came together for her as she facilitates healing sessions called "Limpiezas." The sessions start with the client thinking about what has been coming up for them and saying it aloud to release it. During her work, she will discover the chakra center that has been compromised by using chumpi stones as well as various sounds to loosen up the energy. She will then burn sage or palo santo and use other herbs to replace the energy in the body. The sessions can be done in a group of people, with families, or individually. Someone may come for these healing sessions when dealing with stress, a trauma, a history of trauma, or generational trauma. Limpiezas are good for someone who may not be comfortable with traditional therapy.
Gianna also owns Curio, Craft & Conjure with her mother and wife. It's a metaphysical store that honors magickal traditions from around the world in the heart of NoDa. They hold classes and events there as well as Gianna's limpiezas.
She enjoys working with people who really want to help themself and are ready to do the work. A Curandera is a healer under the umbrella of Shamanism which Gianna describes as using earth based traditions and connection with the spiritual world for healing. There are Shaman based practices all over the world that all use sound and plants for healing. Gianna goes into depth on the Chakra system as well including what a compromised chakra may look like.
"Really just allowing yourself to be patient and gentle with yourself and not be too hard on yourself when things might take multiple sessions because whatever happened, it happened over a period of time before you were ready to acknowledge it and it's going to take a period of time for you to heal it."
During her journey, she has been influenced by Alberto Villoldo the author of "Shaman, Healer, Sage" as well as Erika Buenaflor who is also a Curandera. In the Charlotte healing community, Gianna is inspired by Autumn Austin, a therapist and sound healer, and Angela Soto, an acupuncturist.