Practicing Shamanic Healing
Chandra Sun Eagle meditates at a placid spot in Peru. Photo courtesy Chandra Sun Eagle
Chandra Sun Eagle Owner, Sonco Via
Chandra Sun Eagle meditates at a placid spot in Peru
Tell us about your business.
I have been in the healing arts at some capacity since I can remember. I was always playing in nature, listening to the trees, exploring the mountains, enjoying the surroundings.
Sonco Via is a shamanic school that is the container for the all that I do. Along with individual healing sessions, we offer ancient ceremonies like the sweat lodge, peace pipe and Andean fire ceremony. I also teach workshops in the shamanic arts and mentor those who are called to become shamanic practitioners.
How did you get started in this business and how long has it been going?
I studied exercise physiology in college, which led me to having my own personal training business. This evolved into taking people out into nature as opposed to being in the gym, and showing them a deeper connection to their physical body and emotions.
In 1998 I studied Thai massage and went to Thailand to study with a master healer. From there I spent the next eight years learning polarity therapy, cranio-sacral unwinding, energy healing and shamanic healing, vision questing in New Mexico and working with native healers of both North and South America.
A few months before I knew I would be moving to Kaua‘i I began to have dreams of lush jungle land that had vines growing all over. The vines would climb all around me and had women’s voices that spoke of wanting to take care of me and calling me home. The dreams would then open up to a scene of many people gathering on the land for ceremony, healings and celebrations.
In 2006 I moved to Kaua‘i, asked the island how I could be of service and was reminded of my dreams. So, I would meditate and listen every day and pray for the vision to anchor itself in the physical world. The name Sonco Via, which means “Path of the Heart,” came. I registered the business under this name and six years later here I am, living my dream.
Where are you from originally, and what role does that play in your business (if any)?
I am from a small mountain town in Colorado called Glenwood Springs. The energy of the mountains and the strength they give me is something I draw from on a daily basis when teaching others to find their inner strength. My parents instilled a strong work ethic and sense of self-responsibility within me from an early age. My dad worked for the White River National Forest Service, and my mom was a full-time caretaker and steward for my three brothers and me, so we all had to pitch in with chores around the house and in the garden. My first job was a paper route at the age of 8. At the same time my parents were very attentive to my natural abilities, hobbies and passions and encouraged me to pursue them with discipline. I bring this into my work every day, helping others to find their passion and ways that they can make it a reality in their life. I learned a lot from living close to nature and from my parents, and I bring this nurturing aspect into my work, along with the knowing that everyone has the ability to help themselves and heal themselves when given the right tools.
What is your specialty, and who can benefit from it?
I am shamanic practitioner, ceremonialist and energy healer. I have been studying with the healers of the high Andes and have been initiated into a lineage of ancient healers and alchemical healing methodologies. I offer individual healing sessions that focus on the clearing of discordant energies within the physical body, energy body, emotional body, mind and soul level, while reconnecting the individual to Source energy, gathering and integrating lost soul pieces, and activating their body’s own healing abilities. People come to me for all types of reasons: depression, disease in the body, looking for spiritual guidance, blocked creativity, and/or maybe they are at a crossroads in their life and are having a difficult time “seeing” which direction to go, to name a few. I connect people with their spirit guides, power animals, their inner instincts, life passions and purpose.
For those who may not understand what you do, in lay terms, why is it essential?
We take small groups on sacred journeys to Peru so they can experience firsthand the power of the ancient temples that were built for this time on Earth, as humanity awakens and begins to shift the dream that we are living.
It is essential that we each learn to live with more joy, reverence and self-responsibility. It is essential that we each know what we are creating in the world through our thoughts, actions and relationships with others. And it is essential that we create more peace in the world through creating inner peace first.
What sets your business apart?
Sonco Via offers participants an opportunity to experience very ancient and traditional healing methodologies and ceremonies from a faraway land without having to travel to Peru.
What motivates you to get up and go to work every day?
The mystery and magic of what is going to unfold in my life or someone else’s life on that day. The fact that I am so blessed to have a passion in life and that I have the opportunity to live this passion and share it with others is a gift. This is what keeps all the beauty and abundance flourishing. Gratitude, gratitude, gratitude.
Do you have a business motto or philosophy for doing business?
Ayni (eyenee) and munay (moo-nie) — ayni is the Quechua word that means reciprocity and/or right relationship. To be in ayni is to know how to receive and how to give back, especially to the land, that gives us so much. Munay is the Quechua word that means unconditional, cosmic love. Essential ingredients for a fulfilled and radiant life.
What is the most challenging aspect of your business?
Sometimes people are carrying very negative energies that are draining their life force, or very old patterns that have become hardwired in their brains and energy blueprint. Finding the root of these issues is often tricky, and helping them to clear them requires a great deal of energy on my part.
If you weren’t doing this, what would you be doing?
I really don’t know, as I can’t imagine anything better. I would like a little more time to develop my music and time to surf a bit more.
Where can people learn more?
Go to soncovia.com or email Chandra@soncovia.com
