Returning the Soul Home to ourselves
Hokinga Wairua is a Māori shamanic soul retrieval practice.
Hokinga speaks to returning, coming home, and wairua is spirit or soul.
In shamanic understanding, when something deeply traumatic happens, a part of our soul or wairua can disconnect from the body as a way of surviving what feels too overwhelming to remain fully present with.
This can happen in response to a single traumatic event, or through ongoing trauma and complex PTSD, where the nervous system is repeatedly exposed to experiences that feel unsafe or unbearable.
It can happen at any age.
Perhaps something happened when you were seven years old. Perhaps there was abuse, neglect, loss, fear, or another experience that was simply too much for that young part of you to process.
That part of you may have gone somewhere else -creating distance from the experience so that you could continue to live, function and survive.
It is not weakness.
It is not failure.
It is a deeply protective response.
What can soul loss feel like?
Within the shamanic understanding of soul loss, there can be a sense that something is missing within us - and sometimes we may not even know what it is.
You may experience:
* A feeling that a part of you is missing or has gone away
* Feeling disconnected from yourself or from your body
* Anxiety or a persistent sense of unease
* Depression, numbness or a feeling of emptiness
* Disrupted or unsettled sleep
* Difficulty feeling joy, connection or aliveness
* Feeling as though you are simply going through the motions of life
* A sense of being unable to fully inhabit or connect with yourself
* Feeling disconnected from your creativity, vitality or sense of purpose
* A longing for something you cannot quite name
Sometimes there is a very deep knowing within us that says:
“I don’t feel completely here.”
And within the soul retrieval framework, this may be understood as a part of our wairua - spirit -remaining disconnected because it once needed to leave in order for us to survive.
The beautiful thing is that what left did not leave because it didn’t belong to us.
It left because it was protecting us.
Hokinga Wairua - calling the soul home
Hokinga Wairua is about calling those parts home.
As a Māori shamanic healing practitioner, I work in relationship with my tūpuna (ancestors) and kaitiaki (guides), creating a sacred and held space for the returning of these soul pieces.
The intention is to gently call home what has become separated, allowing those parts to return safely, lovingly and in their own time.
And an essential part of this work is permission.
Nothing is taken, forced or called forward without the permission of the recipient. Your wairua, your body and your own inner wisdom remain at the centre of the process.
This is not about forcing ourselves to revisit trauma or relive what happened.
It is about creating the conditions for a part of ourselves that once needed to leave in order to survive to know:
You are safe to come home now.
You are welcome here.
There is a place for you within me.
Hokinga Wairua is a returning.
A remembering.
A coming home to ourselves.
And sometimes, the journey of healing is not about becoming someone new at all.
It is about gently gathering the parts of ourselves that had to go away…
and welcoming them home.
Hokinga Wairua - returning the wairua, returning to wholeness, returning home.
Link in my bio or on my website to book in for 1-1 sessions.
Hokinga Wairua - Returning the Soul Home to ourselves
Hokinga Wairua is a Māori shamanic soul retrieval practice.
Hokinga speaks to returning, coming home, and wairua is spirit or soul.
In shamanic understanding, when something deeply traumatic happens, a part of our soul or wairua can disconnect from the body as a way of surviving what feels too overwhelming to remain fully present with.
This can happen in response to a single traumatic event, or through ongoing trauma and complex PTSD, where the nervous system is repeatedly exposed to experiences that feel unsafe or unbearable.
It can happen at any age.
Perhaps something happened when you were seven years old. Perhaps there was abuse, neglect, loss, fear, or another experience that was simply too much for that young part of you to process.
That part of you may have gone somewhere else -creating distance from the experience so that you could continue to live, function and survive.
It is not weakness.
It is not failure.
It is a deeply protective response.
What can soul loss feel like?
Within the shamanic understanding of soul loss, there can be a sense that something is missing within us - and sometimes we may not even know what it is.
You may experience:
* A feeling that a part of you is missing or has gone away
* Feeling disconnected from yourself or from your body
* Anxiety or a persistent sense of unease
* Depression, numbness or a feeling of emptiness
* Disrupted or unsettled sleep
* Difficulty feeling joy, connection or aliveness
* Feeling as though you are simply going through the motions of life
* A sense of being unable to fully inhabit or connect with yourself
* Feeling disconnected from your creativity, vitality or sense of purpose
* A longing for something you cannot quite name
Sometimes there is a very deep knowing within us that says:
“I don’t feel completely here.”
And within the soul retrieval framework, this may be understood as a part of our wairua - spirit -remaining disconnected because it once needed to leave in order for us to survive.
The beautiful thing is that what left did not leave because it didn’t belong to us.
It left because it was protecting us.
Hokinga Wairua - calling the soul home
Hokinga Wairua is about calling those parts home.
As a Māori shamanic healing practitioner, I work in relationship with my tūpuna (ancestors) and kaitiaki (guides), creating a sacred and held space for the returning of these soul pieces.
The intention is to gently call home what has become separated, allowing those parts to return safely, lovingly and in their own time.
And an essential part of this work is permission.
Nothing is taken, forced or called forward without the permission of the recipient. Your wairua, your body and your own inner wisdom remain at the centre of the process.
This is not about forcing ourselves to revisit trauma or relive what happened.
It is about creating the conditions for a part of ourselves that once needed to leave in order to survive to know:
You are safe to come home now.
You are welcome here.
There is a place for you within me.
Hokinga Wairua is a returning.
A remembering.
A coming home to ourselves.
And sometimes, the journey of healing is not about becoming someone new at all.
It is about gently gathering the parts of ourselves that had to go away…
and welcoming them home.
Hokinga Wairua - returning the wairua, returning to wholeness, returning home.
Link in my bio or on my website to book in for 1-1 sessions
