About Us

Founder of Shamanka

Eliana Harvey (20/05/1930 -18/09/2024)  

Eliana was a gifted Shamanka, Medicine Woman and Healer. She was considered to be the leading teacher of women's Shamanism and the recovering of the Feminine Principle. She founded her training school in the early Nineties, beginning with the Mystical Journey and followed by the Wise Woman workshops for six years. The Shamanka School of Women's Shamanism was established in 1990.

Eliana had a Celtic inheritance, she was steeped in Celtic lore from childhood. Her father was a noted pioneer of osteopathy in the UK, and was also a medical 'psychic', her mother was a healer and early Bach Flower practitioner.

The personal quest for Eliana began with Yoga which she has practiced and taught all her adult life. Apart from her original training in Acupressure and Chinese Medicine, she is also an initiate of the Western Sufi Healing Order with Hazrat Inayat Khan. However in the eraly nineties the Shamanic Path then became her major quest, beginning with Harley Swiftdeer of the Deer Tribe. Brooke Medicine Eagle, the Crow Blackfoot Medicine Woman, gave her permission to pass on some of her ceremonies. Her other significant teachers were Arwen Dreamwalker, Victor Sanchez from the Toltec tradition, Marilyn Tunneshende, from the Castaneda and Curendera path, and O'Shinnah the Cherokee crystal healing medicine woman. Eliana was honoured by John Twobirds, a Native Elder medicine man, who initiated her as a ceremonial pipe carrier and sweat lodge leader.

More recently Eliana had explored the Inka Traditions where she found a number of teachers including Inti Cesar Malasquz and Dr Alberto Villoldo of the Four Winds Society. She  found this Andean cosmology to be a deeply feminine way of life and spirit. Recently she trained with the Andean Master Shaman Kurak Akulleq and Mystic Don Juan Nunez Del Prado and was initiated 4th level Paquo (Shaman).

 

Shamanka FACULTY

The energy which is emerging for these times is one of enthusiastic group cooperation and support, so Shamanka has formed a team of wise, gifted and dedicated teachers of Shamanka who have fully trained with Eliana and explored other spiritual paths.
They have their own practices, shamanic healers and teachers. They have a passionate commitment to helping other women to discover their true essence by reclaiming the beauty and potency of their deep feminine.
They will be fully supporting each other and in turn know that each student deserves personal care on their journey, so are at the end of a phone or email.
The Training offers enriching and transformative processes, ceremonies and authentic initiations. All the processes are for personal growth and healing, then form part of the repertoire of the full range of shamanic healing practices for those who are called to become shamanic healers.

This Training is certificated and officially recognized for insurance purposes.

FACULTY:

Aimee Smith

 

Aimee’s transformative path began in Peru in 2004, where she experienced the first stirrings of her spiritual awakenings. Upon her return to the UK, she faced profound personal loss. This grief, though deeply painful, became the impetus for her dedication to helping others. That same year, she began training as a mental health nurse, channelling her loss into compassionate service. Over the next seventeen years, Aimee honed her skills in empathy and adaptability, travelled widely, and deepened her commitment to personal and spiritual development. A pivotal moment arrived in October 2019, when Aimee returned to South America. This journey amplified her spiritual awareness and gifts, preparing her for an even greater awakening in 2020. Returning home, she felt drawn toward a new, spiritually focused chapter in her life.

As her experiences intensified, she found herself seeking guidance, reaching out to Eliana Harvey in 2021. With Eliana’s mentorship, Aimee learned to navigate spiritual dimensions and draw meaning from her dreams and visions. Later in 2021, Aimee left her job to devote herself entirely to her calling. She immersed herself in transformative shamanic trainings and teachings putting all she learned into practice through her own personal healing work, grid work and one to one personal healing sessions with others. She began the Shamanka teacher training in 2024 and is set to graduate in October 2025, joining the team as a Teacher/facilitator in 2026. In parallel, Aimee became a heartfulness meditation preceptor January 2025, co-facilitating group sessions and inspiring others through her journey of healing and transformation.

 

Rowena Hillier

 

Rowena has been on her Shamanic path for over twenty years. Initially going to shamanic workshops where she got a taste of different shamanic practitioners before deciding to undertake her training at Shamanka. Rowena did the initial two-year training and after taking some of the extra workshops gained her Master Certificate in Healing and the Shamanic Arts.

Twelve years ago, after she returned from Peru, Eliana invited Rowena be part of the teaching team at Shamanka. Rowena worked alongside Eliana Harvey the founder of shamanka right up until Eliana passing over the Rainbow Bridge in 2024.

Rowena has continued at Shamanka passing on Eliana’s teachings. She has also put on some new individual weekend workshops enhancing further shamanic practices. Thus, enabling students to have the chance to come to Shamanka prior to enrolling on the main training to have a sense if this is the place for them to take up your training or adding these workshops to their previous training.

Over the years Rowena has continued her training with many shamanic practitioners, includes Caroline Hillier on Dartmoor where she made her first drum. She has also worked with Nichola and Jason at The Way the Buzzard, Puma Fredy Quispe Singona online courses on South American Teachings, and also Alberto Villoldo.

In 2024 Rowena went on Tribal Sound Healing retreat in Colombia with Anthar Kharana which she says was amazing and has brought further shamanic knowledge into her practice.

Rowena has her own practise at Okehampton where she offers shamanic healing for individuals. Rowena also presents a variety of shamanic workshops throughout the year, as well as running a shamanic drumming circle for the community around Okehampton. She can often be found at one of the many Mind, Bodied and Spirit festivals in the Southwest, as well as the Shamanic Gathering.

 

Lesley Chapman

 

Lesley is a teacher and practitioner who runs Shamanic workshops in Devon, often working with Rowena Hillier. A lifelong student she has trained with a wide variety of people including Eliana Harvey at Shamanka, Puma Fredy Quispe Singona, The Way of the Buzzard, Heron Drums and Pretani Wisdom Traditions. She enjoys looking beneath into the fundamental structure/truths of the Shamanic Way and brings her love of nature and the outdoors into her work.

Lesley first came to Middle Picadilly as a client in the 1990s. Through a long and winding route, she was led back in this century and was inspired by Eliana to undertake Shamanic practitioner training at Shamanka several years ago. Drawn back again and again, she has supported the team over the years and is now back with us as a teacher sharing the strong and gentle, deep, powerful and joyful practices that are the Shamanic Arts.