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Olga Yakymenko never planned on becoming a medicine practitioner.

Born and raised in Ukraine, Olga spent ten years working within the Ukrainian court system before eventually moving to Moscow, where she continued working in the legal field. From the outside, she had built a conventional life and career. Internally, though, she had the persistent feeling that she wasn't doing what she was supposed to be doing.

Then she went to India.

What was supposed to be a short trip turned into six months after Olga threw away her return ticket and called her boss to tell him he could fire her. India opened the door to meditation, spiritual practice, travel, and an entirely different way of seeing her life.

Eventually, that path led her to South America and ayahuasca.

Her first experience wasn't particularly profound. Years later, however, she sat again—this time prepared, intentional, and within the Shipibo tradition. That ceremony changed the direction of her life.

Olga describes an experience of ego death, rebirth, and a clear message that she was supposed to leave her old life behind, move to another country, and work in service to others.

So she did.

With little English, a tiny backpack, and no real plan, Olga came to the United States, eventually settling in Brooklyn and beginning the long transition from the legal world into healing work.

In this episode, we follow that journey and dive deep into Olga's relationship with ayahuasca, Kambo, Bufo, traditional Shipibo practices, Icaros, integration, and the importance of choosing experienced facilitators.

We also get into one of the more unusual modalities Olga practices: hirudotherapy, or medicinal leech therapy—a practice she first witnessed as a child in Ukraine and later incorporated into her own work.

Today, Olga works with ayahuasca, Kambo, massage, and leech therapy and is stepping into a new chapter as a Kambo instructor.

In This Episode

We talk about:

• Growing up in Ukraine and working in the court system
• Leaving Moscow for what became a six-month journey through India
• Meditation, Vipassana, Nepal, Varanasi, and the beginning of Olga's spiritual path
• Her first experience with ayahuasca in South America
• The Shipibo ceremony that completely changed her life
• Moving to America without speaking English
• Building a new life in Brooklyn
• Why ayahuasca became Olga's primary spiritual teacher
• The role of Icaros and master plants within Shipibo tradition
• Why the person facilitating a psychedelic experience matters
• Difficult ayahuasca experiences, surrender, preparation, and integration
• Olga's first experience with Kambo in New York
• Discovering Bufo after roughly 150 ayahuasca ceremonies
• Why she eventually chose to stop serving Bufo and focus more deeply on ayahuasca and Kambo
• The problem with stacking multiple powerful medicines into a single retreat
• Why more medicine doesn't necessarily mean more healing
• Medicinal leech therapy and its history in Olga's family
• Her decision to begin teaching Kambo
• Her desire to bring properly trained practitioners into Ukrainian communities affected by war
• Advice for people curious about plant and amphibian medicines
• What to look for when choosing an ayahuasca facilitator

Olga's story is ultimately about following a path before you can see where it's leading.

From a courtroom in Ukraine, to six months wandering India, to Shipibo ceremonies in the Amazon, to arriving in America with almost nothing and building an entirely different life—sometimes the next chapter doesn't begin with a plan.

Sometimes it begins by throwing away the ticket home.

Connect With Olga Yakymenko

Website: kambo-ny.com

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