0:00 Welcome to the Show
00:36 Meet Andrew Ecker
02:03 Ancestry and Roots
03:49 Life Assignment and Loss
04:58 Gritty Healing Work
06:46 Host Tribute and Sacred Seven
09:05 Opening Prayer
13:19 Relational Spirituality Defined
14:00 From Religion to Red Road
18:22 Trauma Addiction and Liberation
27:15 Energy and Emotional Density
28:56 Drumming in Memory Care
33:00 Displacement and Manifestation
35:29 Trauma Informed Sound Medicine
39:06 Spirituality Over Substances
39:35 Turning Pain Into Practice
40:40 Healthcare Pushback And Support
42:15 Scaling Drum Circle Impact
43:27 Energy Work With Clinicians
45:38 Gong Moment Breakthrough
47:31 Why Research Lags
50:34 Funding A Drumming Study
51:35 Connection Replaces Addiction
53:30 March Retreat Details
54:35 Congo Square And Inclusion
57:22 Transformation Story And Invite
01:00:23 Sacred Seven And Grounding
01:01:49 Blessing And Closing Prayer

The Other Side of Things Podcast

A Soulversation with Andrew Ecker
Recovery • Sacred 7 • Drumming Sounds • Rhythm as Medicine • Living a Prayed Life

In this deeply personal and powerful conversation, I sit down with healer, recovery guide, and founder of Drumming Sounds, Andrew Ecker.

Andrew shares his journey through addiction and recovery, revealing the deeper spiritual hunger beneath substance use and the sacred discipline that reshaped his life. We explore sobriety not as abstinence alone, but as initiation — as an ordeal that strips away illusion and invites us into prayer, service, and presence.

We also dive into Andrew’s Sacred 7 practice, a relational prayer rooted in the seven directions, and how rhythm and intentional drumming restore connection to ancestors, land, body, and spirit.

Andrew introduces his ancestry and lived experience with generational incarceration, substance use disorder, and family loss, and describes bringing drumming into memory care, psychiatric units, prisons, and treatment centers as an evidence-based, trauma-informed practice that emphasizes permission, empathy, and connection. The conversation focuses on “relational spirituality,” learning intimacy and boundaries with mental health experiences, and using drumming, breathwork, guided imagery, and sound medicine to displace “energies of sickness” and support healing. Andrew calls for more research funding for group drumming, shares outcomes from clinical and bereavement contexts, and promotes a March 13–16 retreat-style drumming training in Scottsdale plus his book Sacred Seven and coaching.

Andrew closes our conversation with a spoken prayer — a reminder that healing is not something we do alone, but something we remember together.

If this conversation moves you, consider subscribing and sharing it with someone who may need to hear it.

Andrew's Resources and Links:

Drumming Sounds
https://drummingsounds.com

Sacred 7 Community & Training
https://thesacredseven.com/

Andrew’s Book – The Sacred 7: A Path to Finding the Wholeness of Self-Identity
https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-path-finding-wholeness-self-identity/dp/1090133642?ref_=ast_author_dp

The Sacred 7 explores relational spirituality, identity, and healing rooted in earth-based traditions and community practice.

Michael's resources and links:

Official Website
https://michaelbrantdemaria.com

Books
https://michaeldemaria.com/books/

Music & Albums
https://michaelbrantdemaria.com/music

Films
https://michaeldemaria.com/ontos-films/

YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@MichaelBrantDeMaria

00:00 Introduction to The Other Side of Things
00:40 Welcoming the Guest: Rebecca Wild Bear
01:31 Rebecca's Background and Work
03:27 The Importance of Wilderness Therapy
06:29 Challenges of Modern Culture and Soul Work
11:56 Writing and Living Wild Yoga
16:45 Personal Stories and Vulnerabilities
30:03 The Concept of Wild Yoga
35:19 Embracing Vulnerability
35:52 The Never-Ending Journey of Healing
37:13 Love Warrior vs. Heart Warrior
38:02 The Power of Love and Ferocity
44:07 Feral Female Ferocity
50:04 The Role of Anger and Boundaries
01:02:32 The Journey of Braveheart
01:05:18 Final Thoughts and Contact Information

✨ The Other Side of Things Podcast | Guest: Rebecca Wildbear ✨

In this episode, I’m joined by my dear friend of over a decade, Rebecca Wildbear—author of Wild Yoga: A Practice of Initiation, Veneration, and Advocacy for the Earth. It was such a joy to finally sit down and reconnect with her for this conversation.

Rebecca is a nature-based soul guide, vision fast guide with Animas Valley Institute, and former wilderness therapy facilitator with Open Sky. Her life’s work is devoted to helping people listen deeply to the mysteries of the Earth, their dreams, and their souls.

Together we explore how Rebecca’s approach to wild yoga—a blend of yoga, deep imagination, and nature connection—offers a paradigm shift in how we understand human development, especially through the lens of nature-based soul initiation. Drawing on our shared apprenticeship with Bill Plotkin and the Animas Valley Institute, we discuss:

🌿 How wild yoga is different from traditional yoga
🌿 The role of wilderness in soul initiation and human maturation
🌿 Alternative ways of looking at what is often called “mental illness,” addiction, or psychosis
🌿 How nature can guide healing, wholeness, and purpose
🌿 Why adults who never felt at home in mainstream culture may still find their soul initiation later in life

Rebecca’s book Wild Yoga is both a practice and an invitation—a call to live in deeper conversation with the Earth and with the soul’s longing.

🔗 Learn more about Rebecca Wildbear and her work: https://www.rebeccawildbear.com
📖 Get Wild Yoga: https://www.amazon.com/Wild-Yoga-Practice-Initiation-Veneration/dp/160868797X

If you enjoy this conversation, please like, share, and subscribe for more soulful dialogues on The Other Side of Things.

Michael's website: www.michaeldemaria.com

00:37 Introduction
01:39 Who is Sean Blackwell?
03:59 Our mutual connection to Holotropic Breathwork.
05:32 Sean's Bipolar Episode and Hospitalization.
07:22 Working with his partner's nieces psychotic episodes.
07:57 Dr. John Weir Perry and Dr. Loren Moser's influence on Sean.
09:38 Sean has done 60-70 retreat with people around the world.
13:16 The overlap of spirituality and psychosis in Sean's work.
13:40 Two camps: Peer Support vs. Transpersonal psychology
16:31 Grof's the Stormy Search for the Self
17:21 The 13 basic delusions people experience
17:46 When flip into paranoia no healing can happen!
18:35 The blissful psychosis vs. the Paranoid psychosis
21:35 Trauma and psychosis
22:06. Healing the chakra's somatically
23:08 What's truly healing is the healing field!
24:35 Sean's discovery of surrogate breathwork.
32:34 Dealing with intense shadow energies - even what feels like feels demonic
36:34 Sean's discovery of distance healing through his work with Family Constellation Therapy
43:21 Sean's current understanding of The Healing Field.
50:27 Tribal Shamanism, New Age Shamanism vs Quantum Shamanism
56:34 A name for every name in the river, but not the river itself.
59:23 Developing an Integral Consciousness
1:01:23 Accessing the quantum dimension.
1:02:31 The most powerful protection.
1:07:36 Sean's understanding of soul.
1:11:00 Sean's frustration with how little people understand the work he does.
1:16:00 How to find Sean's work.

Since 2007 Sean Blackwell has been researching and teaching about the spiritual dimension and healing potential of bipolar disorder through his YouTube channel, bipolarORwakingUP. His videos graphically illustrate subjects such as spiritual emergency, transpersonal psychology, and the evolution of consciousness, always demonstrating how these themes relate to transcending the bipolar condition. His book, “Am I Bipolar or Waking Up?”, published in 2011, describes his own bipolar awakening, subsequent hospitalization, and complete recovery, which happened in 1996.

In 2013, Sean started The Bipolar Awakenings Healing Retreat, a pioneering program for people who wanted to heal from their so-called incurable condition. In September of 2016, Sean received his certification as a Holotropic Breathwork facilitator with Grof Transpersonal Training, the official training program of Dr. Stanislav Grof. This education has been fundamental to the development of the healing retreat process, as a modified form of Holotropic Breathwork, Bipolar Breathwork, provides the basis for the bioenergetic healing process which takes place during retreats.

Based on his experience facilitating private retreats, Sean developed two new online healing modalities. In 2020, he launched Distance Surrogate Breathwork and Conscious Emotional Clearing, as two very affordable options that could help people begin to heal their bipolar conditions safely, within the comfort of their own home.

Sean's website and link to his new book: https://www.bipolarawakenings.com/
Michael's Website: https://michaeldemaria.com/
Michael's Links: https://michaeldemaria.com/michaels-links/

00:00 Introduction
01:04 Who is Linda Star Wolf, Ph.D.
03:35 Star Wolf gives us a beautiful opening blessing
06:57 History of Michael and Star's relationship
11:50 The Spiral Path - the transformational process that requires change!
15:30 The origin of the word Shaman and it's true meaning as Shamaning...
19:16 Trusting when things need to end...
20:42 We all need the right amount of heartbreak.
23:00 My grandmothers who have helped me.
26:13 Shamanism and Breakdown/Breakthroughs
30:00 Growing up in the woods and forest as an only child.
32:57 Growing up highly sensitive.
35:48 Breathwork, breakdowns and breakthroughs and precautions
42:00 Shadow work, shamanic deaths and rebirths
45:36 The blessings of soul friends - who help us embrace our weirdness - that is our uniqueness!
48:14 Weird originally meant, 'having a foot in both worlds.'
50:30 Authenticity and embracing the shadow
55:13 The collective shadow and the pain of being demonized and shamed can drive you crazy
58:00 Let's be clear we LIVE on a Shamanic Planet - we've already had huge extinction events!
1:00:00 This is an Earth School
1:05:00 The AI I'm interested in is Authentic Intelligence - NOT artificial intelligence.
1:10:00 Here to get a doctorate degree in the Universe - according to grandmother Twyla.

I’m truly honored to welcome a dear friend and longtime collaborator to the show today—Dr. Linda Star Wolf. Star Wolf and I have shared a deep connection for decades, working together on projects rooted in transformation, healing, and the sacred path of shamanic wisdom. As a shamanic breathwork facilitator myself, I’ve been profoundly influenced by her teachings and the visionary work she has brought to the world.

Today, we’ll be diving into her latest book, The Aquarian Shaman, exploring the evolution of shamanic consciousness in these changing times. From breathwork to shadow work, the endless spiral path of the soul and the wisdom of our teachers and elders, we’ll journey into what it means to truly follow our hearts and the path of our souls!

Get comfortable, take a deep breath, and join us on this soul-centered conversation with the incredible Linda Star Wolf.

Linda Star Wolf, Ph.D., has been a shamanic visionary teacher and guide to thousands of people over the last four decades. Star Wolf was a nationally certified alcohol and drug counselor for 30+ years. She studied a variety of breathwork techniques with many teachers. Star Wolf draws much of her wisdom from personal experience of using breath to fortify connection to one’s own life force energy.

The author of 13 books, Star Wolf is the creator of Shamanic Breathwork®, the Shamanic Healing Initiatory Process® (S.H.I.P.), the Founder of Venus Rising Association for Transformation (a non-profit organization), and Founding President of Venus Rising University for Shamanic Psychospiritual Studies. Star Wolf is also co-founder of the Shamanic Mystery Tours and guides spiritual seekers to travel as emissaries to sacred shamanic sites worldwide.

Dedicating her life to assisting soul seekers to transform and embrace their lives, Star Wolf teaches how to embody the shaman within and step into a life of passionate, soul purpose. Her commitment to sacred activism and visionary leadership led her to create the Shamanic Ministers Global Network and train Shamanic Breathwork Facilitators around the world.

Star Wolf has a deep connection to shamanic earth wisdom teachings originating from Indigenous elders. Twylah Nitsch, beloved Seneca Wolf Clan Grandmother, gave her the spirit name Star Wolf and adopted her as a Spiritual Granddaughter.

Website: https://www.shamanicbreathwork.org/
Michael's Website: https://michaeldemaria.com/
Order book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Aquarian-Shaman-Walking-Spiral-Transformation/dp/1591435145

00:00 Introduction
01:13 Who is Gabi Varga?
06:05 A Holistic Approach to Fitness
10:51 The Imprint of Trauma on our Bodies
12:18 Nurturing Our Nervous Systems
20:38 When Clients Feel Safe Even Tears May Come
23:16 Understanding What Dysregulation of The Nervous System Is
37:15 Fight, Flee, Freeze or Fawn Responses.
40:41 What Trauma-Sensitive Personal Training May Look Like
52:00 Where to find out more about Gabi and her work.

I first discovered Gabi Varga’s work during the pandemic, while searching for a way to stay active without going to the gym. Growing up as an athlete—playing football, lacrosse, and competing in track—I had my share of experiences with harsh, even abusive coaching styles. Like so many in our culture, I often held myself to impossible standards. Add to that the challenges of lingering trauma from childhood surgeries, which have left me with muscle imbalances requiring extra care during training, and I knew I needed a different approach.

When I came across the phrase “trauma-informed personal training” in my feed, I was immediately drawn to Gabi’s unique perspective. Following her work was a game-changer, helping me reframe my workouts with more compassion and curiosity. Her approach offered a much-needed reset for both my body and mind. Our schedules finally aligned for us to have a deep dive into this fascinating topic and new approach to fitness.

More about Gabi:

I grew up in Hungary and became a group fitness instructor at 20. Fifteen years ago, I moved to Montreal for someone who became my husband and turned out to be emotionally abusive. At the time, I didn’t realize it; I was busy learning English and starting my life from scratch. I built a wonderful life with amazing Hungarian friends and a great following of fitness participants.
During COVID, I found a somatic therapist. This body-based approach made so much sense, helping with nervous system regulation and trauma release. The shift was slow but significant. I started my own personal training business but felt stuck with conventional "no pain, no gain" fitness.

I began using somatic techniques in my sessions and discovered trauma-informed personal training, which excited me. I completed the next course available.

Now, I help people who are healing from existing trauma improve their relationship with movement and reach their fitness goals. By listening to you and understanding your individual needs, we can work together to turn exercise into a safe, sustainable, and joyful experience.Often, we overlook our body’s signals, pushing through pain or overtraining—leading to injury, burnout, shame cycles, and even trauma responses like dissociation.

Trauma-informed training unlocks your potential by embracing a gentler, more mindful approach. Together, we’ll build tools for body awareness, self-regulation, and understanding what your body truly needs to reach your fitness goals safely. Most importantly, we’ll reframe exercise so it feels genuinely good.

Gabi's website: https://thetraumainformedpt.com/

Michael's Website: https://michaeldemaria.com