FEATURED INTERVIEW WITH MAMA MEDICINE,
DEBORAH HANEKAMP

Interview by Angel Quintana
Photo Credit: Deborah Hanekamp
Magazine Issue #51

This month we chat with the "Fashion's Favorite Healer", Deborah Hanekamp of Mama Medicine.

What inspired you to start your journey in the healing arts?

For as long as I can remember I've been able to see Auras around people, plants, animals and certain objects. That led me to being very mystical curious at a very young age. My early life was challenging so I left home at a young age - it was then Id decided I could either let pain of my past become my future or I could go deeper into this mystical world that I found so enchanting. I became a vegetarian and began practicing yoga and zen meditation, which lead me to Thailand where I spent five years going back and forth to study Reiki, Sound Healing, and Crystal Healing. Seven years after I decided to dive deep into the spiritual and esoteric worlds I met a Shaman from Peru and I spent the following eight years in an intense plant medicine apprenticeship traveling back and forth to Peru, where I became an initiated Shaman. I have to say, my most powerful spiritual awakening came from giving birth to my daughter, it was after that that I was able to really own Medicine Readings.

You’ve amassed such a great following on Instagram; which strategies have you found most beneficial in growing your audience on social media?

I am a very visual person and Instagram is a very visual social media platform so to grow my following it helps to keep in mind that it has to start with a beautiful image and in nature there is the most beauty I've ever seen so I try to always include a natural element in my photos.

You feature beautiful photography from a lot of your Medicine Readings and ceremonies on Instagram… can you tell us about them?

Medicine Readings came to me after I had my beautiful daughter. At that time I was still offering a sort of spiritual counseling / shamanic reiki session, teaching yoga and facilitating shamanic ceremonies. The issue I was having though, was that although I deeply loved and respected all of these traditions none of them really felt like me. I felt shy about my abilities to read auras at that time, and never mentioned to my clients that that was the reason why I could read them so well.

Deep down I knew that the one way for my daughter to lived an empowered life was through knowing and owning who she is and the only way I could teach her that was through example.

So I sat down and asked the universe "what do you want me to do?"

It was in that exact moment that I received a message, something like a voice telling me that I was meant to do something called "Medicine Readings" it's a one on one, group and retreat experience combining my knowledge and practice of the different traditions I've immersed myself in with who I am naturally. The moment I said yes to that my client list grew exponentially and I started flourishing.

When you come for a Medicine Reading we sit down and talk about anything in life you are looking to call in or clear out, next we meditate together as I read your aura and tell you what I see coming up, then you lay down on a bed of amethyst crystals as I facilitate a shamanic ceremony to cleanse, bless and protect you though sound, scent, and crystals. After that we go over some spiritual homework and a bespoke ritual bath so you can be your own healer.

We love the colorful composition and healing benefits of the Ritual Baths you share on Instagram. If you had to pick your “go-to” ritual, which would it be?

One Love Ritual Bath

Ingredients

Black moonstone, amethyst, quartz crystals
Epsom or Dead Sea salt
White rose petals
Lavender and vetiver essential oils

Ritual

Burn smoke of white sage around your auric field
Step into bath and dunk head underwater
Place one hand on your heart and another on your solar plexus, [and] repeat this mantra three times: "There is strength in softness."

What does your morning routine consist of?

I wake very early to begin an extensive morning routine, the first thing I do is tongue scraping and oil pulling with charcoal powder and coconut oil, then I put on a raw honey face mask and drink hot water with lemon, after that I take a teaspoon of hemp oil, followed by my probiotics, after that I sit in stillness and silently meditate for about twenty minutes followed by yogic breath work like ujjay breathing and breath of fire. Then I enjoy a lovely cup of coffee before I head to the gym to move my body before a full day of offering Medicine Readings.

How do you navigate balancing your work with family/motherhood?

My work week stretches from Tuesday- Saturday and even though it's pretty full blast on those days I try to drop my daughter off at school at least one day and make it home in time for bed time at least three days. In the evenings my husband and I share some tea and catch up on our day. On Sundays we hold family time to be incredibly sacred, I try to not even look at my phone and I definitely don't answer emails or look at social media. My daughter and I bake something, dance, make some art, play and cuddle. It's my favorite day of the week!

What’s next for Mama Medicine? Do you foresee offering any of your Ritual Baths as kits or curating crystals for grids or healings?

I feel like there's so many fun projects brewing that I'm about to burst! Yes I see a bath kit, a book, and an applicable meditative form of my work that anyone can try on there own or with a group. I'm really excited about all the retreats I have coming up because travel nourishes my spirit.