Meet Me in the Forest: My Path to Healing, Ceremony, and Becoming the Woman I Am

Hi, I’m Avi — a daughter of the Earth, a guide, a vessel for ancestral medicine, and the woman behind Hikes to Heal, BUFĀYA, and founder of Awakened Naturals.

This is my very first blog post — and to be honest, writing it feels like standing barefoot on sacred ground: raw, open, and real. But I’ve learned that vulnerability is part of healing, and so is being witnessed. I created this blog as a space to speak from the heart — to share my journey, my reflections, and the sacred truths I’ve uncovered along the way. Here, I’ll be sharing about forest therapy, ancestral medicine, ceremony, and everything in between. I hope something you read here touches a place within you that’s ready to remember, too.

Since I was a child, I’ve always been connected to nature. While others were entertained by screens and noise, I found joy in trees, dirt, wind, and silence. I would sit for hours in the forest, singing to the trees, listening to them breathe. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was already in relationship with the spirit of the Earth. The forest was where I felt most myself — held, understood, and never judged. That connection has stayed with me, even through the hardest seasons of life.

But like many of us, I veered from that path. Life, trauma, confusion, grief — they layered over my truth. I became disconnected from my own essence, moving through the world without a sense of true belonging. And then… everything changed.

I sat with Bufo for the first time.

I had no idea what to expect, but what happened in those 33 minutes was something no words can ever fully describe. It was like living through 33 years of therapy in a single breath. My ego shattered, and I met the pure essence of who I truly am — beyond the stories, beyond the wounds, beyond the roles. I remembered.
I remembered my purpose.
I remembered my voice.
I remembered why I came here.

That one ceremony cracked me open and realigned my entire life. From that moment on, there was no turning back. I began walking the path of ancestral medicine with reverence — guided not only by Spirit, but also by the wisdom of the Earth and the plants. I stepped fully into my work as a medicine woman, as a space holder, and as a bridge for others to find their own way home.

That’s how BUFĀYA was born — my sacred space for ceremony and plant medicine. A portal for deep healing with sacred allies like ayahuasca, kambo, mapacho, cacao, and yes, bufo — the very medicine that woke me up. These ceremonies are not recreational, not trends — they are sacred initiations into truth, remembrance, and spiritual transformation.

Alongside that awakening came the remembrance of something I had already created: Awakened Naturals, which I founded back in 2016. It was my first public offering — a reflection of the plant-loving, earth-rooted woman I’ve always been. I poured my heart into it, crafting herbal products that helped people feel safe in their bodies, supported by nature, and connected to the wisdom of the plants. At the time, I didn’t even realize I was already walking the path of medicine — I was just following what felt natural.

But after my first Bufo ceremony, everything shifted.

That ceremony unearthed truths and traumas I had buried for decades. It helped me process what felt like 33 years of therapy in 33 minutes. And in that collapse of ego, I found my soul again. I remembered why I came to this Earth. I realized that healing — real healing — was what I was here to live, embody, and offer.

So I made the courageous decision to let go of Awakened Naturals. I sold the business and stepped fully onto the ancestral medicine path, not just as a student, but as a vessel. That choice was not easy, but it was sacred. It was Spirit-led. I knew I had to give myself completely to the work, to the plants, and to the people who would come to sit with me.

And then, there’s Hikes to Heal — where all of this weaves together into something beautiful and accessible. These are not just walks in the woods. They are slow, sacred journeys back to self through movement, stillness, breath, and the guidance of the forest. We hike, we pause, we reflect, we breathe with the trees. Sylvotherapy is a practice, yes — but it’s also a remembering. A way to let nature hold what we can no longer carry alone.

So this blog is where I’ll continue sharing it all — my path, my practices, my process. Sometimes about medicine. Sometimes about plants. Sometimes just about being a woman who is still healing, still growing, and still listening to the whispers of the land.

If your soul is craving something real — something rooted — this space is for you.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for walking with me.

With love, freedom, and roots,
Avi