Christiana is a special and very gifted healer and guide. She has the ability to connect to you deeply and speak right to the soul. With her incredible sensitivity to tune into your needs she tends to you in the most caring, most loving way and makes you feel safe to express your truth. She hold a strong, non- judgmental healing space for you to feel whatever needs to be felt for you to liberate parts of yourself. Christiana is a great listener and also knows when to respond with just the right bit of wisdom that one need to hear. Christiana has a lot of medicine to share and I am incredibly grateful to have her in my life as a teacher & guide. If you are looking for someone to work with that walks in full integrity, she is the right person. I couldn’t recommend her enough. Thank you!
-Pia Creator of Our Future is Ancient . Ceremonialist + Coach
Working with Christiana was profoundly glorious. Her warmth, knowledge, and generosity made me feel incredibly safe and understood throughout our practice together. Her integration of the arts and plant healing was perfectly aligned and I am honored to have had the opportunity to go through this experience with her. Christiana facilitated a beautiful ceremony and opened my heart in ways I never thought were possible. She exhibits steadfast professionalism while also balancing a loving and open presence. I could feel her love, dedication, and intuition throughout our session together. She supported my inner exploration and I came away from our work together with a more open and connected heart.
Christiana’s devotion to her craft is inspiring and I am deeply grateful to know her. Her knowledge of the healing arts is remarkably admirable and sparked a genuine curiosity within me to continue to explore this healing path. I recommend Christiana with my whole heart to anyone remotely curious about inner healing, wellness, and self-exploration.
-Margot H. Counselor | Private one day retreat
My heart wells up with gratitude when I think of the impact Christiana’s work has had on my life. I have been blessed with Christiana’s support through yoga and movement, sound therapy, and life-culture counseling for over a decade. Throughout this time she has been a source of wisdom and a knowledgeable and encouraging mentor.
Christiana holds her studies and practice in the highest standard and this integrity carries through in her work. I have seen firsthand that she embodies what she imparts.
Her ability to listen with an open heart, connect, and offer guidance with depth and love has supported me in searching for my hearts deepest desires, aligning my life culture with my life’s purpose, and cultivating my confidence through these transitions. I am profoundly grateful for Christiana’s work and wholeheartedly recommend it for anyone searching for more clarity and alignment in life.
- Brittni Svanburg, healing arts practitioner | Healing Arts Mentorship
“Christiana is a truly exceptional wellness practitioner and coach. Her professionalism and extensive experience combined with her innate empathy and insight ensure that sessions with her are invaluable. I would highly recommend Christiana to anyone seeking greater clarity, grounding and self-awareness in their life.”
- Amy Cherry, Founder Shou Sugi Ban House | Long time client and employer
“… Anything that comes through Christiana has most likely been a lived and learned experience from her own life. There’s depth in her practice, in her service. There’s honor and integrity in the way she weaves space from the yarns of lineage in which she learned. She’s constantly expanding, growing, rooting. A warmth, a love that can make you feel so safe. She is a heart centered connector that has the profound capacity to create absolute magic. From her retreats to her one on one sessions I would highly recommend working with this one of a kind human in any capacity that call to you 🤍”
- Kate Kavanaugh, bodyworker & healing arts practitioner | Retreat Participant
Wow, where do I even begin? Working with Christiana was an incredible, transformative, experience. The guided meditation took us so deep—reflecting on 2024, celebrating the good, embracing the lessons, and letting go of what no longer serves us…the expressive dance and collective prayers made it feel like pure magic.
I thought I might have been out of place but she made everyone feel so at home and the only this required from us was our presence.
Her energy is out of this world—so grounding yet uplifting at the same time. And her voice! Absolutely unreal—it carried us through every moment with such grace and power, the vibrations perfectly hit the spot. I left feeling lighter, so connected and clear as to what exactly it is that I need to action to reach the goals and dreams I have for 2025. Thank you so much Christiana for creating and holding such a beautiful, sacred space for all of us!
-Mateo | Student | Rituals for Transformation
Christiana accompanied me for the birth of my daughter and during a six-month coaching course. I cannot recommend her highly enough. She is sweet, kind, funny, compassionate, and very approachable. Yet beneath her sweetness, the depth of her own journey and work is palpable. Here are some of the things I love about working with Christiana:
• She has a rich toolbox of practices and approaches that she offers in intuitive and reflective response to what is emerging in each session
• Her deep intuitive sense for what is needed in the moment
• The felt sense of sacredness with which she approaches life and her work
• The integrity of her relationship with her practices, lineages, teachers, and plant allies.
• Her sense of humor – her ability to laugh at herself, at me, and at the predicament of the human condition
• Her commitment to service
If you are looking for someone to accompany you on your own healing journey, someone who can reflect back to you your most luminous and dignified self, who uplifts and inspires you, look no further!
-Sasha Lishansky, mother | Custom Program
What a pleasure and an honor it is to have spent time with you. I will always be completely blown away and super grateful for the power of your song and prayer. The magic still resonates with me now. I’m very grateful for the wonderful energy and the Comfort you gave while holding the space and feeling held throughout our time together. I wasn’t sure what to expect when the opportunity to work with you came up but something in my spirit told me it was an opportunity. I absolutely had to grab with both hands. And I am so glad I did !!!! It’s so wonderful to have been a part of something so very special and sacred from my heart to yours.
-Brian | Creative management and design | Plant Spirit Journey
Retreat Testimonials
After being on an inner quest to heal over the past few years, I really wanted to delve deeper into really creating a cellular change in who I was because I knew there was a deeper level of peace that I was destined to feel. I joined AoC after googling this style of retreat and felt a gut feeling that this was a sign. My intention was to deepen my self love and self acceptance, to make peace with my body and to find a new way of existing with ease in my life time. The gifts not only from the medicine but from the facilitators has been life changing. I experienced with ease so many tangible changes that I can integrate into my life just from being around other like minded people and the integrity of the facilitators. I left AoC cellularly changed and my intention bathed in fulfilment from this life changing retreat. The mix of nature, stillness, presence and kindness mixed with my personal intention left me felling totally fulfilled and since the retreat there is a resounding peace running through me. I loved the facilitators and the retreat so much that I cannot wait to attend next year also!
Tori Godsall 2024
My primary intention was to understand and hopefully reduce my anxious nature. At the end of the week-long retreat, I found the 'stillness' I was looking for. Now, it is up to me to maintain it :-). Christiana, Andrew, and Julia are highly professional and empathetic individuals who quickly created a sense of camaraderie among all participants. Their welcoming approach made me feel comfortable and encouraged me to explore without hesitation. All the activities—including meditation, movement, and ceremonies—were perfectly interconnected, making each day thoroughly effective. The valley is so beautiful and quiet, and it significantly enriched my experience. The underlying belief and passion that Christiana, Andrew, and Julia have for their work ultimately shine through above all else. I highly recommend Alchemy of Clarity; this has been one of the best experiences of my life. Thank you, folks.
Gowtham 2024
I had been thinking about going on a plant medicine retreat for over a year and kept postponing it. I thought about doing it at home with some friends, but the setting at Alchemy of Clarity was better, with a focus on healing. I came because of Burn Out Symptoms and anxiety, also just feeling lost/stuck and not sure about my next steps in life. Everything was organized very well and the team was very helpful and friendly. The retreat in Portugal was very nice and quiet and a good place to relax and take a break from the busy world. The food tasted very good and was very healthy. The dining area had a good view into the valley. We had very good weather and could sun bathe and swim or just relax in a hammock. Everybody came with the intention to work on themselves and our group got along really well. I met some very nice people. We took part in three ceremonies, during which we took the plant medicine. The first ceremony was difficult for me as many memories came up and I saw certain parts of myself I don’t like. (Behaviors and beliefs) I felt very safe though with group around me and the team singing songs and playing music, in the traditional ceremonial way. The second ceremony was during the day and more relaxing as I could deal with many things that came up in the first and find solutions for them or look at them from a different perspective. The final ceremony was also difficult and exhausting, but also very helpful and the best one. A lot from my subconscious came to the surface and was at first difficult to feel, but with time I was able to find an answer. This felt very good. I also had a short experience of how things could be and feel like, after having dealt with all of this. I now know what the cause for quite a few of my issues are and what steps I have to take, to overcome these. The first few days after I was still very aware of this and could feel it and understand what was going wrong and what to do. Now things have normalized, but I know what to do and feel different/changed in certain aspects and situations and also feel better. I can see which habits, thoughts and things I have been doing in everyday life were not good and am starting to change these. I will be interesting to see how this develops. I would definitely do it again and thanks to the team for their work. You did a great job
Michael 2024
My intention with the retreat was to connect with myself, nature and other people. To take some days to just reconnect, put my phone and job aside and be present in the moment. Andrew, Julia and Christiana did an amazing job this week to meet all of us and make a safe and relaxed space to be in. I feel really blessed and grateful for coming to this retreat. It gave me so much clarity and comfort to my journey in life, and I would love to come again sometime!
Hilda 2024
I had such a rewarding, powerful, insightful and very positive time at the Alchemy of Clarity retreat. I didn't go with specific trauma that needed to be resolved or any specific goals to achieve. I wanted to arrive and stay open to the experience, to feel that I was in a safe space and was well looked after, so that I could fully experience however the journey unfolded. My expectations were absolutely exceeded. I always felt very well taken care of and that I was in safe hands. This allowed me to fully let go and go deep. I loved the 3 hours of silence on most days and the integration and introspection it allowed, the ceremony were carefully planned and carried with love. There was never any expectation put on me to do or not do any thing and however much of the plant medicine felt right for me was the right amount. Having the medicine dosage specific for each person and having the option to have a second or third dose during each ceremony worked very well for me, allowing me to ease into the experience and go deeper later.
-Andrew 2023 Alchemy of Clarity Retreat
The Alchemy of Clarity retreat was one of the most nourishing experiences of my life. I felt nourished by the beautiful location, the clean air and water and wonderful food. I felt nourished by the deep connections- with the group, facilitators, as well as with myself, which the silent time really enhanced and made possible. The plant medicine ceremonies were gentle, wholesome and led with such care and wisdom that I felt safe to immerse into the experience and really follow what it was meant to show me. Christiana, Julia and Andrew are wonderful human beings who thrive in their roles as retreat hosts and are also completely down to earth people ready for great conversations and lots of laughs.
-OLA KLAMUT . PSYCHOLOGIST Alchemy of Clarity Retreat
www.olaklamut.com
The retreat is located in a beautiful valley in Portugal, with several river ponds to swim pretty close to the rooms. The facilities are quite original and every detail is well taken care of for you to enjoy and relax throughout the whole experience. Food too is something that needs to be mentioned, just amazing every single day.
Then the people who manage the retreat provided a perfect container for every one of us to feel confident and safe to surrender to the experience and share our perspectives within the group. For me personally, it was a great balance between personal space/work and group activities (yoga, meditation, art, workshops, sharing circles, fun discussions, ...). Regarding the ceremonies, having tried psychedelics before, I honestly felt like these ceremonies are something special and powerful thanks to the surroundings, the acknowledgment of each of us, the acceptance, and the people who hold the space with beautiful words and rituals. All these together with the medicine provided made me experience profound introspective moments and feel completely connected to nature and any living being. I would fully recommend it to anyone, no doubt!!!
-LAUREN Alchemy of Clarity Retreat
I don’t even know where to begin on how grateful I am that I was able to experience an Alchemy of Clarity retreat. I booked the retreat as a bit of a last chance saloon, desiring so desperately to feel like myself again. For the last couple of years I have been on a journey to get back into my body. Andrew, Julia, and Christiana have created such a special container to help do just that. They say your connection and sense of safety with whatever facilitator is just as, if not more important that the actual modality of healing itself .. they offer both the space and teachings to heal AS WELL as a deep level of understanding and empathy for connection. I left the experience feeling a joy that I knew was in me, but was calloused over. I really cannot recommend AOC enough. Truly the best thing I have done for myself.
Kelsey 2024 Alchemy of Clarity Retreat
