Alex Myrin
Alex Myrin is a plant medicine practitioner, yoga and breathwork teacher, and co-founder of the Tikkun Healing Center. Alex’s intention is to create a safe space for you to heal and return to a natural state of well-being. Alex is an army veteran who spent years in and out of therapy before finding Ayahuasca and the healing arts, it was through these practices he was able to start his healing journey. Ayahuasca proved to be a powerful catalyst that made deep healing possible for Alex and helped him in ways that nothing else could. Facilitating this work and being of service to others is a continuation of that healing journey.
If you are considering attending an Ayahuasca retreat or breathwork session or would like to experience other plant medicines at Tikkun and are curious about Alex’s perspective on this process, keep reading for more information in our Q&A. This interview is meant to be read as inspiration.
Alex is an experienced guide that is here to hold a safe space for people while they heal and integrate mind, body, and spirit. As a key part of his dedication to this path, Alex regularly travels to Peru to complete Master Plant dietas with Shipibo maestros. Whether you think of him as a shaman, medicine man, or plant medicine practitioner, he is quick to remind people that the work is not about becoming something, but rather to un-become. Returning to your true, pure essence is what happens when you release a lifetime of accumulated trauma and let go of the false beliefs the world taught you about yourself.
He knows what it’s like to suffer, and also knows that the feeling of being free of suffering exists. How has he changed as a result of working with Ayahuasca? “ I have regained trust in life, in the universe, in myself. I am content, whole, and happy. I feel my emotions – I don’t live in suppression … life is a grand adventure again.”
What advice would you give someone preparing for their first Ayahuasca ceremony?
First of all, remember to be gentle with yourself, and set an intention. An intention can be as simple as “I’m open to whatever it is that needs to be shown to me.” Try your best to follow the diet.
Ultimately, it all comes back to “be gentle with yourself throughout the process.” As soon as you commit to the ceremony it’s already begun. Fear and anxiety can begin to come to the surface in the time leading up to the ceremony. Just remember that you’re stepping in the right direction – the direction of self-love.
What can people expect when they come to see you?
They can expect a safe container, unwavering support, and stability as they heal and process their lives and possibly face some of the darkest stuff they’ve ever encountered. They can expect unconditional love through the process of unbecoming all of the things the world told them that they were – and a whole lot of magic.
What do you love about facilitating this work?
As challenging as it can be to hold space, it’s incredibly beautiful. Every person, every single one, is a unique expression of life here on earth… and each ceremony is a unique moment in time that will never be replicated again. All of the life circumstances that led you down this path … it was all happening behind the scenes without you even realizing it! That’s profound beauty. With that being said, I get the honor to experience so much, I get to see people who have been struggling start to turn a corner, I get to see them come alive again, find hope, inspiration, and self-love. To me, it’s the most fulfilling work that I can think of doing. I get to facilitate this and hold the container for people to do the deep work. I am very fortunate to be able to do that.
Please share some words of wisdom:
Trust the process, I know that this can sound difficult because it is. I’m asking you to trust a process that you may know nothing about. So the first thing that comes to mind is to say, first trust yourself and that you are making the right decision. This is hard work, be patient with yourself, there is no magic bullet that will cure everything overnight. It takes time, patience, a lot of work, and trust. You have what it takes to do it, trust that the process works and keep showing up for yourself every day, not just in ceremony.
Tikkun is the concept of healing and restoring the world to its original pure state. What does Tikkun mean to you?
I resonate with the concept of healing yourself– doing your part in the world. I don’t think I can heal the world, but I can heal myself, I can hold space for others as they do the same. This is how I can do my part, this is the essence of what we do. It is not my job to heal someone… It’s my job to create a container for someone to heal themselves. It is my job to keep them safe and hold space for their process. It’s a really beautiful concept, the idea that this is how the healing of the world can take place.
What is the inner work and how does one do it?
It looks different for everyone, there is no one size fits all. The process of inner work can feel really overwhelming – you’re working on healing traumas that have created beliefs about yourself and the world you live in, the inner work is the long journey back to the real you– the authentic you. I’m not necessarily here to teach anyone anything, but to hold space for them during the process so they can find their own truth.
The inner work, I believe, is in holding to the truth that nothing is inherently wrong with you, and when troubling thoughts and feelings start to come up, telling yourself that truth… Integration is absolutely necessary to start to embody the changes you’re wanting to make in life. Ayahuasca is there to disrupt the patterns, to find clarity and healing, the integration is there for those things to stick, Ayahuasca will give you what you need in the moment, but after that, it’s on you to do your part.
How do breathwork and Yoga complement your work with plant medicine?
There are varying degrees of inner work that can be done. Ayahuasca is not as accessible to everyone because there may be medications or health conditions that don’t mix well with it. Breath is accessible to everyone, and breathwork can be done more frequently, with a practitioner, without a practitioner.
You can practice breathwork anytime, anyplace, anywhere. It doesn’t take the place of Ayahuasca, just like Ayahuasca doesn’t take the place of breathwork. They’re different tools you can use depending on where you’re at. Breathwork can help you continue the inner work without needing to go sit in ceremony. A breathwork session or Yoga Nidra session can also be used as a form of integration and are very powerful tools.
Yoga is a very grounding practice after going through an Ayahuasca ceremony, which can be very ungrounding – and is excellent for integration. There are many tools and practices and they are all equal, there’s no hierarchy. They are all equal as a personal practice. If I go without one or the other, I may be missing something.
