Why do successful women put their health in the hands of witch doctors?

WOMB cleanses, healing drums and a ‘magic’ hot chocolate t hat helps ‘ open the heart’. They sound like hokum and, on the balance of evidence, probably are.

So why are an increasing number of rational career women, including teachers, lawyers and doctors, turning to such bizarre practices in an effort to boost their health and wellbeing?

The rituals are all used in shamanism, an ancient form of healing which has been practised for thousands of years.

And far from only being found in Amazonian rainforests, modernday shamans reside in airy city centre studios, hotel spas – and are even available via Skype.

Advocates claim sessions with a shaman can help with anything from IBS to boosting business ventures, dealing with grief and even the side effects of cancer treatment. Predictably, actress Gwyneth Paltrow has been vocal about the benefits of shamanism, describing her Los Angeles- based healer, Shaman Durek, as her ‘light in shining armour’.

Durek’s belief is that women feel drained because they are divine givers – be it as a mother, partner, friend, woman in the workplace or indeed just a woman in the world – and they give until nothing is left.

While pilgrimages to South America have led to a soaring interest in shamanism, some rituals practised there have recently hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

In August, a coroner urged the Foreign Office to produce guidance on travelling to take part in tribal rituals abroad following the death of Henry Miller, 19, from Bristol.

He died in the Colombian rainforest after reacting to ayahuasca, a hallucinogenic tea which he drank during a shamanic ceremony. Retreats in East Sussex and South Wales offer such rituals.

Shamans first came from the Tungus tribe in Siberia about 2,000 years ago – the word itself means ‘spiritual healer’ or ‘one who sees in the dark’ – and their ‘magic’ has been practised across the world, in various forms, ever since.

Today, as people look for something deeper and more meaningful than a quick fix or taking a pill, shamanism is enjoying a resurgence.

Jo Bowlby, who has been touted as the secret shaman to Britain’s rich and famous, says that despite their success, many of her clients do not feel at peace in their ‘overburdened world’.

‘Today’s world is so fast, it’s easy to lose yourself in the demands of everyday life,’ she explains. ‘We are constantly being overstimulated, looking at smartphones every ten seconds. Finding stillness is becoming increasingly hard.’

Many of her clients, she says, are at the top of their game after spending years striving to enjoy such success. But she adds: ‘The top can feel very lonely. The pressures can spark anxiety, insecurity and feelings of isolation. They feel lost.’

Yet rather than resort to being given medication by a GP, modern women, and some men too, are turning to shamanism. Bowlby adds that everyone can benefit – ‘how to see the world from different perspectives, to see its magic, to find stillness in the mayhem’. Her clients typically follow a course of six to ten 75-minute sessions that cost £ 250 for the first one and £ 200 thereafter. They involve meditation, hands-on healing and visualisation techniques.

Natasha Saltzer, whose East Sussex practice attracts doctors and teachers, claims to help clients suffering with a broad range of medical issues, from depression to the side effects of cancer treatment.

She uses an ‘extraction healing method’ – playing a hand-held circular drum over the client’s body to ‘help remove toxins from chemotherapy and radiotherapy’.

Glastonbury-based Jen McCarty, who works with lawyers and business owners, claims she can help with addictions to food, work, money and alcohol. She believes addictions are triggered by past events, which means healing our ‘inner child’.

For Sarah Holdway, 36, a bespoke jewellery maker from Hull, a shamanic ceremony was the only thing that helped her get over the trauma of several miscarriages. She says: ‘I’d tried counselling but I never quite felt over each of the losses.’

The shaman said Sarah needed a ‘womb cleanse’ and asked her to pick seven crystals for each baby she had lost. ‘There was a massage bed which she asked me to lie down on and then she placed a basket over my womb,’ says Sarah.

‘She guided me through a meditation while she was drumming and singing. I felt able to start talking about each loss and say goodbye properly. I felt empowered.’

Rebecca Lownie, 52, believes visiting a shaman each month for two years gave her events business the direction it so desperately needed. Her sessions included drinking a raw chocolate drink that is said to ‘open the heart’ and release blocked and negative energy.

However, Dr Sarah Burnett, a London-based GP, says: ‘A shaman may well help people feel better, but with a disease or infection patients shouldn’t avoid conventional treatment.’

My clients are very intelligent but the top can feel lonely