31/12/2025
I celebrate the New Year officially on the Winter Solstice (21st of December), but since I haven't had the time to write this message before, here it is ❤️
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to every soul who has supported Anima Pacha Drums throughout 2025 ❤️
This year has been one of the most challenging and transformative of my life. Losing my granddad to su***de has been a deeply painful and overwhelming experience, one that I am still learning to carry with tenderness and grace. Grief has changed me — it cracked me open, slowed me down, and forced me to listen more closely to life itself.
Another part of the struggle I have been holding this year is caring for my eldest dog, Orion. He is 13 and a half years old and walking the final journey of his life, living with hip dysplasia, arthritis, and deep anxiety. Being present for him has asked everything of me — patience, softness, and unwavering love. Orion has become my greatest teacher, showing me just how precious life truly is, how fleeting each moment can be, and how important it is to live fully in the now, never taking anything for granted. Because of this, there have been times in 2025 when I made plans and had to cancel at the very last moment. Please know it was never from a lack of care or respect for you — it was simply because my dog needed me more than anything else in the world, and in those moments, being by his side was where I needed to be.
Because of everything this year has carried, my body has also been deeply affected. I have been moving through periods of severe anxiety, insomnia, loss of appetite, and intense migraines, which at times required me to step back from attending or committing to too many things. This was never an easy choice, but a necessary one for healing. I trust that as the grief continues to be processed, my body will slowly realign and return to its more natural state of balance. Thank you, truly, to each and every one of you for holding space for me during this time — for your patience, compassion, and support, and for reminding me that the pain I feel is not carried alone, but shared. So many of you are navigating your own challenges, and please know that if there is ever anything I can do to support you, regardless of how I am feeling, my heart and presence are always here for you.
Yet through this pain, something profound has also emerged. This year pushed me to step into my own power, to walk my path with more honesty, and to truly ask myself why I am here. Again and again, the answer returned: to serve community, to hold space, to bring rhythm, grounding, and healing through sound. I have fully stepped into Anima Pacha Drums as my full-time devotion, holding a safe space for people who seek healing, transformations, re-newal and remembrance.
Your presence, your trust, your kind words, your attendance at circles, workshops, and healing sessions — all of it has carried me when I felt fragile. You reminded me that this work matters, that connection matters, and that we do not walk these paths alone.
As I look toward 2026, I do so with humility and hope. I am learning not to rush the future, but to live more fully in the moment, listening to what life asks of me now. I hope the coming year brings more peace and clarity — not only for myself, but for the work I offer. I will continue holding Shamanic Drumming Circles, Sound bath journeys, crafting drums, sharing drum workshops, offering Shamanic healing, Kambo detox and slowly returning to writing the online courses that were paused during this demanding year.
For those who may not know, one of the ways I give back to the Earth is through tree planting in the Scottish Highlands. I have created a living tree grove with Trees for Life, planting native trees here at Dundreggan Rewilding Centre. This land holds deep meaning for me — it is a place of restoration, patience, and remembering our relationship with nature. With every drum that is sold (or in most cases), a portion of the cost goes directly toward planting trees, allowing each drum to carry roots. This is my way of ensuring that the work of Anima Pacha Drums not only serves people, but also supports the land that sustains us.
My deepest wish for all of you is simple and sincere: may you find more peace, may your bodies and hearts stay healthy, and may life meet you with gentleness where you need it most.
Thank you for walking alongside me ❤️
With love and gratitude,
From Ilona and the fur babies, Orion, Taiga and all of my spirit guides
