Malinda DeMercurio

Malinda DeMercurio, an acupuncturist and Sangoma, explains how energy medicine, shamanic traditions, and ancestral healing can guide you back to your heart.

Begin working with your ancestors, and trust your intuition as it draws you to specific healing modalities.

About Malinda

Malinda DeMercurio is a licensed acupuncturist in New York, Connecticut, and Wisconsin, a certified instinctive meditation teacher, a Reiki master, and an initiated Sangoma, which is a traditional healer from the Zulu lineage of South Africa. She integrates acupuncture, meditation, energy medicine, and ancestral healing to help individuals restore health, reconnect with their spiritual inheritance and step into greater sovereignty.

The Homecoming: Reclaiming Ancestral Qi and the Fierce Lineage of Our Grandmothers

Have you ever looked at a photograph of an ancestor—perhaps a grainy, black-and-white image of your nana or a great-grandmother—and felt a sudden, inexplicable tightening in your chest? Or maybe you’ve noticed that you possess a certain protective instinct, a specific way of laughing, or a stubborn resilience that you can’t quite trace back to anything you were consciously taught.

We often think of ourselves as isolated individuals navigating a modern world. But the truth is, we are the latest iteration of a very long, very ancient line. We don’t just inherit the color of our eyes or the shape of our hands from those who came before us; we inherit their energy, their unexpressed grief, and their bone-deep wisdom.  This powerful truth was the heart of my recent conversation with Malinda DeMercurio on Just Like Nana. 

An Invitation to the Community

Before we dive into Malinda’s wisdom, I want to share a quick reflection from my experience. Since starting this podcast, I’ve been having the most incredible conversations with people out in the community—at coffee shops, book clubs, and among my own friends. People have told me fascinating stories about their grandmothers, their lineages, and the strange synchronicities they’ve experienced.

But every single time I say, “That is amazing, please share that on my podcast,” the response is invariably the same. They pull back, shake their heads, and say, “Oh no, my story isn’t that interesting,” or “That wouldn’t really help anyone else.”

I have noticed that this reaction comes almost exclusively from women. We have been conditioned to believe that our personal histories, our family dynamics, and our inner lives are small or unimportant. But I am extending a special invitation to you right now: Your story matters. The things your family survived, the quirks passed down to you, and the ways you are learning to heal are exactly the blueprints that help others find their way home. Please visit our website at Just Like Nana and submit your family story. I want to talk with you. I want to honor your line.

The Flow of Ancestral Qi

Malinda DeMercurio is a licensed acupuncturist practicing across New York, Connecticut, and Wisconsin. She is also deeply initiated into energy medicine, intuitive memory, and the shamanic tradition of the Sangoma. What I love about Malinda is how effortlessly she bridges the physical body with the spiritual realm.

In Eastern medicine, Qi is our life force—the energy that moves through us. Ancestral Qi is a component of that energy. It is the spiritual inheritance passed down through our DNA at the moment of conception. When our ancestors experience massive trauma, displacement, or unexpressed emotional grief, that energy can block the flow of our Qi. We might experience chronic fatigue, mysterious physical ailments, or a persistent sense of anxiety that doesn’t seem to belong to our own life events.

Healing, as Malinda teaches, isn’t just about fixing a symptom; it’s about tracking the root, which may be an ancestral pattern, understanding where the flow of energy was cut off in our lineage, and using tools like acupuncture, ritual, and somatic awareness to let that ancient life force flow freely through us once again.

Trusting Your Intuitive Nudges

Malinda explained that you can access your ancestors even if you do not have information about them – due to adoption, divorce, death, etc.  Malinda explains that we can simply trust our intuitive memory.

Your ancestors don’t always speak to you in loud voices or dramatic visions. Often, they communicate through quiet, subtle pulls. Have you suddenly felt a strong desire to try acupuncture? Are you unexpectedly drawn to massage, reiki, herbalism, or a specific ritual practice? Do you keep seeing the same signs or patterns repeating in your life?

That is not a coincidence. That is your intuitive memory waking up. It is your ancestral spirit gently guiding your steps toward the exact healers, modalities, and spaces that your lineage needs to metabolize its old wounds. When you listen to those subtle inner pulls, you are allowing your ancestors to lead you toward soul medicine.

Resources Mentioned

• Amazon Magic by Jaya Bear: https://www.abebooks.com/9780967425504/Amazon-Magic-Life-Story-Ayahuasquero-0967425506/plp
• An Overview of Sangomas: https://www.britannica.com/science/sangoma

Connect with Malinda DeMercurio

Dragon Springs Wellness: https://dragonspringswellness.com/

90-Day Ancestral Healing & Sovereignty Reset: https://dragonspringswellness.com/programs-classes-and-events

Connect with the Show

• Website: justlikenana.com
• Share Your Story: If you have a family story or trauma you’re exploring, reach out via our website for a chance to be interviewed.