The RV Book Fair 2026: Interview with Vivien Schapera

Your professional journey brings together Psychology, the Alexander Technique, crystal healing, and spirituality. How did these different paths come together to shape your life & work?

From my point of view, the path I traveled unfolded in a very particular way. I was having Alexander lessons to help me with my posture, and then one day the teacher said to me: “Vivien, there is a group of people interested in training as Alexander Teachers, perhaps, because you study Psychology, you would be interested too.” I didn’t aspire to becoming an Alexander Teacher, mainly because I didn’t think I was capable of it, but I did want the benefit of the training, so I said “Yes.” Then, once I was teaching the Alexander Technique, I became very familiar with the “feel and functioning” of the human body, and I learned to perceive what can only be referred to as the “energy field” or “aura.” This strong sensitivity inevitably led to me wanting to work with this dynamic too. Several years later the next development happened spontaneously. I was always attracted to crystals and I had a few on a shelf in my teaching room. One day, as I was working, I felt called by a particular crystal. I picked it up and incorporated it into the session. It was a turning point. The crystal had a profound effect on my client, so after that, I had to try out crystals on more people. At about that same time, I had a very odd experience with a client who was a plastic surgeon, in which “spirits” came through in the session and gave me instructions about an upcoming surgery. It was uncomfortable and it was disconcerting, but every single detail came true … the following day. It was shocking. Anyway, as you can see, each new modality hatched out of the one before, in a progression rather than a convergence.

In your memoir Everyday Magic, you share personal experiences of growing up in South Africa and discovering your spiritual path. What inspired you to tell your own story, and what do you hope readers take away from it?

I was inspired to tell my tale – or write my anecdotes into a book – because I found myself sharing the same stories over and over again as explanatory devices. It made sense to document them. I am a teacher, and I have noticed that people learn more from case studies than from presenting facts and figures. Consequently, I used myself as a case study, hoping that readers would be able to look at their own lives and understand themselves differently, getting insight into deeper layers. Most importantly, I wanted readers to feel empowered by enjoying a new perspective.

You founded FourWinds Academy and developed Crystal Surgery, a unique approach to energy healing. What inspired you to create this method, and how has it evolved over the years?

Mostly, people go to weekend workshops and that is how they learn modalities like Reiki and Crystal Healing. But a professional training needs to be structured and thorough, not random and elective. I founded FourWinds Academy for the Healing Arts & Sciences in order to provide a professional training for Energy Healers. With Crystal Surgery, I spent 25 years researching various skills, techniques and procedures and then I wrote the textbook, The Complete Guide to Crystal Surgery. It is an innovative modality that incorporates some well-known crystal healing methods, but also goes far beyond that into brand new territory, where we use crystal tools to “operate” on the energy field and energy body.

Your book The Complete Guide to Crystal Surgery makes a complex subject accessible to readers. What were some of the biggest challenges in writing such a comprehensive guide?

Oh wow! This was an impossible book to write. It terrified me even to contemplate it. But I was very, very lucky because one of my Crystal Surgery graduates is a brilliant graphic designer and she insisted that we create the book. I thought of Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott, and decided we would solve how to write the book “problem by problem.” There were multiple challenges, but the biggest one is that we had to convert 3D information into a 2D book. The material is much better suited to video instruction – however, when you are giving a session, you can’t very well say “Excuse me while I go look at a video.” Of course, now that we solved the problems, the answers look easy and obvious, but I assure you nothing was “easy” or “obvious” until after the fact. I have to admit it is an extremely satisfying accomplishment because it was impossible until it wasn’t.

Many people are curious about crystals but don’t know where to begin. What are some of the biggest misconceptions about crystal healing that you would like to clear up?

I think all beginners in every topic carry the identical misconception – I should know “something more” before I can begin. Crystals are part of nature, part of our environment. Like the Plant Kingdom, we begin by observing and enjoying. We don’t need to be botanists and horticulturists to benefit from trees, plants and flowers – we just have to expose ourselves to them. And if we’re interested, we can learn a little more. If that is also rewarding, then we can delve deeper. Everyone has some jewelry. That gem on your finger – that’s a mineral. It was shaped and cut from a crystal. Interactions with the mineral kingdom are already built into our society. Very few people can resist a pebble on the beach or a river tumbled stone, The key is to understand that we naturally respond to crystals and stones and that simply by paying attention, and allowing our inner response, we can develop a whole new relationship with these wonders from the earth.

Vivien Schapera has worked in private practice as a teacher and energy healer since 1983. Born in Cape Town, she earned an M.A. in Psychology and trained in the Alexander Technique.

She holds a fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo and has studied past lives and crystal healing. Vivien co-founded Alexander Technique of Cincinnati and founded FourWinds Academy for the Healing Arts & Sciences.

An accomplished author and workshop leader, she teaches internationally. She and her husband, Neil, share a deep connection with crystals, animals, plants, gardening, travel, and nature’s restorative power.

Find out more at https://schapera.com.

Interview published in The Relatable Voice Magazine - The RV Book Fair 2026 - Special. Download the full magazine for free at The RV Book Fair | Relatable Media.