Eighteen months ago, if you watched TV at all, you probably learned about Aleta St. James, who, three days before turning 57, gave birth to twins -- the second oldest woman to do so in the U.S. And, if you ask her how she finally got pregnant after three miscarriages, she’ll claim it was a result of fertility meditations she performed with local shamans in the Amazon jungle and Machu Picchu.

For 25 years, St. James, nee Aleta Sliwa (she’s the older sister of Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa) has worked as an energy healer and life coach, teaching people like Carolyn Murphy and Todd Oldham how to remove obstacles to achieve their dreams. Part of that entails taking “spiritual adventures” to distant locales, like Mexico, where Murphy swam with the dolphins and, not long after, landed an Estee Lauder contract. (Murphy then had St. James perform her marriage to surfer Jake Schroeder in Costa Rica.)

Then, there’s the trip to Peru, a country St. James first became interested in when she decided to have a baby. “I wanted to connect with the energy of such a primal environment,” she explains. This fall, she’s headed there again with a group for a 10-day spiritual adventure to the ruins of the ancient Inca city, Machu Picchu, and then deep into the Amazon jungle. Here, she discusses the trip’s highlights. In her own words:

Agua Caliente
It’s the town beside the ruins where the train comes in, and where to take the bus to the Inca Trail. They have sulfur baths that are considered cleansing. Shirley MacLaine spoke about it in her book, Out on a Limb. In my opinion, it’s not exactly the cleanest place, but I’m used to the ones in Napa.

Inca Trail
I take groups on the 4-day hike up the trail -- some do the 2-day hike. There’s also a train you can take up. They used to have a helicopter, but I heard it doesn’t run anymore. It’s an amazing experience, and you have time by yourself to think. The journey is 14,000 feet straight up, and the obstacles get greater as you get higher – there’s less air, it’s harder to breathe – and, as you’re overcoming those, you’re overcoming the obstacles in your own life. At a point, you go through an arch, and the ruins are in view. Get there early in the morning, and it’s the most spectacular thing you’ve ever seen in your life. It’s like touching heaven. 

The Sanctuary
At midnight, we go into the ruins and do meditations with a shaman named Kudo. This hotel, near the ruins, is very convenient. It’s the only one up there. It’s a modern, 5-star hotel with a beautiful view. 

Aikitos
Then we head to the jungle, which is like going from the heavens down into the earth. Aikitos is the town right before you get the boats to go up the river. It’s an incredible place that’s referred to as “Water City,” because all the houses are on stilts in the water. The children are playing in the water. It’s a whole little complex. 

The Jungle
I take the group into the jungle with a shaman called Mateo. There, we do processes and chants. It’s a “release ceremony” -- you bring in the good energy using the environment. When I was trying to get pregnant, a baby monkey came out and sat beside me, and stayed with me the whole time I was there. 

Peter Schneider Lodge
It’s where we stay up the Amazon. Peter is something out of Raiders of the Lost Ark. He has groups that come there. It’s pretty bare-bones, but I like to combine 5-star hotels with the rustic.

Go There:

American, $868 for August 1-15, and Continental, $824 for August 1-15, fly nonstop to Lima from the United States (Miami, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Newark). From Lima, it’s a one-hour flight over the Andes to Cuzco; the route is serviced by Aero-Continente and Lan Peru.

To reach Machu Picchu, voyagers have one of three options: a helicopter service from Cuzco ($150 round-trip), the local train ($10 round-trip), or the tourist train ($22-$110) (the later two leave passengers a $3 shuttle-bus ride from the ruins).

If you’re interested in going on St. James’ group trip to Peru this fall, $6,000-$8,000, contact her at aletasj@aol.com

Orient-Express Machu Picchu Sanctuary Lodge, doubles from $325, Carretera Hiram Bingham, Peru, 800/223-6800 or 51-8/421-1039, www.orient-express.com.

Peter Schneider’s Amazon Lodge, doubles from $504, Putumayo 163, Ituitos, Peru, 51-6/524-2858, reserves@muyuna.com.

For more info on St. James, aletastjames.com

Get her book, Life Shift: Let Go and Live Your Dream, $11, amazon.com