iowaska trip cost

What It's Really Like to Join an Ayahuasca Retreat Alongside Spiritual Experts

By Michaela Trimble

For a few twilight hours in a remote jungle of the Spanish Caribbean , I ceased to exist. On my first-ever ayahuasca retreat, a medicine journey that was facilitated by a local healing couple I met while traveling, I curled up inside a sleeping bag beneath a canvas tent structure, with a warm heap of wool blankets on top of me, and was lulled into one of the most transformative awakenings of my life. Over the course of one night, I was transported far and wide, and into a realm I never knew existed.

I didn’t go to the Caribbean seeking ayahuasca; it found me. After befriending a medicine woman who introduced me to the two experts, I ended up extending my trip by a week in order to experience the substance for the first time. Though the word ‘ayahuasca’ wasn’t part of my vocabulary before this 2016 experience, I’ve since participated in other ceremonies. I’ll always regard this initial experience as a new starting point of my life. It was the moment that set me along my spiritual path, into a life full of big adventures and endless wells of creativity—and I have the learnings of Indigenous experts with cultural and spiritual connections to ayahuasca to thank for that. The Western world’s recent scientific research on ayahuasca's benefits prove what Indigenous cultures in the Amazon Basin have always known: The plant is a highly powerful, transportive substance that can be used to treat physical and mental ailments, and experiencing it with the help of those practiced in its traditions can expand the mind in ways you might have never thought possible.

I didn’t go to the Caribbean seeking ayahuasca; it found me.

My first ayahuasca experience went something like this: After a shaman cleared my nostrils with rapé—a dried, powdered tobacco snuff that’s shot up participants’ noses with a pipe to begin a ceremony—I drank my first of three cups (the plant is brewed into a tea and ingested). Little did I know, as the bitter, mud-like brew slid its way into my system, that I was about to go on the ride of a lifetime. Over the course of about six hours, I took on a series of forms: a nameless bird; a snake in a pit of other snakes. I even lost all concept of my own appearance—what qualities my face had, from my nose to even the color of my eyes.

I mentally traveled back in time to meet the first ancestor of my entire lineage, who danced in the woods morphing between two forms—that of a wolf and a man—before being suddenly transported to a cave full of drawings I couldn’t decipher but somehow understood. Next, I was whisked away in flight, sweeping across the snowy peaks of the Andes as the mountain range broke apart below me, almost like a game of Tetris. I saw Machu Picchu spinning on an axis of geometric cubes, twisting and turning as what appeared to be Lego-like warriors jumped in and out of the structure. Then, in a moment of engulfing hilarity, I lay in a fetal position completely consumed by laughter.

A ceremonial maloca , a wooden ceremonial structure with a thatched roof, at Mama Yura Healing Art Center in Peru

Curandera Daniela Riojas during a dieta ayahuasca retreat in Pucallpa, Peru

The ayahuasca plant recently became part of a greater movement to decriminalize psychedelics in the United States, which has seen a rise in acceptance of the substance and others like it. Popular shows like Netflix’s  How to Change Your Mind (or any of  Michael Pollan ’s psychedelic-therapy books, upon which that TV series is based) question why many psychedelics were considered Schedule I drugs in the first place (as ayahuasca still is) and examine how they can be used to treat mental illnesses and expand the mind. The substance is also seen by many as a spirituality tool, and according to the  Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life , nearly 27 percent of Americans considered themselves spiritual—not religious—as of 2017. Though there are still many unknowns regarding the full effect of ayahuasca on the human experience, if my own is any indication, the mental and emotional gates this plant can open seem promising. But how does it actually work?

The Indigenous origins of ayahuasca, and how a ceremony works

It’s important to respect the use of the plant, and Indigenous people who have used it for centuries, as the cultural harbingers of its healing qualities. Ayahuasca is considered medicine, and should not be used recreationally or without the supervision of practiced healers who have studied the medicine in countries where it is legal and there is a cultural connection to the substance—such as Peru, where the plant originates. The same is true of Mexico and Colombia.

According to the  Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), ayahuasca's psychoactive properties are most commonly derived from  Banisteriopsis caapi , a vine containing monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), and the leaves of  Psychotria viridis, or other plant containing  N,N -dimethyltryptamine (DMT). It’s believed that the DMT found in ayahuasca activates the DMT naturally found in a person’s pineal gland, often considered the third eye portal amongst the spiritual set and Indigenous healers. Many healers and shamanic practitioners believe this leads to the vision quests that ensue after ingesting the brewed version of ayahuasca, and why participating in ceremony is a way to connect deeper to your truest self.

Ayahuasca journeys can range from one-night events to multi-day  dietas , which usually require a participant to refrain from any intense physical stimulants such as sex, alcohol, and rich foods for a period of time. Most ceremonies are held in a  maloca , a wooden ceremonial structure with a thatched roof, and begin at sunset and end the following morning before dawn, lasting around five to six hours. In my experience, a ceremony usually includes fewer than 20 participants and begins with some type of cleansing initiation through the use of tobacco snuff, such as  rapé , or  mapacho . After ingesting the medicinal tea, most participants will experience a purging reaction, which could include vomiting or even a bowel movement. Participants can drink three cups—each about the size of an espresso shot—throughout the night. Shamans and healing elders usually sing  icaros , or prayers through song, to facilitate a sense of calm and tranquility. While some ceremonies observe a practice known as noble silence, many rituals encourage participants to emote as necessary: crying, screaming, and purging included.

While no two ceremonies are the same, an ayahuasca retreat will typically follow a spiritually-similar thread that’s meant to evoke the utmost calm and protection of participants. If you do feel called to take part in a ceremony, it’s important to do your own research to find the right experience for you: I’ve traveled hours into the rainforest for ceremonies and walked away without participating because it didn’t feel right. Your intuition is often your best guide when deciding whether you feel safe with a certain facilitator or not. Here, a trusted selection of healers and retreat centers to consider for your ayahuasca journey.

Editor’s note: All experts below have agreed to be included in this article. All three nations included below legally permit the use of ayahuasca.

Temple of the Way of Light's Maestra Laura picks leaves for a ceremony

Iquitos, Peruvian Amazon

Located about two hours into the rainforest (by car and then boat) from downtown Iquitos, in Peru’s Amazon Basin, the  Temple of the Way of Light is a healing center offering 12-day ayahuasca retreats, with six ayahuasca ceremonies over the course of the experience. In the plant’s region of origin, local Indigenous healers lead the ceremonies at this center’s rainforest setting, many of whom travel by boat from their home communities located further up the Ucayali River—a tributary of the Amazon.

Shannon McMahon

CNT Editors

Hannah Towey

Operating according to Shipibo Indigenous tradition, each ceremony is held by a team of four Onanya (the Shipibo language word meaning a person who has wisdom). Each of them has studied the healing modality for a minimum of ten years to equip them to safely and responsibly deliver ayahuasca healing. During ceremony, the oni (a word that means wisdom in Shipibo, but is used as a synonym for ayahuasca), is served while Shipibo healers sing songs; together, the experience is meant to purge negative, heavy energies from the body, also known as mawa niwe .

Bacalar, Mexico

Hosting multi-day ayahuasca retreats in the lagoon-side town of Bacalar, in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, is Peruvian-American healer and curator Amalia Moscoso , who brings together medicine men and women, facilitators, and shamans of all backgrounds to create each of her experiences. The retreats also infuse additional healing elements that complement each guest’s medicine journey, from a temazcal sweat-lodge ceremony to  janzu therapies, a water-based healing meditation. Her offerings also include cognitive workshops to assist in mental, emotional, and physical integration and rewiring to create neural pathways in the brain.

Valle del Cauca, Colombia

In the verdant hills outside of Cali, in Colombia’s southwestern bounds, the Colombian healer Taita Edwin leads healing ayahuasca ceremonies at his family’s private farm. During Edwin’s spiritual ceremonies, the medicine, or ayahuasca, is treated as a sacrament, a link to the spiritual realm, with a focus on creating a safe space and allowing people to surrender to their processes with deep compassion, love, and care. Besides an opening and closing prayer, there is no strict structure to the ceremonies. However, each does include two or more sharing circles so that everyone can express themselves, find clarity, and find common ground in the shared experience. More information can be found by  reaching out directly via email .

Pucallpa, Peru

Along the Ucayali River in the town of Pucallpa in the eastern bounds of Peru’s Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous Mexican healer and facilitator  Daniela Riojas leads ayahuasca ceremonies in partnership with the Onanya of the region. After first participating in an ayahuasca ceremony in 2015, Riojas, an artist and musician by trade, began her extensive studies of the plant and its medicine during apprenticeships with master healers that included participating in multi-day  dietas . The ceremonies she facilitates include holding space through icaros , prayers that embody the healing power of the region’s plants and animals. Each experience is held during the night in a ceremonial  maloca to help facilitate each participant’s journey inward.

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NEW LIFE AYAHUASCA

Ayahuasca Costa Rica

IOWASKSA RETREAT

Healing the mind and soul with iowaska, ayahuasca retreat in costa rica.

Iowaska, actually spelled ayahuasca, is a profound healing medicine traditionally used in the Amazon for spiritual and personal growth. Iowaska is a very common misspelling of the word ayahuasca.

New Life Ayahuasca Retreat is an invitation to reconnect with your inner self and find a new sense of purpose. Our iowaska retreat in Costa Rica is a perfect environment for you to escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and embrace the healing power of nature.  Attending an iowaska retreat can lead to itense revelations that can lead to a better life. We offer 5 and 7 day iowaska retreats at our beautiful center in Costa Rica.

We provide both physical and spiritual healing with the assistance of experienced shamans, and we offer hatha yoga sessions, intention meditations, and other nature activities to nurture the mind and body. Join us to find your inner power and awaken your true potential.

Traditional Ceremonies

Powerful ayahuasca ceremonies expertly led by traditionally trained facilitators.

Airport Transfers

Stress-free transition to the retreat with SJO Airport Transfers at designated times.

Yoga Sessions

Hatha Yoga Sessions suitable for all levels are offered on each ceremony day.

Beach Trips

Located in on the Pacific Coast, we visit one of Costa Rica's gorgeous beaches.

Intimate Groups

With a maximum of 14 participants per group,  we can offer individual support.

Vegan Meals

Nutritious and flavorful meals are provided using local fruits and vegetables.

Hello! Our names are Jeanae White and Matthew Mormello. We are the owners of New Life Ayahuasca .  We are a married couple who found ourselves (and eachother!) through plant medicine .

We both come from dark backgrounds filled with depression, drug abuse and hopelessness. Through the use of plant medicines, we slowly but surely began to reconnect to the strength within and see our lives with a fresh perspective.

It was through the lessons we learned from ayahuasca that we were able to transform our lives. It is with humble gratitude that we provide an experience for others so that they too may find balance, peace and self love.

Since 2014 we have been fully immersed in our work, not only in an effort to help others but to continue to help ourselves. We created our retreats with an emphasis on safety, inclusivity, tradition, intention and respect.

Your physical and emotional safety  are our highest priority.

While ayahuasca is generally considered very safe when used properly, there are a few medical conditions as well as medications  that are contraindicated  with ayahausca. During the booking process you will be asked to complete a brief medical questionnaire over the phone to ensure that you can safely participate in an ayahuasca retreat . In case of emergency, both Matt and Jeanae are certified in CPR and have training with the use of our AED (Automated External Defibrillator). We are 25 minutes from a medical center. 

Our small groups ensure that we can provide quality service and attention to each guest. Every ceremony is supported by 3 of our staff : Our ayahuasquero, Matthew,  drinks ayahuasca with each group at every ceremony to help guide the experience through Icaros and 2 additional support staff: Jeanae and an additional helper, who do not drink during the ceremony and are there only to assist or help any participant that may require attention. A male responds to the men and Jeanae responds to the women ensuring that everyone feels safe and comfortable during such a vulnerable and emotional experience.

Inclusivity

A warm and welcoming enviornment for all.

Ayahuasca retreats  can be beneficial for all people. Ayahuasca  does not see race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

Regardless of an individuals background, an  ayahuasca experience can bring about intense emotions and revelations that can lead to a better life. The only thing you need is an open mind and the desire to have an experience that can enhance your spirituality and awareness of life and all that surrounds us.

At New Life Ayahuasca , all are welcome. We embrace each individual , appreciating the things that make us unique but understanding we all are one. It is our promise to provide an equal, compassionate and therapeutic  environment  for every guest that comes to our center.

Ayahuasca has been used in a traditional way for thousands of years. We aim to respect the Peruvian traditions and honor them through our ceremonies. Since 2014 our ayahuasquero, Matthew, has been traveling to Iquitos, Peru multiple times a year to complete his plant dietas and learn the Peruvian traditions.

During the ayahuasca ceremonies, Matt sings traditional medicine songs, called Icaros. Some of the Icaros he has been taught, ancient songs passed down from teacher to student. Other of his Icaros are uniquely his, given to him by the medicine. Mapacho, also known as jungle tobacco, is also heavily used during the ceremony for cleansing and protection.

What drives the experience

When considering an ayahuasca retreat, it is important not only to consider safety , qualification , experience, etc. but also to know the intention of the facilitators.  Jeanae and Matt are completely dedicated to this work. They are indebted to ayahuasca for everything it has brought into their lives.

Matthew puts 100% of himself into each ceremony and the purity of his intention is clear. We do not take lightly the trust each guest has given us to facilitate an experience with ayahuasca and all her wisdom.

It is our deepest intention to respect ayahuasca and facilitate a therapeutic and healing experience in a supportive space. We hope that we can help you find and focus on your own intention, a commitment to growth. 

PROFESSIONALISM

Our promise is to treat every guest in a compassionate and professional manner. The respect of each guest's process, space, privacy and values is always upheld to the highest standard. We are an intimate center offering small groups of no more than 16 participants per retreat. With hundreds of 5 star reviews and testimonials, our commitment and dedication to guest satisfaction is clear.

MindfulYou Experiences

Are you ready for the healing experience of your life? Whether you want relief from trauma, physical pain, connect to your inner self, find your spirituality or simply expand your conscious awareness, you have found the right place to learn if plant-based healing methods are right for you. 

Plant-Based Medicine Retreats

MindfulYou Experiences offers the full immersion in plant-based medicines from an ancestral healing ceremony with Grandmother Yagé also known as ayahuasca retreat   or Bufo Toad Ceremony, Kambo for physical cleansing and healing, Hapey (Rapé) for deeper meditation and connection, heart-opening Cacao, or Psilocybin/Mushroom ceremony. These sacred medicines are delivered by masters in their field from the Inga tribe Shaman from the Jojoa lineage or husband and wife team Adriana and Rodolfo who have over 15 years experience healing with ancestral medicines. In addition, you will be accompanied by your guide from MindfulYou who will closely walk with you on this journey coordinating travel and helping to integrate with group and individual sessions every step of the way so that all you focus on is your own healing.  

These types of life-changing experiences with plant-based medicines can cost anywhere from $2,000 a day resulting in upwards of  $5,000-$10,000 for treatment facilities. However, at MindfulYou Experiences we believe that all people should have access to these healing medicines that currently only the top 1% of the world have access to. This is why we have personally traveled to find genuine, authentic and above all safe and heart-centered practitioners with ethical medicine methods honoring ancestral peoples and traditions. We are not partnering with for-profit business-based clinics that are simply getting rich from people in need. We are very proud of our cost-effective practices that have allowed us to bring the medicine to the people. We know that this may be a huge investment in yourself so we honor you for taking this step towards a better life.  This is why we hope that you spread the word to help us keep our costs down and also pay through Zelle or no-fee payment options so that we can continue to have a wide reach with affordability.

Why Psychedelic Medicine?

Plant-based medicines, specifically of a psychedelic nature have been used in indegenous medicinal traditions for thousands of years. Science is now beginning to utilize clinical trials to show the effectiveness of psychedelic medicines to help such conditions as Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, and Pain. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry found that psychedelic therapy was associated with a significant decrease in suicidality in a meta-analysis across 7 clinical trials. In addition, The American Journal of Psychiatry published “Randomized clinical trials support the efficacy of MDMA in the treatment of PTSD and psilocybin (as a retreat) in the treatment of depression and cancer-related anxiety . The research to support the use of LSD and ayahuasca in the treatment of psychiatric disorders is preliminary, although promising.” Sage Journals published that 7 out 9 cancer patients of different types of cancer found improvements in their illness after Ayahuasca treatments. There is a large and growing body of research that should be read and considered to make an informed decision as to whether or not this transformative healing modality is right for you and your personal situation. 

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What are Plant-Based Medicines?

What is ayahuasca.

It is called “The Grandmother” Yage as it is known in Colombia or Ayahuasca as it is more popularly known. Technically it is an entheogenic brew made from the Yage vine and the Chacruna leaf. It is used in traditional ceremonies among the indigenous tribes of the Amazon, namely Peru, Columbia and Ecuador. It contains DMT, a powerful psychedelic and monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOIs), which work synergistically with DMT to produce a long-lasting psychedelic experience. The medicine is brought to us under the guidance of Taita Jose Francisco Jojoa a Traditional Indigenous Healer and Shaman from the long lineage of the Inga tribe from Colombia and his family who consider this healing work sacred. Many have sought Ayahuasca for the great visions and connection to the higher realms or simply physical and emotional healing from past trauma or illness. Please research further into the substance, the process and evidence-based studies that have been published in this field. 

What is Bufo Alvarius?

Bufo Alvarius or 5-MeO-DMT is the milky white secretion from the Sonoran Desert Toad that is commonly known as the God Molecule due to the extremely powerful experience that many have reported as to “meeting God” or having a Near-Death Experience. In the limited research available most participants show an increase in life satisfaction and a reduction in depression and anxiety. It has also been hailed as effective at eliminating substance use and decreasing pain in the body such as migraines as well as for healing trauma such as sexual/physical abuse. This substance is smoked and the experience lasts for about 20-40 minutes. The husband and wife team of Adriana and Alfonso provide the medicine and work on an energetic level for the use of the medication in healing your body and mind.

What is Kambo?

Kambo is the frog secretion of the Giant Leaf Frog. It is not a psychedelic medicine and generally not illegal in the United States. This medicine is mostly for physical healing due to bio-active peptides and neuropeptides although it can also be psycho-spiritual. Little research has been formally done, however, Kambo is mostly sought after for its healing effects on the body for viruses, cancer, and general illnesses of the body to include HIV, fibromialgia, migraines, asthma, allergies, herpes, etc. In addition, it boosts the immunity, cell regeneration and overall strengthens the health of your body as a powerful anti-inflammatory, anesthetic and anti-aging agent. For more information please visit  www.thethirdwave.co

What is Hapey/Rapé?

The word in Spanish is Rapé pronounced like “rapey”, however due to the word’s close appearance to a negatively connotated word in English, some have changed its name in English to Hapey. Nevertheless, it is a Sacred Shamanic smokeless tobacco native to South America. This powerful medicine honors Grandfather Tobacco in its natural and original form known for its powerful centering, third-eye opening, and healing properties. Rapé is a legal substance around the world but little is known about its sacred practice and many misconceptions about the medicine will be discussed and explained in the ceremony. 

For more information on any of these medicines please visit  www.thethirdwave.co  or conduct your own research on your trusted sites. 

Travel to meet the sacred medicines in either Playa del Carmen or Akumal, Mexico or retreat in Putumayo Colombia and engage in the ancestral ceremonies led by the masters in the jungle. Depending on your own individual situation and package, you will be guided through your experience with safety, authenticity and healing in mind. With the MindfulYou all immersive experience, you will have the opportunity to be guided through the preparation process, journey as a group and integrate the experience both through the group and individually. You will also have access to the “members-only” monthly group meeting and Private Facebook Group for further questions, processing and community. Click on the different packages to learn more. 

Plant- Medicines Journey

Bufo, Kambo, Rapé(Hapey), Cacao, and Temazcal (Sweat Lodge) – Akumal, Mexico

• Total Reset Package – 4 to 7 day retreat
• A New You Package – 7 to 14 day retreat

*Prices are subject to change and depends on locations, medicines, days and availability

Ayahuasca Journey

Ayahuasca Ceremony, Temascal (Sweat Lodge), Ecstatic Dance – Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

•  Awakening Package in Playa del Carmen,  Mexico 4 days
• Immersive Healing Retreat Package in Colombia’s Amazon forest from 5 to 10 days.

Yessica Avancena, LMFT, MBA, is a certified mindfulness teacher and a therapist trained in psychedelic retreat assisted psychotherapy. She has received a certification from the leading psychedelic research agency MAPS corporation in MDMA Assisted Psychotherapy, and Polaris Insight for Ketamine Assisted Psychotherapy where she practiced at the Ketamine Infusion Center. She has been an avid student of Yage/Ayahuasca with the lineage of the Jojoa Inga tribe and has journeyed many times in Mexico and Colombia under their tutelage. She has many years of experience as a traditional psychotherapist training many new associate therapists at the masters university level and at her own clinics of intensive outpatient care focusing on Mindfulness-based practices. Walking along someones’ healing journey is her passion. The transformational stories she has personally seen through the healing power of plant-based medicines rivals nothing she has seen in Western medicine and methods. She is the combination of knowledge, grounding and heart that is   needed to walk along someones’ healing journey . Yessica is a native Spanish-speaker and handles all logistics and ceremonies as an instant translator into English.

Awakening Package Includes

Free exploration call to determine if this experience is right for you. Intake appointment is included in your preparation sessions to consider aspects such as health issues, mental health, substance use, reason for attending and willingness amongst many other considerations.

Preparation Sessions

Two (2) preparation sessions are included with your package that will include delving into the issues that you wish to work on during your journey, how to best prepare for your Ayahuasca Experience, what to expect before/during/after, address any fears or concerns you may have, any other issues pertaining to the experience or your particular situation. More preparation sessions can be obtained if needed at an individual rate.

Hotel accommodations for 3 nights (Thursday through Saturday) with breakfast along with pick up from the airport to your hotel and back to the airport is included in your package, however, airfare travel is NOT included. Transportation to and from the Ayahuasca Ceremony is also provided. You arrive one-day before the ceremony on a Thursday when the opening group takes place, Friday is the day of the ceremony and Saturday is a rest and integration day with a closing group meeting in the evening. You may choose to stay longer at your own discretion.

Ayahuasca Ceremony

The ceremony usually takes place on Friday evening into the night and will take place in a private ranch in the Riviera Mayan Jungle. You will be taken to and from the ceremony. There will be morning snacks provided but fasting begins at 3 pm or earlier if possible the day of the take. You can bring comfort items such as sleeping bags, hammock, pillow, blanket, water bottle, anything else you feel is appropriate. Ceremony begins at midnight and concludes at 8 am with a closing circle ceremony.

Temazcal or Herbal bath

On day one of your retreat you will have the option of either a temazcal or an herbal bath. This will be pre-arranged for you and you will be provided transportation to and from the clinic. A Temazcal is commonly known as a Sweat Lodge Ceremony. This does not utilize any substance to be taken, however it is an excellent way to prepare for Ayahuasca and help to cleanse the body of toxins and engage the healing response of your own immune system. An herbal bath is very soothing, relaxing and healing utilizing a therapy of womb regression to help with the concept of “rebirth”.

Post Ayahuasca Ceremony

Included in your package is a post-integration morning group meeting and return to the airport. You may stay additional nights or time based on your own plans. Included in the package is a somatic dance session, group beach swim.

Included in your package are two (2) individual post-integration sessions the following week and then 2 weeks later. Additional sessions can be obtained if needed at an individual rate.

Total Reset Package Includes:

Two (2) preparation sessions are included with your package that will include delving into the issues that you wish to work on during your journey, how to best prepare for your Bufo/Kambo Experience, what to expect before/during/after, address any fears or concerns you may have, any other issues pertaining to the experience or your particular situation. More preparation sessions can be obtained if needed at an individual rate.

Cabin accommodations, meals at the retreat center and pick up from the airport to your hotel and back to the airport is included in your package, however, airfare travel is NOT included. You will need to arrive to the airport no later than 1:30 pm in order to make the check-in process and opening session. You may need to arrive the night before, that can be discussed.  Transportation while at the retreat center for any personal reasons are not included.

Bufo - Kambo Ceremony and retreat

The retreat begins in the afternoon of Thursday through Sunday. You will follow your own customized experience based on your treatment goals and medicines you will be taking that was established at the intake assessment. There will be an opening ceremony and Hapey circle to begin. The second day will engage Kambo and Bufo, then finish with a Traditional Temazcal/Sweat Lodge with a final. Cacao closing ceremony. There will be an optional yoga class, group meditation experience while at the retreat as available. You leave the retreat Sunday morning and may extend your stay in the area at your own discretion.

Post-Integration Sessions

“ayahuasca has been the single-most transformative change-agent of my life. from my very first journey i experienced ego-death and what would be considered judgment day and then heaven on earth. i was forever changed by this experience and i have now walked the path of yage that has continued to heal me and open me up for more and more. if everyone had the experience i had, the world would be a much better place.”, “ayahuasca healed my childhood trauma's that 15+ years of therapy couldn't. come prepared, do the work beforehand, set an intention and the results will be life changing.”, frequently asked questions, how do i get considered for a healing journey experience.

Click the BOOK NOW, fill out the form and a MindfulYou representative will contact you to schedule your intake appointment along with paperwork. Once that process is completed, all your questions will be answered and the right experience will be determined along with eligibility for the retreat.

Who is considered a good fit for the plant-based medicine healing experiences?

Individuals in generally good health, mild to moderate mental health concerns and some prior substance use with established clean and sober time. Individuals going on their own accord, generally with an open mind and willingness for change.

Who is generally not recommended and will need to be cleared before being accepted into the plant medicine healing experiences?

Individuals who have very significant health issues and on medications they cannot be without. Although those who are terminally ill or with conditions such as cancer may still be able to attend depending on their particular situation. In the specific case of Bufo, the person must be off of most psychotropic medications for 1 month, specifically any MAOIs to include but not limited to Prozac, Cymbalta, Zoloft, Lexapro, any benzodiazepines like Xanax, Ativan, Klonopin etc. Other medications may also apply. Ayahuasca requires at least 3 days off of medications, however 5 days to 2 weeks is preferred. Individuals with active or past psychosis, traumatic brain injury or developmental disability, may not qualify.  Individuals with current previously severe substance dependence of any drug or alcohol with less than 6 months clean time. Individuals who are not attending on their own accord or willingness.

Can I bring a Support Person?

Yes! It is at times recommended and often beneficial that you bring one emotional support person along with you on your journey. They will not take part in any of the medicines but can participate in the groups and stay with you. Generally the cost is commensurate with the travel expenses and can be discussed prior but usually about $500-$700 depending on accommodations, transportation costs and food as well as the length of the retreat. If the support person believes they may partake in any of the medicines, they must also have their own intake appointment, be cleared for the medicines and pay the price per package. 

Supportive Roommate- You may also be paired up with a roommate for the experiences if you wish to be each other’s support.

Is there purging with the medicines?

With Ayahuasca and Kambo mostly yes. You can expect the traditional vomiting purge and/or diarrhea which is an integral part of the cleansing process both physically and energetically. Some people do not experience any purging but this is rare, while most experience either one or both. The more you adhere to the Ayahuasca diet pre-take the better you stand to fare with regards to the purge. For Bufo, Mushrooms and Cacao there is generally no purging.

Is there a special preparation process?

Yes, you must adhere to a special no-meat, preferably light diet, no alcohol or drugs and most all medications and supplements for the specific designated time of the plant-medicine you are taking. 1 month in the case of Bufo, 3-5 days minimum for Ayahuasca, Kambo and mushrooms. Additionally, there is an emotional/mental preparation that is covered during your individual and group sessions included in your package. You will be provided with a detailed preparation process prior to going on your trip.

Is there risk involved?

Yes. International travel alone has risks in itself. In addition, any type of healing modality, method or medicine has inherent risk that could be serious in nature. Any person considering traveling internationally and engaging in healing methods should do their proper research and understand the inherent risks of minimally being uncomfortable, potentially experiencing pain, physical discomfort, mental discomfort up to and including serious injury or worse. Traveling and engaging in these healing methods is strictly at the individual’s own risk.

Disclaimer : Some plant-based medicines are potentially illegal substances in some countries and their use is not encouraged where it is against the law. However, their healing purposes have been utilized for thousands of years in some communities and science is now beginning to recognize their potential for healing certain illnesses and conditions. You are encouraged to conduct your own research and no statements are made of a medical nature that suggests or guarantees any specific results or advice. These services being offered do not offer any illegal sale or use of substances, and no psychotherapy services are being provided. 

Decreases in Suicidality Following Psychedelic Therapy: A Meta-Analysis of Individual Patient Data Across Clinical Trials. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Richard J. Zeifman, MA a,b ; Dengdeng Yu, PhD c ; Nikhita Singhal, MD d ; Guan Wang, HBSc e ; Sandeep M. Nayak, MD f ; and Cory R. Weissman, MD d,g, *

Psychedelics and Psychedelic Assisted Psychotherapy. The American Journal of Psychiatry. Collin M. Reiff , M.D., Elon E. Richman , M.D., Charles B. Nemeroff , M.D., Ph.D., Linda L. Carpenter , M.D., Alik S. Widge , M.D., Ph.D., Carolyn I. Rodriguez , M.D., Ph.D., Ned H. Kalin , M.D., William M. McDonald , M.D., Published Online: 26 Feb 2020 https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2019.19010035

Ayahuasca and cancer treatment. Sage Journals. Eduardo E Schenberg. First published Oct. 21, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050312113508389

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The Ultimate Guide to Iowaska (Ayahuasca)

Learn everything about the sacred indigenous Amazonian brew iowaska (ayahuasca), including its preparation, effects, benefits, risks, and integration.

Iowaska, more commonly spelled ‘ayahuasca’ or ‘aya waska’, is also known by its many indigenous names such as yagé , yajé , caapi , cipó , bejuco de oro , hoasca , natem , shori , or pilde . It’s a psychedelic tea made by indigenous communities of the Amazon rainforest in South America; particularly in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Bolivia. As part of their vast medicinal plant culture, the iowaska tea is used ceremonially by shamans (or curanderos ) and their patients for purposes of physiological cleansing, spiritual and emotional healing, and divination. Today, iowaska is drunk in ceremonies around the world for healing and psychological growth. And while scientists and lawmakers see it as a drug, people who drink it tend to call it a medicine and teacher.

Iowaska tea became known to the Western world through the work of pioneering ethnobotanists and anthropologists such as Michael Harner , Richard Evans Schultes , Marlene Dobkin de Rios , Gerardo Reichel-Dolmatoff , and Terence McKenna . These extraordinary researchers and their those who followed in their footsteps have been reporting about their experiences with indigenous Amazonian communities since the 1950s. Over the last few decades, with the developments in tourism infrastructure and the commercialization of this sacred medicine, iowaska has attracted massive popularity . Nowadays, joining an iowaska ceremony or retreat held by indigenous shamans has become the main draw of tourism in the Amazon.

Interested in ayahuasca and don’t know where to begin? Get started on: 

Iowaska Tea Ingredients and Brewing

The iowaska tea is usually made from two different plants :

1. The bark of the vine Banisteriopsis caapi (also known by the names yagé or aya waska – translated to “vine of the soul” from the indigenous Quechuan languages), which contains a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), and

2. The leaves of the shrub Psychotria viridis (also known as chacruna – meaning “mix”) or Diplopterys cabrerana (known as chaliponga or chagropanga ), which both contain dymethiltryptamine (DMT) . Which of these two is used will depend on local availability (the former is used more in Peru, the latter more in Ecuador and Colombia) and tradition.

DMT has become well-known not only in the psychedelic community, but throughout the world as well . This substance, often referred to as ‘ the spirit molecule ,’ is known to produce otherworldly hyperdimensional visions of extraordinary quality and utterly ineffable sources. It’s also hypothesized to completely switch the brain’s channel of functioning and display a different reality.

DMT is often consumed by inhalation (snuffing, smoking, or vaporizing) because the monoamine oxidase (MAO) enzymes in the stomach break them down and stop them from reaching the brain. Contrary to this natural defense process, the human body has actually been found to contain endogenous DMT in the brain, several organs, and bodily fluids.

A special thing about iowaska is that the MAO inhibitors in the B. caapi vine inhibit these enzymes which break down DMT, allowing the molecules to remain intact and cross the blood-brain barrier, bind to their target receptors and achieve their psychoactive effects.

Consuming DMT orally in an iowaska tea actually makes for a completely different experience than when DMT is consumed independently; anyone who has been through a multi-hour-long iowaska journey and a 15-minute-long smoked DMT trip can confirm that they differ wildly. This is in part due to the psychoactive effects of the B. caapi vine itself.

Iowaska would often traditionally be made only from the B. caapi vine and little, if any, DMT containing admixtures. The indigenous people revere the vine and find it to be the main healing agent of the brew. The DMT is there, as they would say, “to make the visions brighter and stronger”.

The B. caapi visions themselves are visible to experienced shamans. However, most of the visitors could not see them without the DMT admixtures, so eventually P. viridis and D. cabrerana became standardized ingredients that would, more or less, “guarantee” the shamans’ Western guests the experience they came for.

B. caapi and P. viridis or D. cabrerana are now used to create the standard iowaska brew. However, plants from an impressive array of admixtures are also traditionally infused in order to modulate the potency, stability, vision quality, intensity, and other aspects of the tea. Some shamans use various strains of the Banisteriopsis vine, or add Nicotiana rustica (known as mapacho – ancient, sacred tobacco used in indigenous plant healing), petals of the Brugmansia flower (a highly psychoactive plant closely related to Datura – the Devil’s Trumpet ), or any of the dozens of different admixtures available.

These ingredients belong to various local indigenous traditions. Their infusion needs to be exact, and if the dose is miscalculated, the brew can turn out to be a dangerous, or even deadly potion.

Is Iowaska Legal?

The legal status of iowaska is not a simple matter. Due to containing DMT, which is a regulated substance in most of the world, the brew is also often considered illegal. However, as a sacred medicine deeply rooted in the tradition of many Amazonian indigenous cultures, its use is legal in some countries, and permitted in some others as a religious exception . Finally, in many countries the brew itself is not regulated, as it’s never appeared in their respective judicial systems. This doesn’t mean that it’s legal, but that it’s not yet illegal . An organization called the Ayahuasca Defense Fund has been operating since 2015 in providing free legal support for people around the world facing persecution for drinking ayahuasca.

Read Tal Arnon’s firsthand account of her arrest for serving ayahuasca in Israel .

In South America, iowaska use is legal in Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil, and Bolivia. The neighboring Chile and Argen t ina , however, have the brew classified as illegal, but enforcement is rare and inconsistent.

In North America and most of Europe , excluding Italy, Spain, and Portugal, which have unclear or no regulations, iowaska is explicitly illegal. In South Africa its status is grey . In Australia, although DMT is a Schedule 9 substance, possession of ayahuasca has not yet been subjected to criminal persecution.

Iowaska Preparation – “La Dieta”

The iowaska experience is among the most challenging and surprising psychedelic journeys available. Although it’s impossible to truly prepare for, there are some common practices that can help the mind and body handle the effects better.

If you would like to learn in detail about everything you can do to get ready for the iowaska ceremony, head to our full article on preparing for ayahuasca . Here we will briefly outline the most important aspects of the preparation process.

Most iowaska ceremony facilitators advise their guests to honor what is called “ la dieta ”. This is a comprehensive purification regimen that includes nutrition, but also thoughts and actions. It comes from shamanic training traditions, and it should be implemented at least a few days, and ideally a few weeks before, as well as after the ceremony.

In regards to nutrition, honoring la dieta means abstaining from all fatty, fried, overly salty, sweet, spicy, aged, pickled, fermented, canned, and otherwise processed foods and drinks, as well as from red meat, pork, coffee, dairy products, and anything high in tyramine. Basically, boiled and fresh fruits and vegetables, rice, cereals, beans, peas, and other legumes are good dietary choices that will flush some toxins out and prepare the body for the workings of iowaska.

Thoughts and behavior are regarded as equally important aspects to manage in the dieting process. Maintaining positivity and a stable energetic state is important because it allows the medicine to do its work more effectively. This includes avoiding stress and exhaustion, staying away from negative people and unsettling events, releasing anxiety and troubling thoughts in general, and avoiding large energetic shifts that follow arousing events such as sex.

Prior to an iowaska ceremony, it’s beneficial to set some intentions, too. These should come from the question “ Why am I drinking iowaska? ” and the answers should bring more clarity as to what we are hoping to gain from participating in the ceremony. The power of intentions should not be underestimated; focusing on them in the days leading up to iowaska and taking them with you into the journey can help make it much more meaningful and spiritually transformative.

Iowaska Risks and Side Effects

There are some things to be aware of before considering joining an iowaska ceremony. Aside from the chances of nausea, purging, and experiencing a dark journey, this natural medicine has a few more potential pitfalls.

The most notable way iowaska affects the body is by raising blood pressure . It is therefore not suitable for anyone with cardiac problems —especially with hypertension, as the added boost can lead to a hypertensive crisis, which may have a fatal outcome. Any medication regimen that regulates the cardiovascular system needs to be suspended several weeks prior to consuming iowaska.

The same goes for depression medication—SSRIs, which are most commonly used for treating this mental condition, can have a fatal interaction with the MAOIs in iowaska. Those suffering from psychosis are also not allowed to consume the brew, because iowaska may exacerbate it .

Basically, people suffering from any illness that requires chronic medication should steer clear from iowaska . The interactions of this Amazonian medicine and Western chemicals have not yet been explored fully, and there may more undiscovered dangerous combinations.

This, of course, also applies to individuals with substance abuse disorders. Psychotropic substances influence the metabolism, and this can, in turn, influence how the body reacts to iowaska. There are optimistic indications that the brew may one day be of help with treating substance abuse , but this kind of therapy is pending scientific verification and institutional regulation. Until then, it’s safest not to attempt using iowaska in this context.

Finally, although for healthy individuals iowaska in its standard form is harmless , it should be noted that the popularization of the brew has caused the emergence of many inexperienced would-be shamans to the scene. Looking to make a quick buck, and without the willingness to go through the intensive shaman training, they often use iowaska that they buy from the market , and/or put various ingredients in it so their guests would get the ‘high’ they are looking for. The few death reports that can be found online are commonly attributed to unqualified shamans serving dangerous brews.

Iowaska Effects

Iowaska is an extremely powerful brew that can cause intense, wondrous effects in its drinker. However, it should be stated in the beginning that these effects are very subjective and dependent on many factors. Sometimes they can be mild and pleasant, other times dark and harrowing, sometimes completely otherworldly, and at times they can be almost imperceptible. The spirit of the vine tends to produce experiences that reflect the life situation, emotional habits, and mind states that the drinker embodies at that moment.

However, very generally speaking, a typical iowaska experience goes like this:

At the start of the journey, perceptual changes start arising. At first, it’s a sense of alertness , as if something were not the same anymore; soon, all senses start perceiving the environment differently. The awareness of the body greatly increases, especially as the thick, bitter-tasting brew makes its way to the stomach.

Soon, the feeling of nausea starts, and it doesn’t resemble any nausea experienced before. The feeling in the stomach during an iowaska trip is intense and strange, like some alien process is taking place in the body. A consequence of this nausea, and one of the most common iowaska side effects, is vomiting or defecating . As per indigenous belief, however, this purging is actually not a side effect, but an important aspect of the healing power of iowaska . It is believed to help rid the body of toxins and parasites, and the soul to release negative energy.

Often times, visions will be shown to the drinker. These can be mild and gentle, such as transforming shapes, symbols, colors, and shadows, to incredibly elaborate and seemingly infinite displays of otherworldly landscapes and scenes. This includes various plant and animal spirits, deities, images of family members, and other kinds of entities. They can also come in the form of revisiting past experiences, especially if there is some lingering psychological baggage that can be resolved that way.

Psychologically, iowaska can facilitate remarkable transformations , even take the drinker through a process known as ego death or ego dissolution . It is not a gentle drug or substance; rather, it’s one that makes us confront our issues and suppressed emotions head on. It doesn’t leave us other choices—it makes us vulnerable, and then exposes us to ourselves, no matter whether we like it or not. Seeing our deep-rooted fears and destructive patterns of thought and action for what they are then makes it possible to acknowledge and release them.

All of this can be quite emotional and perplexing, often even overwhelming. The array of feelings experienced during an iowaska trip can be extremely diverse, ranging from fear and intense sadness to true joy, awe, and immense pleasure. Coupled with the ineffable visions and profound insight, iowaska can cause quite the spiritual, physical, and psychological turmoil.

A typical iowaska trip takes about six to eight hours , with the onset taking some thirty minutes and gradually intensifying until the peak at around two hours in. The comedown is usually quick and gentle, leaving the drinker in a tranquil afterglow which can last for a day or longer. Iowaska ceremonies normally take place at night, and by the time they are over, the body can feel quite exhausted and ready for sleep.

After Iowaska – Integration

The spiritual work doesn’t stop when the ceremony or retreat is over. Some experts say the real journey begins after the ceremony itself .  Iowaska effects and insights need to be processed in order to be integrated into daily life. This can take anywhere from several weeks to several years and it involves active acknowledgement of difficulties unearthed during the experience.

After the iowaska ceremony, it’s best to continue with the dieta for a few more days or, ideally, weeks. Spending time on activities that promote mindfulness helps create the space for the realizations to settle in. Most importantly, actually putting in the effort to implement the insights instead of allowing them to stay in the past with the iowaska experience is vital to seeing real change unfold in daily reality.

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What is Ayahuasca? Benefits, Risks, Side Effects

Ayahuasca has increased in popularity around the globe—here's what you should know about this entheogenic plant medicine..

Article by console.log("Tyler Koslow"); console.log("author name"); console.log(""); Bailey Rahn .author-bio * {display: unset !important;} console.log("author2 "); console.log("Tyler Koslow"); & Tyler Koslow Published on November 20, 2020 Updated September 15, 2022

For at least one millennium, indigenous people native to the Amazon have ingested a mystical and potent plant-based brew called ayahuasca. Often sipped during carefully curated ceremonies hosted by a plant medicine facilitator or shaman, ayahuasca is often intertwined with immense healing and profound spirituality. Although the origin story of ayahuasca has been befuddled by the passage of time and lack of archaeological evidence, the various traditional shamanistic rituals that guide the usage of this plant-based brew remain not only important—but necessary—to the experience.

Over the span of a few decades, ayahuasca has expanded beyond the confines of indigenous communities scattered across South American countries. Tourists from all over the Western world are flocking to ayahuasca retreats in countries like Peru, Costa Rica, and Brazil to find healing and a heightened sense of their own spirituality. This demand for ayahuasca has posed many questions in regards to its medical benefits, potential risks, and tourism’s impact on traditional ayahuasca practice.

What is Ayahuasca (Iowaska)?

Native to South America, ayahuasca (also called yagé) is a psychotropic brew traditionally consumed for religious and healing purposes by indigenous Amazonian people. It’s typically made from an amalgamation of two main plant-based ingredients: Banisteriopsis caapi and Psychotria viridis . 

The psychoactive component of the brew is typically a shrubby plant called Psychotria viridis , which in some instances is substituted by Psychotria carthagenensis or Diplopterys cabrerana . The leaves of this plant contain the extraordinarily dynamic and mind-morphing hallucinogen DMT. 

The Ayahuasca Vine

Banisteriopsis caapi is a vine that doesn’t actually create any psychedelic effects, but rather is used as an MAOI, or monoamine oxidase inhibitor. Our bodies naturally contain the MAO enzyme in the stomach, which would keep the DMT from reaching the bloodstream. Without the MAO inhibitor, the DMT would get broken down by these enzymes in your liver and dampen the psychedelic and spiritual experience.

History of Ayahuasca

There is an abundance of evidence to suggest that hallucinogenic plants were used in the Ecuadorian Amazon as early as 1500-2000 B.C., but the earliest chemical evidence of ayahuasca preparation dates back one thousand years. In 2010, a well-preserved bundle of ritual tools dating back to 1000 C.E. was found in a cave in southwestern Bolivia; it contained traces of several psychotropic substances including two ayahuasca ingredients, harmine and DMT. Still, it is entirely possible that ayahuasca use dates back further.

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Some of the earliest writings about ayahuasca in modern history were published beginning in the 1850s by Ecuadorian geographer Manuel Villavicencio, followed by English botanist Robert Spruce, who encountered its use among Tucano, Guahibo, and Záparo tribes. Around this time, interest in natural products chemistry was also taking off as Western scientists avidly isolated compounds in plants for the research and development of new medicines. The door of Western curiosity would be flung wide open, ushering in an era of scientific and spiritual interest in powerful, mind-expanding plant medicines.

How is Ayahuasca Used?

The intent of ayahuasca use varies from group to group and includes traditions of healing, strengthening community bonds, group worship, celebration, and vision seeking. The experience of ayahuasca is deeply complex and personal, involving one’s individual psychology, as well as intentions shaped by cultural understandings of ayahuasca. 

For example, one small survey of North American ayahuasca ceremony participants found that most individuals pursued the experience with the intent of self-exploration, spiritual growth, healing, and curiosity. Although such a small sample cannot possibly represent the many nuanced reasons North Americans seek out an ayahuasca experience, these interests are largely reflected in Western media’s focused narrative on its curative properties relating to PTSD , addiction, depression , and other aspects of self-growth . 

The cultural entry point into the ayahuasca experience, however, is an important factor. As Mark Hay reports in JSTOR Daily , informed by Peruvian archaeologist Rubén Orellana, “Ayahuasca traditions were developed for people coming from specific cultural backgrounds. As such, even though the brew itself, and even some of the ritual practices surrounding it, may have similar raw effects on anyone, they will likely generate very different overall experiences—different risks and benefits—for outsiders than for insiders.”

Intention for use also varies between indigenous tribes, and these traditions and rituals have evolved over time. In this way, there is no singular use for ayahuasca as its meaning and utility vary across time, space, and cultures.

What Are the Effects of Ayahuasca?

Usually, the ingestion of ayahuasca, often referred to as a “plant spirit,” launches the individual into an enigmatic realm that reflects the wisdom and harmony of Mother Earth in many forms. Commonly referred to as “realms,” these powerful hallucinations tend to help people unwrap past traumas that have been suppressed, allowing them to re-enter their normal state of consciousness with a reinvigorated outlook on everyday life. 

“When we ingest this medicine we’re entering another dimension and in that realm there are things that aren’t familiar to us,” says Vanessa Caldarelli, the owner of Posada Natura , a Costa Rican wellness retreat that hosts ayahuasca ceremonies. “There are things that we don’t deal with on a daily basis. We see things that are real, but they just aren’t in our normal conscious reality.” 

The content, psychological impact, and personal meaning of an ayahuasca trip differ from person to person, depending on a host of factors from individual biology to cultural framework to expectations.

How Long Does Ayahuasca Last?

An ayahuasca trip typically lasts anywhere from four to six hours, though some may experience a shorter or longer duration. The length of a trip may be influenced by a few different factors, including previous experiences with the brew, body weight, and the potency and composition of ingredients. It may take 30 minutes to an hour for any detectable effects to settle in.

While the acute, consciousness-imploding experience of ayahuasca may only last several hours, many individuals walk away from the experience feeling a deep psychological shift that is long-lasting. Some experience what is called an “afterglow” in the months following; the afterglow phenomenon is unique to each individual, but psychiatrist Walter Pahnke describes it as an “elevated and energetic mood with a relative freedom from concerns of the past and from guilt and anxiety” and an increased willingness “to enter into close interpersonal relationships.”

Longitudinal studies are also seeking to understand ayahuasca’s long-term effects on cognition and emotion , as well as its potential in alleviating psychological distress associated with depression, trauma , addiction, and other issues.

Ayahuasca Ceremony and Experience

Ayahuasca ceremonies have become transcultural, incorporating memories and rituals that reflect the personal and cultural context of the facilitator and participants. The experience of one ceremony may be altogether unlike another, and the details of the session are fully contingent on the plant medicine facilitator or shaman that is guiding participants. 

At Posada Natura, for example, each ayahuasca ceremony is tailored toward the specific group “sitting” that night, and the specific facilitator leading the way. This personalized approach is developed after visitors are screened, with the program and group size contingent upon the experience and mental state of each individual. The length and details of the ceremony also hinge on the retreat and traditions put forth by the shaman or facilitator.

At the SpiritQuest Shamanic Sanctuary , founded by the late Don Howard Lawler, the standard program consists of four ceremonies over eight full days. Posada Natura typically integrates around three ayahuasca ceremonies into its program (which also includes mindful activities like nature walks and yoga), though this is subject to change depending on the group and plant facilitator. 

Aside from the ceremony itself, each program also includes specific guidelines for preparation and integration. Over the weeks prior to ceremony, participants are asked to follow a strict diet (often called a “dieta”) that varies depending on the ritual. It’s also common for participants to abstain from alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, and sex in order to prepare the body for the experience.

Is Ayahuasca a DMT Drug?

DMT, or dimethyltryptamine, is the primary molecule responsible for ayahuasca’s psychoactive effect. It’s produced in the leaves of Psychotria viridis and Diplopterys cabrerana , as well as in the bark of Mimosa tenuiflora .

DMT is believed to be an endogenous molecule—meaning that the body naturally produces small amounts of DMT, and as rodent studies show, this appears to occur in the brain’s pineal gland. Why our brains produce DMT is a question that is still being investigated, though researchers in a 2018 study found that DMT may be a “neuroprotective and/or neuroregenerative agent.” Another 2016 study discusses its role in peripheral and central nervous system functioning.

Ayahuasca isn’t the only form in which DMT is delivered. It can also be smoked or vaporized for immediate effects that last just 10-30 minutes. However, because ayahuasca is ingested—thanks to the MAO inhibitor B. caapi vine—the body processes the DMT differently, resulting in a more long-lasting experience. 

What is an Ayahuasca Retreat?

An ayahuasca retreat typically refers to the multi-day experience of receiving ayahuasca under the guidance of a shaman or facilitator, often involving a small group of participants. Ayahuasca retreats can vary in length of time and cost, typically ranging from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Single “drop-in” ayahuasca sessions may also offer a shorter experience at a lesser cost .

Ayahuasca retreats boomed in popularity after the late 90s, especially among Europeans and North Americans. In what is called “ayahuasca tourism,” participants travel to Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and other areas where local indigenous groups have built an established tradition of ayahuasca use. 

Ayahuasca Tourism

The issue of ayahuasca tourism is one of debate. As psychologist Ralph Metzner of the “Harvard Psychedelic Club” writes in the introduction of Sacred Vine of Spirits: Ayahuasca , “Ayahuasca tourism has come in for its share of criticism from those who decry naive and possible exploitative intrusions into indigenous cultures, and those who warn tourists of being duped by ignorant fake shamans…On the side of indigenous cultures, the ayahuasca tourists, like other tourists, contribute desperately needed funds to local South American economies. Ecological preserves are being set up to protect the rainforest and all its medicinal and psychoactive plants.” 

Author Bani Amor argues that ayahuasca tourism does not actually benefit the local communities or the preservation of their resources, but instead damages them: “Tourists arrive in the Amazon by the thousands each year and pay up to $4,000 per person to white, foreign-owned retreats where yoga, saunas, and Wi-Fi are all available…Meanwhile, the popular vine and shrub are disappearing from parts of Peru, with opportunists wandering through the jungle cutting off vines and leaving the rest to rot .”

How to Make Ayahuasca (Iowaska)

Making ayahuasca (or ayahuasca tea) involves collecting, cleaning, and boiling its ingredients over several hours. The B. caapi vine, which is the MAO inhibitor, is generally sectioned, softened, and boiled with the Psychotria viridis leaves and other desired ingredients in layers. The preparation of ayahuasca may also involve other traditional practices, such as prayer or customs around how the ingredients should be collected. 

The potency and effects of an ayahuasca brew can vary from batch to batch, depending on the chemical content of the ingredients, as well as the skills and techniques of the individual(s) brewing the mixture. 

Ayahuasca Preparation

Not all ayahuasca preparations are the same, and recipes vary among facilitators, cultures, and regions. A shaman may choose a particular combination based on the purposes of use , such as illuminating illness or to tone down the intensity of visions. 

Ayahuasca preparations may even exclude DMT-containing ingredients altogether, and others may substitute the Psychotria viridis with another source of DMT such as Diplopterys cabrerana (or Chaliponga or Chagropanga) or Mimosa tenuiflora .

Other ayahuasca admixtures include Brugmansia (Toé), Nicotiana rustica , and Justicia pectorali . A long list of plant ingredients associated with ayahuasca preparation has been curated, demonstrating the diverse ethnobotany behind this ritual brew. 

Studied Benefits of Ayahuasca (Iowaska)

Despite the highly specific tradition that surrounds this psychedelic, the ayahuasca experience has benefited people from all walks of life. This plant medicine has demonstrated potential for those dealing with conditions such as depression and PTSD. There’s a fair amount of research that scratches the surface of these benefits, along with treasure troves of anecdotal accounts from participants who experienced life-altering effects from ayahuasca.

Here’s a closer look at the studied benefits of ayahuasca in treating addiction, PTSD, depression, and anxiety—as well as other potential physiological and spiritual benefits.

Ayahuasca for Addiction

Multiple studies have also shown that ayahuasca could be a useful tool in fighting addiction to substances like alcohol, cocaine, and nicotine.

In a 2014 study that included interviews with therapists who administered ayahuasca for addiction treatment and 14 individuals who underwent said treatment, researchers discovered that ayahuasca could support recovery and prevent relapse when taken under “carefully structured settings.” 

Another report observing ayahuasca-assisted treatment for substance abuse within a Native Canadian community in British Columbia came to a similar conclusion, showing that subjects displayed positive psychological and behavioral changes after undergoing ayahuasca-assisted therapy.

Read: Can Ayahuasca Heal Grief?

Shelby Bryant, an artist and healer who participated in an ayahuasca ceremony at Posada Natura, tells DoubleBlind that the experience had reshaped her views on alcohol use. Although she never considered herself to have a severe issue with alcohol, the plant medicine helped awaken her true calling, one that required her to change her drinking habits in order to reach her own personal potential.   

“The big realization I had on ayahuasca was about alcohol. I drank normally like other people drank, but I had this overwhelming knowing that the light I was meant to spread in this lifetime is being hampered by alcohol,” she explains. “That experience with ayahuasca was a switch flipped. I completely lost interest in alcohol.”

The success that Posada Natura has had with treating addiction has prompted the retreat to launch specialized long term plant medicine programs for addiction recovery and veterans. Outside ayahuasca ceremonies, the initiative will offer long-term care through supportive tools and resources that include experienced mental healthcare providers from the United States. Other retreats have also had similar success in treating substance dependency issues.

Ayahuasca for PTSD

Akin to the positive effects that ayahuasca sessions appear to have on depression, sparsely available evidence also portrays this plant medicine as a useful tool for PTSD patients. In one study published in April 2018, researcher Antonio Inserra postulated that the effects of ayahuasca may target traumatic memories and provide healing in PTSD patients.

The author behind this study states that DMT, one of the alkaloids found in ayahuasca, activates sigma 1 receptors (SIGMAR1), which is a multi-faceted stress-responsive receptor that promotes cell survival, neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, and neuroimmunomodulation. As MAOIs prevent the degradation of DMT, this appears to allow PTSD patients to retrieve repressed memories, making them easier to identify and process.

Read: What is Changa? The Truth About Smokeable Ayahuasca

As per usual with psychedelics, more research is needed to understand the full extent of how ayahuasca interacts with the sigma 1 and other receptors. It’s important to note that ayahuasca shouldn’t be treated as a cure-all, but rather a specialized tool among others such as therapy and other healing modalities.   

“A lot of the time, people with depression or PTSD are not necessarily going to get a miracle cure from the ayahuasca ceremony,” says the director of the plant medicine program at Posada, who wished to withhold their name. “It has to really be put in proper context that ayahuasca can be something that can be enormously beneficial, but it works best when it’s in combination with other support.”

Ayahuasca for Depression and Anxiety

Early scientific evidence appears to back the belief that ayahuasca could be a useful experience for those living with depression. 

A small study published in March 2019 suggests that ayahuasca may help with treatment-resistant depression. The double-blind randomized trial involved 29 patients, some of whom were given a single dose of ayahuasca and others a placebo. The results showed that ayahuasca produced significant antidepressant effects compared to the placebo. 

Other research has examined ayahuasca’s ability to modulate levels of cortisol, a hormone involved in stress responses that is produced by the adrenal glands. Cortisol levels are thought to play a major role in the onset of depression, and properly regulating it has become a critical aspect of treatment. Recent findings suggest that ayahuasca could modulate salivary cortisol levels, once again showcasing its potential value to those with depression.    

In another study observing 57 ayahuasca ceremony attendees in the Netherlands and Colombia found that ratings of depression and stress dramatically dropped after the ceremony and persisted for four weeks. Interestingly, the researchers found a correlation between the magnitude of ego dissolution (sometimes called ego death , when the ego disappears completely) and the individual’s level of life satisfaction, mindfulness, and overall changes.

Ayahuasca’s Effect on the Brain

There is also some scientific insight showing that certain components of ayahuasca may offer neuroprotective and neurorestorative properties to the brain. We’ve already noted how DMT appears to activate sigma 1 receptors (SIGMAR1) and enhance cell survival, neuroprotection, neuroplasticity, and neuroimmunomodulation. Similarly, in a test-tube study observing the effects of DMT on human brain cells, the DMT increased cell survival and protected the brain cells from damage that occurs due to lack of oxygen.  

It’s not just the DMT from ayahuasca that seems to foster brain health, but also the alkaloids in the main ingredient Banisteriopsis caapi . A 2017 animal study showed that the main alkaloids found in this vine stimulated neural stem cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation in the brains of adult mice. The modulation of brain plasticity could contribute to the apparent antidepressant effects of ayahuasca. 

Furthermore, the natural β-carboline alkaloid harmine, which is bountiful in Banisteriopsis caapi , has been looked at in preclinical studies for its neuroprotective and cognitive-enhancing effects. It also improved memory and learning capabilities in different animal models. All in all, researchers have called for harmine to be further evaluated in additional studies.  

Ayahuasca for Spirituality and Mindfulness

Ayahuasca ceremony participants may also experience immense benefits relating to a sense of elevated well-being. This could be especially helpful for people suffering from conditions like cancer. In a 2018 comparison study , four weekly ayahuasca sessions appeared to increase mindfulness and acceptance more than an eight-week mindfulness training program.  

On a soulful level, ayahuasca has been lauded for its ability to magnify existential and spiritual awareness. According to Caldarelli, people have come away from Posada Natura prepared to leave behind unsatisfying careers or ready to change other aspects of their lives. 

“I think that ayahuasca can be very illuminating in giving somebody a perspective on their spiritual life just as a whole no matter what tradition the person is in or not in a tradition at all,” Caldarelli says. “It can be very illuminating in finding one’s own path, in finding one’s own sense of direction, one’s own sense of relationship of what’s important in that sector of their life.”

Shelby Bryant is evidence of this existential shift. A media producer from New York City, she returned from Costa Rica yearning to reconnect with nature, which prompted a move to California. She shifted her previous career to focus more on art and healing. She explained that ayahuasca had helped her develop a tighter bond with spirit and changed her overall perception of how psychedelics should be used. 

“Before ayahuasca, I had spiritual tendencies, but this was what really made me feel like I am a very spiritual person,” she said. “It really felt like returning home to [my] true essence.”

What Are the Side Effects and Risks of Ayahuasca?

While the benefits of ayahuasca have been bestowed among more and more people, there are certainly risks that should be taken into consideration. On the bodily level, ayahuasca can induce the following side effects:

• Paranoia, fear, or other psychological distress

Certain medications may also have adverse interactions with ayahuasca, especially those that have a direct impact on the serotonergic system, such as antidepressants. Many ayahuasca retreats will request that participants taper off SSRIs or stop taking other medications. (Note: It is advised to first discuss changes in your medication regimen with your doctor or mental health provider.)

Research has also shown that high doses of ayahuasca could increase heart rate and blood pressure , which could be potentially dangerous for someone with a heart condition. People with a history of schizophrenia or other psychiatric disorders should avoid ingesting ayahuasca, as it could potentially worsen psychiatric symptoms .

Read: The Ayahuasca Privilege

Nonetheless, reports of fatal or life-threatening reactions to ayahuasca appear to be few and far between. That doesn’t mean you should just ingest this plant without proper planning and guidance, however. Danger can arise if the plant facilitator or shaman is untrained or careless when it comes to dosing and guidance. 

As Caldarelli explains it, an ayahuasca session can introduce someone to what are called “hell realms”—but with proper preparation, these so-called hell realms can be incredibly transformative. However, the risk of being unprepared for these potentially frightening experiences is why it’s crucial to attend an ayahuasca ceremony with a highly experienced and trustworthy plant facilitator or shaman. Not only will this help ensure a safer experience, but also a more effective one. 

“I’ve seen so much suffering come out of the medicine,” Caldarelli explains. “But you can experience a hell realm with the proper guidance and it’s actually really therapeutic and healing.”

Risks Associated with Ayahuasca Retreats & Guides

It’s not just the traditional psychedelic motto of “ set and setting ” that needs to be adhered to when consuming ayahuasca. There seems to be universal agreement that having a seasoned guide is the key to unlocking the full potential of the experience. And moreover, it’s critical to vet your guide with a series of questions, such as those listed here , to ensure that they are experienced and skilled in harm reduction. It’s also important to note that while there exist a number of competent, seasoned guides, there are also a number of phonies with histories of sexual abuse , even during ceremony. Among the primary harm reduction tenets relating to ayahuasca is to ensure your guide is accountable to community guidelines and trusted not to take advantage of ceremony attendees. 

“A skilled medicine person will be able to receive the information from spirit through opening this portal that’s opened in the medicine work, receiving the information that’s needed for each person,” says Caldarelli. “A really good medicine person isn’t the one doing anything, the reason they’re a good medicine person is because they’re able to be as clear of a channel as possible so that the divine can flow through.” 

Is Ayahuasca Legal?

When discussing the legality of ayahuasca, there is often a distinction between the plant materials and the compounds within these plants. For example, the active ingredient of ayahuasca—DMT—is a controlled substance under the U.N. 1971 Convention of Psychotropic Substances, but the plants containing the molecule are not. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) noted in 2001 that the preparations like ayahuasca do not fall under the 1971 Convention, though in 2010, the INCB recommended that nations take measures to “control” ayahuasca. 

One reason ayahuasca tourism has become so popular is because the laws surrounding the brew are more relaxed in certain places such as Brazil, Peru, and Costa Rica. In the United States, DMT is a Schedule I controlled substance, though certain religious groups are permitted to use ayahuasca under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act . Individual cities and states have taken steps to unravel this harsh prohibition of entheogens by implementing decriminalization or measures that deprioritize prosecution of their possession.

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Most Exclusive Ayahuasca Retreat in the World

Seeking a licensed luxury ayahuasca retreats.

The Holistic Sanctuary and Ayahuasca Retreat USA is home of the world renowned healing system- the Pouyan Method (aka The Seekers Method) . We offer a very thorough, safe and effective system to prepare our guests for the best Ayahuasca Ceremony in the USA and the World. It all started over a decade ago and has emerged as the most successful healing system to heal trauma, addiction, PTSD, depression, alcoholism and much more. One of the most powerful aspects of our Ayahuasca Retreats  protocol is our powerful proprietary treatment method combined with our powerful formulas in our IV drips. This powerful brain repair IV is only offered at The Holistic Sanctuary. We have seen patients who have been dependent to benzodiazepine, SSRi, anti-anxiety, pain medications get completely safely healed usually under 4 weeks. This is all done without withdrawals or pain, no brain zaps, no shaking, seizures, or convulsions. We have taken the guessing game out of true holistic healing. So no more cookie cutter approach, no more shot in the dark or outdated medications, group meetings and endless talk therapy sessions. We are a world class Ayahuasca Retreat Ceremonies USA that helps heal most if not all mental illnesses. No more switching one medication and replacing it for another. Bottom line is, if a patient who is suffering from depression,  ptsd, and or trauma comes in, we reset the brain to pre-addict state with our proprietary and powerful IV drips and proprietary sacred plant medicine protocol. With a 90% success rate, clients go home healthy, transformed, healed, happy and whole again. It’s important to point out,  they have no pain, depression, no PAWS or sleep issues. Same with clients who are on opioids or opiates even benzodiazepine medication. Doesn’t matter if they are addicted or they have a physical dependency. If clients come in physically dependent, we reset the brain to a pre-addicted state, no side effects, and no horrific withdrawals. This is all done holistically with our proprietary and powerful Pouyan Method and proprietary Iv drips. No cookie cutter one size fits all and no guessing game.

The Holistic Sanctuary is The “ONLY” Licensed Luxury Healing Center In The World Offering Multiple Sacred Plant Medicines Ayahuasca, Ibogaine, 5 MeO DMT, Changa DMT Under One Roof, Period……

What can We Heal With our Ayahuasca Retreats Combined with The Pouyan Method?

Even though we “Are Not one of those cookie cutter Rehabs, or Luxury Drug Rehab or Detox Center , we have IV drips and powerful formulas and Ayahuasca Retreat plant medicine protocols for every addiction like SSRI, Prescribed Medications, Fentanyl, Cocaine, Heroin, Benzos, Crack Alcohol, Suboxone, Methadone, and much more. If you name it we can heal it. This is all tried, true, and tested, it works every time without fail. The Pouyan Method along with the IV drip treatment which are infused powerful proprietary peptides, amino acids, also NAD+Iv drips to replenish neurotransmitters, along with our Ayahuasca Ceremony , offers the most powerful life changing healing.

The Pouyan Method combined with an Ayahuasca Ceremony always works when the patient is ready to change their life and lifestyle. They must enroll only if they are ready, we cannot heal them if they are not ready and willing. Also we want to point out that Ayahuasca Ceremonies are not a cure. These plants are tools used to help you achieve speedy recovery, your life’s purpose, your calling. Our Ayahuasca Ceremonies Retreats must be respected, they are not toys to fool around with, they must be honored. We believe if you are not ready to change your mind, body and soul, it will be hard to get healed. You must be willing to change your thoughts, lifestyle, and diet if you want to achieve what we are offering. Yes, you can be healed and cured but you have to change one thing, “You Have To Change Everything”. READ MORE https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6343205/

How The Pouyan Method And Ayahuasca Retreats Can Heal You?

For those seeking Ayahuasca Retreats USA need to understand after years of stress, damage or substance abuse, along with poor nutrition, the brain’s neural-pathways and neurotransmitters have suffered significant damage. This damage in the brain is one of the main reasons why individuals relapse, and requires significant healing to occur to return the person to a pre-addicted state. When people use benzodiazepines for an extended period of time, the GABA receptor becomes significantly saturated. Upon cessation of the medication they become anxious, irritable, depressed or a combination of the above due to the lack of GABA production. The Holistic Sanctuary powerful proprietary IV formulas, promotes neurogenesis within the hippocampus creating stimulation and reproduction of natural GABA production. Basically the IV’s will reset and repair the function of GABA and glutamate in the brain responsible for brain shocks and anxiety while coming off medication. READ MORE HERE https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4773875/

It has been documented that the adult brain is capable of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to repair itself through formulating new neurons. Our Pouyan Method propriety IV formulas promote neuroplasticity by giving the brain all the vital peptides and amino acids for the brain, vitamins, minerals, micronutrients it needs to thrive and continue to heal itself from years of abuse. Through promoting neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and resetting neurotransmitters, the Pouyan Method IV drips will also create new neural pathways that are responsible for sending signals from one region of the brain to another.

Ayahuasca Ceremonies  can help by re-balancing the brain chemistry and enabling individuals to think clearly and put together logical thought patterns is a important element towards true healing. Without clearing the individual’s mind they will continue to maintain a mindset which is convoluted and dominated by medications such as Prozac, Xanax, Suboxone, Methadone, Valium and many others.

 Once the brain is clear of toxic medications, able to function can retain information and has cognition, then it’s a good time to teach a spiritual and healthy lifestyle change. This is time for the awakening of the soul and activation of the God molecule.

Call The Holistic Sanctuary to start your healing

Call now (310)-601-7805.

Why Do People Seek Ayahuasca Ceremonies?

People seek retreats that offer Ayahuasca Ceremonies more than ever before. Spiritual and health seekers from around the world have been trying to find safe  Ayahuasca Retreat Centers California . People have been seeking the best and safest   settings and accommodations to do this sacred life changing plant medicine but it was always a hit or miss.  At The Holistic Sanctuary, we offer a 5 Star Luxury Ayahuasca Retreat  in a totally secure licensed medical spa to undergo this healing journey. We are always offering the highest standard of care, at The Holistic Sanctuary it’s safety first.

We treat the whole person by healing the mind, body and soul. These Treatments Are All Included And Are- ALL ONE ON ONE!

The safest ayahuasca retreat.

At The Holistic Sanctuary, all of our Ayahuasca Retreat Ceremonies have ER Doctors, Nurses and Medical Assistants to handle any issue that may arise. Yes, we are the only Center in the World that offers emergency medical intervention in our licensed medical spa . We are on the forefront when it comes to safety. We never risk the safety or health of our guests who are seeking the best and safest Ayahuasca Retreat . Depending what medications or issues client have, we prepare all of our guests for about 14-45 days when they come down to the center. We have a perfected and customized pretreatment protocol they must follow, clients cannot cheat on the diet even if they wanted, its a controlled environment (real healing center)– we do this for safety and to magnify the efficacy. That’s why our clients do not have horrific purging during any of our ceremonies.

Another Reason We Are The Safest Ayahuasca Retreats- When you contact any ethical Ayahuasca Retreat  and tell them the medications your taking, they will tell you to get off all of them for at least 30-90 days then you can call back to enroll in the center. Not us, we can take you as is, and all medications you are taking. This is because we have a system that can safely heal you off all medications like xanax, valium, ativan, klonopin  SSRI, anxiety medications without incident or risk. 10 Years of perfecting the safest method for Ayahuasca and all sacred medicines.

Ayahuasca Tea – Ayahuasca has been used in traditional medicine and in Amazonian Shaman practices for centuries.  The ancient tea is prepared and extracted known as the “God Molecule” dimethyltryptamine, aka DMT.  Ayahuasca is used for its healing properties and sometimes used to explore dreams, inner thoughts, fears, hopes and spiritual guidance.

What Does It Feel Like While You Are On Ayahuasca- Ayahuasca  Ceremonies  is known to give its users strong and intense audio and visual hallucinations.  Ayahuasca is a word derived from Quechua meaning the “vine of the soul”.  It is known to cure many different illnesses: cancer, depression, anxiety and drug addictions.  It is non-addictive and a safe digestible remedy.

Traditional Ayahuasca Retreat Theory – It is believed by the locals that grew up around this potent healing remedy that the plants used to concoct it retain the capability to release their spirits to guide them through invigoration.  Through the use of this remedy people believe they can gain clarity from their own self-destruction from other-world spirits.   People who undergo these experiences believe to have gained the ability to conquer their hardships, as well as a new found self-worth.

Ayahuasca Treatment Effects – The Ayahuasca experience can last from 3-6 hours after consuming the powerful brew.  This is all determined by the potency and amount taken.  Typical symptoms after consumption are as follows: Optical and hearing hallucinations. The potency of the concoction will determine how intense the experience will be. Illusions that stem from the medicine are surreal and emotional.   Ayahuasca Retreat with our Shamans will guide an individual through these emotional states, to face and conquer their trauma that’s stuck in the subconscious mind.  Individuals who have already gone through the experience encourage first time users to undergo the trials and to face their realities as a key part of the ayahuasca retreat. Only then will the individual achieve true clarity and be rid of physical and psychological ailments.

Traditional Ayahuasca Retreats Centers – Experienced Shamans and their assistants provide guidance through a traditional Ayahuasca Ceremony USA or in South America.  Users are expected to refrain from certain activities such as sex, certain foods before and after undergoing the experience.  While under the effects of this potent remedy the Shaman will use totems, music, rituals, chanting and other ceremonial tools to guide and protect them.

Ayahuasca Mental Health or Addiction Remedy – People looking for an alternative addiction remedy have turned to Ayahuasca Retreats  for its ability to change thought patterns, they hope that the intense experience will help them conquer their psychological hurdles.  Users that have overcome their PTSD, Depression and Addiction, praise it for ridding them of cocaine, meth, pills, and alcohol abuse.  Ayahuasca Retreat Centers that provide this healing treatment have prerequisites before undergoing treatment, patients are to undergo a psychological and psychic detoxification and healing sessions that may last many months.

Ayahuasca Alternative Approach-   When Ayahuasca is used as an alternative for mental health and addiction option, it fits into the domain of Psychedelic Therapy.  This type of regimen enables the user to help identify the root of their mental health issue and emotional pain.  It allows one to explore and deal with unpleasant memories, or feelings in a non-compromising manner that decreases uneasiness and anxieties.

Ayahuasca Reconnect to the Soul- This consciousness-changing drug is used to assist the healing aspect of substance abuse since the remedy is not a symptom-driven approach, the results are long lasting.  The objective is to conquer the burdens, obstacles and self-destructive tendencies that came with substance abuse.  Ultimately helping one find their self-worth, allowing them to reconnect with friends, family, other loved ones, and most of all reconnect to the soul.

Different Types of Ayahuasca Retreats USA The Choice is Yours

When you’re seeking the truth on a deep level as what happens with Ayahuasca, you can find the truth in a number of places that offer this plant teacher medicine. Many of them are located in the Amazon jungle. This would be an adventurous trip and one that is life-transforming but there may be things you may not realize before you go:

• You have to be physically able to walk for a long time – sometimes about an hour – to get to the destination as they are quite remote.
• Along the way, you may be faced with high humidity, poisonous spiders, humongous insects and deadly snakes.
• Your visit for the 7 – 14 days often doesn’t have any modern day amenities like clean water or basic toilets, and often the accommodations may be a tent or a hut on stilts that involves climbing up and down.
• If you need any type of medical attention, it could be hours before you are transported to an appropriate medical facility, usually on a moped or bicycle w/engine.

There is a “Safe Ayahuasca Retreat”, a total alternative to random underground Aya centers. At The Holistic Sanctuary, our Ayahuasca Ceremonies at our Retreat Centers are led by master healers and ayahuasca shamans who have years of experience in leading Ayahuasca Ceremonies. But, we add an important step of safety for you by having ER doctors, nurses and medical assistants on staff 24/7 to handle any issue that may arise. We believe in being prepared on every level and are on the forefront when it comes to safety. The safety and health of our guests who are seeking the best and safest Ayahuasca Retreat Centers  are always our primary concern.

Holistic Treatment Therapies Included: 150 hours of 1-1 Private Therapy Sessions in 30 days Yes All Included!

The  diet and preparation at the center will guarantee the most profound and safest journey, and we have our customized  pre treatment protocol you must follow when you arrive, which will increase and magnify the efficacy of the treatment.

What sets us apart from other centers is our Medical Team, Luxury Accommodations, Ocean Front Facility and our World Class Ayahuasca Protocols. We are a licensed Medical Spa that offers a profound healing system for each patient, guest and client that walks in our Safe Sanctuary of Healing.

Our accommodations are inside a Luxury Ayahuasca 5-star medical spa, is offered in our luxury licensed medical spa as it should be – you don’t have to worry about staying in an airbnb or tents or houses on stilts, and there are no insects, snakes or spiders to dodge. Our resort is on the ocean and hot humid weather is not an issue. We have learned that you do not have to go into the sometimes dangerous jungles of the rainforest to have a life-changing journey to meet Grandmother Ayahuasca.

How To Prepare for an Ayahuasca Ceremony in the Safest Way

Once the brain has been reset and healed from medication dependency, we start the pretreatment and Ayahuasca  prep. Along with brain repair IV drips, we have figured out that accessing parts of the brain we can’t access is crucial. The human brain can only be accessed roughly 5%, but with this approach we believe we can access much more of it. We have witnessed miraculous transformations with patients that are treatment resistant to standard western medicine and prescription drugs. These plants are known to expand spiritual consciousness, the reconnection to the soul, the awakening of the inner core of the human being. But these sacred plant medicines must be done correctly, they cannot be done by fly by night wanna be shamans or anyone. If the center you go to doesn’t have medical doctors on site it can be dangerous! However our doctors are there ONLY to make take care of medical emergency only, period. These medicines can only be administered by healers or shamans who have studied these plants and have years of experience. No school exist to teach a person, you must be taught by spirit or a master shaman.

Related pages:

Ayahuasca Ceremony Ayahuasca Retreat Mexico Ayahuasca Retreats California Ayahuasca Retreats Los Angeles Ayahuasca Retreat Locations

Why We Believe We Are The Best And Safest Ayahuasca Retreats In The World

Why We Are The Best Ayahuasca Retreat

We are the only facility in the world that prepares patients in-house for the safest Ayahuasca Retreat therapy with our proven proprietary IV formulas. Meaning you cannot attend any Ayahuasca Retreats if you are dependent on  benzodiazepines , or other prescribed medications like Prozac and Wellbutrin and many other medications, it can injure the patient. That’s where we come in, we get clients who have been on these medications for many years, we get them off safely.  These medications are impossible to taper off, like heroin opiates, benzos, SSRIs and antidepressants. We take the guessing game out, we are the only center in the world that does this to prepare you for safe ayahuasca retreat ceremony .  All other centers tell you to come after you have been off the medications for at least 30-90 days, we can take you in today and heal you off all meds holistically, safely and effectively.

What separates us from other Ayahuasca Retreats USA?

• We are the only center in the world that doesn’t turn patients away because they take drugs or prescription meds
• We are the only Ayahuasca Retreat USA in the world that safely gets patients off all medications, Other centers send you away or take a risky approach, or tell you to come back after you stop your medications, (Which is Dangerous)!
• We are the only center in the world that offers Ibogaine, DMT, Changa, ayahuasca with a license medical spa to treat patients, not some shack or underground retreat.
• We hold the proprietary Ingredients that cures benzo addiction!
• We have created a method that safely gets people off all medications without withdrawals or pain. Making it safer to experience Ayahuasca safely. We have a Proprietary method to heal those who are dependant on medications like SSRI’s, Benzodiazepines- SRNI’s
• We have a Luxury Facility that has a license to operate.
• No PURGING, 95% of our patients do not experience horrific purging! Maybe only 5% may purge for 30 -60 seconds. Those Who Have Deep Energetic Entity Issues will purse a little more.
• Our pretreatment Ayahuasca Dieta Protocol prepares the client correctly, no guessing games.
• We have Ayahuasca Retreats  not only with a shaman but also fully medically supervised by a ER Doctor nurse to assure safety.
• We offer a protocol that heals the liver, this is vital for patients with damaged liver, Hep C and or other liver issues, we help them prep for plant medicine.
• We offer a protocol that activates stem cell production, this is huge to reverse infections and internal damage done by medications use, chemical abuse and or drug abuse.
• We have a staff of over 25 people that take care of 5 patients,  not 5 staff taking care of 25 clients like other centers. Our Ayahuasca Ceremonies  offers the highest staff to client ratio in the world.
• We are the only center in the world that incorporates advanced holistic medicine like hyperbaric chamber machines. These are not cheap machines, they cost $75,000.00 each, we own 3 of these technologies. You won’t even find these types of machines in the most expensive Luxury Rehabs in Malibu that charge $100k per month, only high end hospitals and luxury private clinics.
• We also offer 9 hours of holistic therapy per day (all one on one), you won’t find that at any other facility in the world that offers these therapies per day, everyday
• We are also the only Ayahuasca Retreat  in the world that has daily 5 hours of custom made exclusive immune system, nervous system, endocrine brain repair IV Drips.

Daily included therapies

• Daily Iv Drips
• Daily HBOT sessions
• Daily Green Coffee Colonic Enemas
• Daily Carbon Sauna
• Daily Meditation
• Daily Massage, cranial, and reflexology
• Daily Energy Healing no touch Energy work- Reiki sessions.
• Daily 3-5 organic green coffee colonic enemas per day,
• Daily dead sea salt baths and carbon infrared sauna sessions
• We include 5 star luxury accommodations at our ocean front facility with private rooms, each come with jacuzzis, flat screen tv’s and travertine floors.
• 90% raw food diet that is 100% non GMO, gluten free, dairy free, soy free.
• Clients sleep on pillow top mattress and 100% organic Sheets and linen
• Organic and Vegan shampoo

Call Us Today if you are ready for true healing 310-601-7805.

Find the Top Ayahuasca Retreat and Best Luxury Ayahuasca Retreats in The World

Seeking The Best Ayahuasca Retreats USA?

Proven results from our ayahuasca ceremonies.

Before & After

Luxury Ayahuasca Ceremonies for Depression, PTSD Healing Center

Our ayahuasca retreats usa can help cure post traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses.

Ayahuasca Ceremonies can cure post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental illness as it can cause powerful psychological effects to the user. Some call it a drug while others consider it a medicine.

For many veterans who have tried and tested Ayahuasca, they considered it as a real treatment for giving them relief from PTSD after returning from combat. It does not work like a band-aid. Rather, it cleans the user’s system by purging it until he/she is thoroughly reset and clean.

Its spiritual effects make this treatment a popular alternative to the traditional method of treating mental illnesses. In fact, Lindsay Lohan has spoken about her treatment with Ayahuasca. She said that it opened her eyes about the things of the past that she did not want to let go.

Ayahuasca Retreats Must Do The Following If They Want To Maximize Results with PTSD, Depression, Trauma and Medication Use and Abuse

First off, this is not cheap, The Ayahuasca Ceremony we deploy at The Holistic Sanctuary are very pricey. Example the HBOT machines we have are cost $300 per hour and the NAD IV drips are $1000 per day per patient. You can search around for prices and this is the average cost per hour/session, clients get 5 sessions each of these treatments. Also we offers the most powerful proprietary IV formulas that can repair the damaged brain’s ability and capacity to create neural pathways and neurotransmitters, thus promoting neurogenesis within the hippocampus. Its extremely effective at healing the nervous system and endocrine system because its creating stimulation and reproduction of natural Dopamine Serotonin and GABA production within the brain. That’s how we cure addiction not just Ayahuasca Ceremonies by itself. We are thorough and thus makes our system effective and patients outcome powerful. SEE TESTIMONIALS CLICK HERE.

We use a variety of therapies like HBOT, Amino drips, Massage, Reiki, Yoga.

Why Almost 100% of Our Patients Have Visions During Ayahuasca Ceremonies.

It’s pretty simple to explain why close to 100% of our guest have visions and 40% -/+ other places have people complain they saw no visions? We have the only Iv drip in the world that repairs and decalcifies the pineal gland, yes you heard correctly, the only Ayahuasca Retreat Center in the world with such IV drips. We invented it, we created it, perfected it, it’s ours and you will not find it at any Rehab or Treatment Center or Ayahuasca Retreat.  And we, meaning the Inventor of the Pouyan Method The Holistic Healer in charge “ Johnny Tabaie” . At least 50% of clients prior to enrollment into The Holistic Sanctuary complain of lack of sleep this is due to the GABA receptor saturation. When the Gaba receptors become damaged, it becomes significantly impossibly to function and less sleep. So due to the lack of GABA production the brain cannot shut itself off. Basically the Pouyan Method IV’s will reset and repair the function of GABA and glutamate in the brain responsible for brain shocks and anxiety while coming off medication. Johnny Tabaie saw this problem for many years and decided to take the task on and spearheaded it, like he does everything in the company.

Most if not all adult brain are capable of neuroplasticity, which is the brain’s ability to repair itself through formulating new neurons. The Brain Repair Pouyan Method propriety IV formulas promote “natural” neuroplasticity by giving the brain all the vital amino acids for the brain, vitamins, minerals, micronutrients it needs to thrive and continue to heal itself from years of abuse. Through promoting neurogenesis, neuroplasticity and resetting neurotransmitters, the Pouyan Method IV drips will also create new neural pathways that are responsible for sending signals from one region of the brain to another.

Ayahuasca Retreats – Luxury or not, Should always Use Safety First

It is vital that we only organically heal and balance the brain to help and enable the individual’s ability to feel, function, and to think clearly. This will allow the patient to put together cohesive thought patterns which is a massive element towards true healing. Without clearing the individual’s mind they will continue to maintain a mindset which is convoluted and they will be dominated and rely on medications such as Lexapro, Prozac, Xanax, Suboxone, Methadone, Valium and many others. However, Once the brain is healed, reset, and clear of all toxic medications, and he or she is able to function and can retain information, then it’s a good time to teach a spiritual and healthy lifestyle change. This is time for the awakening of the soul and activation of the God molecule with an Ayahuasca Ceremony.

In Our Luxury Ayahuasca Retreats USA Patients Will Receive The Following (All Sessions Are Private and One On One!) 7+ hours of holistic treatments all one on one. Plus 5 hours of proprietary IV drips daily!

References: PMC4773875

If this sounds like something you are interested in and exploring more give us a call. We are standing by help you get your life back

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A golden sun appears on a bed of molten-brown, churning thick liquid, like molé. The heat is oppressive, leaden.

A disembodied voice in my head, not mine, says, “Guatemala.” 

No, not Guatemala, I respond. 

In that moment, I have no idea what “Guatemala” means, but I know I don’t want to see it.

At night, at an altar lit by fires, stands a Mayan priestess in a headdress. She has a small knife, and she uses it to cut the heart that she will consume out of an infant in a sacrifice.

In an instant I recognize the priestess. She is me.

Disgust coils in my stomach.

I crawl to the edge of the bed and purge into the bucket. It looks red, like blood.

This is my third night of drinking ayahuasca. 

The night’s visions began with … a puppy, a terrier puppy trying to lick my face.

Aw cute. 

Wait. What the hell?

Is that my dog? Whose dog is that?

Why is the dog?

It’s not your dog. It’s not someone else’s dog.

It’s just a dog, expressing love. For you.

The Mother, or “Pachamama” as they call her, has a sense of humor.

The message — in this case, of the dog — is that you will be held in an unconditionally loving embrace, even as you “meet yourself” as a matter of course while taking the plant medicine.

Welcome to psychedelics.

I came to Costa Rica to do ayahuasca, after a friend suggested plant medicine during the collective freak-out at the beginning of the pandemic. A coach in LA suggested Rythmia as the only medically licensed place in the world to do ayahuasca. Admission requires that you pass a medical intake — if you have a heart condition or a history of psychotic disorders, you won’t be able to drink the medicine, and you have to prepare with a protocol that requires a strict diet — no alcohol or drugs for a period prior to arrival. The stay is medically supervised throughout. This setup is friendly and accessible to Westerners as it combines a therapeutic approach in a luxury resort carved out of the Costa Rican jungle where pumas and pythons roam. It’s all in aid of creating what in psychedelic circles, dating back to the 1960s, is known as the optimal (mind)set and setting necessary for a productive journey, or “trip.”

Psychedelics such as psilocybin (mushrooms) are being studied anew in clinical trials — built on research that was halted in the early 1970s with the war on drugs — for their proven benefit in a therapeutic setting for the treatment of Alzheimer’s , PTSD , anxiety and depression , addiction and eating disorders , among other health conditions. Among the entheogenic plants, ayahuasca will be a more complicated journey for approval for common use in the US given its religious ceremonial component . The hallucinogen in ayahuasca that makes it illegal in the US for common consumption is DMT (Dimethyltryptamine), classified as a Schedule I controlled substance — illegal to make, buy, possess or distribute. So seekers travel to countries such as Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica for multi day ayahuasca retreats, costing an average of $3,500 a week at Rythmia, where participants are monitored for safety and have their psychoactive brew prepared by experienced shamans.

Ayahuasca is made from the stem of a vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and a shrub (Psychotria viridis) found in the Amazon rainforest, a formula presided over by indigenous tribes to form a plant medicine that is a sacrament taken from a young age in these communities for purposes of healing. That’s why they call ayahuasca “Pachamama,” or Mother Earth, a goddess they worship.

The shamans at Rythmia are trained by a Colombian tribe called the Inga, descendants of the Inca, who are ethnobotanists and masters of  yagé . According to “The Medicine,” a 2019 documentary featuring the Ingas’ spiritual leader Taita Juanito, when conquistadors arrived on South American shores, their priests drank ayahuasca and then forbade its use. The natives then hid the plant medicine they had been using for hundreds of years. 

But now, the tribes feel it’s time to share.

“I loved what it did for me.” Miley Cyrus

When the DMT in the shrub combined with monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) in the vine is blended into a tea and taken orally, it blocks the brain’s default mode, allowing new connections and pathways to form, achieving an altered state of awareness.

The Hollywood community re-discovered it more than a decade ago. Ayahuasca was introduced to modern culture in 1963 with “The Yage Letters,” in which Beat generation authors William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg chronicled their journeys with the psychedelic tea in the Amazon through the 1950’s. Early adopters like Paul Simon tried ayahuasca after a failed project, releasing the song “Spirit Voices” about his experience in 1990, and Sting credited it in his 2005 autobiography as the closest thing to a religious experience he’d ever had. But more recently, many were quietly turning to the plant medicine not only for healing trauma but for creativity. Reports from ceremonies conducted privately in living rooms say the yield has included not only suppressed emotions and memories, but things like the “Game of Thrones” opening credit sequence. 

Since late 2020, celebrities as diverse as Chris Rock and Miley Cyrus have gone public about their use, with Cyrus telling Rolling Stone that, in 2013, the snakes took her to Mama Aya. “I loved what it did for me,” she said.

Most recently, Will Smith detailed eight pages in his 2021 memoir “Will” about taking the tea in more than 14 trips on a retreat in Peru after having marital problems. 

 “This was my first taste of freedom,” he wrote. “In my fifty plus years on this planet, this was the unparalleled greatest feeling I’ve ever had.” But Smith’s revelations come with a disclaimer: “I do not condone, nor do I suggest the use of ayahuasca or any substance without professional medical prescription and supervision.” He shared that of his 14 trips, Mother Ayahuasca showed up in eight, and in three of the six where she did not “were among the most hellish psychological experiences I’ve ever endured.”

Megan Fox told Jimmy Kimmel that on her second night of her ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica she went to “hell for eternity.” People interpreted that as meaning she had a bad experience. What she explained was that ayahuasca “surpasses anything like talk therapy” and makes you surrender to “your psychological prison that you hold yourself in, your own version of hell.”

In other words, there is value in the unpleasant trip. She said she had “a real ego death.” Ayahuasca is said to be the closest thing to a near-death experience. Having to fight to survive “death” is a common experience in psychedelics and one that confronts you with fears and discomfort and forces you to push through. The reward is the calm of wisdom and gratitude on the other side.

My first “pinta,” as they call visions, after the very first cup I took, was of vines that writhed and coiled in and around one another like snakes. They were technicolor green, cartoon-like and they looped and writhed seemingly to the beat of the songs being played in the  maloca , the ceremonial space where the ayahuasca ceremonies are performed.

The retreat involves drinking the tea four nights in a row. By the seventh day, some sort of breakthrough will have occurred. Ayahuasca is like 10 years of therapy in a few hours, some say. The active ingredient breaks down your defenses to let the suppressed, repressed emotions and memories come up. It’s been proven to improve neuroplasticity of the brain, forming new pathways. The experiential nature of the “trips” makes realizations stick. People tend to make significant life choices in the days, weeks and months afterwards. Many report they were positive.

My first two days were spent easing in with orientation and preparing for the first night of drinking. Yoga in the morning, and the first of several breath work classes, a technique that can achieve the same altered state as ayahuasca. Guest speaker Ben Decker taught a class on meditation and led us through an eye-gazing exercise. The facilitators each spoke about their own experiences with ayahuasca and how they came to be involved in the retreat, and offered up lessons in the importance of preparing the mindset and intention setting before the ceremony. We received an introduction to plant medicine and what to expect, and the exact location and number of the bathrooms.

During each of the four nights of the ceremony, the group of 60 lined up outside the  maloca,  and at 5:30 pm, they were let in and free to take a spot on one of the beds lined up around the room. A bucket and toilet paper sat menacingly at the base of each one.

I took a seat between a magazine writer and a hedge fund manager.

The shaman presiding over that night’s events called the group to gather and gave a freestyle pep talk to prepare for the ceremony.

They then sat and watched as the shamans and assistants prepared the ayahuasca and performed the ritual of blessing the medicine. The shamans, facilitators and musicians all drank the medicine, too.

The drinking began after sundown. The shaman called for people to come and receive the first cup. People lined up and brought their ceramic shot glass to be filled with the sludgy brown brew. They stated their intention, drank in front of the shaman and then returned to their bed and sat upright for 30 minutes, waiting for the medicine to make them “drunk.”

And so it began.

For some, it begins earlier than others. I met someone who, as soon as they put back their first cup of medicine, threw it back up on the shaman.

The shaman’s response? “Did you get any of that?” 

The first-time drinker went on to do 68 more ceremonies over five years — at 75, you qualify to become a shaman — so that kind of mortifying reaction turns out not to be a deterrent.

Ayahuasca facilitators have seen it all. For those preoccupied with losing bodily functions in front of strangers, fact: There will be purging. We are encouraged to bring our bucket with us when we leave our bed. 

But purging looks like a lot of things: crying, peeing, vomiting, evacuating, shuddering and yawning. We will be conscious of all these reactions approaching and be able to act on them. Best piece of advice all week from Rythmia founder Gerry Powell: Do not trust a fart. Also, you’ll learn to be so glad when you do purge. Because the prevailing wisdom, as a facilitator who attended to me explained, is you’re getting rid of stuff that doesn’t serve you and making room for what saves you.

The main mantra is “Don’t think, drink.” The only real way you can screw up your experience is by not drinking. One of my neighbors spent the better part of one night arguing during his trip with the ayahuasca lady in his head about whether to drink a second cup. It was not a good experience.

Over the course of the evening, you’ll experience a tremendous amount. Or possibly just one significant thing. Or very little. The ceremony is accompanied by a soundtrack of recorded and live music that has an uncanny ability to match up with the trip. Some people have what’s called a “nada,” where they fall asleep and wake up when it’s over. They just have their realizations at a later date. 

The main piece of advice that got me through was: If it’s coming, it’s going. That means that if fear comes up, it’s being released. 

 “This was my first taste of freedom. In my 50-plus years on this planet, this was the unparalleled greatest feeling I’ve ever had.” Will Smith

The ceremony ends sometime after midnight, when the lights come up. The group then gathers again for volunteers to share their experiences. That’s a whole other journey of insight that isn’t even yours but makes a huge impression. Some of it, you may have seen, some you heard. I kept my eyes tightly closed per the protocol of minding your own business in the ceremonies, and you should drink enough medicine that you’re deeply in your own trip.

Someone could be wailing in a life-changing epiphany, and you don’t want to interrupt it by touching them and mewling, “Are you OK?” Of course they’re not OK. You’ll find out later. In the postmortem, we heard hair-raising tales from a professor about her journey boarding a spaceship that turned into a slave ship so eloquent on healing generational trauma among nations that we all wanted to ask if they were available later on Audible. 

One young man had a rather dramatic group effort by the shamans and witnessing guests and overnight shed a chronic cough that was the symptom of the cancer, as well as his fear of death.

“I know I’m going to live,” he said on the morning of the seventh day.

People’s experiences tend to be profound. Over the course of the week, you find out that they are there for a wide variety of reasons: racial trauma, sexual abuse, suicidal thoughts, sleeping pills no longer working, porn addiction, anxiety, stage 4 cancer. 

After the shaman’s post-ceremony counsel, you head to bed and try to sleep to get ready for the next night. Or you sit and talk more to your new friends about what went on. Because nothing is as bonding as a night spent barfing up a lung next to someone — let alone four nights.

My fourth night was presided over by a visiting shaman trained by the Colombian tribe who brought their proprietary brew. In his prep class, he talked about the  yagé  you’re taking as “a drop of pure consciousness.”

I had developed a cold by the third night and opted not to drink the medicine but was encouraged by the medical staff to attend the ceremony “and help other people.” 

I lined up when everyone went up to get their first cup. The shaman said, “Who told you that you couldn’t drink?” 

“No one, I just have a cold, and I’m worried I won’t be able to breathe.” 

“The medicine will clear that right up,” he said, adding that I could come up if I heard the call for the second cup.

I went back to my bed and promptly fell asleep. 

When I woke up, they were laying out pillows for the healing circles. 

A couple got married in a ceremony performed by the shaman in the early hours of the morning. After that, I was brought up for a private healing by the shaman, because I had missed joining the circle. “You didn’t come up for a second cup.” 

I said I fell asleep, and remembered that I had eaten dinner at 7 pm. You’re not supposed to drink on a full stomach, I said. He shrugged, which is Shaman for “Don’t be a pussy.”

“Let’s get to the healing. Close your eyes. Be good.” The author’s shaman

“What was your intention?” he asked, brown eyes boring right through me. Perhaps catching a glimpse of the Mayan priestess in me. I suddenly felt like a huge liar: It had been to help others, hadn’t it? He asked how the week had been for me and where I was from, and I answered nervously feeling like I was lying. 

“Let’s get to the healing. Close your eyes.”

He performed a cleansing ceremony with chants and noises and liquids sprayed and feathers with a noted physical emphasis on my heart area. Tears rolled down my cheeks.

When he was done, he looked at me, and I think he said, “Be good.”

For the next 24 hours, I went on to feel inexplicably uncomfortable and guilty, unhappy in my own skin. I watched others celebrate, swimming and dancing by the pool after dinner, giddy with joy.

The next morning I went to yoga. There in the  maloca  where the ceremony had been the day before, I sobbed through the poses. Tears not blood. A piece had fallen into place. It was forgiveness.

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Ayahuasca healing retreats, a journey to your true nature in a safe, authentic & compassionate environment.

Why choose etnikas ayahuasca retreats, the best and safest ayahuasca retreat in the world as voted by eluxe magazine.

• We are the only Ayahuasca retreat service recognized by the ministry of health .
• 40 years experience, over 450 reviews on trip advisor, 7000 satisfied guests.
• We are pioneers in integrating modern and ancient medicine, indigenous healers from the Andes and amazon with doctors, psychologists and nurses.
• We maintain the tradition and authenticity of ancient healing practices, working with highly experienced Shipibo and Qero healers, based on inca cosmovision.
• Being reciprocal through our non-profit organisation HUMAN ACTIONS we bring support, for social, environmental, and animal aspects "Volunteering".
• We are two hours drive to Machu Picchu, we are located in Sacred Valley, San Salvador, Cusco Peru.
• We create and provide you with long term integration tools, based on unconditional love and forgiveness meditation "Munay".

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Voted best Ayahuasca retreat in the world

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Human Actions non profit organisation

Etnikas created Human Actions in 2015 and it has quickly has become a key motivation for all the work that Etnikas team do. The positive results and enjoyment we gain by putting out energy into projects based on Ayni, or reciprocity, have had life changing results for the whole Etnikas team. We have now prioritised the work Human Actions is involved with to be the main purpose for what we do.

We provide responsible and sustainable social assistance, holistic healing, and cultural education. We focus our actions on the less favoured and vulnerable people and communities in Peru, having Etnikas as a supporting organisation. Our projects are based on social and community regeneration, animal rescue and environmental conservation and regeneration.

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7 days ayahuasca retreat, inca meditation, visit to machu picchu and volunteering with human actions.

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5 days Ayahuasca retreat, Munay Inca meditation and volunteering with Human Actions

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I attended a five-day retreat at Etnikas in the summer and it was worth both the journey and the wait (wait due to covid restrictions). They have a great new premises which is secluded and peaceful. The management of the entire operation seamlessly transcends the different levels of formality and care as and when required; whilst being a generally self sufficient person, there were of course moments of fragility throughout the experience and the team were on hand every step of the way to make sure support was given.

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Before You Start: Click here to Join the Global Healing Community For Immense Support In Every Step of Your Ayahuasca Journey

What Makes Our Ayahuasca Retreat in Peru So Completely One-of-a-Kind?

The 4 pillars of the ayahuasca healings experience, you need much more than just ayahuasca.

You were born into the Western Way of thinking.

You have very different needs for your healing, than those who grew up in the Amazon.

You can't take a method of healing designed for the indigenous people of Peru and give it to Westerners, expecting that it will have the same results.

This is dangerous.

Although it works for some people, there are many who have very negative experiences, because they simply weren't prepared for Ayahuasca.

Understand this -

You have a unique set of beliefs, habits and stresses which people from the Amazon simply do not have.

We grew up in a materialistic world and in our society, the value of who we are is dependant on what we "do for a living" or what we "have" .

We are so run by our minds and silencing the mental chatter almost seems impossible.

Many of us work at a job we do not like and go to school just because it's what everbody else is doing.

As a culture, we are run by materialism; disconnected from ourselves, nature, stillness, our True Purpose and Who We Really Are.

This is why we come to Mother Ayahuasca. Because she can help us come back to this Truth within ourselves.

The point is -

Those who grew up in the Amazon are already so connected to themselves, nature and the inner peace we all seek.

An Ayahuasca ceremony alone can be all they need to get the clarity, answers and mental re-alignment they were looking for.

But for you and I...

We need an adapted, tailored and holistic way of working with Ayahuasca that understands and responds to the challenges we face and the society that we come from.

This is WHY our Ayahuasca retreats Peru are designed the way they are.

To give you exactly what you need as a Westerner, not as someone from the Amazon.

How do we do that?

Read this page from top to bottom to really understand all that we do , to ensure you have the most transformational experience possible with Mother Ayahuasca.

A much-ignored, yet extremely important aspect to how valuable your Ayahuasca retreat will be is how you prepare .

So, we've created for you:

In Depth Pre-Retreat Preparation Course

The problem:

Many Ayahuasca retreat centers focus on just your time in Peru.

They forget about the time before your retreat and especially the time after your retreat.

They provide no followup and put very little energy towards helping you prepare for your retreat.

I'm sorry, but that is irresponsible .

You NEED to properly prepare for your Ayahuasca experience if you truly want the safest, most positive and life-changing experience possible.

So we've created the Ayahuasca Healings Preparation Course which includes 4 videos that teaches you valuable lessons and practical exercises to take into your daily life, to not only help you get the most out of your Ayahuasca retreat with us, but also how to deal with life's challenges in the most harmonious way possible.

The information shared in this course, is what we feel anybody who experiences Ayahuasca needs to know , not only for your safety, but most importantly...

So your time in Peru isn't just a beautiful week-long "adventure" or "vacation" and the insights you receive aren't just a temporary altered-state... but for the shift to be permanent and last the rest of your life.

No other Ayahuasca Retreat Center puts as much energy as we do to support and guide you through this journey of a lifetime.

We are here for you so deeply. And we do everything we can to offer the most life-changing Best Ayahuasca retreat possible.

That happens not just at your retreat with us. But before and more importantly after.

So you also get:

Ongoing Support System & Online Community

The time after your retreat is the most important.

Imagine this -

You've just had the most transformational and heart-opening experience of your entire life. You understand your Self, your connection to All and your relationship with the Divine so deeply beyond words.

You've been able to see and heal such deep emotional wounds, which have been at the root of any challenges or difficulties you've had in life.

You are so open and sensitive energetically.

And then... you go back to the world you came from. Materialism, stress, schedules and where everybody around you is still chasing money, blind to the Truth of Who They Really Are.

These people... will not and CAN not understand what you just went through.

You NEED a support system.

You need to be able to talk to people who understand what you've gone through and what it is like to re-integrate into the Western World.

You need to surround yourself with people who are on the same path as you, who understand you and who look at the world in the same way you do.

There are thousands of us around the globe, on this path together. Here to heal, wake up, live from LOVE and make the world a better place...

But unfortunately, we are few and far between; still a small minority.

And if you look for this support system from your old group of friends or family, you'll be disappointed.

Even worse, they will bring you down.

I'm sorry to say, but it's important to be aware of.

After your retreat, you need to surround yourself with people who understand what you've just gone through. People who can help you when you're having a hard time.

Because I'll be honest. It isn't always easy to come back to the world after all that your Ayahuasca ceremonies open within you.

By coming to Peru, you are opening yourself to such deep levels of Self-Awareness, Truth and Love.

And you need to do everything you can to stay in this energy. Especially when you go back to the very computer that you are reading these words on right now.

Stop for a moment and take that in.

This is why we've created an Online Community and Ongoing Support System for you.

1. We provide you with a private one-on-one coaching call for after your retreat with us. This coaching call is here to support you during your integration process back into your daily life.

After such an incredibly opening experience, this personal call with us will help you so deeply with whatever you need help with most in that moment.

A lot of people find it difficult to return to their old way of living, after such a profound experience and this call is here to help you really ground the realizations and new ways of being into your daily life.

There is nothing that can compare to a private call with somebody who has been where you've been, who knows what you've been through and is here to support you in that process.

We have a private Facebook group, for everybody who's attended one of our retreats. Through this group, you can:

Get to know the other guests before you come to our retreat Our guests often take time before or after the retreat to meet with other guests and enjoy Peru

Build relationships with people you go through your retreat with With everything you experience together, many say these relationships are some of the most valuable and meaningful connections they've ever had

Get continued help and support from our facilitators The same facilitators who guide you through your retreat will be available in this private Facebook group to offer help, support, guidance and we're more than happy to get on the phone with you, if that is what will support you most.

Ultimately, we are here for you in every way that we can be.

Before, during and after your retreat.

Now we've shared what we do differently before and after your retreat. But what about during your retreat? We run our San Pedro Ayahuasca Retreat very differently than other Ayahuasca retreat centers. Because we see a way that is more effective for your healing than anything else. What is that?

The Easy Path or The Hard Path?

Some people think they are looking for a "Traditional Ayahuasca Retreat".

But if you're reading these words, you clearly resonate with a vision of experiencing Ayahuasca that is not simply the Traditional way.

If you want a traditional retreat, many offer very little support in your preparation and no followup.

I see it again and again, when people experience The New Paradigm of Ayahuasca , as well as a traditional shaman or retreat...

They almost always prefer this new way of working with Ayahuasca, which is adapted to your specific energetic and psychological needs.

What do I mean?

There are two ways of working with Ayahuasca.

There is the Old Paradigm or the traditional way of working with Ayahuasca.

This way is very masculine.

It is very focused on "going into the shadows," the pain, darkness, traumas, wounds and almost like "going through hell to get to heaven".

This way is still effective but the truth is, it's not very pleasant (at all). It's difficult, dark and very intense.

It's rooted in the masculine energies, the Earth element, the lower chakras and almost "forces" you to heal. It takes you through your pains, so that you can let them go.

Imagine getting "wrung out" like you would a wet cloth. Or being squeezed by a snake; Mother Ayahuasca.

This is the Old Paradigm of Ayahuasca; the Traditional Way.

I give so much honor and respect to this way of working with the medicine but Mother Ayahuasca has shown me a new way...

A way of working with Her, here to support us in the Collective Evolution that we're going through.

Love is the key to our Healing and Global Awakening.

And Love is the key to...

The New Paradigm of Ayahuasca

This way is very feminine.

It is focused on healing through Love, Light, Angelic Beings, Guides and Ascended Masters.

It is rooted in the feminine energies of the Heart; the Divine Mother. It is soft, gentle, loving, compassionate and all-embracing.

Imagine being a baby carried in the arms of a Cosmic Mother, experiencing love unlike anything you've ever felt before.

It's like bathing in Divine Healing Energy, lifting everything up, purifying and cleansing all that no longer serves.

Through Love, all is healed.

You don't need to go through all the pain, difficulty and darkness to receive the healing you want and need. There is an easier, more enjoyable, even blissful way of working with Ayahuasca.

This is the Way of the Feminine. The New Paradigm of Ayahuasca.

And above all, this is how we bring the greatest healing to you and all our guests.

This is also why our core team of facilitators who lead your retreat are all women.

And why our shaman was not born in Peru. He didn't learn the Old Paradigm of Ayahuasca, rather, he was called by the Spirit of Mother Ayahuasca and shown the Way of the Feminine...

I'll introduce you to our most amazing team later down this page.

But the point is -

You have a choice.

Do you choose the hard path or the easy path?

A traditional shaman or traditional Ayahuasca retreat is the hard path.

The New Paradigm of Ayahuasca, how we work with the medicine and our highest focus of healing through the feminine, is the easy path.

Of course, we can't tell you what your Ayahuasca experience will be like.

But one thing is certain. You will always get exactly what you need most.

Most importantly, as we focus on healing through the feminine, this leads to a completely unique and profoundly different healing experience than anything else out there.

And at our retreat, we do everything we can to ensure not only the most transformational journey possible, but also one of the most love-filled and heart-opening experiences of your entire life.

This, we promise.

Click Here To Apply

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Now, let me share with you The 10 Gifts that our Ayahuasca and San Pedro Retreat focuses on.

The 10 Gifts

Below are the top 10 reasons people choose our Ayahuasca retreats. Which of these are you looking for most?

1. Heal Mind, Body, Spirit

We all have psychological, mental and emotional wounds. From our parents, childhood, past partners and people you don't even remember.

These emotional wounds and past pains are at the root of every single aspect of your life that you may not be happy with.

If you have difficulties with love, relationships or money... if you suffer from depression, anxiety or addictions... if your body needs healing, or you have any dis-ease...

These are all rooted in emotional wounds and psychological pains that you carry.

We help you go into all of this, to bring love, light and healing to the parts of you that need it most. So you can let go of anger, the past and finally forgive yourself and others .

The result is the deepest healing on every level: mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.

2. Spiritual Growth & Self-Awareness

What is Truth?

Who are You really ?

Through our retreat, we help you gain a deeper connection to yourself, the world and everything in it.

So you can have a true spiritual experience and not just "get it" from the mind... but so you can have a direct-experience with Your True Self.

This isn't about teaching you, so you walk away with "new ideas" and more information to fill the mind...

Rather, it is the opposite. This is about peeling away the layers . Removing the illusions that you believe to be true... which have kept you in pain, struggle, suffering and drama in your life.

So you can finally come back to Who You Really Are. Understand yourself more fully, unlock your spiritual gifts, your highest potential and ultimately...

Return to the deepest remembering that you ARE Infinite Potential Source Energy manifest into physical form, capable of truly anything .

We are here to help you, so this isn't just an idea that you get from the mind... but something you understand so deeply from every cell of your Being.

As a result, you can not help but step into who you are really here to be in the world.

3. Love, Community and Family

Our number one focus is - and always will be - LOVE.

Living from the Heart, authentically, sincerely, honestly and unconditionally is our highest value in everything we do.

Our commitment to love, healing, truth, service and the deepest awakening and freedom of as many people on this planet is what drives EVERYTHING we do.

It is time to love yourself again. To feel connected again. To return to the communal way of living that we've all come from.

This is a place for you to call home for the rest of your life.

Where community and family are here for you whenever you want or need it.

Not only at our Ayahuasca retreats and our land in Peru but even after you leave our Center, we are here to support you and help you in every way we can.

Because we care. And above all, we do this for YOU.

4. Experience Inner Peace

The society we come from is do mind-driven, it is so hard to find the stillness we seek amidst all the chaos and stress.

This is why our Ayahuasca retreats are designed to give you the space where you can come back to yourself, calm the mind and find the stillness you crave within.

We've created this sacred sanctuary of healing to help you reconnect with nature, surround yourself with water, incredible views, plants and animals. And when you sit in the middle of such stillness externally... stillness internally becomes so easy.

We've designed our retreats to give you the balance of solitude - time to yourself - and community, where you can connect with others who are on the same path as you.

Doing so, gives you the space to not only feel embraced in who you are - not wrong for feeling what you feel - but ultimately, so you can slow down and not be so controlled by the mind.

As a result, you can experience peace for being exactly where you are , right now. No pressure about what you need to do, who you need to become, or what you need to achieve...

What remains is Pure Presence and Inner Peace.

Right Here. Right Now.

* Take a Deep Breath *

5. Clarity and Answers

At one point or another, almost all of us have felt, “ there has to be more to life than just this. ”

One common trait that all of us who are called to Mother Ayahuasca share is a deep questioning of life.

A desire to know.

A deep sense that there is more to life, which we have yet to discover or experience.

A knowingness that the systems of the world, aren't really for us...

Almost like we don't belong. Because we are here to create a New World.

This deep sense and questioning is exactly what has led you and I to Mother Ayahuasca.

And this sacrament will lead you to your deepest liberation.

One of Mother Ayahuasca's greatest gifts is her ability to help us find the answers and clarity that we seek... within ourselves.

Because the answers are NOT outside of us.

Rather, they are held within our own Hearts and Souls. And we will show you how to access and find the answers that you seek within yourself. With Ayahuasca and more importantly, without anything but your own consciousness.

6. Mental Reset

It's not your fault.

The beliefs you have.

The fear. The negative thought patterns. Any need to control.

Maybe a subtle feeling like you aren't good enough, or you don't deserve it...

You learned this all and so much more that keeps you stuck in life unwillingly by being born into the world that you have been.

The Western World seeks to control through fear and making people believe that you NEED the system.

The fact is, you don't.

If you really want to be free, you need a deep change of perspective .

A shift, which takes much more than just reading these words.

Rather, only a direct-experience like one of our retreats can give you.

So you can release the fear, start a new path and completely let go of the limiting-beliefs that keep you playing small and trapped by life.

7. Deep Transformation

Every single person who comes to our Ayahuasca retreat has such a transformational experience and finds that their life is set on a completely new, different path in the best way possible.

By bringing together such a powerful team of healers and guiding you through one transformational experience after another, there is no way that you can come to our Ayahuasca retreat and not find yourself changed for the better.

More importantly, we are here to work with you even after your retreat is over.

Many Ayahuasca retreat centers focus on just your time in Peru; the one week that you spend at the physical retreat center.

With us, we focus on so much more.

Not only are we here to give you the most transformational Ayahuasca retreat using much more than just Ayahuasca for your healing -

But we focus on your time before and after your retreat with us.

So your experience in Peru isn't just a temporary state that fades... but we support you in creating true life-long transformation.

To completely and permanently destroy the old you, in the best way possible. So you can tap into your highest potential and be your best self.

Not only at our Ayahuasca retreat center, but most importantly, even after you go back home.

8. Safety and Experienced Facilitators

Your safety is our highest priority.

This is why we have many systems in place to ensure your safety and every single one of our guests'.

Unlike other Ayahuasca retreat Peru centers, every person who is interested in our retreat is required to fill out an in-depth application and get on the phone with us first. This allows us to screen our guests and create the safest environment for everybody involved.

We are so committed to holding the safest space for your healing and do not compromise this in any way.

Particularly, this is a safe space for women . And our retreat facilitators have been hand-picked to be all women for this very reason.

(I'll introduce you to these amazing women, below)

Our facilators and team are amongst the most caring, loving, nurturing, intuitive, wise and experienced facilitators that you can find anywhere.

With decades of years of healing experience, leading ceremonies and facilitating retreats, our team is here to hold your hand through not only the most transformational time of your life, but of course, the safest.

9. Discover Your Purpose

“ What am I really here to do with my life?”

“ What is the point of this all? ”

We all seek to find our deepest Divine Purpose in life. Our soul's destiny and reason for being here.

Deep inside, we crave to know. We need to know.

If we don't, there is a deep sense of unfulfillment. And this part of us will always feel like we aren't living up to our highest potential.

This leaves us questioning, seeking, knowing deep inside there is more. And no matter how much money you make, what you own, or anything that might fulfill you in the world of materialism, if you don't live up to your Divine Purpose, there is a sense of regret and emptiness that fills your heart.

Many people convince themselves it doesn't really matter. But deep inside, our souls will never rest in peace until we know our True Purpose in life.

When you find it, everything becomes clear . There is a sense of confidence and certainty for what you want and where you are going in your life.

And you are filled with a passion and excitement that makes every moment in life come alive . Almost like for the first time, you are able to see...

When you know your Divine Purpose, life becomes almost effortless because it is about something so much bigger than you.

This is an experience so far beyond words and at our retreat, you will be surrounded by our community who LIVE their deepest purpose in every way. This makes it easier for you to know your Truth.

The energy we hold as a community, which goes beyond anything that just Iowaska trip can give you, is what fills you up and lifts you into these higher frequencies, so you can discover the same Truth within yourself.

10. Be Of Service To The World

All of us in this Global Healing Community share one trait, one thing that has brought us all together and led us to Mother Ayahuasca.

(If you havn't joined the Global Healing Community yet, click here and enter your email. This is the greatest way we can support you.)

That one trait we all share... is to be of service in the world.

To make a difference.

To help others and make the planet a better a place for us all.

When you join our retreat, it is about so much more than just your personal healing.

It is about the healing of the entire planet.

As you heal, you help everybody around you heal.

As you step into Your Highest Truth, you help everybody else discover the same Truth within themselves.

And as you step forward in life, taking action on what matters most to you... you silently give permission to everybody else around you to do the same.

People notice. They might not say anything, or maybe even try to stop you, but they definitely notice.

When you heal, you are adding to the momentum of the Collective Evolution on our planet. And you make it easier for everybody else to find the same love, joy and peace within.

When you join our Ayahuasca retreat, it is about so much more than just your own healing.

Rather, it is about joining a movement. A cause. And making a difference in the world, together.

9 Day Ayahuasca & San Pedro Retreat at El Camino Sagrado Holistic Healing Center, Peru

Highlights of Your 9 Day Transformational Journey

One thing you can't put into a bullet point... is the immense amount of LOVE that we pour into everything you experience with us. Not only on this page, but most importantly at your Ayahuasca retreat with us.

This is the underlying energy and intention behind all that we say, think, do and create in the world to support you and our planet in the deepest healing possible.

So feel the love as you read these words and get even more clear that our retreat is the one that you have been looking for

What you get with us:

Purification Ceremony

All of the work that we do at our healing center, is about giving you the deepest, most life-long transformation possible.

In order to do this, we give so much attention to detail on countless aspects of your journey, that all work together, to give you the most profound experience with Ayahuasca, and all healing that we share with you.

The first step, is to properly cleanse your body and mind, and to release stagnant energy that you've picked up from the world, and the stress-ridden lives that so many of us live.

Wild jungle tobacco is revered as a Master Teacher Plant in the Amazon, and is used to ward off negative spirits, heal many physical ailments, and give strength and power within the spiritual realms.

This Purification Ceremony involves drinking a strong tea made from mapacho (jungle tobacco), which triggers a purgatory-response within the body, and causes the organs to release toxins into the stomach, which are then released through a vomit-reflex.

But more important than the physical cleanse, is the deep energetic release that this Purification Ceremony gives you. Ultimately, giving you a deep strength for the ceremonies to come, and allowing the plant medicines to work deepest within you.

3 Ayahuasca Ceremonies

During this time in our Collective Evolution, the medicine we all need is that of the Divine Feminine. The Divine Mother.

It is the unconscious masculine, the drive for money, power and control, led by greed and a disregard for other humans, that has brought all the problems we now face in our world.

We consciously work with the energies of the Divine Feminine to not only bring this healing to our planet in this much-needed time, but to also create the most powerful healing space possible for you.

The Way of The Feminine is guided by Love and controlled by the soft gentleness of the Divine Mother. We utilize these energies and create a space of healing that is focused on the light, rather than "going into darkness" which is what traditional Ayahuasca ceremonies tend to emphasize.

This way of healing is exactly what you need as a Westerner and after sitting with countless shamans and traditional ayahuasca ceremonies, it is so clear: The Way of the Feminine is not only more enjoyable, but so much more effective for your healing.

Your Retreat, Led By Women

To honor the Way of the Feminine and the immense healing power that this path brings, we have brought together the most amazing, heart-centered, loving, kind and gifted female leaders and healers - to facilitate your Ayahusaca retreat with us.

You can not help but feel their love for you at your deepest core, the moment you meet them. They make you feel so welcomed and are so genuine in their care for you, being around them brings a feeling of love that is truly so rare and beyond words.

They live their lives so unconditionally committed to bringing healing, love and light into this world and the hearts of as many people as possible. We are so excited to introduce you to each of them, in the "Meet Our Team" section below.

You can't help but love them!

1 San Pedro Ceremony

To bring this all together in a grounded way and make your transition back into your daily-life as smooth as possible, we introduce you to the little-known, yet profoundly powerful medicine, San Pedro.

San Pedro is a cactus that grows in the Andes regions of Peru, that indigineous tribes have been working with for thousands of years for healing, purification and access to the Deepest Truth of the Self.

Through working with both Ayahuasca and San Pedro at our retreat, you have the unique experience of receiving the cosmic teachings and psychic-surgery that Mother Ayahuasca gives, combined with the deep grounding and practical teachings that Father San Pedro gives.

What results is the most profound combination of healing energies which are more powerful than any words can express. The feeling you are left with is a sense of completion in your journey, having received everything that you needed to receive, while also having the clear action steps for how to bring these insights into your daily life and create a permanent change in your life.

We work with a very-experienced local Peruvian Shaman who has spent his entire life learning from the San Pedro Spirit and his ancestors. His connection to the Earth, the plants, the mountains and this land leads him to be one of the most incredible healers and shamans that we could ever bring to lead your San Pedro Ceremony.

Yoga, Meditation and Sound Healing Therapy

Plus we teach you valuable tools, techniques and processes for you to bring into your daily life, so your retreat isn't just a beautiful week with us, but truly, a life-long transformation.

As you come to our retreat and experience the deep states of self-love, inner peace and one profound realization after another... It is so important that you have a spiritual practice to bring back into your daily life so you can keep the deep states of love, joy, peace and presence even amidst all the energy of a city.

This is why we introduce you to many different healing modalities, which you can experience first hand, so you can really see... what works best for you.

Think of it this way:

Imagine a mountain and at the top of the mountain is the Divine. Oneness. God. Whatever you call it, it is the deepest place of love, joy, inner peace, and self-awareness that we could live from.

There are countless ways up this mountain. And not every path is for every person. You are unique and what might work for one person, might not work for you. And what works for you, doesn't work for everybody else.

This is why we have designed our Ayahuasca retreats to include much more than just Ayahuasca. Because Ayahuasca is NOT the path up the mountain.

It will give you a glimpse of what the Highest State of Divine Love feels like... but once you have this experience, you need to work with it, practice, and do everything you can to integrate this into who you are every day. It's not just about having this beautiful experience and then going back to the way you were.

This is why we show you what works . And what you can do in your daily life to keep working with the realizations you receive to create life-long transformation.

This is why we introduce you to these healing modalities and show you what you can do to keep your vibration high, especially when life gets hard.

Be on the lookout for any Ayahuasca retreat you choose must have this wholistic approach if you really want the most out of your experience in Peru.

By sharing these with you, we are empowering you to be your own healer, so you don't need to rely on Ayahuasca or anybody else. And regardless of how hard life gets, you'll know how to respond, stay centered and live from the heart no matter what.

9 Days at Our Breathtaking Land

You will be absolutely blown away by the sheer beauty of this land.

Click play to watch an amazing video by one of our guests, David Murray, showing his beautiful experience at our land:

Our land is filled with countless paintings, murals and breathtaking art, which creates the ideal space for your healing and spiritual journey.

We let the pictures speak for themselves. This land can not help but bring such deep peace, stillness and magic into every moment you spend here.

We have no neighbours anywhere close, which creates such a calm, serene environment and gives you the solitude and privacy that is needed for this journey.

Our property sits at the base of a powerful waterfall which holds such deeply healing energy.

This sacred beautiful land will be your home as you experience the most meaningful and valuable 9 Days of your life.

Even without plant medicine, this land creates transformation within everybody who steps foot here.

Click here to view more incredible pictures of this breathtaking, magical land…

Discover Peru & Connect with the Local Culture

We guide you through different experiences that allow you to enjoy this land first-hand and really discover the unique Peruvian culture and its rich history.

How we do this will be a surprise, but one thing is certain: you will love it! Just like all our other guests do!

All Meals Prepared by our Local Chefs

We work with local chefs to give you a taste of Peru while also following the Ayahuasca diet . We believe food is medicine and we've created an amazing retreat menu for all your meals with us.

We provide a vegetarian diet to keep your body as clean as possible to allow the plant medicine and healing sessions to work so deeply within you. We also provide vegan options and accommodate to any specific dietary requests if necessary. Just mention what you need when you apply below.

a return to the natural way of living (community housing)

This is the housing setup:

There are 4 main rooms, which are shared by all guests.

Two rooms, have 3 beds each (6 beds total), which are for people who either snore, or are sensitive sleepers.

The rest of the guests, will share the other two rooms.

What this does, is create an environment where such beautiful connections can unfold, between you and the other guests. A deep feeling of family, is inevitably created.

Because this is the problem:

Many of you, are going through this awakening journey, and have nobody around you who actually understands you and what you're going through.

This is why, a huge focus of our retreats, is to give you the space, where you can make these connections.

Not only are we here to support you after your retreat, but even more important, are the people you meet during your retreat with us.

We're all in this together.

So our sleeping and housing situation is consciously designed to really bring us together.

Deep down, this is what you need and want. Community. People you can really share and go deep with.

Remember sleep overs as a kid?

Imagine that, in the best way possible.

Ultimately, if you resonate with the words on this page...

Because our retreats attract a very special, unique kind of person - conscious, heart-centered, and aware - you will really enjoy the housing setup at our land.

Everything about our retreats are here to bring the deepest healing, and sense of family, possible.

Pre-retreat Preparation

How you prepare for your retreat has such an impact on the quality of your Ayahuasca experience. If you really want to get the most out of your Ayahuasca retreat, you need to put the time and energy into your preparation. If not, it can not only be dangerous, but you simply won't get as much from your retreat.

We are committed to working with people who want to create true life-long change in their lives. Not just people who want a "plant medicine vacation". If you are truly committed to this journey and never-ending growth, then we are here to work with you and support you more than any other Ayahuasca healing center out there.

We help you prepare through an in-depth guide and series of videos, which have been specifically created to help you best prepare for your retreat. This mini-course will teach you specific practices which will allow you to develop crucial skills within, that will purify your body and mind, and serve to make your experience in Peru as deeply transformational as possible.

Ongoing Support, Family & Community

The most important time is your time after your retreat . You will experience some of the highest states of love, joy, self-awareness, clarity and mental stillness than anything you've probably ever experienced. As this door opens for you, we are here to help you hold on to this so it isn't just a temporary experience, but truly brings about the deepest transformation in every aspect of your life.

We do this in several ways.

Most importantly, we offer one-on-one integration coaching as a special bonus for after your retreat with us. More information about this is found in our Dates & Pricing section below.

We also provide a private online community for all guests of our Ayahuasca retreats. This is a place for you to share your journey, connect with like-minded people and really surround yourself with people who support you above all.

One of the hardest things about this journey of healing and awakening is feeling alone. Like nobody understands you or is there for you.

This is why we provide private coaching and this online community, for you to connect with others who truly understand what you are going through and are on the same path as you.

Plus, this is the place for you to connect with other members of your retreat with us. For many guests, the people you meet here are often some of the most valuable connections you've ever had.

Additionally, anybody who comes to our Ayahuasca retreat is welcomed back at a discounted price, because like all of our retreat guests, you will want to come back.

We offer you a place of healing and a sacred sanctuary for you to come back to for the rest of your life. This is a home away from home for you and we are here for you for as long as you can imagine. As people who truly care about you and above all, are here to see you as the happiest most fufilled being that we know you can be.

Private 1-on-1 Time

For those who have particular difficulties or challenges within, if you need the extra support, we are here to provide you the personal attention that you may seek. The team of healers who run our retreats are amongst the most gifted, talented and intuitive healers that I've ever met. This is why they've been hand-selected to be in this supportive role for you. And they are more than happy to be here for you, support you and give you the help you need, no matter what you are going through.

Pickup and Dropoff Services

We take care of all transportation for you and provide pickup and dropoff services to Cusco on the first and last day of your retreat with us. We've also created a Travel & Accommodation Guide to make your journey to our retreat center as easy, safe and enjoyable as possible. We'll send you this upon successful registration for our retreat.

Amazing Library

We have an amazing library of books on spirituality, metaphysics, esoteric sciences and the path of awakening, with a wide array of resources that will be of great interest and support to you on this path. You can start reading them here and even better, find what resonates most with you and purchase them when you return home, for guidance in your continued spiritual evolution.

Optional 2 Day Retreat Extension: Machu Picchu - 1 of the 7 Wonders of the World

A sacred site to the Incans - a complete stone city with archicectural designs that no modern-day technology is able to accomplish. Lost for hundreds of years after the Spanish invasion, found only by accident in the early 1900s... this sacred city lays on top of a powerful vortex of energy, which you can not help but feel.

Especially after opening yourself as deeply as you do with the plant medicines and healing that you experience at our retreat, visiting Machu Picchu can not help but be a deeply meaningful experience, on top of being surrounded by sheer beauty.

As an optional 2 day retreat extension, you can visit Machu Picchu, one of The 7 Wonders of the World and really take your depth of connecting and receiving the gifts of this land to the highest degree possible. This experience is truly beyond words and is highly recommended if you come to Peru.

Constant Improvements and Much More!

Testimonials

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Shakti Selina Quinn

The aim and purpose of our retreats is healing through the divinely powerful energy of the Feminine. Selina Quinn, originally born in Ireland, brings this energy in infinite bounds which you can feel so powerfully in her presence.

Her care, love, attention and desire to help all of us who are ready to step into our Truth of being the Ultimate Creators of our lives, is so palpable and you can not help but step into higher levels of your Self, when being around her.

Selina has trained in numerous healing modalities which she will share with you from yoga, to emotional freedom techniques to release stored pain, anger and trauma in the body, to self-love and personal empowerment and of course, feminine embodiment. At her core, she teaches the Universal Truth of Oneness, no matter what healing modality she draws from. Beyond all of this, just through being around someone who exists at this level of Love and these highest frequencies, she triggers a powerful process of purification just by being in her presence.

Most importantly, she carries the energy of the Divine Feminine so palpably. As a channel for the Divine Mother, she steps into her role deeper and deeper to be this vessel of Love in the world. At the time of writing this, she is pregnant and to completely honest, you can't help but love this woman when you meet her. She inspires such a deep sense of self-love, self-empowerment, ease of life and the ability to enjoy this moment becomes so easy in her presence.

She is one of the three women who lead our Ayahuasca retreats Peru and is here to do everything she possibly can to ensure you have not only the most transformational retreat possible, but also the most enjoyable, as you go through this deep process of release at our retreat.

Carmen Santillan

We are so excited to introduce you to our most amazing female shaman... Carmen Santillan, who I'm sure you will fall in love with immediately.

There is something about her that is so special, so magical, so deep, yet so soft and gentle... So pure and loving...

As a mother of five children, she embodies these traits and the highest energies of the Divine Feminine...

That I've been honestly looking for since I started Ayahuasca Healings many years ago...

This vision... of a healing centre lead by women, lead by the Divine Feminine, is what we are here to bring to the world, and what we know is the Key to our planet's Awakening.

And Carmen Santillan, along with the amazing team of women you will meet here, is what makes our Ayahuasca Retreats so completely one of a kind and special.

Carmen has been working with Ayahuasca for over 14 years, and she holds such a powerful healing capacity with not only the plants, but more so, her presence. Her light. Her gifts, and her voice.

Most notably, I feel such a purity in her intentions to share the medicine; which is honestly one of the most important things we look for, in bringing you a shaman to lead your Ayahuasca Retreat with us.

Carmen is so passionate and lead by her Divine calling to help the youth in this world. People in their 20s - the next generation of leaders and teachers - are especially who Carmen is most called to support in their healing and deepest awakening.

But more so, she is here to offer her gifts to anybody who asks. She does not offer her ceremonies publicly, and only shares her medicine with those who come to her...

This is why it is such a gift and rarity to be able to introduce you to Carmen, and have this most amazing woman lead your Ayahuasca Peru retreat with us...

Especially in a world where male shamans dominate, we are so grateful to be able to bring you this incredible female shaman, and the very unique Ayahuasca ceremonies that she leads...

Your time with Carmen will undoubtedly be the most transformational of your entire life...

You have to meet this woman.

Here are some beautiful words from Carmen:

I have faith in this path with the Ancestral Medicines who teach us about Love... and the reality of the functions and systems of life. They allow us to remove the veils of illusion, loneliness, sadness, abandonment, traumas, etc... to see Who We Really Are and why we are in this world. When we have this understanding, we want to do good and be good, as we understand the word Unity from a new perspective...

Semilla Mel

Ahh, where do I begin about Semilla..?!

... I know! Watch this... =)

This woman is truly one of the highest frequency beings that I have ever met.

The way that she interacts with life, the presence she holds, the light she shines, and the pure JOY that you can not help but feel by being around her... are the greatest gifts that she shares with all who meet her...

She is the mother of Amador, which translates to "the one who loves". She looks at life, and all that we are creating with these healing retreats, and the conscious communities that we are grounding... as the breeding ground for the children who will wake up the world...

Semilla is so dedicated to teaching, guiding, and supporting the children who are coming onto this planet, to truly create a global movement of healing, awakening, and love for us all.

This vision for the children, and supporting as many human beings as possible in their Journey of Remembering... Who They Really Are... is what she lives, breathes, and shares with SO much love...

Semilla first experienced Ayahuasca over 17 years ago, and has since found her path and her gifts for the world, through sharing yoga, massage, and caring for our Mother Earth...

But above all, beyond being a Mother, a guardian for our awoken children, a teacher of yoga, movement, dance, and artistic expression through the heart...

Is the presence she holds and the light that she shines, which is truly so healing to be around...

To meet Semilla, work with her, and be guided by the purity of her heart is truly an immense and rare gift, that I am so grateful beyond words to share with those who truly seek to find themselves...

For just being around her, helps us remember what life is really about...

Here are some beautiful words from Semilla:

"Breathe for a moment... and observe your breath... conscious breathing is the portal to the present... and the present is a moment in which you connect with your Inner God.

We come to this Earth to evolve... to approach each time, more of our Divinity. Looking for inner peace, so together we may make this planet a paradise.

Observe yourself, humble yourself, work with detachment, learn from everyone, protect children, help your community, take care of your planet, do what you like, eat healthy, practice yoga, enjoy nature, love unconditionally, trust in the Universe and be very grateful.

I am a seed and I am here to help with the sowing of a new era.

May all the beings of the universe live in Peace, Abundance and Happiness.

Josefina Correa & Ignacio Rodriguez

As we share about the power of the Divine Feminine...

And healing through this incredibly transformational, yet gentle , energy...

I am so happy to be able to bring you Josefina and Ignacio Rodriguez.

With these two incredible healers and shamans, you get "two for one" so to say...

Not just the presence of the Divine Feminine, but also, the grounded strength and protection of the Masculine...

Which allows the healing of the feminine to flourish and touch you in the deepest ways, beyond words.

This is exactly what you can expect to experience when sitting with Josefina and Ignacio.

The strength of their union, their love, and their vast experience in leading Ayahuasca ceremonies together...

Opens doors to healing and transformation that will touch you so deep, beyond what a single shaman can do alone.

There is a Mastery, and a level of Love...

That simply no words can express... when you experience a ceremony from these two light beings...

I am so beyond words grateful, to be able to introduce you to them...

For there are few people in the entire WORLD...

That I could recommend as highly as Josefina and Ignacio, to lead your Ayahuasca ceremonies.

The music they create is just beyond this world...

Here is but a small sample:

Ultimately -

The chance to sit with Josefina and Ignacio, is one so rare and powerful, if you could make one of these dates with them, do it.

It's that simple. 🙏

Dylan describes his journey so perfectly in these words below: An unstoppable thirst for truth and knowledge was initiated after an intense process of disillusionment - realizing everything I had ever held to be true about the world, myself and the nature of reality was false.

Emerging stronger than ever before with a clear sense of purpose, focus, direction and vision for the world, I now appreciate the many years of struggle with depressive moods, intense confusion and insecurity, addiction and drug abuse.

Gems of profound wisdom were contained within the most difficult and painful experiences - which I now feel called to share widely with others embarking on the same journey of healing, learning, growing, evolving and expanding.

Dylan has been through so much pain and suffering in his life and after coming to Peru, has finally found a way out. Now, he uses those painful experiences and everything he has learned from them to help anybody who is ready to listen and take this step forward in their lives.

Dylan has such a profound ability to understand the struggles, problems and challenges that people go through and drawing from his own personal experience, is able to share such valuable insight to truly help people get out of their own way.

He has gained this title of "Bridger of Worlds" because this is exactly his role. He understands so deeply where you come from, where you are and sees where you can go. He has lived the pain, drama and suffering in his own life and has been gifted with such a clear vision and blueprint for how to get out of it.

To help you get from where you are to where you want to go, Dylan is here to answer all your questions, reply to your emails and get on the phone with you when you apply, to help you in any way he can. With so much love and compassion, Dylan is here to show you how you can truly find the freedom and love that your heart so deeply yearns for.

Trinity de Guzman

Like so many countless others, I was taught by society the highest importance of making money. After graduating highschool, I chased this illusion... only to find myself more unhappy and unfulfilled than ever.I spent years chasing money, thinking it was going to make me happy. And at 19 years old, after spending 2 years doing nothing else but focused on this goal, I tasted what it was like... and I realized this is NOT what I want my life to be about.

At this point, I was more confused than ever. I started to ask for the first time: what am I really here to do with my life? What is my purpose? What is my passion?

So in 2010, I sold basically everything I owned and with a single backpack, I left my hometown of Vancouver, Canada to find answers.

I struggled. A lot. The most important thing to me was finding my purpose, but years went by and I grew frustrated and impatient. After studying from many teachers all over the world and going deeper into spirituality, I still wasn't any closer to knowing what I was here to do with my life. I honestly thought about giving up and getting a job... but my soul wouldn't let me and told me to keep going.

After years, it wasn't until March, 2013 that I ended up in Peru and found Mother Ayahuasca...

In an instant, everything changed. Everything I had been looking for, all the questions I had, all the doubts, fears and insecurities seemed to vanish in a single night. And the purpose I had looked for, was shown to me so clearly.

The night of my first Ayahuasca ceremony, after the most profound, life-changing, healing experience of my life, I knew... I had to share this medicine with the world. I was shown and asked by Mother Ayahuasca to bring this medicine to those who need it.

Ever since then, my life has never been the same. I have now had over 100 Ayahuasca ceremonies and dedicate my life so fully to sharing this medicine with the world and bringing Mother Ayahuasca's life-changing gift of healing to those who are ready.

So I write these words, I've brought together the most powerful team of healers and I've created the very vision that Mother Ayahuasca has guided me and asked me to create. Not to follow the old traditional way of working with Ayahuasca, but to bring to the world an adapted way of working with Ayahuasca that is specifically here to help us, as Westerners, with our over-active minds and the stresses that our money-driven world brings us.

I have never found anything that can help us so deeply, so quickly and so powerfully than Mother Ayahuasca. And there is nothing more important to me than helping our world heal. This is why I write these words and dedicate my life to sharing this most profound healing medicine that Mother Ayahuasca is.

It is not the world that needs healing. It is humans. When humans find peace within their own hearts, the world will know peace.

Dates & Pricing

The following dates are available for our peru ayahuasca retreats:.

• May 8 - May 16, 2020 (Lead by Semilla Mel & Carmen Santillan)
• Jun 27 - Jul 5, 2020 ((Lead by Semilla Mel & Carmen Santillan)
• Aug 6 - Aug 14, 2020 (Lead by Semilla Mel, Josefina Correa & Ignacio Rodriguez)
• Sep 11 - Sep 19, 2020 (Lead by Selina Quinn & Carmen Santillan)
• Oct 9 - Oct 17, 2020 (Lead by Selina Quinn & Carmen Santillan)
• Nov 13 - Nov 21, 2020 (Lead by Selina Quinn & Carmen Santillan)
• Dec 11 - Dec 19, 2020 (Lead by Selina Quinn & Carmen Santillan)

Please Note:  All our retreats  do  fill up. Please apply in advance to stand your best chance at attending the retreat date of your choice. 

Contribution Amount

The contribution amount for our 9 Day San Pedro and Ayahuasca Retreat is $1800 USD

This includes the Pre-retreat Preparation Course, the Post-Retreat Coaching (more on this below) and the Online Community to support you with your integration and ongoing healing after your retreat with us.

No other Ayahuasca retreat center offers all of this.

If you really want the most out of your retreat, you need to put energy into your preparation.

It's like going to a race. If you really want to do your best, you need train or practice beforehand. This Pre-Retreat Preparation Course that we give you is the best thing you can do to prepare, and get the most out of your Ayahuasca retreat.

Also, what good is such a powerful retreat if the internal shifts and changes within are only temporary?

This is why you need the Post-Retreat Coaching and Online Community, to help you keep the shifts within and truly experience a life-long transformation.

After You Apply, Book Your Phone Call With Us

After you apply, you will be taken to our Booking Calendar to schedule a time for your phone call with us. This phone call is here to help us get to know each other, ensure there is a right fit and ensure the safety of all our guests.

This phone call will also serve to help you clarify your intentions and get the most out of your retreat.

Please ensure after you apply, you choose a time and date that works best for you (sooner the better) and remember to put this appointment in your calendar, so you are ready for when we call you.

This is what the scheduling page looks like:

We look forward to connecting deeper and seeing how we can support you in this journey of a lifetime!

Payment Options and Discounts

After seeing how every single person who comes to one of our San Pedro Ayahuasca Retreat experiences such profound healing and transformation, we are here to do everything we can to make this experience possible for you. Because of this, we have payment options and discounts available:

Two-Payment Option

To secure your seat and lock in your desired retreat date, you can pay 50% now and make your second payment at anytime prior to your retreat.

EARLY-BIRD DISCOUNT

If you register for a retreat that starts more than 60 days from the day you confirm your spot (by paying your deposit), you will qualify for $100 off your retreat. So your San Pedro & Ayahuasca Retreat, including all food, lodging and offerings described above, will only be $1700 instead of $1800.

Email Discounts

Every now and then, we offer larger discounts to subscribers of our email list. If you would like to be notified of any future retreat discounts, please click here and enter your email address.

Financial Aid

Above all, we are here to share this medicine with those who need it most. If you are called to one of our retreats but money is an obstacle for you, apply today and in the "Additional Notes" section, let us know why you request financial aid.

Bonus: 3 Month Post-Retreat Integration Course (Free)

Just to clarify, I'm not the one who leads our Ayahuasca Retreats in Peru.

We have an absolutely incredible team, who you can not help but love so deeply, who lives in Peru and dedicates their lives to helping others Heal and Remember...

(Remember what? This is why you're coming...)

In September, 2018, I visited Peru and joined in the San Pedro Ceremony we hold on the last day of our retreat...

The transformation I saw...

The healing... the LOVE that had been opened up...

The depths of gratitude, from those who didn't know life can be so beautiful...

The stories I heard from people's very real struggles...

How we had literally saved someone from killing himself... giving him back a new will and desire to live...

Meeting a woman, who had so much self-judgement, negative self-talk, and such a critical inner voice... who finally had control of her life again... who learned to love herself...

The healing I saw a young man have, from the grief of his recently passed father...

And the letting go... of such deep anger, resentment and frustration... that this one woman held from not feeling loved by her parents as a child...

The stories were breathtaking. But what was even more incredible, was the transformation, the opening, the healing that these people had experienced in just over a week...

This opened my heart and inspired me beyond words... to see how deeply people are being transformed, and how much is opened within every single person who comes to our retreats...

The point is:

I left that day with incredible clarity and a beautiful vision...

Of seeing, how I can support these people to KEEP the LOVE and JOY that they were FILLED with... and bring that into a completely new way of living...

So it's not simply a beautiful experience together... but truly, the turning point of a profound shift in every person's life.

Everything we do, focuses on this.

Truly, life-long transformation.

And to add to this, I was shown I needed to create a 3 Month Post-Retreat Integration Course for all our guests.

So I've done exactly that.

Unlike any other Ayahuasca Retreat out there, we provide you with a 4-Part Preparation Course before your retreat... As well as a 3 Month Integration Course for after, with weekly videos, to help you get the most out of your experience possible.

And ultimately, supporting you in creating that permanent shift in your life, which I know you seek...

In this course, I share:

• What practices are most important for you to do in your life, after your retreat
• How to respond to the negative energies that normally surround you in your daily life
• What to do when your old patterns or habits arise
• How to stop others from pulling you down
• How to find your creative outlets and live the highest expression of your soul
• How to create new habits successfully, regardless of what you've tried in the past
• How to resist temptation from that which used to suck energy from you
• How to create and manifest easily using the power of your subconscious mind
• How to stay in a high vibration, even amidst all the stresses and busy-ness of daily life
• Ultimately, how to live a life of PASSION and FULFILLMENT, in work and everyday life
• And so much more...

This is yours, free, for joining us.

And this alone, is worth choosing our Ayahuasca San Pedro Retreat over any others.

Final Words

Imagine a world where LOVE is what is most important. Where love, family, community, nature, amazing food, music, gratitude and celebration are what life is about.

Where everybody is embraced for exactly who they are with no judgement, only the deepest acceptance and allowing of all you are. Where you can go deep, feel, cry, shed layers that no longer serve you, so you can truly be the most loving, radiant, happy and connected being that you can possibly be; connected to your Self, the people around you and the Divine.

Imagine a world where our children can grow up free of the unconscious patterns that our parents and society passed on to us. A world where our children hold onto their Divine Spark and never forget... their Deepest Purpose in the world.

So they can shine, radiate, blossom and share their gifts and love to all beings freely without shame or guilt.

Where every person's gifts are celebrated in their uniqueness and Divinity. And a society that does not just prize mental information and money, but truly looks beyond the material, sees the heart in every person and understands we are all equal.

Imagine a world where we all get to live the life that is most important to us. Where money is not the most important, rather, being present and enjoying life in any way that your heart most calls, is.

Imagine... being together. Celebrating life, gathering around a fire, loving this moment. This most precious life. And re-connecting to Mother Earth, gratitude and what really matters...

This is what we are here to create. This is what we have created. In our little community in Peru, and ever growing. By joining our retreat, you are doing so much more than just helping yourself in your personal healing journey.

You are joining a movement. A family. A cause. Where we understand that your healing, is the world's healing. And as each of us as individuals heal, we are truly creating the New Earth that we have been waiting for.

If you resonate with this vision and believe this IS possible, then join us. Because it's right here for you.

Join the family, the community and this movement of Love in the world.

We are here to continue to create communities where these values we speak of are what guide and lead everything, every day of our lives.

So we can truly pave the path and carry the torch that the Great Teachers and Enlightened Masters have passed onto us.

So we can remind our brothers and sisters who have forgotten... how to appreciate our Mother. How to stop. Breathe. And give thanks...

We are here to lead and teach, not through our words, but through our actions and how we live our lives. We are here to show the people around us how beautiful life can really be.

How life isn't only about money and doesn't have to be filled with suffering, pain, drama and struggle.

So we can show our society, little by little, this way of living IS possible.

We have done it. In our little sacred sanctuary that is our healing community in Peru. Where we invite you and open our doors to welcome you as family.

This is what you are contributing to by joining our retreat. Not just your healing. But most importantly, the world's. And this new model of living that we are creating for the world.

Only together, is this vision possible. So join us. Come to our retreat and play your part in this bigger picture for us all.

We look so forward to supporting you in living the most beautiful, fulfilling life that you know you've come here to live.

It's not just about Mother Ayahuasca. It's about everything that we've brought together, to make this not only the most wholistic Ayahuasca retreat out there, but to truly be the most important experience of your entire life.

With SO much love, from the depths of our heart to yours,

Trinity de Guzman & The Ayahuasca Healings Family

PS - If you have any questions, please feel free to visit our Frequently Asked Questions page here .

And if you would still like to reach out to us, we are more than happy to help answer any questions and support you in any way we can. Click here to visit our contact page to send us an email. We look so forward to hearing from you and receiving your application soon!

Love and blessings!!!

Ayahuasca Retreat Prices

“Weigh the true advantages of forgiveness and resentment to the heart. Then choose.” - Jack Kornfield

The Hummingbird Center is dedicated to keeping this magical healing tradition affordable for all who are looking for an effective alternative to western medicine. Our ayahuasca retreat prices are in the middle range across retreat center prices. While maintaining focus on our mission of healing and providing the highest level of individual care and attention, we will always be one of the lower priced premier centers in the greater Iquitos area. All guests get a private room in one of our tambos in the jungle. Laundry service is included, as are all meals and medicine.

The Hummingbird Center is focused on helping people transform their consciousness, their belief systems, and their understanding of what is really True about themselves. Our emphasis in on mindfulness, paying attention to our inner world, the dynamic between our thoughts, our emotions and our body. We are committed to keeping ayahausca retreat cost reasonable, while providing exceptional care, comfort, and most importantly, results!

Included in our Ayahuasca Retreats

Ayahuasca retreat programs.

Our retreats begin on the 1st and 15th of most months, and there is the option of either a 9 Day or 12 Day stay. All retreats include at least one San Pedro ceremony. We also have an Immersion Retreat program with 3 or 4 week stay for those looking to go deep with the medicine or who have more serious issues they want to address.

Ayahuasca Ceremonies

Our 9 day retreats include four ayahuasca and one San Pedro ceremony. The 12 day retreats have 6 ayahuasca and one San Pedro ceremony. The number of ceremonies on our Immersion retreats vary depending on whether they span the end of the month or not. Most people choose to sit out at least one ceremony to rest and integrate.

Master Shaman and Curandero

Banco ayahuasquero Don Hector Fatima has over 50 years of experience working with ayahuasca. Born with a natural gift of communicating with spirits, he began learning the plant spirit tradition from his grandfather at age seven. Don Hector is an exceptionally gifted healer, one of those rare individuals who’s work seems almost magical with the rapid results people receive.

Additional Plant Treatments

We have a plant based energetic cleanse before each ayahuasca ceremony. Most days it is a plant bath made from plants collected from our property by our Shaman Don Hector. The plants used will vary depending on what he feels is best for the group. We also do one cleansing vapor bath that has a guided process lasting around 20 minutes. Many have found this catalyzes a profound healing process, and many have said their ceremony began in the vapor bath.

Individual Shamanic Healing

With the exception of the first ceremony of the retreat, each person will receive individual healing from Don Hector. We bring people up to a mat in the center of the moloca. You will be asked what you would like work done on, and Don Hector will give you a personal treatment based on your request. Individual healing work is also done each afternoon there is not an ayahuasca ceremony, so you will receive specific healing every day of the retreat.

Ayahuasca Integration Circles

The morning after each ayahuasca ceremony we hold an integration circle where people get to share their experience and get feedback from the shaman and facilitators. This is a time to get help understanding what your experience means, how your process is unfolding and details about the specific work the shaman was doing on your behalf.

Changing Our Perception

Two talks will be given on the working of our subconscious mind, how our belief systems influence our lives, and what we can do to change them. When we change our beliefs, we change our perception, and therefore our experience of ourselves and all of life. We are inherently powerful and can change our life for the better!

Other Activities

Our retreats include a variety of other activities including a cleansing mud bath, a guided walk through the jungle with Don Hector talking about the different plants and a fire ceremony to release from our lives something that no longer serves. We also offer an introduction to shamanic journeying where people have a change to meet their power animals and spirit teachers.

Accommodations

All guests get a private room in our tambos (hut) with a toilet, very comfortable full size bed, hammock, writing desk and shelving for your personal items. Most tambos are set back in the jungle along a well groomed trail. We also have two tambos overlooking our pond, where you can sit and watch the turtles. The owner Gina loves landscaping our grounds, and are filled with a number of flowering gardens, and beautiful plants from the jungle.

Ayahuasca Meals

All meals are included and we have excellent cooks who surprise all guests with just how good food can be at an ayahuasca retreat. Meals are mostly vegetarian, but we do serve fish or chicken every other day for lunch. Fresh juices are served every morning with breakfast, and fruit based “refrescos”, a dilute fruit juice, are served with lunch. You will get to enjoy a variety of delicious fruit drinks only available in the Amazon!

Questions? Ready to go?

Ayahuasca Foundation

• Ayahuasca Ceremony

Ayahuasca Ceremony for Healing

An Ayahuasca Ceremony is an opportunity to receive treatment for the spirit and take part in your own healing. Ayahuasca ceremony participants arrive in the early evening, as ceremonies are held at night. Participants arrive before the ceremony begins to show respect for the healer, or curanderos, leading the ceremony. The Maestro curanderos first prepares for the ceremony, after introductions, if necessary.  Preparation includes cleaning of the space and implements with mapacho tobacco, prayers, and other blessings. The ceremony begins after preparation of the space and ceremonial tools.

Beginning the Ayahuasca Ceremony

The ceremony begins in silence as the curanderos calls each participant up to take a cup of ayahuasca. The curandero may also speak to each participant about intention, dosage, or other recommendations. The curandero then drinks a cup as well, after each participant has received a cup of ayahuasca. The ceremony continues with lights extinguished, and after a brief time as the ayahuasca medicine begins working, the curandero starts to sing.

Healing Songs and Methods

Songs are an important part of healing experience, and curanderos use healing songs called “icaros”. These songs help curanderos to communicate with spirits and ask for help in healing treatments for the patients. Each icaro has a specific purpose in the healing process. Curanderos sing to open every ceremony, inviting spirits to be present in the ceremony in order to perform healings. The curandero sings throughout the ceremony as the patients navigate their own experiences. The curanderos also use the icaros to raise and lower the intensity of the experience.

The beginning of a ceremony can be an unsettling time as the consciousness and awareness of each participant expands. Physical purging, or vomiting, often happens early in the ceremony, but not always. Purging is a cleansing process helping to create an environment more suited to the healing process.

Curandero will often engage in individual healings for the patients. There are many different styles of healings done in the ceremonies. The most common healing style involves singing an icaro specific to that patient and his/her affliction, and some people experience pain at that time.  The curanderos may also remove negative energy by blowing smoke or scented liquid on the patient. The tools of curanderos include breath, hands, tobacco and aqua florida as common tools used in a ceremony. Plant spirits guide the flow of the energies and personal experiences of the group in every ceremony.

Ayahuasca ceremonies include use of a special tobacco known as “mapacho”, as curanderos direct smoke with breath, or “soplay”, to cleanse the spirit and body of the patient. Mapacho soplay is also used to cleanse the space, the drinking cup, and the brew itself. Curanderos use mapacho plant smoke because it is a powerful healer that helps in communication with other plant spirits.

Closing the Ayahuasca Ceremony

The ceremony ends with an icaro to close the healing circle. The curandero also provide patients with protection from spiritual vulnerability before they leave the ceremony. After the end of the ceremony, lights are lit and brief discussion takes place before people leave to go to sleep.

The Ayahuasca Foundation offers more than one ayahuasca ceremony in a series, for a powerful healing experience.  You can find more information about our ayahuasca retreat programs or initiation courses .

Check out an Article on the Retreat Guru blog:

What happens in an ayahuasca ceremony.

written by Carlos Tanner

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America is Getting a (Legal!) Ayahuasca Retreat

Since 1971, Travel + Leisure editors have followed one mission: to inform, inspire, and guide travelers to have deeper, more meaningful experiences. T+L's editors have traveled to countries all over the world, having flown, sailed, road tripped, and taken the train countless miles. They've visited small towns and big cities, hidden gems and popular destinations, beaches and mountains, and everything in between. With a breadth of knowledge about destinations around the globe, air travel, cruises, hotels, food and drinks, outdoor adventure, and more, they are able to take their real-world experience and provide readers with tried-and-tested trip ideas, in-depth intel, and inspiration at every point of a journey.

Now that marijuana tourism is well and truly active in states like Colorado and Washington, the opening of the nation's first legal Ayahuasca retreat, which happens next month in Washington state, seems somewhat, well, inevitable.

Ayahuasca is a plant that has been prized by indigenous Amazonian cultures for thousands of years. Known to bring about optic and auditory hallucinations, the drink made from the so-called "vine of death" or "yagé" is used primarily for healing and spiritual awakening. Celebrities like Sting, Lindsay Lohan, and Tori Amos have all spoken positively about the drug's power, according to the New York Times, but, until now, it had always been illegal in the U.S., and those who wished to partake had to do so covertly or head to Peru or Brazil.

Ayahuasca Healings has held retreats in Peru for years, aimed at travelers interested in exploring what the website describes as "a doorway to inner worlds that allows us access to higher states of consciousness and the experience of spiritual awakening." Now adventurers don't need to bring their passport when they explore those "inner worlds."

While the Ayahuasca plant isn't illegal in the United States, per se, its active ingredient, known as D.M.T., is banned as a Schedule I drug, the same category as heroin and ecstasy. The U.S. retreat is able to skirt the issue (so far) by establishing themselves as an "independent Native American Church" and using their Constitutionally protected right of the free exercise of religion to imbibe what they call "Mother Ayahuasca," according to Death and Taxes Magazine .

That means that for the first time, parties intent on participating in the spiritual applications of Ayahuasca can try it out, legally, by making a "suggested donation" of $1,497 to $1,997, and heading to the church, which is located about 90 minutes outside of Seattle. Check out the daily schedule of events, including four Ayahuasca ceremonies in four days plus time in a "Native Indian Sweat Lodge" to enhance the experience.

Before you book your ticket, Ayahuasca Healings' website warns that, "Ayahuasca isn't a 'magic pill' or drink that will just heal you," but is simply "a tool in your healing, in your growth, and evolution." If you're still curious, head here for more information.

Is Your Soul Ready?

Take this short quiz to assess your mental and spiritual readiness for a psychedelic retreat.

10 Best Ayahuasca Retreats Costa Rica in 2024 (Updated)

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First and foremost, we encourage that wherever you decide to embark on your Journey, you consider Safety as your number one filter. For deeper insights into what makes up a safe and quality plant medicine retreat, check out the results from our recent plant medicine retreats survey.

1. If you would like a holistic understanding of your wider opportunities to improve your quality of life, take this self-diagnostic.

2. If this is your first time contemplating an Ayahuasca experience, this short quiz will help you assess your level of mental, emotional, and spiritual readiness for this powerful and sensitive work.

3. If you would like to understand more about the nature of psychedelic healing work, the overall human potential, and who (and what) you really are, watch the video below.

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Now that we have provided some resources, let's move on to some practical filters we encourage you to use when choosing your Ayahuasca Retreat. Like most things in life, there are a broad variety of retreat options, and a number of factors that effect the safety , quality, and the cost of such an Ayahuasca Retreat:

Safety First: Many small retreat centers are not in a position to make meaningful investments into screening and safety. Even if you're ready for this experience, someone next to you on retreat may not be, which will affect your overall experience. Our recommendation is to choose a retreat provider that does in-depth conversational, medical, and psychological screening to protect your safety and well-being.

Legality: Experienced practitioners who have dedicated their lives to plant medicine typically live in locations where the work is legal. This way, the plant medicine guides don't have to live in a state of uncertainty about their work, makes sense. Our recommendation here is to travel to legal locations where you can benefit from legitimate healers who operate above the radar, and you can truly relax on retreat, focusing only on what's important - you!

Size of the group: It's common for retreats to have 20, 50, even 100 people in ceremony, which may be energetically chaotic to most. In such large groups you are less likely to receive a sufficient level of attention from the facilitators. Our recommendation is to choose a retreat with an intimate group, in the range of 6-15 people. Of course, taking a private retreat allows for the greatest outcome.

Length of the retreat: Shorter retreats often feel rushed, do not support the cultivation of meaningful relationships, and can limit what can be achieved in time available. We recommend you spend at least a week for an Ayahuasca Retreat to give your mind, body, heart, and soul the attention that all deserve. This experience will have a huge impact on your life, give it the space you deserve.

‍‍Comfort: We recommend you choose a retreat where you are confident that you will be physically comfortable and ideally have your own private bedroom to decompress and integrate, especially if this is your first time.

Alignment: Select a retreat that feels aligned with your values and allows your own subjective experience to unfold naturally. There are many different worldviews out there and having a different worldview pushed on you through the retreat may not be in your highest healing interests. This is also particularly relevant for first-timers. Listen to your gut.

Holistic approach: Work with an organization that takes a holistic approach to working with plant medicine, and has options to support and guide your mental and emotional evolution alongside a retreat. If a provider implies that "medicine will solve all your problems", proceed with caution.

‍ Service: Select an Ayahuasca Retreat that you believe can meet your individual needs. Are you being treated as a human, or as participant #248 in their fourth retreat this month? Consider whether or not they've taken the time to get to know you and understand you, or it's more of a take it or leave it retreat center.

Booking process: Take the time to physically speak with the provider before finalizing your booking. If the provider does not have a screening process in place during the booking process anyone could be sitting next to you in ceremony. Some people are not yet in the right place to work with this powerful plant medicine, and it is the responsibility of the organizers to ensure that only people who can handle Ayahuasca are accepted onto the Retreat. This is for your safety and theirs.

Expertise : Find an organization that emphasizes healing, and you believe has the breadth and depth of expertise to guide your transformation. Look for facilitators and healers who have a lightness of being and a sparkle in their eyes. Healing work is all about the transmutation of energy, so you are looking for people who have the energy you aspire to. If they aren't able to keep their energy right, that tells you quite a bit about either where they are at and their capabilities.

Reputation: At a minimum, Google the provider, you may be surprised by what you find. If there's not much information, that is also information. A reputable retreat center will have a professional online presence with testimonials from previous retreat attendees. This is essential for you to see that they are a legitimate organization who you can trust to contain this powerful experience.

Volunteers: Please support ethical plant medicine work by selecting an organization that pay their team. Unfortunately, it is common practice for retreat centers to cycle through young, eager, and worn out volunteers and/or not pay healers fairly. If the people supporting your retreat aren't living their best lives , they're not going to be able to lead you to yours. Don't be shy to ask this question directly when you speak to prospective centers.

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Looking for a little more guidance for one of the most important decisions of your life? Watch this video.

The world is changing. Are you?

After nearly 6 decades of prohibition, psychedelics are coming back in a big way, with institutions such as the Imperial College in London , Johns Hopkins University , and Harvard studying, for example, the anti-depressant effects of psychedelics and entheogenic plants such as psilocybin (magic mushrooms) and Ayahuasca. The results of these studies for treating mental health concerns such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , anxiety, addiction , depression, trauma , and recurrent negative behaviors has been overwhelmingly positive - when administered in the right set and setting.

Ayahuasca is an ancestral medicine from the Amazon, and has been used for thousands of years for it's incredible healing benefits. The healing that Ayahuasca offers can be positively life-changing, and as the psychedelic movement grows in popularity, the options for choosing a retreat can get a bit overwhelming. The abundance of options can lead us to what we call "analysis paralysis", causing us to either give up, or choose a retreat impulsively. Choosing a place to have your experience may be one the most important decisions you'll ever make, and it's important to choose your retreat with diligence and care. Published research based upon 2,267 ceremonies has shown that ayahuasca:

• Helps us understand and heal the roots of our depression , addition , anxiety , trauma, and PTSD
• Eases the fear of death
• Deepens our connection to spirituality
• Helps us discover our life's purpose
• Enjoy deeper, more intimate relationships
• Accelerate your growth and reach a higher level of consciousness
• Develop intuition for better decision making
• Quiet your mind and discover inner peace
• Live each day with more peace, love, joy, clarity

Truly, the potential for healing and growth that ayahuasca offers humanity is as infinite as the human potential itself, but for those of us in the western world, finding a safe, ethical, therapeutic, and legal access point to this medicine can be challenging. There are literally thousands of Ayahuasca Retreat Centers and overnight shamans who are working underground and happy to profit of this sacred medicine, so how do you know you're choosing the right one?  This is a question we take very seriously here at Behold, and we are here to guide you!

The options can be overwhelming. We're here to help you find the right fit for your ayahuasca retreat.

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Looking for an Ayahuasca Retreat center in Costa Rica?

Great! Costa Rica is a very popular destination for Ayahuasca Retreats. The work is legal, there's numerous beautiful retreat centers, flights are frequent, and Costa Rica attracts high quality facilitators and healers, and being one with nature among the Costa Rican Rainforests is a sight not to be missed.

Post-retreat, you can enjoy a broad range of activities, and miles of beaches to relax and integrate your experience.

You will find retreats that follow a broad variety of traditions from indigenous people in Central America and South America (Peru Shipibo, shamanic, and neo-shamanic) to fit your preferences and goals for healing and growth.

If you'd like more help to understand your options and how to select a great retreat , check out our ayahuasca guide .

If you'd like to learn more about how to get more breakthroughs and avoid the common mistakes, years of retreats, and slow progress, check out our webinar.

If you're ready for a big shift in your life, want to be guided by experts, you're coachable, and you're committed to doing the necessary mental and emotional work, request a complimentary Discovery Call.

Top 10 Ayahuasca Retreats in Costa Rica:

1. behold retreats ayahuasca retreat, costa rica.

Location: Monteverde, Costa Rica and Esterillos, Costa Rica " highly recommended! "

Behold Retreats facilitates small groups (7-14 people, depending on the retreat) for healing Ayahuasca journeys in our Costa Rica Luxury Retreat Center and our Eco-Friendly Monteverde, Costa Rica option.

If you’re seeking to experience a modern, high quality retreat with breathtaking views of the jungle, spacious rooms, modern comforts, and great food, look no further.

Behold prides itself on highly-experienced healers and facilitators and ensuring best-in-class medical screening to ensure your safety and that you will get the most out of your experience.  You will have access to a beautiful wellness center and healing modalities including yoga and meditation.

Behold Retreats also offer high quality preparation and integration around the retreat, to help you get clear on your future self, identify mental and emotional blind spots, for deeper breakthroughs and more sustained benefits. If you're interested in a retreat and/or coaching you can apply for a free consultation today .

2. Behold Retreats Private Ayahuasca Retreat, Costa Rica

Location: anywhere, costa rica.

For the most transformational spiritual healing journey, you can expect to have the most profound journeys working 1:1 with various practitioners during your Ayahuasca experience. Alongside the most popular Ayahuasca experiences, please note that Behold also facilitates Retreats with Psilocybin Ceremonies , and 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo) Ceremonies .

If you would like further assistance choosing a modality, click APPLY and sign up for your complimentary discovery call. You may also read our curated summarized info-blog here .

The benefits of working privately are endless; you can choose your preferred location and accommodations (beach in Costa Rica, jungle in Peru, Amazon rainforest, you name it!), decide which traditions you would like to work with (traditional plant medicine retreat or a more Western approach), select your facilitators (Shipibo shaman, Andean shaman, male shaman, female guide, psychotherapist, trauma therapist, coach), and if there are any other modalities you would like to incorporate into your retreat (yoga retreat, master plant dieta , etc.)

Each Ayahuasca Ceremony will help you get deep into your psyche to give you the breakthroughs you've been searching for. The benefit of working 1:1 really can facilitate the most profound transformations as there are no distractions or energy shifts happening around you.

Finding quality practitioners is not easy, and they typically cost more and require additional planning. Enlisting guidance from a company such as Behold Retreats for your ayahuasca experience can make this process seamless.

Share a few details to speak with a plant medicine experts here .

3. Resonance Ayahuasca Retreat, Costa Rica

Location: Esterillos, Costa Rica

Discover mountain retreats exhibiting a 270-degree panorama of nature, the Central Pacific Coast, and the Cloud Forest of Monteverde. Prioritizing guest comfort, the retreat offers hot showers, ocean-view balconies, and plush beds. Unwind in the non-chlorinated salt pool, meditate amidst breathtaking backdrops, and savor sunset swims for indelible memories.

Embark on holistic well-being with diverse offerings, including transformative Ayahuasca experiences facilitated by compassionate guides. This sacred journey leads to complete body and spiritual restoration. Amidst panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, our serene locations seamlessly integrate nature into the retreat experience. Join in for a brief yet profound escape, where mind, body, and soul find nourishment in a transformative Ayahuasca-enhanced haven. Resonance Retreats is more than a retreat center, it is a lifestyle of conscious living.

4. Soltara Ayahuasca Retreat Costa Rica

Location: Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

In this luxurious, nature-immersion retreat situated on seaside cliffs overlooking the beautiful turquoise waters of Costa rica's Nicoya Peninsula, you will have a choice between a 5 or 7 day retreat. Choose between shared or private rooms with modern, luxurious amenities, and enjoy their relaxing spa, yoga, breathwork, bodywork, and creative expression workshops.

Additionally, you will be supported by an experienced preparation and integration team who have a foot in both Western and traditional medicine practices. They will provide you with extra resources and education, and access to their community to help with the integration and healing process post-retreat.  

During your quest for spiritual awakening at Soltara healing center, you will be in great hands with the indigenous Peruvian Shipibo female and male healers who will led the sacred ceremony and provide shamanic healing.  You can feel safe knowing that they have a qualified first-responder on-site and a 24-hour clinic nearby.

5. Rythmia Ayahuasca Retreat Costa Rica

Location: Guanacaste, Costa Rica

If you’re looking for a retreat that offers a luxury vacation in addition to your ayahuasca journey, look no further. In between ayahuasca ceremonies you will be able to enjoy yoga, metaphysics classes, hydrocolonic cleanses, volcanic mud baths, dead sea cleanses, breathwork, massages, and farm-to-table organic food at Rythmia Life Advancement Center.

Group sizes are quite big, so if you're looking for something more intimate and 1-1 time, this might not be the place for you. The plant medicine ceremony begins at night under the stars as you listen to the sounds of the Icaro begin.

During the 7-day program you will receive three personalized workshops taught be Gerard Powell and Michael Beckwith. You will be very comfortable in their luxurious and spacious accommodations which are located in a quiet, tranquil setting, and are furnished with original art and therapeutic beds. The resort offers stunning views of the forest so you can feel one with Mother Nature.

If you have the time to spend a few extra days, they  offer many adventurous trips such as horseback-riding, waterfall hikes, zip-lining, surfing, golfing, paddle boarding, and more!

6. New Life Ayahuasca Retreat Costa Rica

Location: San Ramon, Costa Rica

Located in the mountains of San Ramon, on a remote 20-acre property, this retreat center encourages a close connection with nature and offers a wide range of excursions and additional therapies such as waterfall hikes, yoga, and massage.

Your 5 or 7 day retreat will have 2-3 traditional ayahuasca ceremonies, 1 complimentary massage, 2-3 hatha yoga sessions, and locally sourced meals.

The ayahuasca ceremonies will be an intimate group of maximum 9 people and will be led by Matthew Mormello, their ayahuasca shaman. Having worked with plant medicine such as Iboga and Ayahuasca since 2011, he follows the Peruvian traditions and traditional shamanism, guided by Icaros, the medicine song.

This is not your typical traditional ayahuasca retreat experience, as your accommodation will be in a private room with a queen bed and full private ensuite. The common areas for socializing and relaxing include a large indoor pool, a hot tub, and many hiking trails to explore.

Looking for a first-class retreat  with expert facilitators and a small number of participants?

‍ 7. Ayahuasca Costa Rica Ayahuasca Retreat Costa Rica

Location: Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica

A great introduction for those new to experiencing and healing with sacred plant medicine, Ayahuasca Costa Rica promises a harmonic environment for profound self-exploration, integration, and healing.

The Ayahuasca retreat center is located in a tropical forest near the Pacific coast and in the highlands on the Cordillera of Talamanca, conveniently located in high energetic centers.

Using shamanic traditions, this retreat center’s mother ayahuasca ceremonies are led by an experienced facilitator and many assistants to provide a safe environment. They offer both Ayahuasca and Kambo ceremonies during their retreats, as well as  detox treatments, meditation, yoga, holistic body work, and vegan organic meals.

Accommodations vary from private and shared rooms, to tent camping and sleeping in hammocks.  Your group will have the chance to do activities like hiking into the cloud forest, trips to a nearby beach, and waterfall tour.

8. Tree of Lights Ayahuasca Retreat Costa Rica

Location: Dominical Beach, Costa Rica.

Another unique retreat center, Tree of Lights works independently from the traditional Shamanic tradition. Facilitators Pedro and Carolina have worked with over 30 Shipibo healers in Peru during their years of study and have undergone many traditional plant dietas and trainings since 2012. While they embody many of these teachings in their retreats, such as the energetic healing qualities from their ikaros, they also use multiple healing modalities from around the world and have an understanding of many different types of trauma.

Their ceremonies are intimate, with a maximum of 11 participants, and are specialized in in supporting and healing cases of sexual abuse and other deep traumas in both men and women. During the 11 day retreat you can expect 4 ayahuasca ceremonies, a plant cleanse, full time support, yoga, a sacred geometry class, and jungle hikes.

Additionally, they provide 1-1 preparation and integration counselling, as well as the opportunity to do a month-long plant dieta, and include Noya Rao or the heart-opening Bobisana into the experience.

The retreat location is set amongst the beautiful jungle where you will be able to feel the fresh mountain breeze and see local wildlife. You will be extra comfortable with their modern, and private accommodations. Common areas include a large saltwater swimming pool, plenty of hammocks to relax in, a yoga space, and a fire pit.

9. Ocean’s Forest Eco-Lodge Ayahuasca Retreat Costa Rica

Location: Oso Peninsula, Costa Rica

Sitting on the edge of the forest and the ocean, you will find this beautiful eco-lodge, boasting rich and active wildlife and breath-taking sea views. Connect deeply with Mother Earth in either a 7 or 10 day retreat.

Your ayahuasca experience will be guided by author and ethno-botanist Jonathon Miller Weisberger, who has over 30 years of experience with medicinal plants and can share his knowledge with you on plants such as psychotria and san pedro. He grows the ayahuasca vine (banisteriopsis caapi vine) on their property, so you can be assured of the quality of the brew.

In between your 4 ayahuasca ceremonies, you will have the chance to go on ethnobotanical hikes, join group integration and art therapy sessions, take a daily yoga class, enjoy medicinal flower baths, and walk or snorkel your way along the pristine ocean shore-line.

Accommodations feature private or shared rooms with en-suite bathrooms, partial or full ocean views, and a cool ocean breeze to keep you cool. Onsite- there is also a psychedelic integration therapist and yoga teacher, who can provide extra support as needed, as well as an astrologer.

10. Casa de la Luz Ayahuasca Retreat Costa Rica

Location: Alajuela, Costa Rica

Casa de la Luz offers 1 night or 5 day Ayahuasca retreats with 2 ayahuasca ceremonies in private groups of 4 people with both private and shared accommodation.

With their specialized and experienced staff, you will experience ayahuasca tea made from the Amazon Jungle as well as farm-to-table food made from natural, vegetarian ingredients.

During this healing experience you will also have 3 sacred Ha-pey medicine sessions, 3 dance therapy or meditation classes, and a local tour to a nearby river or lake. You can also enjoy massage therapy and private psychotherapy sessions for an additional cost.

If you haven't found what you're looking for here, there are other locations to consider in South America such as Spirit Vine in Brazil, or many retreat centers in the Sacred Valley in Cusco and Iquitos in Peru . Another Costa Rican retreat worth checking out is Nada Brahma Healing Center.

More about the sacred medicine Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca is a medicinal plant made from two plants, the banisteriopsis caapi vine and chacruna plant (psychotria viridis, p. viridis). Growing in popularity for its healing properties, people around the world are participating in ayahuasca tourism and attending psychedelic retreats in Latin America, where the brew originates from and where many spiritual leaders facilitate plant medicine ceremonies.

Ayahuasca legality is a tricky subject. DMT (which is the is the psychotropic substance in Ayahuasca) is under the Controlled Substance Act in the USA and therefore illegal to consume. But, Peaceful Mountain Way for example, is a Native American Church that has been granted an exemption to use ayahuasca in their religious sacraments. Attending an ayahuasca church is a legal way for ayahuasca consumption in the USA and will entail religious ceremonies. There are movements pushing forward the. decriminalization of psychedelics, but we are not quite there yet.

With many notable research institutions studying these psychotropic substances as psychedelic medicine, we are seeing incredible results with psilocybin, ibogaine, bufo alvarius, and ayahuasca for the treatment of depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction. Psychedelic drugs such as ketamine and MDMA are already approved for therapeutic uses in many states.

Before you journey on your soul quest keep in mind that searching for ayahuasca centers is not that same as looking for a wellness retreat or other similar spiritual retreats. Sure you can google "ayahuasca costa rica reviews" and find a load of material to sift through, but reading a review does not give you a full understanding of the retreat center.

There are many shamanic practitioners out there with dangerous behaviours and you may not even be fully aware. At the minimum, thorough medical and psychological screening must be done to protect your safety and well-being ahead of a psychedelic retreat. If for example, you are on prescription medications such as MAOIS, you are in real danger if you consume ayahuasca. Herbal medicine like ayahuasca is no joke!

Still need some help choosing a retreat?

We would be honored to guide you in choosing the best retreat for your needs.

Behold Retreats coordinates expertly guided retreats with Ayahuasca, Psilocybin, and 5-MeO-DMT (Bufo Alvarius) with highly experienced facilitators. Reach out to us to set up a complimentary discovery call and we can point you in the right direction.

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Rythmia is a full-service, short-stay, licensed medical center, specializing in plant-based alternative therapies.

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Make a life-changing investment in you. Achieve profound results in 7 days with our time-tested program and with the care of our highly skilled healers, class instructors, and medical team.  

7-day, all-inclusive experience starting at $4,900

Rythmia is an all-inclusive, luxury medically-licensed plant medicine center located in stunning Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Fusing ancient plant medicine teachings with safety and comfort, to empower personal transformation, healing and self-knowledge. Designed for individuals committed to personal growth goals and seeking a life-changing experience that delivers results. Since 2016, we’ve guided over 16,000 guests through our highly effective Rythmia Way program, with an extraordinary 97% reporting life-altering miracles – defined as a profound shift or transformative event that dramatically improves an individual's life. We invite you to call us or schedule a time to speak to a member of our team. We’re here to answer all your questions, including pricing, which varies based upon room selection where choice ranges from solo private executive rooms to shared rooms.

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