Profound Transformation
What Happens at an Ayahuasca Retreat?
During an ayahuasca retreat, participants engage in far more than a series of ayahuasca ceremonies. They are guided through a holistic healing journey with the close support of an experienced healer and a dedicated facilitation team. These skilled guides administer a range of plant remedies and traditional treatments designed to support deep, sustained healing on all levels. As the retreat unfolds, participants are progressively led into deeper layers of self-discovery and healing, allowing for a powerful transformation to take root.
This immersive process fosters personal growth, clarity, and renewed balance that extend beyond the retreat, often marking a pivotal turning point in their lives. Through connection with the wisdom of the plants and the support of the retreat community, retreat participants have the space to release past traumas, cultivate self-compassion, and rediscover their innate sense of purpose, stepping forward with a strengthened sense of self and connection to the world.
The Retreat Begins When You Click the Register Button
Orientation and Getting Settled
Introduction and Diagnosis
The First Ayahuasca Ceremony
Ayahuasca retreats rooted in the Shipibo plant medicine tradition begin with an initial ayahuasca ceremony, where the curandero connects with each participant’s energy, providing a diagnosis of their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. This opening ceremony not only introduces participants to the profound spiritual dimensions of the ayahuasca experience but also initiates a release of negative emotions and stagnant energies.
As the retreat unfolds, these dark energies are gradually dissolved and transformed, guided by the expertise and experience of the curandero, the care and compassion of the facilitators, and supported by an array of plant medicine treatments that deepen the healing adventure.
Cleansing and Release
Plant Medicine Treatments
The day following the first ayahuasca ceremony commences with a thorough digestive cleanse, setting the stage for individual consultations with the curandero, who will discuss tailored treatments for each participant. This personalized care includes remedies designed to enhance circulation and sensitivity, strengthen the immune system, and reduce inflammation, complemented by vapor baths that purify and detoxify the body.
As the retreat unfolds, participants receive additional plant-based treatments that target the respiratory and central nervous systems, alongside plant baths intended for protection and the attraction of positive energies. Ayahuasca ceremonies are held every other night, expanding awareness and empowering participants to embrace and radiate the brilliance of their true selves. Throughout the retreat, personalized treatments are administered, ensuring a holistic approach to each participant’s healing process.
Complete Healing
Complementary Healing Practices
In addition to the ayahuasca ceremonies and an array of natural remedies, ayahuasca retreats incorporate complementary practices that significantly enhance personal growth and introspection. Retreat facilitators guide participants through meditative practices, morning yoga sessions, and creative therapies involving art and music, providing unwavering support throughout the journey.
Participants also have the opportunity to engage in powerful cacao and breathwork ceremonies, as well as partake in ecstatic dance, jungle walks, river swims, and stargazing. Workshops on crafting medicinal plant extracts and perfumes are included, alongside teachings on the traditional use of mapacho and agua florida in rituals. Insightful discussions on Shipibo healing methodologies and philosophies enrich the experience, empowering participants to engage deeply in their own transformative healing processes.
Strong Bonds of Support
One of the most profound and cherished outcomes of attending an ayahuasca retreat is the deep bonds of love and support that develop among participants. What begins as a diverse group of strangers from across the globe quickly evolves into a close-knit family, united by shared experiences and a genuine care for one another, fostering friendships that often last a lifetime. The retreat center becomes a sanctuary, a nurturing home where each individual is embraced as a beloved member of the household of plant spirits.
As the retreat comes to a close, farewells are inevitably filled with tears, as the group returns to the hotel in Iquitos for one final night together before embarking on their journeys back to their respective countries. The love and connection cultivated during this time endure, leaving participants with profound insights and a renewed sense of peace and joy in their lives. While the transformative impact of an ayahuasca retreat may be challenging to put into words, its incredibly positive effects are unmistakable.
Integration is Essential:
Maintaining Healing Beyond the Ayahuasca Retreat with Guidance and Integration Counseling
While the healing journey during an ayahuasca retreat can be profound, it is often the return home that poses the greatest challenge in sustaining that transformation. To support lasting change, facilitators guide participants through concepts and practices that help integrate the healing experience into daily life. As the retreat draws to a close, participants engage in lectures and workshops that help them plan key lifestyle changes to implement back home.
The Ayahuasca Foundation also offers post-retreat integration counseling and valuable resources to support continued growth, enabling participants to deepen their healing transformation and advance on their path of self-discovery long after the retreat ends.
Ayahuasca Retreats
The Ayahuasca Foundation’s Healing Ayahuasca Retreats offer an opportunity to change your life’s course and start fresh. You’ll take part in ayahuasca ceremonies guided by a Shipibo healer and experienced assistants. Along with these ceremonies, you’ll also receive various plant-based treatments to cleanse your mind, body, and spirit.
Ayahuasca Courses
Ayahuasca courses offer authentic training in the Shipibo plant medicine tradition, focusing on sacred plant dietas and the use of ayahuasca in ceremonies. These informative training courses are a condensed version of an ancestral initiation experience, teaching the core principles of the ayahuasca plant medicine tradition in Peru.