After the journey, you can feel supported by their coaches who will help make sense of your insights and lessons, and help you integrate this experience and spiritual awakening into your life in a lasting way
Allergies are nearly as prevalent in the people who attend our ayahuasca retreats as depression and anxiety, although most cases are not very serious. Our immune systems should naturally be able to defend against natural elements of our environment, but again, when compromised by toxicity, trauma, stress, and diet, there are obstacles in the way of health being achieved. We have had very good results treating allergies, but lifestyle changes are necessary as well.
El Sol Retreats involves ayahuasca consumption (Daime tea) as part of their religious rituals. Sometimes difficult to find, you can try to find locations around the country by searching for Santo Daime USA. Another Ayahuasca church known as the Peaceful Mountain Way is a Native American Church that specializes in an Ayahuasca ritual as a spiritual sacrament.
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.
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.
The Sanctuary is a shamanic healing center and branch of Oklevueha Native American Church, an Ayahuasca Church, located on the land of the Sacred White Dee, a Bee Sanctuary and certified wildlife habitat and holistic sanctuary with 6 acres of wild forest containing over 100+ fruit trees, edible bushes, and medicinal plants such as the coca leaf. You really will get a chance to connect with Mother Nature here.
Another Ayahuasca church known as the Peaceful Mountain Way is a Native American Church that specializes in an ayahuasca ritual as a spiritual sacrament.
Our retreat center is located near the bank of a river, with recreational options for hiking, swimming, fishing and plant walks with certified conservation guides. The reserve is over 120,000 acres of pristine rainforest, and the Mishana community is located right in the heart of the reserve. The retreat center is part of the Mishana community and employs several members to work in various positions for the retreats and courses.
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.
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.
For those wanting a comfortable, amenity-rich retreat environment, some centers offer deluxe accommodations and customized support services alongside ayahuasca ceremonies. While more expensive, these can appeal to those wanting an extra degree of comfort, luxury, and personal care throughout the process.
We have only treated three patients for AIDS/HIV but each participant benefited tremendously. All three reported that their lives had been completely transformed. One was totally healed and is still HIV negative after seven years, while the other two test negatively, but continue to take medication as a precaution. It is important to note that all three had profound faith in the process and engaged very well with the treatment and medicine.
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.
While a great deal of attention is given to the healing effects of ayahuasca in treating anxiety and depression, when combined with the use of a wide variety of other plants and natural plant remedies, there really is nothing that cannot be treated on an Ayahuasca Retreat. Below is a listing of conditions and the effectiveness of treatment.
El Sol Retreats, also commonly spoken about as Kentucky Ayahuasca, is a Retreat Guru favorite. They approach their ceremonies with a holistic attitude, and do not attempt to recreate Native American traditional ceremonies or maintain any dogmatic style. They are modern shamans and medicine people who are well trained.
It’s been great. It’s felt like I’ve lived a lifetime in three weeks. I’ve really been able to almost reprogram myself and undo a lot of negative habits and a lot of negative ways of thinking about myself and my life and my past. It’s really brought a lot of healing and closure in many aspects of many lingering issues. It’s great. It’s fantastic. It’s been really lovely. It’s very comfortable. The location with the Mishana community is fantastic. Being able to interact with people and being on a reserve is lovely, being able to go hiking and experience the indigenous nature. It’s also great that there are no mosquitoes here.
Come here for a fully immersive shamanic experience, with shamanic healing practices, shamanic breathwork, and even a shamanic school with facilitator programs. They have a variety of retreats at their healing center as well as Ayahuasca Retreats in Peru (near Cusco).
An Ayahuasca retreat is an opportunity to work closely with an indigenous shaman through a guided journey into another dimension. The natural healing power of ayahuasca and other medicinal plants help ayahuasca retreat participants to reconnect to nature and to their true selves.
In the treatment of OCD and other similar disorders, it is not so much about alleviating the condition, but rather discovering a more preferable manner of thinking and acting, and even more so, remembering self-love in an unconditional form. Accepting ourselves is an important step in any healing process, but most especially with conditions like these, and the Ayahuasca Foundation’s ayahuasca retreats in Peru can provide tremendous benefit.
Retreats are led by an indigenous curandero from the Shipibo culture. The curandero, don Ronor, learned from his father and grandfather, a vegtalisto and an ayahuasquero. He is the youngest of three brothers who are all experienced healers. He has a humility that brings a calm gratitude to his presence.He has extensive plant dietas with noya rao, bobinsana, marusa, chiric sanango, and chullachaqui.Don Ronor is constantly developing his own understanding and methods for healing, learning more icaros through his intimate connections to his dietas and plant spirit guides. He is also a father and his wife and children are usually with him on retreats, providing a wonderful light to the group experience. He works hard to provide the greatest level of healing, always wanting to prepare and administer as many remedies as he can during the ayahuasca retreat. All of the facilitators are so thankful for his dedication and willingness to share and teach the tradition. He is a true maestro.
All are welcome to our public gatherings. Most people with sincere spiritual intent are eligible for our sacrament retreats. If you aren’t sure if you can participate in our retreats, look at our Medical Guidelines pages on our website. Nearly 100% are medically eligible for our Magic Mushroom retreats. Certain medications and medical conditions are not compatible with Ayahuasca.
The spiritual investment varies depending on the location, maximum number of participants, and sacraments being offered. Our Ayahuasca and Mushroom retreats can range between $1000 – $2000 and our Bufo Alvarius (5meo-dmt) retreats range between $400 – $1000. To know the exact cost, please sign up for our email list where prices are announced for each retreat.
Yes! You can find more information about our private ceremonies on our retreat page.
A. With proper preparation, integration, and understanding how our Sacraments work, you will see there’s no such thing as a bad trip. Difficult and challenging experiences can be a part of the deep psychedelic journey. We all have skeletons in our psycho-spiritual closets, whether it’s fear, insecurities, our shadow, or repressed memories. Our approach isn’t to try to avoid a challenging experience, but rather to lean into them, since this is where the real productive work occurs. Can you face your demons with curiosity and love? Can you stand at your edge of your comfort zone with strength and courage? Everybody loves experiencing bliss, but by going through challenges we can develop the tools to live a more integrated and empowered life in the real world We’ve got your back, just breathe.
Our approach does not require you to convert or have faith of any kind. Faith can be an impediment to understanding. Our approach is to facilitate direct mystical experiences so that people can come to their own conclusions.
We don’t give medical advice. As evidenced by high quality research, our spiritual sacraments in the right setting can be very powerful healing tools. This is because much spiritual dis-ease manifests also as physical dis-ease. When spiritual dis-ease is discovered and addressed, many transformations happen downstream.
. A shaman is generally considered a healer or an initiate of a lineage. We are not healers or following any one particular lineage. Our philosophy is that the only healer is you, through proper integration of what you learned in your journey. We also do not follow any one particular lineage or tradition in choosing how we lead ceremony. Our ceremonies are guided by icaros, music, and prayers
Currently we’re serving a maximum of 20 people per ceremony.