Women’s Ayahuasca Healing & Integration Retreat
There is something powerful that happens when groups of women get together. For this 12-day retreat we will be working with exclusively female facilitators and female support staff in order to create a magical and profoundly healing container.
We have strived to honor the divine feminine in all of our work at the Temple through working with mainly female healers since 2009. This very special retreat is for self-identified women only. Holding a retreat specifically for women brings an added focus to that guiding principle and aims to support the embodiment and empowerment of feminine energy in our guests and on the planet.
More importantly, very few women, especially early on in their healing journeys, are fully comfortable with their own femininity, fully connected to their own feminine power, and fully supported by a community of strong women. The only way to truly heal and re-create these parts of ourselves is to face them, and what better way to do that than by creating an environment of exclusively women in which to do this healing work.
Too many women report not having close female friends, and lacking sisterhood. All too easily, feminine power gets corrupted and manifests as jealousy, competition, self-sacrifice, anger turned inward, and a disjointed relationship with our own sexuality. Western society very much reinforces these dynamics, but healing has to start with you.
The first step to effecting change in the world is to do your own inner work. While it’s impossible to separate an individual from their environment, to extract a woman from the paternalistic society she grew up in, the focus is going to be very much on you and your own process, and not on society as a whole.
Your facilitators will be helping you to increase the depth of the work you’re able to do, and maximize the healing that is possible for you. As we process our experiences in ceremonies, we will focus as much as possible on female and feminine-specific issues and ideas, paving the way for you to go back into your life in a powerful and connected way.
This retreat is perfect for you if:
- You’re longing for greater connection with yourself and other women
- The thought of joining a women’s retreat brings up a certain amount of fear in you
- You are committed to your own healing and making a difference in the world
- You want your workshop to be supported by a high level of processing and integration support
- You want to learn from and work with trusted and respected female indigenous Shipibo maestras
In this retreat, we will:
- Explore what happens as a group of women committed to our own healing get together
- Create a space for deep healing to occur
- Experience the divine connection and power of feminine energy
- Face the fears that we have around female friendship and sisterhood
- Learn ways to stay connected to feminine power in our day-to-day lives
You will leave this retreat:
- With a new community of close female friends
- Empowered to access your own feminine energy to help you move forward in your life
- With a new understanding of the ways that you suppress or sacrifice yourself
- Tools to support yourself and other women
- Inspired to approach your life in new and powerful ways
The Onanya, Ayahuasca, and the Master Plants
We deeply honor and respect indigenous healing traditions of the Amazon that have evolved over thousands of years and offer the most effective ayahuasca healing experience. We work with some of the most respected, kind-hearted, and powerful maestras and maestros (Onanya) from the Shipibo tribe who are experts in ayahuasca healing and plant spirit shamanism of the Amazon.
We provide potent and visionary ayahuasca sourced from deep in the rainforest in the Shipibo territories. Our ayahuasca is made from cielo (sky / heaven) ayahuasca and chacruna with no admixtures. The ceremonies led by our healers offer the highest levels of shamanic mastery available in the Peruvian Amazon combined with an exemplary track record in terms of safety, protection, care for, and support of our guests.
The Shipibo Onanya possess an encyclopedic knowledge of medicinal plants (rao) of the Amazon Rainforest which allows them to heal an expansive range of psycho-spiritual, emotional, and sometimes physical conditions. They do this through ancient healing practices involving incredibly beautiful ikaros (songs of the plants), intense perfumes, individually prescribed plant remedies, and powerful energetic work.
The Shipibo tradition is a system of plant spirit shamanism that facilitates healing from a vast number of different plant and tree spirits, who transmit healing energies through the ikaros sung by the healers in ceremonies. The Onanya see ayahuasca as a nexus to the plant spirit worlds, and is not the only plant spirit they work with.
The healing process is very much focused on cleansing and purifying the energy field which surrounds us (niwe), which picks up toxic energies from our environment and traumatic experiences of our past. The key to the depth and efficacy of this ancient healing system is their calling in and working with a plethora of other plant spirits in each ceremony that work alongside ayahuasca to affect deep healing. Without bringing together a team of plant spirits, the healing work of ayahuasca alone would be more limited. Although you will only drink ayahuasca during ceremony, you will receive energetic healing from many different plants spirits.
Self-Inquiry and Deep Processing
The healing you will receive from the Onanya and ayahuasca will cleanse a tremendous amount of dense energies that have accumulated in your system as well as bring up many fragmented aspects of your past that have been buried into your subconscious, both during the ceremonies, and often for days, weeks and months after a retreat. It is important to understand that ayahuasca and the plant spirits will continue to work with you after a retreat and the more self-reflection, courage, responsibility, and awareness you bring to the process post retreat, the more benefits you will gain.
This retreat is specifically designed to have many avenues to look into and examine our core wounding and shadow work through group processing and integration practices. The space is designed to help us realize that the ceremony is not simply what happens at night with the medicine but that life is giving us constant clues to examine our patterning and the less conscious parts of oneself.
Combining different methods and approaches from Western psychology and Eastern philosophy, Self Inquiries are designed to ground and reveal processes throughout the program. The exercises are carried out in groups, as the relational component makes them particularly potent. During the sessions, people often realize that our core wounds as women (and humans) are often very similar although our stories are different. We discover that we can serve as mirrors and teachers for one another in the process of exploring and expressing hidden aspects of ourselves.
Lead Facilitators
Debbie Rivett
After completing an donors degree with a double major in Psychology and Drama, Debbie worked in a number of fields, including education in HIV/AIDs and life-skills, investigative broadcast journalism, management of fundraising teams for international development organizations, international tour production for indigenous musical groups, and documentary-making.
Her wide-ranging skill set serves her well in her work at the Temple, where she oversees facilitator training and facilitates retreats. Passionate about healing and learning, Debbie has immersed herself in a journey with medicinal plants, apprenticing through dietas in both the Shipibo tradition and a mestizo tabaquero tradition in the Amazon, and has also been initiated in the Bwiti tradition of Gabon working with iboga.
Juliana Bizare
For the past 20 years, Juliana’s true passion has been the study and integration of the eastern practices of Yoga and mindfulness into work with sacred plant medicines and different modern psychological approaches, with a focus on renegotiating our traumas and rewriting our own life narratives.
She has supported hundreds of people before, during, and after their medicine journeys, and through her own experience with the medicine, has gained a clear understanding of the importance of the integration process. To be able to support people in a more holistic way, she also trained in the Compassionate Inquiry approach with Gabor Maté and Somatic Experiencing with Peter Levine. For the past six years she has been working at the Temple as a Retreat and Integration Facilitator.
Her goal is to empower people to feel safe in their bodies and to integrate trauma and all different parts of our human experience so people can have clarity on their path and purpose in life.
What’s Included:
- 6 ayahuasca ceremonies over the 12 days
- A high ratio of Shipibo healers to guests – 4 healers per retreat
- 3 female facilitators to support your experience
- Regular group integration sessions and practices to support greater alignment
- Group size limited to 23 people
- An skilled team of facilitators to guide you with processing and integrating your experiences
- A cleansing steam bath on the first day of the retreat
- Jain póiti (flower baths) for cleansing, purifying, and strengthening
- Energetic healing massages (where necessary, as part of your healing process)
- Deliciously simple meals suitable for working with medicinal plants
- A jungle walk to see medicinal plants in their natural environment
- Individual consultations with the healers and your facilitators
- Plant remedies individually prescribed by the healers
- Private and individual accommodation in simple bungalows
- Laundry service
- Translation from Shipibo / Spanish to English
- All workshops facilitated in English
- Porters to carry your luggage to and from the pickup location and the Temple
- All transportation to and from the Temple from the pickup location in Iquitos
What’s not included:
- Airfares (international and national)
- Airport transportation
- Travel insurance
- Accommodation in Iquitos
- Peruvian visa costs for non EEC or USA nationals
- Personal expenses (meals and drinks in Iquitos, etc.)
This is only an example of what the schedule might look like for this retreat
Day One
9:00 am | Depart for the Temple |
11:00 am | Arrive at the Temple, Plant Bath |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
2:00 pm | Orientation Meeting |
6:00 pm | Dinner |
Day Two
7:30 am | Vapor Bath |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
10:00 am | Group Meeting |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
2:00 pm | Group Consultations with the Maestras and Maestros |
5:00 pm | Plant Bath |
6:30 pm | Yoga |
8:00 pm | 1st Ceremony |
Day Three
7:30 am | Vapor Bath |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
10am – 1pm | Individual Consultations |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
2-5 pm | Individual Consultations |
6:00 pm | Dinner |
Day Four
7:30 am | Vapor Bath |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
4:00 pm | Plant Remedies |
5:00 pm | Plant Bath |
6:30 pm | Yoga |
8:00 pm | 2nd Ceremony |
Day Five
8:00 am | Plant Remedies |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
5:00 pm | Flower Bath |
6:30 pm | Yoga |
8:00 pm | 3rd Ceremony |
Day Six
8:00 am | Plant Remedies |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
2:00 pm | Group Meeting |
6:00 pm | Dinner |
Day Seven
8:00 am | Plant Remedies |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
10:00 am | Permaculture Walk |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
5:00 pm | Flower Bath |
6:30 pm | Yoga |
8:00 pm | 4th Ceremony |
Day Eight
8:00 am | Plant Remedies |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
2:00 pm | Group Meeting |
5:00 pm | Flower Bath |
6:30 pm | Yoga |
8:00 pm | 5th Ceremony |
Day Nine
8:00 am | Plant Remedies |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
2:00 pm | Group Meeting |
6:00 pm | Dinner |
Day Ten
8:00 am | Plant Remedies |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
10:00 am | Group Meeting |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
5:00 pm | Flower Bath |
6:30 pm | Yoga |
8:00 pm | 6th Ceremony |
Day Eleven
8:00 am | Shipibo Market |
9:00 am | Breakfast |
11:00 am | Plant Medicine Walk |
1:00 pm | Lunch |
2:00 pm | Group Photo |
2:30 pm | Final Group Meeting |
6:00 pm | Farewell Dinner with the Healers |
Day Twelve
9:00 am | Breakfast |
10:00am | Leave for Iquitos |
~1:00 pm | Arrive in Iquitos |
Cost
Women’s Ayahuasca Healing & Integration Retreat: | $3,900 USD |
A portion of the income from our ayahuasca retreats funds critical projects on environmental justice, sustainable development, and intercultural education run by our Peruvian NGO, The Chaikuni Institute, partnering with indigenous people in the Amazon.
Payment Terms
- Upon Application: Your card will be charged $1 when you submit your registration. If we cannot approve your registration for any reason, your card will be refunded the $1.
- Upon Application Approval: If your application is approved, your card will be charged for the remainder of the 50% deposit (unless retreat starts within 6 weeks, your card will be charged or the full amount).
- 6 weeks Prior to Retreat Start: Your final payment is due and will be automatically charged to your credit card, unless you make the payment before then.
Important Terms and Advice
- Once your registration is approved, your credit card will be charged for the 50% deposit payment or full payment if the retreat starts within 6 weeks.
- Your balance must be paid in full at least 6 weeks prior to the start of the program to guarantee your space. Your credit card will be charged automatically for any outstanding balance 6 weeks prior to the start of the program.
- If you cancel more than 8 weeks prior to the start of a program: you may transfer to a different program or transfer your payment to personal credit to be used for a future program in the next 2 years, or you may receive a refund less $250 cancellation/admin fee.
- If you cancel within 8 weeks of the start of a program, you may only transfer to a different program or transfer your payment to personal credit to be used for a future program in the next 2 years or receive a refund less $250 cancellation/admin fee, if we can fill your place in the program you are cancelling from. We almost always have waiting lists and will try our best to do so, however it may be difficult to find someone to replace your space if it is close to the start of the program.
- In the unlikely event that we are forced to cancel any programs for any reason due to circumstances beyond our control (the only time this has happened in 17 years of operation was in 2020 due to the pandemic and border closures in Peru), all registration payments will be transferred to personal credit to be used for a future program at a later date within 2 years of whenever the Temple would be able to reopen. Refunds may not be possible in this circumstance.
- We strongly recommend all guests purchase flight and travel insurance to cover all contingencies and non-refundable payments and expenses.
IMPORTANT APPLICATION INFO:
**All registrations must be made from a computer – we do not have mobile capability for our medical questionnaires at this time.
The Temple is open to anyone who is seriously committed to healing their body, mind, and soul, and who has the courage and willingness to fully partake in this process. However, please note that ayahuasca is not suitable for everybody. There are some instances where we are unable to accept an application due to potential psychological, medical, or pharmacological contraindications. All applicants will complete a comprehensive medical intake process to screen for any potential complications upon registration.
Please see availability below and click “Register Now” to continue through our intake process to complete your application. Once you have submitted your application, we will let you know if you are approved to attend the retreat within about one week or less. Once you are approved, your payment will be automatically charged to your credit card to confirm your space in the program.
Regarding our waiting lists: When a space becomes available in a full program, all members of the waiting list are notified simultaneously and the space will be filled by the first applicant. It is difficult for us to say whether a space will open or not – we do occasionally receive cancellations, but the timing is is unpredictable. If you join a waiting list, just keep an eye on your email for any notifications from us and be prepared to act quickly in order to secure an open space.
If you have any questions, please contact us at [email protected].
NOTE: Please do not book flights or make any travel arrangements until your application and medical information have been reviewed and you have been approved into the retreat. In consideration of the changing global situation and international travel restrictions, we strongly recommend not making any travel arrangements until close to the start of the retreat and that all guests purchase travel insurance.
If we are forced to cancel any retreats as a result of the changing global situation or international travel restrictions, retreat payments will not be refunded. All payments will be either transferred to personal credit to be used for a future program at a later date (with no expiration date), or you may move to a different program at that time.
Dates | Availability | Register |
---|---|---|
April 16 - 27, 2024 | Open | Register Now |
November 26 - December 7, 2024 | Open | Register Now |