12-Days

Healthcare Practitioners Ayahuasca Retreat

Temple of the Way of Light
A groundbreaking 12-day retreat in the Amazon focused on ‘healing our healers’ – April 29th to May 10th, 2025.

This very special retreat will feature powerful ayahuasca / shamanic healing led by two female and two male high-level Shipibo healers and supported by Matthew Watherston, the founder of the Temple of the Way of Light, and two senior Temple facilitators, Publio Valle and Deborah Rivett. Together, we bring unprecedented experience over decades of working within genuine Amazonian shamanic healing practices.

We will also be collaborating with Dr. Keith Loring, MD, who has 25 years of experience working in emergency medicine, now working in addiction medicine, with training in Compassionate Inquiry and Internal Family Systems, and Dr. Sarah Marshall, a naturopathic physician with over 15 years of experience, who is one of the Temple’s Integration Program facilitators.

This uniquely designed program is exclusively for healthcare professionals working in medical and mental health settings. Priority consideration will be given to applicants with 10+ years of applied experience in their field and/or applicants with MD/ND/PhD/PsyD/DC/LAc/DoM) level qualifications.

Reservations on this retreat are by application only. 

We aim to bring healing and spiritual awakening to individuals working in Western healthcare and, thus, to the systems they serve. We see the profound potential of transformed and awakened individuals to impact those they serve: their patients, colleagues, institutions, and communities.

The healing modalities provided throughout this program were developed to facilitate working through problematic emotional depths, transforming conscious and unconscious compensatory mechanisms, and inspiring possibilities for integrating Indigenous wisdom and spiritual healing within conventional healthcare systems.

Emphasis will also be on healing occupational stressors, including vicarious trauma, moral injury, and burn-out.

We will provide conditions for individual self-transformation while expanding the understanding of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health in the healing professions. This program will elevate your life and professional endeavors in an embodied and holistic manner.

Participants in this retreat will form important connections with other like-minded, heartfelt healthcare professionals who are dealing with similar challenges and limitations in their practices. We will provide a space for you to be honest, open up, and speak your truth with each other. From our experience, this unique community and the deep connection between the group will continue long after the program has finished.

Wherever the art of medicine is loved, there is also a love of humanity – Hippocrates

Why this Program?

Working with healthcare professionals over many years, common threads have been recognized for some as physical and psychological depletion, along with professional disillusionment and concern for the field. Many health providers experience unrealistic work demands, stressful conditions, vicarious trauma, and limited support over years/decades of practice. Whether working with physical or psychological dis-eases, being on the frontlines of healthcare impacts practitioners’ lives in unseen ways.

In 2019, the Temple held a selective two-week retreat specifically for medical practitioners, co-led by renowned physician Dr. Gabor Maté. A major reality surfaced during the retreat for both participants and leadership regarding unresolved trauma and the accumulation of work-related stress.

It became clear that healthcare professionals often don’t recognize their work’s negative impact on them as providers for cultural, systemic, and personal reasons. They tend to be under-informed about causation, symptoms, and the implications of burnout. Even those with knowledge often find it difficult to maintain adequate levels of self-care.

Since 2019, there has been a global shift in acknowledging the profound impact of being a healthcare practitioner on our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Yet, even with this recognition in the post-pandemic world, the paradigm of toughing it out, staying quiet about our struggles, and the stigma of seeking help remain intact. This prevents our caretakers from being taken care of and getting the resources and community support they need to truly be the best practitioners they can be.

Our medical system has been more deeply rooted in sick-care than health-care. Many providers have had to abandon their dreams and true hearts’ desire to practice healthcare to keep their jobs in an ever-increasing corporate structure of medical care.

In this retreat, we aim to re-awaken your heart’s desires, support you in restoring your connection to the calling that brought you into this field, and connect you to a community of people committed to their own healing journey. We intend to create an awakening to the possibility of a new kind of medical care in the world that truly empowers its practitioners to practice their best medicine in alignment with their hearts and souls.

We will provide a safe and nurturing environment in partnership with the ancient indigenous ethnomedical system of the Shipibo healing tradition to restore your hearts, minds, and bodies and allow natural and effortless aliveness to flow through you once again.

Participants shared the following feedback 18 months following their retreat in 2019:

Work Related

  • I now feel that personal healing and self-care are ethical responsibilities for all doctors.
  • I experienced how this work brings the heart back into healthcare.
  • The retreat has helped me professionally and personally.
  • The experience helped me to do my job better.
  • It’s helped me to let my guard down and be open with colleagues and patients.
  • I have become a better doctor, I am more patient and curious, and my practice has matured.
  • I became a better psychoanalyst and found my voice when working with patients.
  • I feel more aligned professionally.
  • I now understand “Heal Thyself” is the key to being a good healthcare provider.
  • It has broadened my depth of practice.
  • I realized I was trapped in a box and on a hamster wheel at work.
  • Enhanced understanding of transference and counter-transference in the clinical setting.
  • Fear of failure diminished; greater confidence in critical medical decision-making.
  • I now have a new lens to see patients; I am able to attune to patients more easily.

Beyond Work

  • I realized how bad I was at caring for myself.
  • I have reclaimed the full range of “who I am.”
  • I experienced a significant and necessary detox from digital technology.
  • Everything has become simpler. I am a better person. I gave up smoking and alcohol.
  • I used to have a hard time being vulnerable.
  • This work has totally changed my life for the better.
  • I have much more self-awareness.I have experienced new initiatives emerging since I went to the Amazon.
  • I have reconnected with my emotions.
Check Available Dates

Video Reviews

  • “For those called to work with the plant, this is the place to do it, right at the source. No secondary reflection of it elsewhere can possibly match the authentic nature of the experience offered here at the Temple.”
    - Dr. Gabor Maté
  • “This is such a magical place. It’s hard for me to describe just how amazing and how special this whole experience has been and how special this place is”
    - Travis H

The Process

Shipibo ayahuasca and plant-spirit healing is a reparative, regenerative, and preventative spiritual healthcare system, utilizing sophisticated, structured practices that reach into the psychological, emotional, spiritual, and energetic taproots of trauma.

For the Onanyabo (Shipibo shamanic healers), ayahuasca is not simply a psychedelic experience. It is a nexus to a vast number of plant-spirit medicines that work together to provide a harmony of healing.

This level of healing, carried out by the healers and spirits within the Amazon Rainforest, creates deep and lasting results that are not attainable by working with psychedelics alone or ayahuasca outside of the Amazon.

Metaphorically, it takes a whole orchestra to create the symphony of healing necessary to restore our innate connection with the web of all life on the planet. The Shipibo approach to healing is eco-centric, fundamentally reconnecting us with the natural world.

The Mastery of the Shipibo Healing System

Coming to an ayahuasca retreat in the Amazon, the birthplace and source of the medicine, being supported by the energies, elements, forces, and spirits of the jungle, and guided by the indigenous wisdom keepers of powerful ethnomedical traditions, is the most effective and deepest way to work with ayahuasca.

We create the conditions for nature to heal itself – we are nature! At the deepest level, the Shipibo system understands the symbiosis and synergy in nature, which is at the core of all true healing.

This process lies far beyond our understanding of modern healthcare and sits firmly outside the widespread materialistic understanding of reality. The Shipibo’s perspectives on optimal health radically differ from the general worldview. The key to their healing success lies in their experience working in the inner, non-physical, and non-local realms of being.

Their causal approach challenges the underlying assumptions of the modern biomedical paradigm. In addition to focusing on obvious physical and psychological symptoms, Shipibo healers address the non-physical, energetic sources of disorder and disease; they move beyond the assertions of contemporary science and reach into the quantum/spiritual realms.

This deep healing process ultimately shifts us from operating predominantly from our intellect to allowing our healing practices to be guided, informed, and inspired by our hearts and souls.

Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe – a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel… humble” – Albert Einstein

Program Overview

This program will be facilitated by leaders in psychedelic integration, progressive psychotherapy, and naturopathic medicine, working in deep alignment with the ageless wisdom and complex healing practices of the Shipibo Onayabo.

During the retreat at the Temple, there will be six night-time ayahuasca ceremonies led by our healers, who work together as a plant-spirit-guided medical team. Combined with the ayahuasca healing during the retreat, other plant remedies will be given subject to individual needs, such as plant and flower baths, plant vapor baths, and energetic massages.

This on-site program will offer structure throughout, including individualized attention tailored to each participant’s needs, interests, and goals. Participants will also be expected to explore personal and interpersonal dynamics as they emerge. We will encourage participants to lean toward uncomfortable experiences when they arise, as this is where the alchemy of transformation can deepen.

We will create the ultimate conditions for you to experience profound self-transformation and expand your understanding of physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual health and healing, elevating your life and practice in an embodied and holistic manner.

Focus on Integration

The healing you will receive will cleanse dense energies that have accumulated in your system and bring up many aspects of your past that have been buried in your subconscious.

It is important to understand that this process occurs not only during the ceremonies but also normally for days, weeks, and months after a retreat. Ayahuasca and the plant spirits will continue to work with you after you leave the Temple, and the more self-reflection, courage, responsibility, and awareness you bring to your process during this crucial phase, the more benefits you will gain.

Ayahuasca helps dissolve the illusory self and increases awareness of self-constructed boundaries, highlighting and helping release fear-filled and self-limiting beliefs. Ayahuasca initiates a long-term healing journey that supports overall liberation from the hypnosis of conditioning – shining a light onto your shadow and helping you to become aware of your patterns, intimate with your fears, and consciously parent yourself back to wholeness.

After the retreat, we will hold three monthly group integration sessions on Zoom to support the cohort throughout your ongoing processes. 

All retreat participants will also receive complimentary access to the Temple’s new three-month Integration Program, Navigating the Ceremony of Life. 

Why Does the Temple Exist?

The foundation of our work, and all retreats at the Temple, are the highly advanced and complex ethnomedical traditions of the Shipibo-Conibo people, an indigenous group from the Ucayali region of the Peruvian Amazon.

We work exclusively with Shipibo Onanyabo, meaning “those who have wisdom.” Authentic Shipibo healers are recognized locally and globally for their expertise in ayahuasca and plant medicines. The Onanyabo at the Temple have undergone decades of rigorous training within a wisdom tradition that has evolved and been transmitted through countless generations.

Our vision is that the mastery of indigenous healers and their ancient traditions are respected and honored worldwide.

Traditional Amazonian plant-spirit healing offers an ancient perspective on the modern epidemic of depression, anxiety, and stress, encouraging a revolution in our healthcare systems and in the way society addresses mental health and the source of chronic disease.

We recognize unresolved personal and trans-generational trauma in all of its different manifestations to be the energetic taproot of all disorder and turmoil, individually and collectively, across the planet.

The resolution of trauma leads to completion, wholeness, and connection and is the most significant mechanism for individual, social, and global transformation.

The Program Team

Healers & Retreat Team

  • José Lopéz Sanchez

    Curandero

    José Lopéz Sanchez

    Curandero
    Jose’s Shipibo name is “Sanymeny” which means “The Messenger”

    José was born in the village of Royaboya. He is the son of the legendary Maestra Ynes Sanchez and Maestro David Lopéz.

    José was named after his paternal grandfather, also called Sanymeny (and José Lopéz Sanchez in Spanish), a highly respected Mereya (the highest level Shipibo healer), who trained him extensively since his childhood, transmitting the wisdom of his ancestors, the Shipibo-Conibo cosmovision and the sophisticated practices of Shipibo plant-spirit healing.

    At the tender age of seven, José began the preparation of his body, mind, and spirit by beginning his first traditional dieta (sama) with master tree-spirit and continued training throughout his childhood. At age sixteen, he began to heal people from his village and his work then expanded from the city of Pucallpa out into many other regions of Peru.

    José occasionally works at the Temple although is mainly focused on holding plant spirit dietas at his own center, Shipibo Rao, near Pucallpa. We are blessed and privileged to work with this unique healer.

  • Laura Lopez Sanchez

    Curandera

    Laura Lopez Sanchez

    Curandera
    Laura’s Shipibo name is “Chononyabi” which means “swallow bird that flies in unity”.

    Raised in a medicine family, Laura was born to the life of a curandera. She is a specialist in warmé ikaros, used for unblocking and healing emotions and relationships.

    Laura was born in the Shipibo community of Roaboya. Both her parents and grandparents were well respected Onanya, working as healers for the local villages. From a young age, she was deeply immersed in the world of plant medicine. As with many young Shipibo born of curandero families, Laura was given small dietas by her grandparents from the age of 10, and by the age of 16 her apprenticeship started in earnest when she started to work with ayahuasca.

    By the age of 20, she was travelling all over Peru with her aunt, administering plant medicines and ayahuasca ceremonies for local Peruvians, wherever their aid was requested. She has also worked extensively with her incredibly knowledgeable mother and teacher, Ynes, both in Peru and abroad.

    She brings with her an incredible wealth of knowledge that has been passed down for many generations in her family line. With her contagious laughter, and passion for helping and healing from a pure space of love, she is an absolute gem!

  • Elias Rodriguez Nahuama

    Curandero

    Elias Rodriguez Nahuama

    Curandero
    Elias’s name in Shipibo is Inin Tsoma, which means a brave and strong man with a beautiful way about him that generates love.

    Elias is the coordinator of our Shipibo healing team. He was born in 1974 in the Shipibo community of Santa Isabel de Bawanisho. He is married and is the father of five children: three girls and two boys. One of them is on the path of learning to become an Onanya. He is a high-level Onanya with a heart of gold, a joyful spirit, and an amazing gift for healing, which was recognized when he was very young.

    His father was a well-respected Onanya in the community, and his mother was a vegetalista. When Elias was ten years old, his father shared with him that he was going to die soon. He therefore wanted to teach Elias about the world of plant-spirit healing, which his father told him would be his path in life and to carry the family healing lineage.

    Soon after this conversation, they went to Kumankay Lake to find the famous Noya Rao tree. His father told him that this tree was very powerful and that he was to start learning from it. They stayed at the lake for 15 days, and the spirit of the tree began to instruct him how to diet and what to diet through dreams. On returning home, he had an ayahuasca ceremony with his father, where his father transmitted his knowledge to him through icaros. One month later, his father died.

    Elias then experienced many difficulties and challenges after his father died. He needed to work from the tender age of eleven to support his mother and younger siblings. At sixteen, he entered into the military. Throughout this time, he was guided by the spirit of the Noya Rao tree and continued dieting many different sacred plants until, at the age of twenty, he made contact with his uncle, an Onanya, who invited him to drink medicine with him.

    This opened a whole new level of learning, and his uncle guided him through learning to harness the power and wisdom of the plants he had been dieting, and direct them to heal people through icaros.

    Elias led a double life for a while, security guard by day and healer by night, and soon gained a reputation for his powerful healing ability. Word of his ability spread, and he was eventually able to devote his time to healing fully. He was invited to work all over Peru, first with local people and later with Westerners.

    Elias loves what he does. He’s deeply dedicated to the path of plant-spirit healing and works with much love, integrity, and passion. He is deeply grateful for his father’s guidance and gift, which has helped him and thousands of others.

  • Teresa Rojas Toesta

    Curandera

    Teresa Rojas Toesta

    Curandera
    Teresa’s Shipibo name is “Chinosame” which means “swallow that brings messages and people to work together”.

    Teresa was born in the native community of Curarina. She is the mother of six children, two of whom are currently learning and practicing medicine. Her husband Benito also works at the Temple as a curandero.

    The catalyst to begin training to become an Onanya started with looking for healing for her sick son. She took him to a ceremony with a powerful healer and was amazed at how the treatment of icaros and plants healed him. This inspired to her to learn for herself.

    She went to Royaboya where her husband had begun dieting and said she wanted to join him and learn as well. She shares how in her first dieta, she had a powerful experience from the plant she was dieting that lasted 3 days, during which time she was met by the spirit of the plant who taught her many things.

    She dieted continuously with various plants over a period of about two years before she finally drank ayahuasca for the first time. As soon as she began to sing, the visions appeared and the teachings of her years of dieta came through her icaros. This was around 22 years ago. Since then she has been working in her community and more recently with westerners, sharing her powerful medicine.

  • Inocencia Izquierda Vayes

    Herbalist

    Inocencia Izquierda Vayes

    Herbalist
    Inocencia’s Shipibo name is “Panshinbeka” meaning “the woman who brings the sun, or is born from the sun”.

    Inocencia comes from the Shipibo community of ‘Nueve de Octubre’. She has three girls of 20, 25, and 32 years old, and three grandchildren.

    Her father was a curandero, as was her brother, and her mother was a herbalist too. She therefore gained many experiences throughout her childhood and inherited an extensive knowledge of the medicinal plants of the Amazon. She started to commit to more formal training at the age of 20, inspired by many healings that she saw carried out throughout her childhood.

    She has worked for many years in various indigenous communities as a herbalist. She is passionate about working with medicinal plants and feels deeply fulfilled by supporting peoples healing.

  • Matthew Watherston

    Founder

    Matthew Watherston

    Founder

    On his first visit to the Amazon in January 2007, Matthew received a vision to build the Temple of the Way of Light; a vision that is rooted in and inspired by a deep respect for the indigenous healing traditions of the Amazon, as well as a commitment to work in reciprocity with the people of the rainforest.

    Since the inception of the Temple in March 2007, and together with his wife Klara since July 2008, Matthew has developed the Temple to become the leading ayahuasca / plant-spirit healing organisation in the Amazon, with a unique focus also on social and environmental responsibility.

    He is passionately committed to giving back to the people and the land and has founded two Peruvian non-profit organizations – Alianza Arkana (January 2011) and The Chaikuni Institute (January 2013) – implementing outreach programs in environmental justice, human rights, permaculture/regenerative development, and intercultural education.

    Matthew has undergone a deep personal healing journey since 2007 and an initiation in the Shipibo Wisdom tradition, as well as learning from the Arhuaco people of Columbia and Ashaninka people of Peru. His apprenticeship in these three traditions continues to this day. He is deeply committed to his own spiritual path and ensuring that the ancient traditions of the Shipibo People are honoured and preserved. 

    His lifetime goal is for the Temple to raise awareness globally about the sophisticated ethno-medical healing practices of genuine Onanyabo (Shipibo Wisdom Keepers) and to highlight the importance and relevance of authentic spiritual healing in the modern world. 

    His ultimate vision is for humanity to move beyond patriarchy and remember the sacredness of Mother Earth; for us all to honour the feminine, restore balance – both inner and outer – between the masculine and feminine, and reclaim our connection with the Divine.

  • Debbie Rivett

    Coordinator, Senior Retreat Facilitator, and Facilitator Trainer

    Debbie Rivett

    Coordinator, Senior Retreat Facilitator, and Facilitator Trainer

    Debbie is a core member of our team and a pillar of the Temple community. Joining the Temple in 2011, her presence, deep care, and integrity have significantly impacted our retreats, guests, staff, and surrounding communities.

    After completing an honors degree with a double major in Psychology and Drama, Debbie worked in several 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 filmmaking before finding a home for these diverse skillsets under ‘one leaf’ at the Temple.

    Passionate about plants, people, healing, and learning, Debbie has immersed herself in a long-term journey with medicinal plants. She is a long-term apprentice in the Shipibo healing tradition and has previously trained in the mestizo tabaquero tradition. She has also been initiated in several of the Bwiti traditions of Gabon, working with Iboga.

    She also occasionally incorporates Western therapeutic techniques, including Compassionate Inquiry, ontological and somatic work, nonviolent communication, and TRE (tension and trauma release exercises) in her facilitation. However, she is clear that the plant spirits are her primary guides and teachers.

    Her wide-ranging skill set serves her well in her work at the Temple, where she works as a senior facilitator, facilitator trainer, and coordinator, ensuring smooth operations of our retreats.

  • Públio Valle

    Senior Retreat and Integration Facilitator

    Públio Valle

    Senior Retreat and Integration Facilitator

    During a trip to Peru many years ago, Públio discovered Shipibo ayahuasca curanderismo and the experience reoriented the direction of his life. He has now come full circle, and facilitates Temple guests before, during, and after retreats.

    Públio was born in Brazil and has dedicated his life to meditation, yoga, and ayahuasca for over 15 years. He earned a degree in Yoga Therapy at Swami Vivekananda University in Bangalore, India, where he also worked at a Yoga Hospital. He trained in meditation in several traditions while in India, completed an Indian Psychology Course in Pondicherry, and studied meditation at Pa Auk Monastery in Burma. He worked as a volunteer for two years at the Alice Project School, an institution that teaches dharma and meditation inspired by Tibetan wisdom to children.

    Since his first encounter with ayahuasca in Peru with the Shipibo in 2004, he has also worked with the medicine with different traditional groups in Brazil, including Santo Daime. He has been working at the Temple since 2014 as a facilitator, yoga and meditation teacher, Integration Therapist, and more recently, as General Manager, and is currently training in Compassionate Inquiry with Gabor Maté.

    Having experienced the deep and rich processes that ayahuasca ignites within, Públio has a sincere commitment to share the teachings of the jungle and of ancient traditions, and to promote health and well-being in all dimensions of human life.

  • Dr. Sarah Marshall, ND

    Medical Advisor, Integration Facilitator and Trainee Retreat Facilitator

    Dr. Sarah Marshall, ND

    Medical Advisor, Integration Facilitator and Trainee Retreat Facilitator

    Dr. Sarah Marshall is an internationally renowned Naturopathic Physician, Intuitive Counselor, Speaker, and Author. She is also the host of the beloved podcast, created out of her commitment to amplify the stories and methodology of true healing.

    Graduating with honors in research from the National University of Natural Medicine in 2009, Sarah’s approach to medicine has always been grounded in alignment with the laws of nature to heal illness at its root through food as medicine, physiologic detoxification, homeopathy, and energetic herbalism. Her journey into becoming a practitioner of the healing arts began over 22 years ago when she began training as an energy healer in the Berkeley Psychic Institute methodology where over 7 years she acquired over 500 hours of practice.

    While in her first decade as a doctor, Sarah expanded her skills beyond the physical becoming a coach and program leader in transformational ontological coaching. Inside this work she honed her abilities to listen and heal from a space of emptiness, sharpening her intuitive gifts with the powerful structure of ontological inquiry.

    Born in the United States, Sarah has a gypsy’s heart, having traveled extensively throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. She has always been drawn to the indigenous healing traditions of the places she explores. Well-versed in Western herbal and energetic medicines, she was called to sit in ceremonial practice with Ayahuasca for the first time in 2019. Over the past five years, she has deepened her healing through a multitude of ceremonial practices birthed from the Amazon Basin, leading her to her first retreat at the Temple of The Way of Light for the Change Makers program in the fall of 2023.

    Her calling is people are magic! Her ultimate intention of her work is to activate and amplify individuals’ innate ability to heal. Her vision for the world is people living in partnership with the creative forces of life, expressing love, in harmony with nature.

  • Camila Pastor

    Trainee Retreat Facilitator

    Camila Pastor

    Trainee Retreat Facilitator

    Camila grew up in Lima, Peru moving to New York City to pursue a college degree in architecture and adventure. After a successful career in architecture and design, Camila recognized the unmet need among the undocumented community for skilled Latinx psychotherapists. She decided to return to graduate school to earn her Master in Social Work and work within the Latinx and BIPOC community in New York City.

    During the years spent at a mental health community center, she developed an interest in holistic, bottom-up approaches to psychotherapy. Camila noticed how she and most clients were disconnected from their bodies, jumpy, or disassociated.

    As her interest grew, Camila focused on developing her skills in trauma therapy, which led her to study modalities like Somatic Experiencing, Compassionate Inquiry, EMDR, and Internal Family Systems while deepening her knowledge and practice in contemplative traditions. Camila in her quest for alternative healing modalities went back home to Peru.

    She sat with ayahuasca at the Temple in 2021 and experienced deep transformational healing that has led her to continue deepening her experience with the medicine and the Shipibo healing system. Camila continues to be amazed by the depth and potential of this plant medicine tradition.

    Camila has led immersive group journeys for BIPOC communities and is passionate about Latinx work, Indigenous rights, decolonization, and helping people explore their authentic selves.

    Camila is an advocate for the deep-rooted practice of community healing in safe sharing circles. The practice of people coming together to share stories, listen deeply, and speak from the heart.

  • Dr. Keith Loring

    Medical Advisor and Trainee Retreat Facilitator

    Dr. Keith Loring

    Medical Advisor and Trainee Retreat Facilitator

    Keith is a friend and previous guest of the Temple and is now committed to the long-term process of deepening his healing and learning from the Shipibo through plant-spirit dietas.

    He received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and then worked as an Attending Physician in the division of Emergency Services at San Francisco General Hospital for many years. He also served as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Keith’s personal experiences with HIV and addiction led him to transition to the practice of addiction medicine. He has been working in this field for several years, utilizing his expertise to help patients struggling with addiction.

What's Included & Cost

Cost of Healthcare Practitioners Healing and Integration Program

USD $5,500

A portion of the income from our ayahuasca retreats funds projects on environmental justice, regenerative agriculture, and intercultural education run by our Peruvian sister NGO, the Chaikuni Institute (established 2012), collaborating with indigenous people and communities in the Amazon.

Application Process:

The application includes a registration form and a comprehensive medical questionnaire. 

Applying for this retreat does not guarantee selection, as we receive more applications than we have space for, and we are discerning with our selection criteria. Please do not make any travel plans until we have confirmed that your registration is approved.

Payment Terms

Upon Application: Your card will be charged $1 when you submit your application. If we cannot approve your application 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 at that time (unless retreat starts within 6 weeks, your card will be charged for 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.

Healthcare Practitioners Retreat at the Temple

  • Six ayahuasca ceremonies over the 12 days
  • A high ratio of healers to guests – four Shipibo healers  (two female, two male (including Maestro Jose Lopez from Shipibo Rao Dieta Center) and a female Shipibo herbalist
  • A skilled team of three highly experienced facilitators to guide you with processing and integrating your experiences, including Matthew Watherston, the Temple’s founder, two senior Temple facilitators, Publio Valle, and Debbie Rivett, and one support/trainee facilitator, Camila Pastor.
  • Two guest facilitators with extensive experience in Western healthcare – Dr. Keith Loring and Dr. Sarah Marshall, N.D
  • 1 x Group preparation call (on Zoom) before the retreat
  • 3 x Group integration calls (on Zoom) – held one, two and three months after the completion of the retreat
  • Complimentary access to the Temple’s 3-Month Integration Program
  • Group size limited to 23 people
  • A series of steam baths at the beginning of the retreat to clear the most dense energies
  • A series of three plant baths followed by three flower baths for cleansing, purifying, and strengthening
  • Private consultations: To check in and offer additional support and guidance as needed
  • Energetic healing massages (where necessary, as part of your healing process)
  • Therapeutic modalities to supplement the process, where necessary: Including Compassionate Inquiry, Somatic Re-experiencing, Internal Family Systems and Hakomi
  • Deliciously simple meals, organic where possible, 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
  • Individual accommodation in comfortable bungalows, all with running water, a private toilet, sink, chair, and hammock
  • 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

  • Airfare (international and national)
  • Airport transportation
  • Travel insurance
  • Accommodation in Iquitos
  • Peruvian Visa costs for non EEC or USA nationals
  • Personal expenses (such as meals and drinks in Iquitos, etc.)

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.
Book this Retreat

Schedule

Schedule

Here is the schedule for our 12-day Ayahuasca Retreat. Six Ayahuasca ceremonies are complemented throughout the retreat with a wide variety of daily healing practices, yoga classes, as well as group meetings, and one-on-one sessions.

  • Day 1

    Collection at Iquitos Meeting Point
     Arrive at the Temple, Tambo Assignments
     Plant Baths
     Lunch
     Orientation Meeting
     Dinner

  • Day 2

    Vapor Baths
     Breakfast
    Group Meeting (Meet Healers, Ayahuasca/Ceremony Discussion)
     Lunch
     Group Consultation
     Plant Baths
    Pre-Ceremony Yoga/Meditation
    1st Ayahuasca Ceremony

  • Day 3

    Silence/Introspection until 10:00am
    Vapor Baths
     Breakfast
     Private Consultations with Healers and Facilitators
     Lunch
    Private Consultations with Healers and Facilitators
     Yoga [Gentle Flow]
     Dinner

  • Day 4

    Vapor Baths
    Breakfast
    Time for Relaxation & Introspection
    Lunch
    Group Meeting in Maloka (about Plant Remedies, Intentions)
    Plant Remedies
    Plant Baths
    Pre-Ceremony Yoga/Meditation
    2nd Ayahuasca Ceremony

  • Day 5

    Silence/Introspection + Optional Fasting until 12:00pm
    Plant Remedies/Massages
     Breakfast
    Quiet Time in Tambos/Rest/Introspection
     Lunch
    Rest/Relax/Introspection
    Plant Baths
    Pre-Ceremony Yoga/Meditation
    3rd Ayahuasca Ceremony

  • Day 6

    Silence/Introspection + Optional Fasting until 12:00pm
    Plant Remedies
     Breakfast
    Quiet Time in Tambos/Rest/Introspection
     Lunch
    Group Meeting/Sharing Circle
     Dinner

  • Day 7

    Plant Remedies/Massages
     Breakfast
    Plant/Jungle Walk With Healers
     Lunch
    Group Session
    Floral Baths
    Pre-Ceremony Yoga/Meditation
    4th Ayahuasca Ceremony

  • Day 8

    Silence/Introspection + Optional Fasting until 12:00pm
    Plant Remedies
     Breakfast
    Quiet Time in Tambos/Rest/Introspection
     Lunch
    Rest/Relax/Introspection + Optional Group Session
    Floral Baths
    Pre-Ceremony Yoga/Meditation
    5th Ayahuasca Ceremony

  • Day 9

    Silence/Introspection + Optional Fasting until 12:00pm
    Plant Remedies/Massages
     Breakfast
    Quiet Time in Tambos/Rest/Introspection
     Lunch
    Group Meeting/Sharing Circle/Processing
     Dinner

  • Day 10

    Plant Remedies
     Breakfast
    Group Meeting w/ Healers
     Lunch
    Rest/Relax/Introspection
    Floral Baths
    Rest/Relax/Introspection
    6th/Final Ayahuasca Ceremony

  • Day 11

    Shipibo Market (until 10:45a)
     Breakfast
    Permaculture/Chaikuni Walk
     Lunch
    Group Photos w/ Healers
    Closing Meeting/Discussion
    Visit to the Local Village
    Farewell Dinner w/ Healers

  • Day 12

    Luggage to Maloka
     Breakfast
    Leave for Iquitos
    Arrive in Iquitos

Temple of the Way of Light

A New Paradigm in Health-Care, Soul-Care and Planet-Care

We look forward to welcoming you to the Temple!

Book this Retreat
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 4,440

    Living in Alignment: Ayahuasca Healing Retreat

    The backbone of our work and regular retreat offering, providing an immersion in traditional Shipibo plant-spirit healing complemented with yoga classes, individual and group support, and powerful methods of self-inquiry.
  • 12 Days + 5 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 5,700

    Ayahuasca Healing Retreat + 5-Day Integration Retreat

    A 12-Day ‘Living in Alignment’ Ayahuasca Healing Retreat with an added 5-day Integration Extension Retreat at the Temple.
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 4,440

    Women’s Ayahuasca Healing Retreat

    For this retreat we will be working exclusively with female facilitators and female support staff. There is something very special that happens when a group of women come together to heal!
  • 12 Days
    12 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 5,500

    Healthcare Practitioners Ayahuasca Retreat

    This special 12-day ayahuasca retreat is designed to ‘heal the healers’ and is offered only for healthcare professionals in medical and mental health settings.
  • 14 Days
    5 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 2,000

    Traditional Plant Dietas at Shipibo Rao

    We are honored to support Maestro Jose Lopez Sanchez and his healing center, Shipibo Rao. Maestro Jose runs 14-day dietas working in the Shipibo tradition.
    Visit Shipiborao's website to book
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