Our Team

Temple of the Way of Light

Our Healers

Experienced and compassionate healers dedicated to sharing their rich and complex medical tradition

The Temple is blessed to work with an incredible team of warmhearted, highly skilled, and experienced female and male Shipibo healers. We are privileged to work with healers who have each practiced the ancient art of ayahuasca shamanism for decades.

Our Team

All our staff are carefully selected to meet the professional, ethical and compassionate standards that define the working culture at The Temple of the Way of Light

Our Western staff, regardless of position, all have extensive experience with plant-spirit medicine and a deep commitment to our own personal healing.

We employ a large team of locals from our neighbouring villages who ensure the smooth running of retreats, in all the areas below.

Management and Advisors

  • Matthew Watherston

    Founder

    Matthew Watherston

    Founder

    Following his first visit to the Amazon in January 2007, Matthew’s vision was to develop a pioneering Amazonian healing center with a key focus on respecting indigenous healing traditions in a reciprocal relationship with the Amazonian people and their environment. Since the inception of the Temple in February 2007, Matthew has passionately developed the Temple to become a flagship model of social and environmental responsibility in the Amazon.

    Matthew has immersed himself in learning about the traditional medicine of the Amazon and recognizes its significant potential as a healthcare system that can successfully address many modern issues, especially mental and emotional health problems. He has undergone a deep personal healing journey since arriving in the Amazon, has apprenticed with three healers and is deeply committed to ensuring that the ancient medical traditions of the Amazon are honored and respected.

    He also believes passionately in 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.

    His lifetime goal is for the Temple to bridge ancient shamanic medicine with the best of both progressive psychotherapy and Eastern spiritual practices, becoming a university hospital for a new paradigm in healing and consciousness.

  • Klara Soukalova

    Co-Founder

    Klara Soukalova

    Co-Founder

    Klara became involved with the Temple in May 2008 when she came to apprentice with one of our previous curanderos. She then met Matthew in July and they instantly fell in love!

    In September 2008, Klara had the insight to begin to work with female healers at the Temple. This idea then manifested through synchronicity when Matthew was introduced to the Shipibo maestras in January 2009. The Shipibo maestras then married Matthew and Klara, at the Temple, in March 2009.

    Klara brings an overwhelming amount of loving, compassionate, feminine energy to the Temple. Her relationship with Matthew, and the strong support she provides him, is an essential factor in the ever-unfolding development of the Temple and our mission.

    Despite often being “behind the scenes”, Klara is an integral part of the Temple and gently guides day-to-day decisions. Klara has been dieting master plants since 2008 and is deeply committed to her own personal healing process as well as learning from the plant spirits, and beyond. Her kind and soft approach to ‘everything and everyone’ in her life is the perfect complement to Matthew’s passion and vision. Together, they form a deeply loving partnership that stewards the mission of the Temple.

    Klara is also a trained physical therapist with a focus on Shiatsu and traditional Chinese medicine as well as a professional dancer and an artist. Some of her pieces that were created whilst undergoing plant dietas can be seen at the Temple. More of Klara’s work can be viewed on her website: klarasoukalova.com

  • Jose Castaneda

    Administrative Director

    Jose Castaneda

    Administrative Director

    Jose oversees and manages all aspects of the daily accounting and administrative tasks in our Iquitos office and is an invaluable and much loved part of our team.

    Jose was born in the city of Iquitos, he studied his primary and secondary schooling at the Adventist College of the Amazon. His passion for tourism led him to study at the National University of the Peruvian Amazon, where he graduated in International Business and Tourism.

    During his university studies he worked in several companies as an administrative assistant, showing dedication and commitment in his work. After finishing his degree, he had the opportunity to work in logistics for a company in Loreto dedicated to imports.

    After several years, he looked for an opportunity to develop in the field of his profession, concerned about the development of tourism and the protection of the natural resources of the region. He found the opportunity in the offices of the Regional Directorate of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Loreto, where he was dedicated to the guidance of tour operators in the region, as well as the supervision and control of lodging establishments, hotels, and hostels.

    In August 2011, destiny led him to join the Temple team as an administrative-accounting assistant in our Iquitos office, thanks to his dedication, courage and performance he became our Managing Director.

    He also passionately manages our fish farms projects, a personal passion, and supports the promotion of regenerative development of the Temple and the local community.

  • Levi Estela Rodriguez

    Operations Director

    Levi Estela Rodriguez

    Operations Director

    As Operations Director, Levi is crucial to the smooth running of the Temple.

    Levi was born in the northern Peruvian city of Cajamarca and has lived in the local village of Tres Unidos for the past 20 years. He has been working with the Temple since 2000, starting as a security guard. His reliability, efficiency, and all-round amiable nature are an immense asset to our work at the Temple.

    Levi also holds the position of “gente municipal” and is one of the local authorities in the village. His position at both the Temple and Tres Unidos fosters mutually supportive relations between the village and the Temple. Levi is a father of three children and a farmer. In his free time he grows yuka, maize, pineapples and plantain. He is seldom seen without a huge smile on his face, and the support and guidance he provides to all of our staff is indispensable.

  • Debbie Rivett

    Coordinator, Senior Retreat Facilitator, and Facilitator Trainer

    Debbie Rivett

    Coordinator, Senior Retreat Facilitator, and Facilitator Trainer

    Debbie is a core and essential member of our team and a pillar of the Temple community, fondly known as ‘The Fairy Godmother’. Her positive impact on our retreats, guests, staff, and surrounding communities over the past 12 years is deep and beyond description.

    After completing an honors 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 filmmaking before finding a home for these apparently diverse skillsets under ‘one leaf’ at the Temple.

    Passionate about plants, people, healing and learning, Debbie has immersed herself in a journey with medicinal plants. She is apprenticing through dietas in both the Shipibo tradition and a mestizo tabaquero tradition in the Amazon, and has also been initiated in several of the Bwiti traditions of Gabon working with Iboga.

    She brings a range of techniques to her work, including Compassionate Enquiry, Ontological and Somatic work, NVC and TRE. She cites the healings and teachings of the plants through the process of dieta in her own personal healing journey, as her main teachers.

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

  • Juliana Bizare

    Coordinator, Senior Retreat and Integration Facilitator

    Juliana Bizare

    Coordinator, Senior Retreat and Integration Facilitator

    Juliana ’s first spiritual experience was a journey with Ayahuasca in the Santo Daime tradition, in Brazil in 1995. During this experience a whole new world opened up to her, the world of the plants and their sophisticated healing powers.

    A few years later she started travelling the world and learn about other ancient traditions immersing herself in dharma centers and ashrams in Asia and the USA, like Tushita Dharma Center in India, Kopan Monastery in Nepal and Spirit Rock in California. She also lived in a healthy community/ school in Brazil – University of Light for a couple of years, where she graduated in Transpersonal Psychology.

    She has also been deepening her knowledge of the Plants through Dieting different Master Plants with the Lopez Sanchez Family (Maestras Ynes, Laura & Maestro José), in the Shipibo Tradition.

    For the past 20 years, Juliana’s true passion has been the study and integration of the Eastern practices of Yoga and Mindfulness into the work with Sacred Plant Medicines and different modern psychological approaches, with the focus on renegotiating our traumas and rewriting our own life narratives.

    She has now supported hundreds of people before, during and after their medicine journeys. Through her own experience with the medicine, she 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 a 3-year training on Somatic Experiencing by Peter Levine, a powerful body-centered approach. For the past seven years she has been working at the Temple, and also working online as an Integration Facilitator.

    Her goal is to empower people to feel safe in their bodies, integrate trauma and all different parts of our human experience, so people can have clarity on their path and purpose in life.

  • Allen Banick

    Bookings and Communications Director

    Allen Banick

    Bookings and Communications Director

    Allen views life as a school, and everyone he meets and every situation he encounters as the lesson. He has come to see that ayahuasca and other master plants are here to serve as teachers to facilitate (and sometimes accelerate) our learning in the school of life.

    Allen’s journey with plants began in 2014 when he visited the Temple as a retreat participant. The depth of healing and awareness that emerged from those initial ceremonies would dramatically alter the course of his life. He was deeply touched and inspired by the work of the Shipibo healers coupled with the wisdom of ayahuasca. This inspiration led him on a path of deep personal work and learning with many master plants and skilled curanderos through ceremonies, dietas, and initiations in the Amazon, the Andes, and in the heart of Africa.

    In his role as Bookings & Communications Director, he handles the application screening process, is the main point of contact for guests before and after their retreat, and manages Temple communications. From his own experience, he knows the significance of taking the leap to the heart of the Amazon to engage with plant medicine. He loves being present to ensure everyone who embarks on their journey to the Temple feels prepared and supported.

    When he is at the Temple, he also serves as a retreat facilitator, a role he has held since 2015. Facilitating at the Temple is the most gratifying and inspiring work in which he has ever had the honor of participating. Witnessing the healing and transformation of others as they go through their journey with ayahuasca and the Shipibo healers is an inspirational healing and learning experience unlike any other.

    Much of Allen’s learning now comes from his daughter and wife, both of whom came into his life by the grace of plant medicines. The three of them live happily in Peru.

Facilitators and Teachers

  • Públio Valle

    Retreat and Integration Facilitator

    Públio Valle

    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.

  • Zuzana Valesova

    Retreat Facilitator

    Zuzana Valesova

    Retreat Facilitator

    Zuzana’s journey into the world of plant medicine started with a random decision that changed her life forever! She originally trained in massage and cranio-sacral therapy in her home country, the Czech Republic.

    Deeply fascinated by the healing properties of plant medicine and the wisdom of ancestral knowledge, she decided to move permanently to Peru in 2014. Her main focus was her own personal healing which later led her into the study of plant medicine practices.

    She completed an apprenticeship with one of the most well-known and highly-regarded healers in the country. She continues to learn from plants as she believes the potential for learning and growth is endless.

    Since 2016 she has been providing support and direction for people attending ayahuasca retreats. She has always been fascinated by the complexity and diversity of the human experience. From the emotions and relationships to the vastness of human knowledge and exploration. This inspired her to participate in a year-long training program in Compassionate Inquiry with Dr. Gabor Maté. This program has recently concluded and she has been actively implementing the skills and knowledge she acquired during her training. Continuing to practice and develop her abilities has proven to be a valuable asset in both her personal and professional life.

    It’s truly an honor for her to witness and support guests’ process during ayahuasca retreats. She’s constantly in awe of the profound nature of human existence and how plant medicine can improve our lives in so many ways. Despite the challenges and struggles that come with being human, she is amazed by the resilience and creativity of people.

  • Andres Anguita

    Retreat Faciliator

    Andres Anguita

    Retreat Faciliator

    As the song says, “… Enamorado de la vida aunque a veces duela” (In love with life even though sometimes it hurts). Andrés was born in Spain in 1966. Since he can remember, he was always curious to learn about nature and his sense of belonging to it.

    He began studying the medicinal plants of the Peruvian Amazon in 2011 when he learned how the indigenous people of the Shipibo-Conibo ethnic group relate to nature and how they understand plants as intelligent beings with whom we can communicate in a different way than we are used to in the West. Since then, he has been working with ayahuasca, understanding it as a tool that reconnects us with nature and especially with medicinal plants.

    He worked and studied for three years from 2011-13 at the Temple. He then deepened his studies with Shipibo Maestra Ynés Sánchez and her family in the Ucayali River, carrying out plant spirit dietas and learning how to use plant medicines, including ayahuasca. Since then, he has been in service to the medicinal plants in the Shipibo tradition, in Europe and Latin America. He has now returned to the Temple to supporting guests with integrating their plant medicine experiences, guided by his own experiences and his passion for nature.

    He is also interested in becoming an intercultural bridge and finding new narratives to explain how different cultures need to coexist on the basis of reciprocity and respect, learning together new, healthier ways of relating to nature. He has visited many parts of the world. In Indonesia, he learned to make shadow puppets; in England, he taught creative arts to homeless people and prisoners; in Brazil, he learned about art therapy and caring for medicinal plants in the rural area where he settled.

  • Ute Behrendt

    Retreat and Integration Facilitator

    Ute Behrendt

    Retreat and Integration Facilitator

    Ute was always very curious about life, the universe, humanity, and especially about the unseen, which western society has not really integrated into their reality. As a young teenager, she began to explore other states of consciousness and was fascinated by what she discovered.In her early 20’s, Ute studied different areas of education and social work in Germany.

    She worked in psychiatric hospitals, in a school for mentally disabled children, and in therapeutic homes for young adults discharged from psychiatric hospital stays. She has always loved to support others in difficult life situations.

    Ute then traveled the world for a few years until she arrived in Peru in January, 2015, where she slowed down and her sense of deeper findings in her developed. Since then, she lives mainly in Peru to study with higher Plant Wisdom bedded in the Shipibo Medicine. She has been dedicated to study in long term master plant diets with a well known Shipibo healer lineage since 2016. She has developed her own way in mentoring and facilitating others. Ute connects received guidance from her plant allies, her learnings from her trainings in the Shipibo Medicine/diets with different western psychological approaches.

    She is a certified Transformational Recovery & Integration Coach, she did a one year Compassionate Inquiry training with Gabor Maté and she completed a course in “Ancestral Trauma Healing” with Thomas Hüble. She has also studied Teachings & Inquiry of the Diamond Approach, IPNB with Dr. Dan Siegel, and IFS with Dr. Richard Schwarz. For her, spirituality and psychology are two sides to the same coin, and she loves to provide space to explore the linkages in between.

    In 2015, Ute worked for three months as a resident at the Temple of the Way of Light, which was an integral part in the beginning of her medicine path learning in the Shipibo tradition. She is very happy and grateful to hold space, guide, and share her experience with others through her work now with the Temple.

  • Anna Bellmunt

    Retreat Facilitator

    Anna Bellmunt

    Retreat Facilitator

    Anna’s journey with plant medicine began unexpectedly in 2017. Shortly after finishing her studies she ventured to Peru and encountered plant medicine that would profoundly transform her life, igniting an immediate and profound love for the healing power of plants.

    Having worked with various indigenous traditions, Anna wholeheartedly embraces the opportunity to learn from and with indigenous cultures and the wisdom they embody. Recognizing the profound impact of her medicine experiences, she embarked on a path of service, providing assistance for others working with the medicine. Through this experience, she realized that the plant path is her true calling

    Anna’s initial experience of both the ceremony space and her integration process of these transformative teachings, was challenging. She realized that these formative experiences were not necessarily held and guided in a professional and safe way. As a result of this, she is committed to ensuring that others have the guidance and support she didn’t have. And at the same time, is devoted to the continuation of her own journey of self discovery and healing.

    With a compassionate heart and a deep understanding of the difficulties that can arise on this profound healing journey, Anna is committed to support and facilitate the transformative process for those who seek healing and self-discovery.

  • Niels Radtke

    Retreat Facilitator

    Niels Radtke

    Retreat Facilitator

    Niels has been since early childhood in awe of life’s wonders and mysteries growing up in a world of music, butterflies, horses, frogs and spiders.

    Most of his youth and young adult life in Belgium Niels has been navigating through the human potentials of creativity from sculpture to choreography, music, dance, contemporary fashion, digital culture and visual arts but also through some severe depressions and addictions.

    In his midlife Niels decided to face these dark forces and ancestral traumas he was struggling with despite the joy and clarity that defines the light in his personality. He left everything behind and started a journey around the world through the human condition and non-dual consciousness.

    His healing and awakening path lead him through practice and study of Ayurveda, 11th century premodern Hatha Yoga, Vedic Psychology, Tantra, Integral Theory and Psychology by Ken Wilber and classical and modern Advaita Vedanta from Adi Shankara, Ramana Maharshi, Swami Chinmayananda and Adi Da Samraj in India, Portugal, Mexico and Peru. Niels obtained a total of five Yoga Teacher Certifications (RYT 500) and thousands of hours yogic practice in forests and mountains.

    At some point in this journey Niels was called in by the Master Plants and he decided to follow this call deep into the Amazon jungle in Peru where he started dieting intensively within the Noya Rao lineage guided by Shipibo Maestro Rono Lopez near Iquitos.

    This unique experience brought him to join the team of the Temple in 2022, where he shares his integral approach of Eastern, Shamanic and Western practices within the time-proven Shipibo healing vortex that defines the Temple of The Way of Light.
    Niels also started dieting with Maesto Jose Sanchez Lopez to deepen his understanding and healing of ancestral trauma in the individual and the collective. Niels enjoys facilitating guests through their personal healing process applying his toolset with humility and reverence to all his teachers and Life Itself.

  • Jessica Begin

    Retreat Facilitator and Yoga Teacher

    Jessica Begin

    Retreat Facilitator and Yoga Teacher

    Jessica has been a dedicated student of Yoga and dance from early childhood. A personal health crisis led her to begin a personal, in-depth study of natural and herbal remedies, detoxification methods, preventative medicine, plant-spirit medicines, food as medicine and movement arts as related to health and well being.

    She began teaching Yoga in 2007 and has completed two 200hr Teacher Trainings, certified to teach Hatha and Vinyasa flow yoga. In addition to her yoga training, Jessica has completed several therapeutic training certifications, including Pranic Healing, “Alignamento Energetico” (a method developed in Brazil fusing transpersonal psychology, quantum healing and energy healing), Ayurvedic massage, and Yoga of the Voice (sound/voice healing methods). She has studied Ayurveda extensively, apprenticing with Komala Lyra – director and founder of Ayurveda Mandala, as well as assisting as a Pancha Karma assistant (the Ayurvedic practice of detoxification and rejuvenation).

    Jessica is a dancer and passionate believer in the healing capacity of expressive and therapeutic dance. She has devoted years to practicing and studying various modalities: 5 Rhythms, Bio Danza, Ecstatic dance, 5 Elements dance and Butoh. She teaches guided expressive dance classes and often incorporates a sense of the dancer’s fluidity and embodiment into her yoga classes.

    Jessica holds a deep respect for the healing ways and ancient ceremonial practices of indigenous peoples across the Americas. She has been working with Ayahuasca for many years in various traditions from Brazil, Colombia and Peru. She has had the privilege spending time with indigenous leaders and medicine people from across the continent, assisting in the organization/production of multi-national indigenous-led cultural, spiritual and climate change focused gatherings and ceremonies in the USA, Brazil, Panama and Mexico, as well as acting as a translator and interpreter between representatives of various nations from North, Central and South America.

  • Deborah Starr, Ph.D

    Trainee Facilitator and Integration Advisor

    Deborah Starr, Ph.D

    Trainee Facilitator and Integration Advisor

    Deborah first came to the Temple in 2019 to attend our first Healthcare Providers Program with Dr. Gabor Maté and had previously been to the Amazon twice before to work with plant medicines. Her experience with the Temple team and Shipibo healers was life-changing and led her to explore and participate in expanding this deep healing work for health professionals and her own therapy practice.

    Before ayahuasca, Deborah had explored other psychedelic medicines for over thirty years, embracing opportunities to work with early luminaries such as Stan Grof, Ralph Metzner, and Sasha Shulgin.

    She has worked with the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (maps.org) as an educator and research fund-raiser, as well as completing both MAPS and ICEERS (International Center for Ethnobotanical Research, Education, and Service) psychedelic therapist training and integration programs. In addition, Deborah has continued her personal growth with surrogate and in-person dietas via Shipibo Rao.

    Deborah is currently on faculty at Columbia University (NYC) in the Narrative Medicine department, focusing on healthcare delivery and ethnographic research. She is also a licensed therapist in private practice in NYC with a Ph.D. in Psychology, M.S. in Neuroscience, and M.S. in Narrative Medicine.

    She spent her early years as a teacher of Transcendental Meditation and is a promoter of yoga as a body-centred therapy to support psychological endeavours. She is trained in numerous therapeutic models, including most recently Compassionate Inquiry and Internal Family Systems. She previously worked for 15 years as a litigation consultant throughout the USA, is a certified court mediator, and is a restorative justice practitioner for childhood sexual abuse.

    Deborah is excited to be a part of the Temple team and is committed to supporting the ongoing development of our integration program and ways to bridge Amazonian plant medicine with healthcare systems around the world.

  • Hammeris Martinez

    Yoga Teacher and Trainee Facilitator

    Hammeris Martinez

    Yoga Teacher and Trainee Facilitator

    Hammeris was born and raised in Perú. She lived in the capital city of Lima while completing her degree in Industrial Engineering, developing in business process management and in the commercial field, as well as working in Foreign Trade companies and forestry investments.

    Parallel to her career she started to practice yoga, which brought more joy and balance to her life but also led her to a deeper search for meaning and purpose. Hammeris decided to follow her curiosity for spirituality and headed for 4 months to India to study with different teachers in Ashtanga Yoga. Since her childhood she had been introduced to spiritual and mystic teachings, but it was through yoga that she dived deeper into other psycho-spiritual methods.

    After coming back from India, she reinstated herself in the working environment. A series of challenging events during her time in Lima motivated Hammeris to be of service and in support of women, so she moved to Cusco to work as an advisor at a Non-profit for Women’s empowerment in Education. Hammeris kept practicing yoga but looking for deeper healing, Hammeris stepped on the Plant Medicine path, since then, building a closer relationship with plants through ceremony, daily practices and self-work. Through this time, she learned how supportive Yoga teachings and Plant Medicine can be of each other.

    During her life journey, Hammeris has taken Yoga Teacher Trainings in Ashtanga, Restorative and Vinyasa, she has learned and practiced energy medicine with various tools such as Past Life Regression Therapy, Dance, Reiki and Pranic Healing; and has taken further education to support her offerings, such as Life Coaching, Somatic Experiencing and Trauma Informed Yoga.

    Hammeris is passionate about holistic wellness and self-knowledge; and inspired by people who are living authentically. She currently teaches Yoga at 200 Hr. Yoga Teacher Trainings in Cusco, Perú and holds nourishing spaces through yoga & energy medicine, encouraging women to discover who they are and live in alignment with their truth.

  • Luana Galoni

    Yoga Teacher and Trainee Facilitator

    Luana Galoni

    Yoga Teacher and Trainee Facilitator

    Luana is a Shamanic practitioner and SYT at 1100hrs. Initially trained in the Ashtanga tradition, Luana’s Yoga practice has evolved into Vinyasa, Pranayama, Tantra, Ayurveda. Believing that Yoga can bring profound effects to anyone that connects with their inner power to overcome obstacles and achieve balance.

    In 2009, Luana embarked on a life-changing journey across South America, Asia, and Australia. Her travels led her to study with Shamans in Peru and learn the healing art of Reiki I, II and Master. In 2012, she went to India to pursue her 200hrs Yoga teacher training in Ashtanga and Hatha at the Himalaya Yoga Valley School.

    Luana has trained with many renowned yoga teachers, including Kristin Campbell for Tapasya at Triyoga London and Alessandra Pecorella and Shiva Rea for her 300hrs teacher training in Vinyasa Flow and Prana Flow. She is also certified as a Yoga and Ayurveda wellness consultant, Rocket, and completed her 300hrs with Dr David Frawley in Yoga, Ayurveda, Mantra, and Meditation. In 2020, she was initiated in Holy Fire® III Karuna Reiki® Master. Luana also runs 200hrs Teacher Training courses with MoreYoga in London.

    Luana has completed her Shamanic practitioner training using techniques mainly from the Queros in the Andes of Peru. Her approach to healing is hands-on, combining Reiki, Shamanic Healing, Soul Retrieval, and other physical and energetic techniques to deal with the source rather than the symptoms. She calls this approach Temenos Touch.

    Luana’s classes are creative, challenging, and dynamic, yet playful and supportive, with a focus on breathwork and stilling the mind and body. Through her Yoga and treatments, Luana creates a space where people feel empowered to discover their full and authentic selves.

  • Rebecca Buell

    Bookings Assistant and Trainee Facilitator

    Rebecca Buell

    Bookings Assistant and Trainee Facilitator

    Growing up on the island of Sumatra, Rebecca’s childhood was spent surrounded by rainforests and immense cultural diversity. Her love for nature has been a guiding light on her path.

    She first traveled to the Amazon rainforest in 2007 where she studied neotropical ecology. In 2015 while living in Ecuador, Rebecca encountered ayahuasca for the first time. Working with ayahuasca led to a profound and ongoing journey of awakening. In 2019 she completed anthropological research in the Shipibo community of Paoyhan. Her research focused on a community-led project centered around the conservation of Shipibo ethnobotanical knowledge. During this time she deepened her study of the Shipibo medical system while learning from plants through dieta.

    The wisdom of the plants and spirits of nature continue to guide and inspire Rebecca. She is honored to be of service to the healing and awakening of all who visit the Temple of the Way of Light.

  • Jordan Summers

    Retreat Facilitator

    Jordan Summers

    Retreat Facilitator

    Jordan first came to the Temple searching for clarity on his path in life. His experience was profound and the seeds of change were firmly planted in his heart. With a calling to follow his heart, he returned to Peru the following year to do his first master plant dieta.

    He now devotes the majority of his time as a facilitator at the same centre and continues to diet under the guidance of a wonderful healer. Jordan also lovingly supports the miraculous work of the Temple and feels honoured to be a part of the Temple family as well as its vision for humanity.

    It’s a true blessing for him to be guided by the wisdom of the sacred plant teachers and to witness the masterful work of such incredible Shipibo healers on a daily basis. Jordan feels very much at home here in the Amazon, he has a great love for it’s people and culture – there’s no place else on Earth he would rather be.

    His hope is that all people have the good fortune to experience the healing and transformative power of the Plant Spirit Kingdom.”

Kitchen & Laundry

  • Tonia Cahuaza Falcon

    Head Cook

  • Natividad Ahuanari

    Assistant Cook

  • Katy Cahuaza Falcon

    Assistant Cook

  • Lila Pacaya

    Cleaner

  • Danila Manuyuna

    Cleaner

  • Nena Silva

    Cleaner

  • Magnolia Aromuya

    Cleaner

Maintenance and Permaculture

  • Neil Moreno

    Maintenance

  • Jhac Villacrez

    Maintenance

  • Denis Baneo

    Maintenance

  • Rider Sima Tamani

    Maintenance

  • Edwin Ahuanari

    Maintenance

  • Omar Pucuya

    Maintenance

  • Normando Galindo

    Maintenance

  • Aymer Pacuya

    Maintenance

  • Argelino Jaramillo

    Food Production

  • Jose Zuque

    Food Production

  • Kender Aparicio

    Food Production

  • Marvin Galindo

    Food Production

  • Carlos Mayahuari

    Grounds Keeper

  • Isidoro Chistama

    Maintenance

  • Saul Pacuya

    Maintenance

  • Wilquer Gutierrez

    Maintenance

  • Juan Mucushua

    Food Production

  • Enrique Lopez Macedo

    Boat Driver

  • Edwin Aparicio Cahuachi

    Boat Driver

  • Levi Macuyama Rimachi

    Fish-farm Keeper

Iquitos Office

  • Juan Muñoz

    Office Manager

  • Asuncion Barrera Ruiz

    Bookkeeper

  • Daniel Estela

    Buyer

  • Roberto Mori

    Transport

Security

  • Anderson Villacrez

    Supervisor

  • Jhon Elvis Manihuari

    Security

  • Kissinger Villacrez

    Security

  • Magno Aparicio

    Security

  • Jose del Aguila

    Security

  • Richard Moncada

    Security

  • Marcio Sapiama

    Security

  • Favio Silva

    Security

  • Ordoñes Torres

    Security

  • Heyner Ramirez

    Security

  • Luigi Jaramillo

    Security

  • Ramiro Panduro

    Security

  • Fredy Panduro

    Security

  • Rolando Guevara

    Security

  • Martin Baneo

    Security

  • Darwill Casternoque

    Transport

Getting Here

The Temple of the Way of Light is located in the Amazon basin, in the Loreto region of Peru, a few hours journey by bus, boat, and hike from the city of Iquitos.
In order to come to the Temple you would need to fly into Iquitos International Airport in Iquitos, Peru. All flights to Iquitos are via Lima, Peru. We recommend booking your flights for one day before and after the start and end date of your retreat to first allow yourself time to acclimatize to the environment and then allow yourself ample travel time and time to reintegrate into the “mainstream” world once the retreat has ended.

**Please do not book flights or make any travel arrangements until your registration and medical information has been reviewed and you have been approved to attend a retreat.**

Each retreat group will be picked up on the first morning of the retreat at a designated pickup location in central Iquitos by one of our staff members and then travel to the Temple together from there. The group will be brought back into Iquitos after breakfast on the last morning of the retreat and will arrive in town by early afternoon (usually 2pm at the latest).

The price of a Temple retreat includes transportation from the group pickup place in Iquitos to the Temple on the first morning of the retreat and transportation back to Iquitos on the last morning of the retreat. The price does not include any flights, hotel costs, or transportation to the group pickup on the first morning
By Dates
By Program
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 3,900

    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
    |
    $ 5,100

    Ayahuasca Healing Retreat + 5-Day Integration Retreat

    NEW OFFERING – a 12-Day ‘Living in Alignment’ Ayahuasca Healing Retreat with the opportunity to stay on at the Temple for a 5-day Integration Extension Retreat. Available in April, July, and October 2024.
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 3,900

    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! To be held from April 16th to 27th, 2024 and November 26th to December 7th, 2024.
  • 12 Days
    6 Ceremonies
    |
    $ 3,900

    Queer Ayahuasca Retreat

    This special queer retreat will provide a safe, welcoming, and caring environment where participants can feel comfortable being who they are. Shipibo healing will be complemented with Compassionate Inquiry sessions. To be held from October 25th to November 5th, 2024.
  • 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
    Go to website