When we have days where everything flows, and everything feels in sync, it is easier to stay centered, responding, instead of reacting to what comes up. Did you know that your heart is partly responsible for this? More specifically, it is what HeartMath researchers call heart coherence, which is where our heart, mind, and other systems are aligned.
Heart coherence is a state we all aim to reach and maintain, but it can feel difficult to know where to begin. After all, there is often advice to connect with your heart or return to your heart- without a roadmap on how to reach the destination.
The good news is there are many ways that can help you connect with your heart center and discover its incredible intelligence. We are grateful to work with experts on Heart Technology, which inform many of our workshops and practices at our Ayllu Medicina plant medicine retreats, especially on our Medicine of the Heart retreats.
Here are some things to know about Heart Intelligence to help you get started.
Your Heart Has Its Own Nervous System
Your heart is more than a biological function that pumps blood around the body. Did you know your heart is also classified as a functional brain? Researchers have discovered that the heart has 40,000 sensory neurones. These can sense, feel, learn, and remember.
Many ancient civilizations, such as the Egyptians, focused on the heart as the center of emotions, intelligence, and thoughts. Now science is catching up, discovering the heart’s intelligence through research. Connecting to your heart intelligence allows you to connect with your true essence, acting from this space to reach your highest potential.
Your Body’s Most Powerful Electromagnetic Field
The heart is the most powerful electromagnetic field in the human body, producing a field that spans around several feet outside of you. Researchers found that the electric field is 60 times greater in amplitude than electric activity in the brain.
Connecting to this field allows you to connect with others on a deeper level, connect with the Earth, tune into your own knowing, and influence your own body in a positive way, down to the cellular level to support your functioning.
Your Heart’s Intelligence Guides You
Have you ever got a feeling about someone, or a situation, which turns out to be correct? This was probably your heart talking. Another example is that many retreat participants speak about feeling a call to come to retreat, without their mind being able to give a specific intention as to why.
It is the call of your heart – communicating your inner knowing.
Discoveries around heart intelligence help explain intuition, empathy, and other skills that humans have, such as clairvoyance. It is important to align your emotions and mind with the heart to tap into your own guidance. Your heart is constantly communicating with the brain, and sends signals to help guide our lives – the key is to be in coherence to tune into these signs.
Emotions Impact Your Rhythm
Research has found that your emotional state impacts your heart’s rhythm, with positive emotions bringing balance and a steady pace. It has also been found that the feelings that often come from the heart- such as gratitude, love, and compassion, stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the ‘rest and digest’. When you activate this system, you promote well-being in the body and conserve energy.
In contrast, emotions such as fear, jealousy, and anger, which we do not usually associate with the heart, can cause irregular heart rhythms and disorder. These emotions and rhythms can increase the risk of a variety of health problems, which is why connecting to your heart and its natural state of emotion can help enhance your well-being physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Learning how to reach states of appreciation and forgiveness allows you to move back into a space of well-being.
There Are Practices to Help You Gain Coherence
Learning about heart intelligence is the first step. The next step is connecting to your own heart’s intelligence and discovering the many benefits it will bring to your life. Heart coherence offers benefits such as:
More self-awareness
Reduced stress levels
Increased energy
Creativity
Clarity of thought
Better sleep
There are many physiological, psychological, and spiritual benefits of working with your heart’s intelligence. It is common to experience conflict between the heart and the mind. What should you do when your mind says one thing, and your heart the other?
Connecting to these heart intelligence practices helps enhance coherence and find peace between systems. Then you can live in a flow state, with systems working together. This allows you to listen and act from your heart with clarity, confidence, and awareness.
You can train the heart to develop new habits and find coherence. There are many different practices that can help you begin. A great place to start is to bring attention to your heart space, and even place your hands there for a physical connection.
You can also think about someone or something that brings you feelings of gratitude, joy, or love, then slowly expand this feeling throughout your body.
To go deeper into the teachings of the heart, join us at one of our Ayllu Medicina plant medicine retreats in Ecuador. Our Medicine of the Heart Retreat and Journey to the Heart Retreat specifically focus on Heart Intelligence, with daily Heart Technology workshops, the sacred master plants of Ayahuasca and San Pedro, and other ancient healing practices.
The next chance to join us is in June 2024 for our Journey to the Heart Retreat, which you can learn more about here.
Discover Heart Intelligence and Find Alignment
There is so much to learn about your heart and its intelligence. Learning how to connect to this space and live from it brings harmony, presence, well-being, and other healing benefits. Most importantly, it allows you to find alignment within, allowing all systems to work together, freeing energy and space to connect with your true essence.
The heart is formed and beats long before the brain is formed. It then remains in constant communication with your brain throughout life. It is time to listen to this communication once more and remember the incredible intelligence and power that comes from centering back into the heart space.
Join Ayllu Medicina in June 2024 for our Journey to the Heart Retreat to learn more. There will be daily Heart Technology workshops, plant medicine ceremonies, sweat lodges, meditations, daily yoga classes, and other healing practices to help you find alignment.
We would love for you to join us around the heart center of our fire, on the beautiful coast of Ecuador. If you have any questions, please contact us! Our team will be happy to discuss our retreats and offerings in more detail.
When women feel empowered, they can take charge of their lives with confidence, stepping into their full power. So, where does this empowerment begin? Empowerment starts with an inner journey, which you take in the supportive setting of a women’s plant medicine retreat.
Retreats for women have become increasingly popular in recent years and for a good reason. With experienced guides and the right setting, a women’s retreat can be a healing, transformative, and empowering experience.
So, what actually happens on a women’s retreat to do this? Read on to learn seven reasons why a women’s retreat is empowering.
1. Be Empowered by Your Cycle
As Hwaneetah explains in this womb technology interview with Breathe and Flow, the awareness of the feminine power that is within all of us has been forgotten. Attending the Ayllu Medicine Women’s Power Retreat gives you the opportunity to remember this feminine power once again and claim it, which starts by connecting to your cyclical nature. Instead of falling victim to your nature, you will learn to accompany it and be powered by it.
Many women come to plant medicine retreats and feel that there is something wrong with how they feel during the month, when in fact, it is that they haven’t connected to their cyclical nature. In many societies, a woman’s cycle has been portrayed as a source of disempowerment, whereas it is actually where your empowerment begins.
Hwaneetah has been working with women and womb technology for over twenty years. She will provide wisdom throughout the retreat week to help you not only remember your true nature but become empowered by it. All women benefit from remembering their cyclical nature, whether they are menstruating, perimenopausal, or menopausal.
2. Close Cycles Consciously (“No Clutter Policy”)
Part of a retreat week is to simplify and can be to let go of what is no longer serving you. Maybe this is behavior patterns, repressed emotions, or a particular belief about yourself.
Over the years, you build up memories, impressions, emotions, and behaviors. In many societies, there is a constant onslaught of information, with scarce opportunities to process and release it all. How can you expect to empower yourself without letting go of this heaviness first?
During a women’s retreat week, you will experience a variety of ways to purify, along with learning how to recharge each month as part of your cycle. For example, there will be multiple sweat lodges at Ayllu Medicina’s Women’s Power Plant Medicine Retreat.
A sweat lodge (temazcal) is an ancient medicine and means to purify your mind, body, and spirit. You have the opportunity to reenter the womb of Mother Earth and shed what no longer serves you. There will also be different rituals such as unbinding, breathwork, meditations, daily yoga, and ice baths.
3. The Space for Self-Discovery
In fast-paced societies, it can be challenging to take a breath and pause. When was the last time you truly stopped, without distractions, and spent time with yourself?
True empowerment starts with getting to yourself and your inner world. A Women’s plant medicine retreat provides the tools, time, and container to stop driving on automatic and go inwards.
In a supportive environment with experienced guides, you have the chance to pull the brake and catch up with yourself. The simple but courageous act of taking an intentional pause will allow you to focus on yourself, which is the start of empowerment.
During the Women’s Power Retreat with Ayllu Medicina, you will receive guidance from the sacred plant teachers Ayahuasca and San Pedro. There will also be purifying practices and different ancient wisdom workshops. These will help increase your self-awareness, provide clarity, and allow you to connect to your true essence.
4. Tools to Take With You
One of the main benefits of a plant medicine retreat is that it can equip you with many tools to continue making space and empowering yourself once you leave the retreat container.
At Ayllu Medicina, we often say this is when the true ceremony begins, as you are returning to your environment, and it is up to you to maintain the upgrades in your life and make any changes to stay aligned.
A Women’s Retreat gives the power back to you, making you realize that you have the power to take charge of your life and stay clutter-free. You can make lasting changes with the right tools, such as a daily practice, meditation techniques, and working with your cyclical nature. At our Women’s Power Retreat, there is also support from the Ayllu Medicina team and your new community.
5. Self-Care
In order to care for others, you must care for yourself first. A Women’s Retreat is the opportunity to do this. The entire week is focused on transformative practices and care, from the plant medicine ceremonies and sweat lodges to the nourishing food and daily yoga. You will have time, support, and tools to retreat inwards, which will benefit you and all your relations.
6. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
It is when you step outside your comfort zone that change can happen. A women’s retreat helps you understand your own nature and reconnect back to Mother Earth, ready to step into the new. With a supportive group around you, you have the space to be seen, heard, and understood. You can reclaim your space, align your body-mind connection, and begin to express your true essence.
Nurturing your voice and expression during a women’s retreat can also be empowering. There will be sharing circles, song circles (no experience required!), and other ways to embrace your feminine nature and the empowerment that comes with it.
7. The Power of Sisterhood
Women are caretakers, which means when we are around other like-minded women, we feel more at ease. Have you had a situation where you feel more at ease because you are with women? This could be as simple as when you hail a taxi and realize it is a female driver or sit next to another female on the bus.
It is because you can reach a different vibration when you are around other women. We reflect on each other, which makes a women’s retreat the perfect space to get to know your inner cycles with the help of your new community. Like-minded mirrors will surround you to help you find alignment and find a new vibration in a nurturing environment.
Some women will be aware of the power of having supportive women in their lives who help to uplift them, keep them accountable, and inspire them. For other women, it may be the first opportunity they have had in a while to form female friendships. Either way, a women-only retreat provides the space and shared intention to transform in community, finding empowerment through supporting each other and forming long-lasting new female friendships.
Learn Why a Women’s Retreat is Empowering With Us
A Women’s Retreat is empowering in many ways, offering you the medicine you need to step into your power. It benefits you in many positive ways, so your feminine nature is no longer an inconvenience or weakness, instead being a source of power. However, not all women’s plant medicine retreats offer the same tools, offerings, or experiences to be empowering. Knowing how to find a plant medicine retreat for you is important.
Ayllu Medicina’s plant medicine retreats in Ecuador honor the sacred master plants and traditions with a supportive container and experienced guides for a transformational week. Our Women’s Power Retreat is led by Hwaneetah, who is also an expert in womb technology and helping you connect to this powerful source. So, join us in April 2024 for a week tailored to help you find empowerment with a supportive group of women.
You can learn more about our Women’s Power Plant Medicine retreat here. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out; we will be happy to answer your questions by phone or email!
When women gather together in safe spaces, magic happens. And more than ever, women are beginning to remember this wisdom from our elders, coming back together and healing in many ways, including at women’s plant medicine retreats.
A women’s empowerment retreat can make some women jump for joy, and some women hesitate, depending on their experiences gathering in sisterhood. The good news is that a women’s plant medicine retreat is the perfect space to receive the benefits of sisterhood and self-healing for all women.
Are you wondering whether you should attend a women’s retreat? Read on to learn some of the unique benefits these female retreats offer.
1- Transformation In Sisterhood
Joining together with women from all walks of life gives you a chance to learn from each other. Everyone has their own path and experiences to bring to the plant medicine retreat.
Sharing stories, struggles, and achievements with other women is extremely uplifting. You quickly realize how much wisdom everyone has to share, simply through the experience of being a woman and what that means. Throughout the week, you feel the support of each other as you go through your own transformation.
Science has also proven the magic of women gathering together. It has been found that when women are in fight or flight mode, they feel more the call to gather than to react aggressively. So, when women come together in a group, it helps release the hormone oxytocin, which has a calming effect, allowing you to root down and go inwards on your transformational journey.
Oxytocin is also what helps empower women in different ways, such as after giving birth. If this magical hormone is increasing in your body, you are receiving nurturing energy to help connect to your true essence and reach your highest potential. This release of oxytocin also helps increase serotonin, which helps fight low mood, reduces stress, and improves well-being.
Female retreats give you the opportunity to gather in such a way and release these powerful hormones that can help be the leverage you need for deep healing. You can feel a sense of nurturing, safety, and peace. This allows not only the group to have a transformative experience together, but it allows you to go deeper into your own inner work too.
2- Women’s Retreat Community Support
A women’s empowerment plant medicine retreat allows you to experience the power of a healthy female community.
Studies have long found the value of female friendships. Some women can relate to the power of female friendships, whereas, for others, it may have been challenging to connect to other women previously.
The retreat container lets you connect with other women and realize you are not alone. It gives you a safe space to be heard, understood, and supported by sisters. It gives you space to take up space, express yourself and reconnect to your voice, which will also be nurtured in other ways, such as during song circles.
Although your plant medicine retreat experience is individual, you soon realize a communal experience is also happening. For example, after plant medicine ceremonies, such as Ayahuasca, we hold a sharing circle. It is common for retreat participants to relate to each other’s experiences, especially when women join together and share.
3. Remember the Ancient Ways Within
It is time to remember the ways of our elders, who would gather together, especially during their moon time. It is why some women also call women’s circles sanity circles, as there is a need for opportunities to gather as women and share once more. Gathering together at a women’s retreat allows you to reconnect to these ancient ways, which a patriarchal society has long tried to make us forget.
There was a time when women were honored for their wisdom and felt connected to Mother Earth. It is time we reclaim this power, as no one is going to do it for us.
A women’s retreat is the perfect space to begin. Once you start to create healthy and uplifting female bonds, you also help heal your own relationship with Mother Earth and other women in your life. Check out Hwaneetah’s talk on womb technology to learn more.
4. Empowerment and Confidence
Gathering together with other women during a women’s plant medicine retreat can empower you to own your feminine energy and full expression. When you return to the ceremony of life after the retreat, you can walk in confidence, knowing you have a community of sisters behind you, supporting you.
It is time to uplift each other and see beyond the narrative of competition that many societies fuel. Some women name these divides between women as wounds, such as the sister wound. But what matters is to find spaces where you can connect with other women again, realizing that sisterhood has the ability to empower you in ways you didn’t realize were possible.
It can be tempting to isolate yourself when you are struggling or lean on masculine relationships. There is definitely time, benefits, and space for these steps; however, sharing with sisters also helps empower you in unique ways. It is not about dismissing the masculine; it is about uplifting and supporting each other to step into our full potential.
5. Ancient Wisdom for Your Inner and Outer World
Our guide, Hwaneetah, will be sharing ancient wisdom for us to navigate these times in your true essence during our women’s empowerment retreat. Together in the female retreat container, you have the chance to delve deeper into these ancient practices, including:
Male and female energetics
Natural healing modalities
Moon wisdom, including 13 moon calendar
Meditation for closing circles
Ritual for unbinding
Connecting to the power of your womb and cyclical nature is an essential part of reclaiming your feminine essence, whether you are experiencing menstruation, perimenopause, or menopause. You will also have the opportunity to sit with the wise plant medicines of Grandma Ayahuasca and Grandfather San Pedro. These plant medicine ceremonies will help you balance your feminine and masculine energies to find equilibrium in your center.
There will be other ancient wisdom sharings, including sweat lodges, daily yoga, breathwork, and meditation. These will all help with purification for rebirth and renewal. You will also connect to the elements throughout the week, which will help you connect to your inner landscape once more.
Join Our Women’s Empowerment Retreat
Gathering together as women offers the chance to delve deep into your own nature and rise together in sisterhood. There is something deeply magical, transformative, and unique about women joining together in sacred spaces, so why not join a women’s empowerment retreat to experience this for yourself?
Ayllu Medicina has some exciting women’s offerings coming up. There is an upcoming women’s day detox retreat in March and our women’s plant medicine retreat in April. Hwaneetah also runs frequent women’s sweat lodges.
Feel free to reach out if you are interested in any of these retreats and events. We will be happy to answer any questions you may have!
Humans have been connecting with plant medicines such as Ayahuasca for thousands of years. Now, there are different ways to meet the sacred plants, from attending plant medicine ceremonies to taking a pause and going on a retreat. But what happens on a plant medicine retreat?
There are many different spiritual and wellness retreats out there, including yoga, meditation, and plant medicine retreats. This means that while ‘to retreat’ is to go inwards, there is no one answer to what happens on a retreat. However, here are some things that Ayllu Medicina’s transformational plant medicine retreats include.
Ayahuasca Ceremonies
One of the reasons people attend a plant medicine retreat in South America is to connect with Grandma Ayahuasca, a sacred plant medicine from the Amazon that can provide healing in various ways.
One piece of advice when meeting with plant medicines such as Ayahuasca is to avoid having any expectations! Even if you have watched countless documentaries or have heard a book’s worth of stories, it is best to go in with an open mind. Every plant medicine ceremony can be different, depending on what you need to work on to return to your center.
Ayllu Medicina retreats include one or two Ayahuasca ceremonies, depending on the retreat. These Ayahuasca ceremonies are at night.
We will meet before we sit with Grandma Ayahuasca so our guides, Aime and Hwaneetah, can give more details about the ceremony and the medicine. There is also a plant medicine dieta to follow before and during the retreat, along with other preparatory steps that you will discuss with our team when you sign up for a retreat.
San Pedro Ceremonies
A plant medicine retreat with Ayllu Medicina also includes a meeting with Grandfather San Pedro, also known as Awakolla or Huachuma. The San Pedro ceremony happens after you meet with Grandma Ayahuasca. We hold different San Pedro ceremonies depending on the retreat, such as a medicine sweat lodge, a power walk, or a night ceremony.
Similar to wise grandparents, Grandfather San Pedro and Grandma Ayahuasca complement each other well. However, the two medicines native to Ecuador work in different ways to help you realign and return to your heart.
The plant medicine dieta you will be following also helps the integration of Grandfather San Pedro. Usually, you fast for at least several hours before meeting with plant medicines such as San Pedro and Ayahuasca. The meals we provide you throughout the week will ensure you are well-nourished and ready for these ceremonies.
Temazcals (Sweat Lodges)
An integral part of Ayllu Medicina plant medicine retreats are our temazcals, also known as sweat lodges. Temazcal originates from the Nahuatl word Temāzcalli, which has several different translations, including ‘house of heat.’ Temazcals are a powerful medicine that humans have used for cleansing the body, mind, and spirit since the time of Mesoamerica.
Temazcals provide an opportunity to return to the womb of Mother Earth and shed what you no longer need. Our volcanic grandmother stones are heated in the fire and are placed in the womb, the sweat lodge, with us, Mother Earth’s children, ready for rebirth. Different incenses are placed on the stones before the door closes, darkness descends, and the heat begins to rise as water is poured over the stones.
We have multiple temazcals throughout plant medicine retreats, which help integrate ceremonies, detoxify, purify, and help you let go of what no longer serves you. Sweat lodges vary in length and are done in different ways depending on where you attend a temazcal ceremony.
Sharing Circles and Support
The day after our plant medicine ceremonies, we gather around the fire in our retreat container for a sharing circle. It is optional as to what you share, though we suggest sharing the ‘pearls’ of your experience. These sharing circles also give you the opportunity to connect with medicines such as Rapéh.
It can take time to integrate what comes up in the ceremony, which is why it is important to also keep some of your experience for yourself. You will have plenty of rest time to journal, meditate, and integrate your experiences during retreats. Our Ayllu Medicina team will also be around if you have any questions or need support.
Rest and Time in Nature
It is called a ‘retreat’ for a reason, which is why what happens on a plant medicine retreat also involves stopping. To retreat is an opportunity to break your usual routine and take the time to look within without your everyday commitments or distractions. You will have plenty of space and downtime to be.
You can watch the many birds around the retreat center or spend time by the river. Some retreats also include a beach visit or a medicine power walk, where we often spot monkeys, butterflies, and other wildlife. The retreat center is tucked away in a tropical oasis and also close to the ocean, so before or after the retreat, you can take a trip to Ecuador’s coastline.
Workshops
Our plant medicine retreats also include workshops, such as Moon Wisdom with Hwaneetah and song circles. You have the opportunity to connect to the powerful medicine of the womb, with these workshops offering invaluable wisdom for men and women. You can check our retreat schedule for specific workshop details.
As our shaman Aime says;
❝To sing is to pray twice.❞
Music is an integral part of our retreats and ceremonies. You will also have time to connect to sacred instruments, such as the hand drum, rattle, and mouth harp. You will also have the opportunity to learn medicine songs, such as those from Pajaros De Luz.
Yoga and Meditation
Yoga is an integral part of our retreats, which helps provide grounding, peace, and alignment of your energy.
As our guide Hwanteetah says;
❝Medicine and meditation are derived from the same root word. Meditation is also medicine. Through meditation, you come to know your true self. Through a plant medicine ceremony, you experience your true self through meditation.❞
Experienced yoga teachers will guide you through the retreat week and provide tools you can also use when you return home. Ayllu Medicina’s yoga includes breathwork, movement practice, and meditation techniques suitable for all levels. We also work with yoga teachers who host retreats, such as Breathe and Flow.
Inner Work
You will have the opportunity to connect with different plant medicines, gain a new community, and learn about other sacred traditions of South America. But a lot of what happens on a plant medicine retreat depends on you. The inner work is one of the most important parts of what happens on a plant medicine retreat.
The retreat container allows you to catch up with yourself and take a good look inside to remember who you are. By working on your inner world, your external world also begins to change. What comes up will be personal to your journey, but our retreats are designed to help support and guide you through the process back to your heart.
Learn What Happens on a Plant Medicine Retreat
A lot of what happens on a plant medicine retreat is deeply personal, which is why it is best to have no expectations. However, take the time to find a retreat program that sparks your interest and honors the sacred traditions it shares. San Pedro and Ayahuasca retreats have different schedules, so this post is specific to Ayllu Medicina’s transformational plant medicine retreats.
If you feel a call to connect with sacred plant medicines and experience what happens on a plant medicine retreat, it is time to take the next step; connect with us! We are happy to answer any questions you may have.
It is a time that is a source of excitement for some and avoidance for others. Once the countdown ends and the new year begins, now what? If you’re wondering how to start the new year, then consider attending a plant medicine retreat in Ecuador.
January is often filled with talk of resolutions and new year reset plans. But beyond that, it is an opportunity for reflection and change, which makes it the perfect time to attend a retreat. Read on to learn more about why you should start the year with a detox retreat.
Detox
A common New Year’s resolution is a detox in January. When we talk about a New Year detox, we are referring to your body, mind, and spirit. After all, it is not just your body that accumulates impressions, but your mind and spirit too. Our January retreat will provide tools to help you reset for the year ahead, such as yoga and meditation.
Plus, before and during a retreat, you will be on a plant medicine dieta, which is a simple but delicious food plan to support the integration of the plant medicines Ayahuasca and San Pedro safely. The dieta also helps cleanse and protect your energy, including recommendations such as avoiding phone and social media use.
You begin to realize in ceremonies how everything makes an impression on you, so simplifying everything can bring clarity, purification, and connection a lot faster. Our January retreat will also include specific foods and drinks tailored to enhance this detoxification process.
Renewal and Renovate
Attending a plant medicine retreat is a transformational experience that helps you get closer to your true nature. But it is not about creating a ‘new’ you; it is about remembering, returning to yourself, and reconnecting to the whole.
You renew your focus, energy, and sense of self during the retreat, realigning and coming into balance once more. The inner work begins to reflect on your outer space, too, so you can return home with a renewed perspective on your life. You may also notice how your healing and renewal begin to benefit those around you.
Plus, especially in the Northern Hemisphere, January can feel more like hibernation time than renewal. Attending a plant medicine retreat in Ecuador will mean you also get to experience the coast during the high season, which usually means sunny days and beautiful sunsets.
Close Cycles and Make Space
Named after the Roman God Janus, God of new beginnings and endings, January is when many people reflect on everything that has passed and what they want to change. But it can be challenging to start your new year right without direction or a new environment.
Our plant medicine retreat in Ecuador gives you the space to let go of what doesn’t serve you anymore and make room for the year ahead. All the activities are tailored to help you with this. For example, there are several sweat lodges (temazcals) throughout the week, which are a chance for purification and rebirth, the perfect new year reset.
You will also get the opportunity to learn ways to close cycles throughout the year, such as with our moon wisdom workshops. After all, 365 days is a long time, so learning ways to close cycles throughout the year is invaluable.
Set Intentions
At Ayllu Medicina, we have the main intention of peace, love, dignity, and joy. You will also have the opportunity to set your own intention for the week and learn more about how you can integrate intentions into your life.
Giving yourself the time to go inwards opens space for what your heart truly wants. During plant medicine ceremonies, such as with Grandmother Ayahuasca, you will move from your head to your heart, so your intentions may simplify or change. With these intentions in mind, you can then direct your arrows for the year ahead and your life.
As our guide Hwaneetah says;
❝To find our purpose in life without finding our true selves first can be very challenging, almost impossible. When you find yourself, you automatically find your purpose.❞
Reflect and Give Thanks
The new year is the perfect time to pause, give thanks for everything that has passed, and be ready to receive what is to come. What better way to do this than at a new year’s retreat, in a tropical oasis without distractions?
Plant medicine retreats offer you the space to pause, let yourself catch up, and be present. You have the time to reflect on your year and everything that has passed without rushing, avoiding, or leaving anything for later. All the activities will aid this reflection and integration, including the plant medicine ceremonies, temazcals, yoga, and art time.
Gain a New Community
One of the benefits of attending a San Pedro and Ayahuasca retreat in Ecuador is the retreat container and the community you gain. You are in a supportive space catered to help you process, heal, and integrate, even once you leave the space.
Many retreat attendees stay in touch, share their adventures, and ask questions that come up once they return home. Some even return one, two, or multiple times for another one of our plant medicine retreats!
So, if you are wondering how to start your new year, start by gaining a new community. ‘Ayllu’ is Kichwa for family, and everyone who attends sweat lodges, plant medicine ceremonies, and retreats with us becomes part of our supportive Ayllu community.
Learn New Wellbeing Tools
Around 64% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions within a month. There are many reasons for this, including not having the tools to implement lasting change. At our detox retreat, you will have the time to pause, return to your center, and gain tools to help you continue your journey.
You will start the year with a detox retreat, but you can use what you learn throughout the year. Tools include meditation techniques, yoga, breathwork, moon wisdom, and healthy eating. This way, you can learn how to maintain alignment and wellbeing, even when you return home.
Why You Should Start the Year With a Detox Retreat
There are many reasons why you should start the year with a detox retreat. You may be interested in connecting to plant medicines, feel stuck as this year comes to a close, or want to start the new year intentionally. Whatever the reason, if you feel the call, then it is time to consider a plant medicine retreat.
We have an Ayllu Transformational Plant Medicine Retreat in January 2023, focused on detox and renewal. Here is the link for the details. It will include two Ayahuasca ceremonies, a San Pedro ceremony, temazcals, and other tools to help you start your year in your heart’s center. We also have plant medicine retreats in April, May, and June.
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions!
