by Michaela D'Amico | Nov 30, 2024 | Ayllu Medicina Retreats, spiritual practices
We believe it is crucial to have ways to purify and renew on a regular basis, and there are a variety of practices to do this. At Ayllu Medicina retreats, we offer many forms of purification, including temazcal (sweat lodge), smudging, yoga, breathwork, meditation, ceremonies, and ice baths.
Ice baths, otherwise known as a cold plunge or cold exposure, have become popular in fitness and wellness circles due to its many health benefits – both physical and mental. The practice is often preceded by an ancient breathwork technique called Tummo breath, a Tibetan Buddhist practice, also known as “inner fire” breathing, aimed at generating intense heat within the body and cultivating a deep state of awareness and control over the body and mind. Wim Hof, known as “The Iceman,” has popularized the use of ice baths combined with Tummo breathing, bringing ancient techniques into modern wellness practices.
Beyond the huge benefit of giving us a chance to cleanse and renew, ice baths can support our health in many ways, from reducing inflammation to boosting mental resilience. Here are 7 reasons why you should consider taking the icy leap!
1. Strengthen the Immune System
Firstly, ice baths can activate and strengthen the immune system. Research shows that when your body enters the cold, it can provoke an increase in the production of white blood cells. This increase in immune cell activity has been shown to improve your body’s ability to defend itself more effectively against illness and infection.
2. Reduce Inflammation
Whether your inflammation is from something chronic like arthritis or heart disease, or from a recent injury or workout, an ice plunge can help your healing process. When you enter the Ice bath, your blood vessels constrict, which slows down the flow of blood to muscles, reducing swelling and tissue breakdown. This cold-induced vasoconstriction limits the movement of fluids to inflamed areas, helping to prevent excess inflammation. Once the body rewarms, blood vessels dilate, increasing blood flow, which helps flush out waste products like lactic acid and promotes recovery by delivering oxygen and nutrients to the muscles.
After engaging in physical practices like yoga, hiking, or even sitting for a night around the fire in a ceremony, the body often carries physical tension. ice baths are a natural way to reduce inflammation and soothe sore muscles by causing blood vessels to constrict and limit swelling. This leads to faster recovery and less discomfort.
3. Enhance Sleep Quality
Cold therapy has been shown to improve sleep by calming the nervous system and helping the body enter a more relaxed state. Exposure to cold water lowers the body’s core temperature, which can facilitate the natural drop in temperature that occurs during sleep, promoting a deeper and more restorative rest. It is an effective way to prepare the body for restful sleep after a long day. As we all know, sleep is an essential aspect of wellbeing, as it plays a vital role in physical health, mental clarity, emotional stability, and the body’s ability to recover and rejuvenate.
It is also crucial to get restorative sleep on a retreat, so the body and mind can assimilate the lessons from the day. A more calm nervous system is also incredibly important for going into a ceremony with plant medicines like Ayahuasca or San Pedro. The more your body and mind is calm, the more you can surrender to your purpose and what the plants have to teach you.
4. Increase Mental Resilience
Stepping into an ice bath isn’t just a physical challenge—it’s a mental one, too. The cold can be shocking, and it takes mental strength and a clear purpose to remain calm and endure it. Immersing yourself in cold water requires a deep sense of presence and the ability to stay calm amidst discomfort. Finding calm within the cold, icey water can help train your mind to handle stress more effectively. This practice teaches you how to breathe through challenges, and show yourself that you can reach any goal you set, with proper guidance and a clear purpose.
At Ayllu Medicina retreats, ice bath sessions also include a yoga and Tummo breathing session beforehand. The process requires emotional and mental fortitude, helping participants cultivate the same resilience that may be needed for plant medicine ceremonies. The act of surrendering to the cold is symbolic of surrendering to the healing process and letting go of what is not serving you, which is a strength you can carry forward into daily life.
5. Improves Blood Circulation
Ice baths play a vital role in stimulating circulation, a benefit that is especially important after long hours of working out, sitting at a desk, or. When you immerse into an ice bath, the cold causes blood vessels to constrict, pushing blood away from the extremities. Upon stepping out of the bath, your blood vessels dilate, promoting an influx of oxygen-rich blood to the body. This can also support heart health when done regularly, since the cold exposure helps train the cardiovascular system, potentially improving heart function and blood pressure regulation.
We have seen that the physical benefits like improved circulation after an ice bath helps participants reconnect with their body’s rhythms, facilitating a deeper, more harmonious experience with themselves and the healing environment around them. As the body circulates fresh energy, the mind becomes more attuned, allowing for greater presence.
6. Supports Stress Relief
Inviting cold exposure into your routine can support the reduction of adrenaline-driven responses to stressors. Imagine you are about to dive into a freezing lake – what happens to your mind and body? Most likely, you will experience heightened levels of stress as well as a fear response in your brain which is trying to protect you from any danger. And then, you take the leap! Afterwards, you are feeling happy, proud, and energized. Doing this with the additional support of breathwork and guidance in an ice bath is even more effective, as you have the support of your prepared mind and body and others to cheer you on. Completing an ice bath teaches your brain and your inner being that you can overcome a challenge, even if it involves some stress and fear, and over time these two factors decrease.
Many people come on a retreat because they are overwhelmed by life and want to take an intentional pause to relieve their stress. Ice baths are just one of the many pieces that go into this process of reducing stress. We also have daily yoga, breathwork, and meditation, ceremonies, workshops on connecting with your cyclical nature, along with detoxifying plant-based meals. Why not take a week to fully experience many practices that you can add to your routine to stay healthy and stress-free?
7. Increases Dopamine Levels and Boosts Mood
One study shows that ice baths can increase dopamine levels by up to 250%, and the effects of this can last for hours! The shock of cold water stimulates the release of endorphins and norepinephrine, hormones known for boosting mood and increasing alertness. This natural boost can help alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, promoting a sense of calm and resilience in the face of stress.
We reach to so many different things to boost our mood, many of which are detrimental to our health. What if you could instead try this effective and fun practice that has been proven to lift your mood and provide physical benefits as well?
Cold plunges can help reduce symptoms of anxiety and boost our mood by lowering cortisol levels and calming the mind. Cold exposure, especially when preceded with yoga and breathwork, encourages deep, controlled breathing, which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for relaxation.
Take the Plunge – Join a Retreat to Purify with Ice Baths and more
It is recommended to receive a thorough introduction to this powerful practice with so many mental, emotional, and physical benefits. Why not try it or continue your practice while also immersing into a weeklong transformational retreat to more holistically support your wellbeing?
Our guides help you to combine exposure to cold temperatures with breathing techniques and mindfulness practices so you can experience benefits of the practice, and even be able to do it at home with cold showers. Incorporating ice baths at our Transformational Plant Medicine Retreats has allowed participants to go into plant medicine ceremonies with Ayahuasca and San Pedro with even more energy and belief in their ability to surrender and let go of what is not serving them in life. With daily yoga, meditation, sharing circles, integration guidance, medicine music, and so much more, a retreat is a perfect place to try an ice bath surrounded by others who are also committed to their inner transformation. Join us at an upcoming retreat to see this for yourself!
by Emma Reeves | Oct 1, 2024 | spiritual practices
When people ask how to prepare for a plant medicine ceremony or retreat, we often suggest they start or increase their meditation practice. Why? Because meditation helps with plant medicine preparation, navigating ceremonies, and integrating plant medicine experiences into your life.
Plant medicine and meditation are two healing modalities that have long been used by humans, even having the same root word. So why not combine these two practices? After all, meditation can provide many benefits, not only for plant medicine preparation and plant medicine integration but also for your everyday life.
At Ayllu Medicina plant medicine retreats we always include meditation as part of our daily practice, and we even have a yearly Meditation and Plant Medicine Retreat to delve deep into these two practices. Read on to learn more about why you should practice meditation when preparing for and integrating plant medicine.
Make Space
Attending a plant medicine retreat or ceremony can be the first time you explore your inner being. Meditation helps you declutter the mind, making space between your thoughts and actions, and encouraging responses instead of reactions.
You begin to become aware of the wandering nature of the mind and not get swept up into thoughts that pass by. This means you can enter a plant medicine ceremony with more space to go beyond the surface impressions of the mind into the true essence of your inner being.
Find Presence
Meditation can help you re-center in the present moment, recognizing when your mind is focused on the past or future, or caught in an emotion. With different meditation techniques, you can bring the mind back to the present moment, which can generate more peace, clarity, and attention.
This can help you stay centered before a plant medicine ceremony, and even during a ceremony. You may feel certain emotions, or notice your physical body is tense. Coming back to the breath, and your surroundings, or making a physical adjustment can quickly change your ceremony experience.
Become the Observer
Master plants such as Ayahuasca and San Pedro are medicines that can help you explore your inner world and release what is no longer serving you. However, what is often overlooked is what the advice ‘surrender’ or ‘let go’ means in plant medicine ceremonies. How can you learn how to do this?
Meditation allows you to witness the emotions, experiences, and visions that may come up, but not become them. Instead, you learn how to stay as the observer, trusting that whatever comes up passes. This benefit of meditation applies to plant medicine ceremonies and everyday life.
Generate More Compassion
The space and peace meditation can help you see with more clarity. You can develop more compassion for your own experiences, and other people’s, moving away from judgement to a more compassionate lens.
During plant medicine preparation this can stop you from judging any emotions that may come up, and during a plant medicine ceremony meditation can help you stay grateful without labeling an experience as ‘good’ or ‘bad’. During plant medicine integration, meditation can help you process experiences, maintain space within, and help you re-center whenever you feel you need support.
A Tool for Life
You can use the practice of meditation throughout your life, whether you decide to continue to meet with the sacred master plants, or if you attend one plant medicine retreat or ceremony. You can practice meditation to integrate many experiences and impressions in your life, so you can always find a way to access the deep inner peace you have inside your heart.
Your plant medicine experience can depend on how you prepare and integrate. After all, you can sit in many plant medicine ceremonies but you also need the tools to integrate experiences, so you can continue to walk on your path with clarity, growth, and peace.
Join Our Meditation and Plant Medicine Retreat in South America
There have been many studies on the power of the mind and how it shapes your reality. Meditation and plant medicine are ways to ensure you are shaping your reality from the present. They can provide profound physical, emotional, and energetic benefits.
So, where do you begin? It is important to find a plant medicine retreat or ceremony run by experienced guides. At Ayllu Medicina plant medicine retreats in Ecuador, our guides have decades of experience, including with specific meditation practices.
Some retreat participants are new to meditation or plant medicine when they attend retreats, whilst others have already met with one or both healing modalities. Our Meditation and Plant Medicine Retreat in November 2024 is the perfect option to start or develop your meditation practice while getting to meet with the sacred master plants of Ayahuasca and San Pedro. There are several spaces left!
Contact us if you have any questions. We are happy to help by phone or email.
by Emma Reeves | Mar 4, 2024 | spiritual practices
On average, humans take around 20,000 breaths a day, with many being automatic. Becoming more mindful of the breath, such as by practicing breathwork can offer many benefits, including for your plant medicine ceremony preparation, experience, and integration. So, how can you combine breathwork and plant medicine?
The origins of breathwork span back to the origins of yoga in India with pranayama, and in more recent decades, different breathwork practices have emerged, with breathwork now being a beneficial practice for people around the world. Plant medicine preparation includes following dieta guidelines and being mindful of what you’re consuming mentally, such as limiting screen time. However, something that is often overlooked, is how you can work with your breath.
Vanessa, our retreat yoga instructor, has over 1500 hours of study, from YTTs to a Pranayama master program and beyond (learn more about her here). So, we sat down with her to discuss the healing benefits of pranayama for plant medicine preparation, ceremony, and integration.
Breathwork and Pranayama: Is There a Difference?
I would describe breathwork in a broad sense. There are many benefits to breathwork, as you can see with Wim Hof and these other techniques. I would say one of the main differences between pranayama and breathwork is that breathwork has general benefits, which are not as specific as pranayama.
For example, breathwork can offer benefits such as increased lung capacity and benefits for general organs. Whereas with pranayama it is the concentration of prana, also known as life force. So, pranayama work is generally a lot more specific.
I have more experience with the specifics of pranayama, so I can say the main difference with pranayama is the whole goal is to reach meditation, which is why we practice it.
What Is Pranayama and Its Benefits?
We break the pranayama breath into five main components, with each component having a different benefit. These are:
- General life force, which brings more vibrancy
- Illumination, helping with anything you want to let go
- Regulating the system, which helps reconnect all your systems
- Working the network system, which reconnects all pathways in the body
- And then you can elevate the consciousness with pranayama.
So pranayama is another form of healing. You can have a specific objective with your pranayama breathwork, and there is a general script that we follow to help you prepare for the next stage of your yoga practice: meditation.
So, like in a plant medicine ceremony, we start with purification. We first clear out, before working on components such as reconnecting the system. So, you start with breathwork for purification, then you can work on opening up, with active pranayama exercises. You then eventually reach calming and slowing pranayama exercises, in preparation for meditation.
Practising Pranayama for Plant Medicine Preparation
It is important to prepare for a plant medicine ceremony by focusing on your physical body, so you can sit comfortably. Yoga asanas help ensure our body is ready for a plant medicine ceremony, so we can sit in the ceremony space. However, it is also important to prepare emotionally and energetically for a plant medicine ceremony.
We need to think of the body as a whole system, so along with the outer structure; the physical, we also have the interior. If we haven’t worked with pranayama or we don’t understand that we can work on different parts of our internal body consciously, it can be overwhelming.
We can work on parts of the body consciously with the breath and this is similar to what can happen with a master plant such as Ayahuasca. The master plant can start to go through the body and find the areas that need more alignment and areas where you need to let go. So, if you haven’t had any work with breathwork before the ceremony, it can feel overwhelming as you begin to recognize the body has different areas.
A Deep Breath Changes Everything
When we come into a plant medicine ceremony with a bit of pranayama practice, it is not so overwhelming when we navigate the plant medicine. It doesn’t have to be years of breathwork or pranayama practice. It is more about having a conscious awareness of the breath and its ability, which we work on during Ayllu Medicina retreats with our daily yoga classes.
We often say to come back to your breath when navigating difficult parts of a plant medicine ceremony. Sometimes a deep breath can completely change your experience and make it okay. How do we teach kids to start to regulate? How we teach kids to regulate is through the breath. Once we learn we can take a full deep breath into the belly we can begin to fully regulate in everyday life and in a plant medicine ceremony.
Breathwork and Ayahuasca Connection
We do not work on breathwork during ceremonies, but the preparation in our morning yoga classes and workshops helps significantly. We can begin to see how working through the parts of the body helps us find alignment and harmony. In Ayahuasca, we often speak of surrender – just surrender to the experience.
When we have done breathwork exercises, it can make this letting go easier because you have worked your interior body consciously as part of your daily practice.
Breathwork and San Pedro Connection
With San Pedro, the breath work helps with alignment because we are aware and have the ability to navigate the experience as we do with breathwork. However, the nervous system is firing, so it can also be easier to get dysregulated. This is similar to our modern daily lives when we are exposed to stress and conflict, which can lead to deregulation.
Having breathwork techniques helps you consciously calm your nervous system and take control. Over time, this practice can also help raise your nervous system’s resting point.
This means you no longer get triggered, say for example when someone says something in passing. It will take a lot more for you to become deregulated.
This is one of the benefits of breathwork and the sacred master plants such as San Pedro. They are helping us develop skills to navigate daily life from our center, which lasts not only in ceremony but forever in our lives.
When we speak about the connection between plant medicine and pranayama, we do not mean we will be doing both at once, although the mindfulness of the breath is great in ceremony! On our plant medicine retreats in Ecuador they are powerful complementary modalities that support each other.
Breathwork Exercises to Prepare for a Plant Medicine Ceremony
Along with preparing your diet to help clear out the body, and help processing systems, the digestion, and your brain, it is important to start having moments of stillness or quiet time.
If you do not have a pranayama practice or you do not have a teacher, start by working with the abdominal breath, which is one of the most powerful and simple beginner pranayama exercises. This pranayama exercise can help insomnia, chronic stress, and all the autonomic systems in the body.
Pranayama Tips
For this exercise, you can lie on the ground:
- Place your hands on your belly.
- When you inhale, feel your stomach rise
- On the exhale, feel the pause and release.
You can do ten minutes of abdominal breathing every day first thing in the morning or in the evening before bed.
Often we think of simple breathing exercises as not so efficient. However, if this is your capacity it is better to have this consistency, instead of occasionally doing a different pranayama exercise. It is important to have a point in our day to recap through our breath, allowing everything to come back into place to go forward in presence.
We think of yoga as a complicated or long practice. Ancient yogis spoke of as little amount of investment for the most amount of gain. So, if you are practicing fully present and consciously, with the breath too, a 20-minute morning practice means you are good for the whole day. I think it goes back to being present and aware, which ceremony also shows- after all, you can’t multitask in a ceremony.
If you want to go deeper, you can then find teachers or contact Ayllu Medicina and attend one of our retreats.
Breathwork for Plant Medicine Integration
Plant medicine integration is essential because everything is getting moved in a ceremony. Everything is energy and often in plant medicine ceremonies stagnant energy is getting moved, sometimes this includes past generational stagnation that has been passed on.
Pranayama can be an important integration tool to help consciously direct the breath and manage integration. With a pranayama practice, you are taking the energy that is moving and helping release what is no longer serving you. You do not need to consciously do this by going through stories or trauma, it is naturally being released through the purification breathwork exercises.
Pranayama and Plant Medicine: The Long-Term Benefits
You can then work on vitality, once you have made more space with the first pranayama exercises. What the breathwork exercises are doing is healing the internal body. They regulate the autonomic systems, the samskaras- our behavioral patterns. The exercises also help with pranasyedam vashe sarvam, which means releasing the filters over our eyes, to see with clarity.
We can have stories in our minds about how things happen in life. With plant medicine integration these stories often do not serve us anymore and our perspective begins to change. Pranayama can help us gain the full potential of healing with plant medicine experiences.
It makes it not just about the experience of the ceremony. It is also taking the experience and integrating it, moving it fully through the whole self, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
And then, the breathwork also helps you stay clutter-free. We do not need to just have the clear out from the plant medicine ceremony and wait for it to build up again, wait for it to fill. Instead, using breathwork and other practices, we can start to go deeper, continue to grow, and maintain clarity.
Women’s Retreat Breathwork and Yoga
As women, we are brought into this way of defragmenting ourselves. For example, we’ve separated from our cycles, from our feminine part of ourselves, to function in the male-dominated energy, which can serve us at some points. However, more and more we are realizing we are missing out and there are more parts of ourselves to explore.
The beautiful thing about the Ayllu Medicina Women’s Power Plant Medicine and Yoga Retreat is we are coming back to the basis of who we are, coming back to the empowerment of our moons, the fluctuations in our hormones, understanding our cycles, our energy, and learning how to compliment our breathwork and yoga practice for this.
Yoga and Breathwork for Our Cyclical Nature
The strong Ashtanga practice was meant for men, as they have a consistent flow of hormones. As women, we have to realize it is okay to change our practice throughout our month to reflect where we are in our cycles, with our changing energy levels and our moon. This is what I’ve been learning- how to shift the practice, which I will be sharing at the Women’s retreat.
Our moon cycle underlines everything. We do not want to go against the flow of our moon, including with our breathwork. For example, during our moon time, we do not want to do strong, active, cleansing breathwork, as this process is already happening internally within us with our moon. So it is too much to also do this breathwork, similar to how it would be to enter the sweat lodge on our first days of our moon with the heat.
During the Women’s retreat, we will be understanding how the external and internal environments reflect and how to bring both into harmony. This way we can stop being so rigid, instead recognizing fluctuations and allowing flow to happen, which means there’s also more flow in life.
Breathwork at Ayllu Medicina Plant Medicine Retreats in Ecuador
There are many tools that can help with plant medicine preparation, integration, and during the ceremony. Many of these tools are also important for the ceremony of life, which continues after you leave a plant medicine retreat or ceremony.
Learning more about breathwork and becoming conscious of your breath is one of the tools that can help you physically, spiritually, and emotionally. We are fortunate to have Vanessa on our Ayllu Medicina team to learn more about the practice of pranayama.
Get started with your breathwork on the Otra Ola Youtube channel, with this video by Vanessa. You can also visit Vanessa in Ayampe at Otra Ola, with their Prana Health Food Store, surf classes, yoga, Spanish classes, and other events.
During our Ayllu Medicina transformational retreats, there is daily yoga, meditation, and breathwork. During our Women’s retreat, there will also be a focus on the complementary healing modalities of yoga and pranayama. There are several spaces available, so if you feel called to join us reach out!
One of our team will be happy to answer any questions you have or schedule a call. You can learn more about all our Ayllu Medicina retreats here.
by Emma Reeves | Dec 6, 2023 | spiritual practices
So, you’ve attended a plant medicine ceremony or retreat and had a profound experience. What happens now? Plant medicine integration is more than a buzzword; it requires your active participation once the ceremony ends and the ceremony of life begins.
Retreat participants often ask us how to integrate plant medicine ceremonies and their retreat experiences. After all, whether you have attended an Ayahuasca ceremony or a plant medicine retreat in South America, integration doesn’t stop once you leave the sacred space; it continues when you return to your home or continue your travels. Often, you return to everyday life feeling different, even if everything around you seems the same.
So, what can you do to maintain changes and continue to integrate?
One of the most important parts of plant medicine integration is staying clutter-free physically, emotionally, and energetically. Plant medicine ceremonies can help us release what is no longer serving us, so you often leave like a snake that has just shed skin. The good news is that there are a variety of different integration techniques you can use; read this guide to learn more.
Skip to:
Physical Integration
Emotional Integration
Energetic Integration
Physical Plant Medicine Integration
When people ask how to integrate an Ayahuasca ceremony or a San Pedro ceremony, they are often surprised that it starts with their physical body!
You need a solid grounding, healthy body, and clutter-free surroundings to embody your experiences. Then, you can begin to weave the lessons into your daily life, noticing changes in your inner and outer world.
Post-Plant Medicine Diet
Usually, people follow a pre-ceremony Ayahuasca dieta or diet for San Pedro preparation to purify their bodies for the sacred medicines. After a retreat or ceremony, it is also important to be mindful of the foods you consume and slowly reintroduce foods back into your diet to see how your body reacts. It is also essential to hydrate well with water!
For example, do not return to your usual caffeine consumption; go slow and maybe consider alternatives such as Green tea or Guayusa, which we share on Ayllu Medicina retreats. You may also find you do not want to introduce certain foods back into your diet after releasing emotional food cravings.
Your dieta will vary depending on where you attend a plant medicine ceremony or retreat. However, in general, be mindful of your consumption of the following for at least a week after a plant medicine ceremony:
- Coffee
- Red meat and pork
- Spices
- Dairy
- Processed sugars
You know your body best, so tune in to what it needs. Plant dietas are not about deprivation, but caring for your body and simplifying to make space for change. At Ayllu Medicina plant medicine retreats, we provide nourishing plant-based food throughout the week to nourish you and help you integrate a balanced diet. If you are unsure what medications or supplements to reintroduce after a retreat, consult your retreat guides and doctor.
Space and Surroundings
Everything is energy, so a lot of physical clutter can be distracting. Many studies have shown how physical clutter creates stress, disorder, and other negative physical, energetic, and emotional effects. So, consider clearing your space and home when settling back into your everyday life.
A clutter-free inner world needs a clutter-free physical world as a reflection. At Ayllu Medicina, we often describe how plant medicine ceremonies can be like taking off a heavy backpack, often full of things you didn’t know you were carrying but were weighing you down. These can include emotions, impressions, and other energy you have accumulated over the years.
One of the benefits of plant medicine retreats and ceremonies is that they are often the first time you can fully stop, take off the backpack, and unload what is no longer serving you. So, once this happens, do not physically load yourself with more than you need; clear your space to reflect your lighter inner world!
Emotional Plant Medicine Integration
Plant medicine ceremonies can be transformative experiences, often expanding perspectives and giving profound insights into your inner world. It is important to remember that sacred plant masters are medicines, which means a variety of emotions can come up during ceremonies and as you integrate the experiences.
Once you leave the ceremony or retreat container, it is important to continue to care for your mental health. It is natural for different emotions to come up, but do not leave them lingering for later. Instead, use different integration practices to stay clutter-free mentally.
Daily Morning Practice
What do you do when you first wake up? Instead of immediately reaching for your phone or rushing to work, set some time aside for you to ground and be in the present moment. A morning routine looks different for everyone, but including a yoga practice, meditation, and some breathwork can set you up for the rest of your day.
During plant medicine preparation and retreats, you have the chance to slow down and make space for yourself during the morning. During Ayllu Medicina retreats, there is also daily yoga, meditation, and breathwork, so you can learn different techniques and integrate them into your everyday life. Like making the bed each morning, being consistent with a daily practice quickly makes it a habit that will provide many benefits to your life.
Recapping
During Ayllu Medicina retreats, there are sharing circles after plant medicine ceremonies. So, you begin to process your experiences and integrate the lessons. You can continue to do this for all parts of your life after the retreat so you do not go back to saving everything for ‘later.’
Doing a simple recap of your day before you go to bed each night is a great practice, especially for post-retreat integration when you are still adjusting back to your daily life. You will be surprised at how much happens everyday!
Women can also recap their month as part of their cycle during their menstruation time. Menopausal women can also use the New Moon or Full Moon. Men can also do this! Learn more about Sun and Moon dynamics in Hwaneetah’s Womb Technology interview with Breathe and Flow. If you attend one of our plant medicine retreats in Ecuador, you will learn more about this from Hwaneetah, who has been studying womb technology for over 20 years.
Find a Community
It is important to remember you have a community in plant medicine integration, so reach out whenever you need; you are not alone! For example, Ayllu Medicina has retreat groups where we continue to stay in touch and share. After your plant medicine retreat, you can also book a post-retreat integration session with our medicine guides.
No matter where you attend a plant medicine ceremony or retreat, find a supportive community to support your plant medicine integration. This could be loved ones at home, new groups, or your retreat group. Acknowledge that some loved ones are at different stages in their journey and may not be able to relate to your experiences, but they will begin to notice the positive changes within you.
A note on sharing: As we say during our retreats, not everything from your Ayahuasca experience or San Pedro experience is to be shared. Some of the experiences you may not be able to articulate, and some are important to keep for yourself.
Maybe you will begin to share more over time, but it is important not to overshare quickly- go slow, as you are still integrating the experience! A good start is to share the main lessons, or ‘pearls,’ of your experience.
Be Aware of Mental Consumption
When preparing for a plant medicine ceremony, your dieta doesn’t end with food. It is also recommended to start a meditation practice, reduce your social media use, and be mindful of what you are mentally consuming. This is so you make space to go deeper with the plant medicines without having to process the many impressions mental consumption brings.
After you leave a plant medicine retreat, stay clutter-free by consciously consuming. After a break from the constant onslaught of information most people are bombarded with, it can feel overstimulating to log back into social media and read a backlog of WhatsApp messages or emails!
So, go slow and perhaps wait before delving straight back into binge-watching your favorite show or spending long periods of time online. It is okay to normalize and put a movie on; just be mindful of going to extremes.
After all, taking a pause allows you to identify impulsive behaviors in your life, the behaviors that are automatic without any thought, such as checking your social media pages multiple times a day. So, when you leave a plant medicine retreat, you can take charge of what you consume again from a conscious standpoint and put healthy boundaries in place.
Energetic Plant Medicine Integration
Everything has an energetic vibration, and plant medicines can help purify and raise your vibration. After letting go of what is no longer serving you, you want to continue caring for your energy and keep it clutter-free.
Usually, during plant medicine ceremonies such as Ayahuasca, you can experience a huge energy expansion. After expansion, there is contraction as you begin to unify the body, mind, and spirit to what you experienced.
This contraction may show up in changes in energy, mood, or the desire to be alone, which is natural- tune into what you need and continue to protect your energy as you go through integration. At Ayllu Medicina you can also sign up for a Shamanic Cleansing, also known as a Limpia, with Aime, which can help renew your energy. Learn more about this on our offerings page.
Spend time in Nature
Ground your energy in nature. Go for a walk, visit a body of water, sit by a tree, or simply plant your feet on the ground and absorb the benefits! It is important to remember that you can connect to the elements of nature at any time, which can help center your energy and offer purification.
Incense Smudging
In many plant medicine ceremonies, you may notice the use of different incense, including for smudging, which can help remove negative energies. This incense can include sage, copal, cedar, and palo santo. Light some sage or another smudge and cleanse yourself and your space once you return home and whenever you want to shift the energy.
Practice Gratitude
Did you know that practicing gratitude can help you physically, emotionally, and energetically? During plant medicine integration, remember to come back to gratitude- for your experiences, your courage, your loved ones, the elements, and the sacred master plants.
A simple practice is to journal or think about five things you are grateful for each day. This can instantly uplift your energy and help you welcome any discomfort during integration with the trust that you are coming into alignment.
Notice What Isn’t Serving You
Plant medicines such as Ayahuasca and San Pedro can provide deeply healing experiences. However, often, there is work for you to do during plant medicine integration based on the profound lessons the plants can present. This may include learning what is not correspondent anymore, such as a particular habit, behavior, relationship, or place.
Take some time after a plant medicine retreat to reflect on what is no longer in alignment. If it doesn’t feel right anymore, it may be time to let go of something to be able to continue your expansion and growth.
It is also important to consider post-plant medicine retreat recommendations, such as avoiding sexual activity for several days after plant medicine ceremonies, as this is also a huge exchange of energy.
Connect to Music
Music is an integral part of Ayllu Medicina plant medicine ceremonies and retreats. You will have the chance to connect with your own voice and learn some medicine songs. Singing is a powerful way to shift energies, raise vibrations, and stay clutter-free.
After plant medicine retreats, many retreat participants continue to sing and connect with sacred instruments such as the rattle or hand drum. If you need to move energy during plant medicine integration, consider picking up a rattle and singing or listening to some plant medicine music to reconnect with the sacred plant teachers! Check out our medicine guides’ music, Pájaros de Luz, to get started.
Plant Medicine Integration Practices to Stay Clutter-Free
Plant medicine integration goes beyond the Ayahuasca or San Pedro Ceremony. It is about the ongoing work to stay clutter-free and in touch with your true essence. When you can stay clutter-free emotionally, physically, and energetically, it is when you begin to express your true essence, uniting with the whole.
You can attend many ceremonies or plant medicine retreats in South America, but if you do not have the tools to integrate experiences, then you cannot absorb the benefits of these sacred plant teachers. This is why integration is also a verb- it requires active participation to stay clutter-free. Start by using these practices and seek support from your retreat provider if you need extra guidance!
At Ayllu Medicina, we say that your first Ayahuasca ceremony is clearing the garden in your mind, then the second is often refining the garden details. If this is the case, then San Pedro is the water to help all the new seeds bloom, and plant medicine integration is the continued maintenance of the garden so you can continue to stay aligned on your path.
Integrating plant medicine retreats and ceremonies starts before you even enter the sacred space. When researching a plant medicine ceremony or retreat, consider the integration support the guides provide before you make a decision. At Ayllu Medicina, we ensure our participants have the support they need before, during, and after our transformational plant medicine retreats.
Check out our available 23/2024 retreats here. Our 2024/25 plant medicine retreats in Ecuador are due for release soon! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.
by Emma Reeves | Oct 4, 2023 | plant medicine ceremonies, spiritual practices
Did you know that meditation and medicine have the same root word? Despite meditation and plant medicine often being seen as separate modalities, they complement each other well. So well, in fact, that meditation can help in plant medicine ceremonies in many different ways.
It is estimated that over 275 million people have some form of meditation practice around the world, and more people than ever are feeling called to explore their inner world with the assistance of master plant teachers, such as Ayahuasca and San Pedro. So, what happens when you combine these ancient technologies in a plant medicine ceremony?
Here are some of the ways meditation helps in plant medicine ceremonies.
1. Preparation
The benefits of meditation begin before you attend a plant medicine ceremony. It is often recommended to take steps to prepare your body, mind, and spirit to sit with plant medicine, including adjusting your diet, slowing down activity, and trying practices such as meditation. Preparatory steps are not limitations but ways to purify so you can have more profound experiences in ceremonies and begin to connect with the master plants in advance.
Meditation is an ancient practice that, like plant medicines, has gained the scientific world’s attention. Recently, there has been a lot of research to confirm meditation’s many benefits, such as improving focus, reducing stress, and even changing brain structures. One study found meditation helped increase the thickness of the hippocampus- which is the part of your brain responsible for emotional regulation and memory.
So, all these benefits will begin to help during your plant medicine preparation time, allowing you to shed layers and make space to connect with the plant medicines. Meditation can also help ground and calm the mind before your plant medicine ceremony. It is also natural to experience some nerves before a ceremony, which meditation can help settle.
2. Observe Without Judgement
One of the main ways meditation helps in plant medicine ceremonies is to help you stay as the observer of your experience. You can notice your thoughts without getting swept into their emotional storm or judging them. Instead, you have meditation tools that can bring your attention back to your center.
Master plant teachers such as Ayahuasca are medicine. So, while ceremonial experiences are unique to the individual, it is common for there to be ups and downs as part of your journey to your center. For example, plant medicines such as Ayahuasca can magnify thought patterns, emotions, and experiences to make you recognize them. Meditation can help you navigate and even welcome these experiences to dive deeper into your inner world without resistance.
3. Focus and Center
Meditation and plant medicine both allow you to explore your inner being. Meditation can help you re-center, helping you come back to your intention for the ceremony, quieten the mind, and maintain your heart-mind connection.
Having the tools to quieten the mind and separate yourself from thoughts is empowering. In a plant medicine ceremony, this empowerment can help you stay focused and go deep into your inner being with the help of the master plant.
4. A Physical Aid
Meditation can help increase your self-awareness, so in a ceremony, you remember to come back to the breath or do a body scan to make a simple adjustment to feel physically comfortable once more.
Our Ayllu Medicina yoga teacher often reminds participants that deep breathing can completely transform a challenging moment. Sometimes, remembering to take a deep breath, check in with our body, and relax any areas of tension can help uncomfortable moments of the plant medicine ceremony pass.
5. Let Go
A common piece of advice people give for plant medicine ceremonies is to ‘let go’ or ‘surrender.’ This may feel easier said than done! After all, what does surrender mean?
For many people, the art of surrender can be a mystery before a plant medicine ceremony, and it remains a practice that meditation helps strengthen. Essentially, this piece of advice refers to allowing the present moment to be exactly how it is. It means acknowledging any difficult experiences or emotions but relaxing into them with trust, trusting the master plant and yourself.
Meditation also helps remind you that the moment will pass; everything is temporary. The practice enables you to return to the present moment. It can help you let go of expectations and recognize when the ego is trying to take control.
You can begin to stop trying to push or pull your inner and outer experience during the ceremony, instead surrendering into the present. The result? Fewer obstacles and more collaboration with the master plant teacher.
6. Gratitude
A great intention for a plant medicine ceremony is gratitude. Meditation can help you stay centered in these feelings of gratitude, love, and humility. It can help allow your true self to bloom by getting out of your own way.
Plant medicines such as Ayahuasca can also produce transcendental states, where you go beyond the ego and experience the connection to what is bigger than yourself, often referred to as ‘oneness’ or wholeness. A strong meditation practice can also achieve these heightened states of awareness.
However, suppose you are beginning your meditation practice. In that case, plant medicines can help you reach deeper states of meditation and the feelings associated, such as peace, joy, and a quietening of the mind.
7. Integration
Meditation and plant medicine work well together before, during, and after a ceremony. Meditation can also help during integration, the time after the ceremony, and when you finish a plant medicine retreat. Integration can only happen if we make space for it with compassion and patience for ourselves.
Returning to the ceremony of life can be an adjustment, which means having tools such as meditation can help you navigate the integration period with openness, attention, and space. Meditation can be the practice you continually use to maintain your well-being, quieten the mind, check in with your inner world, and stay centered, no matter what distractions or challenges arise.
Attend Our Meditation and Plant Medicine Retreat
Meditation and plant medicine share many similarities, which means meditation is a practice that can help during plant medicine preparation, plant medicine ceremonies, and integration periods. There are a range of different meditation practices to try, so you can find one that suits your own needs.
Do you want support deepening your meditation practice and connecting to master plant teachers? Ayllu Medicina is holding a Meditation and Plant Medicine Retreat in November 2023. While meditation is always a core part of our plant medicine retreats in Ecuador, this retreat is specifically focused on providing meditation tools and practices.
It will be a transformational week that provides the space, practices, and support to dive deep into your inner world. Do you have some questions? Our team will be happy to schedule a call to discuss any of our retreats in more detail!
by Emma Reeves | Jun 18, 2023 | spiritual practices
Did you know that the sun takes a brief pause before changing its direction of travel? This event is marked by Solstice, which happens twice a year. Different cultures and traditions have long celebrated this significant astrological event, so what can you do to honor Solstice?
Many cultures have long lived a life immersed in nature, attuned to the Earth and Moon’s rhythms, recognizing their interconnectedness with the elements. This connection to the land has meant astrological events such as Solstice have long been revered as significant not only for the external world but our inner world too.
June 21st marks Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and Winter Solstice in the South. It is the perfect time to take your own sacred pause and celebrate this change in season. Read on to learn everything you need to know about how to celebrate Solstice and honor your own light.
What Is the Meaning of Solstice?
On Earth, Solstice is when the sun reaches its highest or lowest point in the sky during the year, marked by the shortest or longest day. The term Solstice comes from the Latin (solstitium) for sun and ‘to stand still,’ which is because the sun was observed to take a pause before continuing its journey into what is now considered the start of Winter or Summer.
Like Equinoxes, Solstices happen around the world in June and December. The June Solstice dates are between June 20 and June 22nd. The December Solstice dates are between December 20 and December 23rd. They are often called winter Solstice or Summer Solstice.
On June 21st, it is the Summer Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere, with the longest day, while for the Southern Hemisphere, it marks the start of Winter, with the shortest day. In December, the Southern Hemisphere celebrates summer, whereas it is the Winter Solstice for the Northern Hemisphere.
Why Is Solstice Important?
The Solstice marks the sacred pause of the sun and the many external and internal rhythms of life; the changing seasons, life, death, darkness, light, day, and night. It also reflects the relation between the sun and the moon, the sacred dance between these forces. These female and male energies are essential to balance our own inner nature, so we can find our center.
Solstice is a time that has long been considered important for the land, body, and spirit. Our ancestors recognized how much the world around us is a reflection of our inner world and how important it is to have a reciprocal relationship with Mother Earth and Father Sky.
Solstice gives us the opportunity to reconnect to the Sun and Earth, recognizing the cyclical nature of life and connecting to our light within. It is the perfect time to close a cycle to make space for the new season ahead.
Summer Solstice Traditions
Summer Solstice is celebrated in different ways around the world; however, there are several similarities between traditions. For example, many people gathered, and still gather until this day, at sacred sites to observe the sunrise and sunset. Many of these sacred sites, such as Stonehenge in England, are aligned with the movement of the sun on Solstice.
Summer Solstice is also a time to give thanks to Mother Earth and pray for an abundant harvest. This involves giving cleansings, offerings, ceremonies, playing music, spending time in nature, and dancing.
Some traditions also burn bonfires to ward off certain spirits, purify, and celebrate light defeating darkness. Some cultures also jump over fires as a way to purify and set intentions for the season ahead.
Winter Solstice Traditions
Winter solstice traditions also involve time giving offerings, praying for the return of harvest, celebrating, and giving thanks to the Sun and Earth. Some ancient festivals, such as the Roman festival of Saturnalia, reflects the modern celebration of Christmas, where people would play games, feast, give gifts, and even reverse social orders.
Seasonal food and fire are also part of many Winter Solstice traditions when people would prepare for the winter and darkness ahead.
Solstice in Ecuador
In June, Andean communities celebrate the festival Inti Raymi, also known as Fiesta del Sol. The dates of specific celebrations vary depending on the community and country, but usually, celebrations last several days.
It is a festival that many Andean communities throughout South America mark. It is said that the festival originated in Incan times, with the focus being on harvesting specific delicacies, such as corn. Ecuador is on the equator, so it doesn’t have clear seasons; however, the people have long recognized their relationship with the Sun and Earth.
Inti Raymi is the festival of the Sun and light, celebrating the agricultural year. Rituals include parades, cleansing in water, music, and offerings. Dance is also an important part of the celebration, with people stamping their feet to wake Mother Earth and encourage her to bring energy to the land and restore the harvest cycle.
Dancers will often have a ritual cleansing in natural water to purify their bodies and spirits first, renewing themselves in the energy of the elements. They then stomp throughout their town in specific outfits, often ending in the main square of their town.
How To Celebrate Solstice and Close the Cycle
Your Solstice celebrations may be inspired by your location and whether you are entering Winter Solstice or Summer Solstice. However, these are Solstice practices you can do to mark this significant astrological event and the end of a cycle, no matter where you are in the world.
Take a Cleansing Bath
Find a body of water where you can take a cleansing bath. You can take some tobacco or play some music as an offering before washing away anything that is not serving you. You can also make your own ritual bath at home by heating some water with herbs such as chamomile and adding rose petals.
Make an Offering
Solstice is an opportunity to give thanks for all the forces of the Earth, sky, and elements that provide us with all the abundance we need to survive. Give an offering to Mother Earth as a way to give thanks for all the ways she has supported you.
You can make an offering of grains, fruits, tobacco, water, seeds, stones, and other items that are meaningful to you, which you can return to Mother Earth. You can join Ayllu Medicina’s Solstice offering if you are on the coast of Ecuador! See details below.
Get Creative
Creativity is the perfect way to raise your vibration and help ground you in the present moment. Sing some plant medicine songs, dance, create art, play instruments, or find another way to connect to your inner nature within. Studies have found the importance of creativity for well-being in adults and the importance of taking time to pause and express our inner world.
Pause in Nature
Spending time in nature without distractions is the perfect way to honor the sacredness of this life and the interconnectedness of all things. Take a pause by meditating outside or going for a walk in nature. Observe all that is around you to practice remaining present.
Light a Fire
The fire is the heart of many rituals, celebrations, cultures, and homes, including Solstice celebrations. Connect to the fire and all the ways it can purify by gathering around one. Ask for guidance!
If you cannot safely light a fire, you can try a candle meditation or join a community event.
Watch Sunrise
Wake up with the birds and visit a local sacred site or go to a local sunrise spot to observe the sunrise. Give thanks to Father Sun for the new day. Spend some time thinking about what you are grateful for, and consider watching the sunset too.
Attend a Ceremony
Mark the sacred pause of the sun by taking part in a ceremony that honors the sacredness of this life. This may be a plant medicine ceremony, sweat lodge, or other local event. You can follow Ayllu Medicina (@ayllumedicina) on Instagram for our upcoming ceremonies or check out our next season’s plant medicine retreats.
Recap the Year
June Solstice is a time to reflect on the past six months since December Solstice. What were you doing last June? You can also reflect on your past year, all the things you are grateful for, everything you have achieved, and what intentions you want to set as the seasons change.
Learn How To Celebrate Solstice
Celebrating Solstice is a time to take a sacred pause like the sun and give thanks, remembering that the relationship with the Earth is a reciprocal one. It is the perfect opportunity to begin to align with the rhythms of nature and your own nature. Plus, it is always wonderful to take a pause, close the cycle, and watch the sunrise or sunset (or both!)
Ayllu Medicina is holding a Solstice offering, meditation, and a sweat lodge. We will focus on a Heart coherence meditation, which you can also learn at our Medicine of the Heart Retreat. When you align your mind-body connection, you can connect to your light, your love, and your center. If you are on the coast of Ecuador, join us at 4.30 pm next Wednesday!
If you have any questions about our Solstice event or our plant medicine retreats, please contact us! Comment below if you have any other ways you celebrate Solstice.
