40 Reasons to go on an Ayahuasca Retreat, or Not

40 Reasons to go on an Ayahuasca retreat, and another 40 reasons not to go.

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Let’s be clear, working with Ayahuasca is not all sunshine and lollipops. This article is intended to show both sides of the coin. It’s meant to make you pause, think, and evaluate.

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If you are considering an Ayahuasca or plant medicine retreat, take your time to do the research, find expert practitioners, and have guidance to help you prepare, and to support you with your preparation and integration post-retreat.

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In this article, we share both 40 reasons to go on an Ayahuasca retreat, followed by 40 reasons not to go.

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Let’s get into it.

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40 reasons to go on an Ayahuasca retreat:

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Reasons to go on an ayahuasca retreat related to the benefits:

1. For ayahuasca healing your brain through neurogenesis

2. To overcome past trauma, accept, and forgive

3 To overcome mental health disorders

4. To remove unhelpful patterns and behaviors

5. To reconnect and align mind, body, and soul

6. To elevate your consciousness

7. To improve your relationships

8. To find your sense of priorities, purpose and belonging

9. To increase your empathy, patience, and courage

10. To elevate your mood, cognition, and quiet the mind

11. To feel like you have a new lease on life

12. To make profound and sustained improvements to quality of everyday life

13. To take seriously our stewardship of our planet

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Reasons to go on an ayahuasca retreat center related to preparation:

14. To recognize the wisdom of the ancient plant medicine traditions and shamans

15. To educate yourself on the modern science of plant medicine

16. To invest in and believe in yourself and your growth

17. To prepare meaningfully and understand yourself better

18. To ensure it is safe for you to work with ayahuasca tea

19. To prepare your family and friends for changes in you

20. To eat well in preparation for your journey

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Reasons to go on an ayahuasca retreat related to experience and ayahuasca ceremony:

21. To travel with purpose to a beautiful location

22. To take a week+ for yourself, to love yourself as a retreat participant in a holistic sanctuary

23. To detoxify your body with the plant dieta and in an ayahuasca ceremony

24. To explore your inner universe and subconscious mind

25. To revel in incredible visuals during the the ayahuasca journey

26. To expand your range of experience with the medicinal plant

27. To have your truths revealed to you by the ayahuasca brew

28. To understand what is keeping you from your potential

29. To heal, and let go of that which does not serve you

30. To connect with and deepen your spiritual awakening

31. To experience ayahuasca shamanism and have healing work done by a shaman

32. To be humbled and reduce the ego

Reasons to go on an Ayahuasca retreat related to our existence:

33. To place your trust in the universe

34. To understand your nature

35. To understand our nature

36. To understand the interconnectivity of all things

37. To understand creation and the miracles of life

38. To understand consciousness and the universe

39. To transcend the limitations of the linear

40. To transcend the limitations of the purely rational / analytic

No doubt we've missed another 101 reasons to go on an Ayahuasca retreat. There are many incredible places to participate in a retreat. Most people from the USA and Canada choose to go to Central or South America: to the Sacred Valley outside of Cusco or Iquitos in Peru, Costa Rica, or Tulum, have a look through our gallery for a sneak peak.

If you're motivated to break through and accelerate your personal growth, look around our website to see what we are doing differently to help people to maximize the benefits of working with plant medicine.

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Now we share 40 reasons not to go on an Ayahuasca retreat:

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Reasons not to go on an Ayahuasca retreat to do with motivation and readiness:

1. You don't have the time to commit to yourself

2. You are going because friends recommended it

3. You are going because friends are going

4. You are going just for the experience

5. You don't really know much about the subject

6. You don't feel the timing is quite right

7. You're conflicted about the whole thing

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Reasons not to go on an Ayahuasca retreat to do with safety:

8. You’re too scared or apprehensive

9. You are on prescription medications

10. You have been diagnosed with psychosis, schizophrenia, or bipolar

11. You have heart conditions or other serious physical limitations

12. You don’t have great confidence about the place or people

13. There’s been no medical screening

14. The topic is being treated casually

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Reasons not to go to an Ayahuasca retreat to do with mindset:  

15. You are not ready to surrender and let go

16. You don’t want to change

17. You’re unwilling to give up your current dogma

18. You are not ready to see your true self

19. You want to stay completely in control

20. You don’t want to be vulnerable

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Reasons not to go to an Ayahuasca retreat to do with the experience:  

21. You don’t want to see sometimes disturbing memories and visions

22. You don’t want to purge physically and emotionally

23. You don’t want to feel challenging emotions

24. You don’t want to face traumatic experiences from the past

25. You don’t want to be confronted by your own limitations

26. You don’t want to witness others experiences

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Reasons not to go to an Ayahuasca retreat to do with outcomes:  

27. You may drop many of your friendships

28. You may be unwilling to fulfil expectations from those around you

29. You may leave your job, and lead a radically different life

30. You may need to let go of that which you currently hold dear

31. You may become “one of those people”

32. You may get odd looks as you tell of your retreat experience

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Reasons not to go on an Ayahuasca retreat that are tongue-in-cheek (sorry, couldn’t help ourselves):

33. You don’t want to evolve, and are 100% happy with yourself

34. You already understand everything

35. You feel completely aligned, body, mind, heart, and soul

36. You are in perfect physical, emotional, and spiritual health

37. You know your true purpose and calling, and are joyously working on it

38. You have zero low-level emotions (e.g. guilt, shame, fear, apathy, anger, desire, pride)

39. All of your relationships are harmonious, and you never lose your patience

40. You believe the universe is exactly as it should be

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The decision to work with "mama ayahuasca medicine" a big one. Our recommendations to help you find a good ayahuasca experience are as follows

- Take the time to find a good healer / ayahuasca shaman

- Understand what healing modalities are available. Typically you can expect something similar to a yoga retreat or other spiritual retreat.

- Understand the different options that exist in the amazon rainforest / broader amazon basin

- Find an experience that will allow you to have 3 ayahuasca ceremonies

We highly recommend you do your own research to make a fully-informed decision.

To learn more about the ayahuasca vine (banisteriopsis caapi vine), the ayahuasca diet, and more about amazonian ayahuasca tourism see our in-depth article on ayahuasca here.

If you’d like to understand more, apply here for a free consultation with one of our plant medicine experts.

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A big Aloha to you and your growth!