Ayahuasca Retreats: Can Purging be Healing?

Finding Healing Ayahuasca Retreats Near Me

If you’re exploring options for Ayahuasca ceremonies near me or in general, a reputable Ayahuasca Retreat near me, you’ve done the right first step - your research. Reading, watching, and listening are the best tools to give ourselves during this time of answering the call. Don’t be swayed by gimmicks, specific locations, or specific celebrity call outs, this is your healing journey, be discerning, and listen to your gut.‍

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Does Healing Come From Ayahuasca or the Retreats?

True healing isn’t defined by one “thing” or a specific “location” ; rather it is defined by the container and the integrity held by the guides who created it.

At Behold Retreats, we host expertly facilitated, small-group retreats in destinations like Costa Rica, Mexico, and Portugal, serving guests from all over the world. What makes these retreats unique is the carefully curated community fueled by our selective screening process, ensuring every ceremony facilitated is safe, intentional, and transformative for all 7 to 14 guests.

For an in in-depth look at specifically what partaking in an Ayahuasca Retreat in Costa Rica would feel like, check out the the article along with the beautiful humans who faciliate it!

‍Searching For An Ayahuasca Retreat Near Me? Consider a Life-Changing Ayahuasca Retreat in Costa Rica.

But rather than simply finding the closest retreat, we encourage you to ask:

Who’s guiding me?

What’s the level of care?

Is this a space where I can truly let go?

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An Introduction to the medicine and The Guardian of Our Spaces:

Meet Daniel: Spiritual Retreat Gatekeeper

Hi, my name is Daniel. I’m the primary gatekeeper at Behold and have been a guardian of the Sacred Medicines for over a decade now…although truthfully, it feels like I’ve been doing this for thousands of years. Holding space as a guardian of the Sacred space is my core purpose in life. I have no doubts about this.

Over these years, I’ve been responsible for screening and interviewing thousands of people who eventually sat in our safe Sacred Medicine circles with Ayahuasca. And after all these conversations, one pattern has stood out again and again:

The thing that stops many people, even those whose hearts feel truly called, is a deep fear of vomiting. Puking - especially in front of others. (What a strange concept!)

It may sound small, but I get it.

If you’re like most people who have never worked with a powerful, purgative Sacred Plant Medicine (such as Aya or Psilocybin), every time you’ve vomited before has been a negative experience: you were sick, drunk, terrified, exhausted, dehydrated - something was wrong. This fear is wired deep in our DNA. Thousands of years ago, if you were running from a tiger in the jungle, burning through the last reserves of your body, the final thing that might happen before you collapsed was vomiting from sheer exhaustion - and then being caught.

And even today, the thought of vomiting can feel embarrassing, humiliating, terrifying.

But the purging that happens with Ayahuasca is something profoundly different (it may even be one of the best experiences and quite transformational!).

Allow me to explain.

Before I do, I want to say this: there are scientific and biological explanations for this process and I honor them. But here, I am here to offer you a Sacred and Spiritual perspective. One does not cancel out the other.

When we ingest and begin our experience with Ayahuasca in an enclosed, spiritually clean circle, the intelligence of this Medicine enters our system and begins to communicate with us.

We start to vibrate higher, toward its level. While a human might vibrate at “10,” Ayahuasca vibrates at “1 million.” We will never fully match that, but we rise much higher into a space of lower density, the ethereal plane, the alchemical world where plants and fungi communicate.

And at a certain point, the environment we now inhabit becomes inhospitable to low-vibrational energy and so…the purge begins.

What you might call vomiting, we like to call getting well. Profound healing.

It is the process of releasing, both physically and experientially, anything that is not in alignment with your higher self. This might be physical toxicity, mental loops, emotional blockages, generational trauma, confusion, illusion. It all rises to the surface, meeting a space of deep truth and alignment and it lets go.

This is a material part of the Sacred and spiritual life-changing journey.

It is the opportunity to surrender to benevolence. To surrender to your truth.

And I say, with all my heart, that my single favorite sound - more than music, more than birds, more than laughter - is the sound of the first person purging in an Ayahuasca ceremony. Really! The catharsis I feel hearing that is beyond words, because I know, just as surely as I know 2+2=4, that they are in the process of getting well in the deepest and most profound way possible.

It’s important to mention that this level of meaning requires intention.

That’s why we prepare for this transformative experience. We diet, we cleanse body, mind, and spirit before receiving the Medicine. The same inertia that can cleanse the soul shouldn’t be wasted just on expelling leftover food matter from the body (which, yes, is literally happening too).

I also want to acknowledge that it’s not always the right time and place to fully let go and purge at this level. If you’re driving a car or holding a baby, for example, it’s time to hold on, to stay focused. But when you enter a Sacred Medicine space that’s held with integrity, safety, and dignity, and you approach that space with humility and a readiness to not be ready, now that is the right space.

When you’re surrounded by others aligned with that intention, even though they may have specific personal goals, they’re still coming with the same thoughtful mindset. That shared intention creates a space where true healing can occur.

In that space, you can release. You can let go of what no longer serves you. You can embrace the profound transformation that Ayahuasca offers.

(By the way, if you follow a reasonable dieta before drinking Ayahuasca, it’s extremely rare that you won’t be able to make it to the toilet regardless of what you may have heard.)

This is why the purge, the letting go, is not just a physical act but a deeply Sacred one.

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Experience Ayahuasca Through the Eyes of Others

You may check out real Testimonials and other Stories from guests from Behold’s Alumni Community, but here are also some stories from my personal experience through the years:

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In my first two or three Plant Medicine retreats, I actually didn’t purge...and quite arrogantly, I took this as a badge of honor. I was hoping to go to the deepest space possible and saw myself as an “Iron Man,” unshaken by the strongest challenges of mind, body, and spirit.

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Looking back now, I’ve forgiven myself - but I do feel a bit embarrassed for my younger self. I was not an Iron Man; I was a man who couldn’t let go. And while this isn’t the case for everyone, for me, it meant I was actually weaker than the people around me in the ceremony. Those who were able to surrender, connect with their true selves, release their old self-perceptions, and let reality flow in.

In a more recent Ayahuasca ceremony near me, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years:

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the build-up of a profound purge, stronger than anything I’d ever known. I knew it was going to knock me flat, drag me across the rocks and through the mud, metaphorically speaking.

And I embraced it.

I gathered what felt like my quickly fading strength, sat upright with my back straight on my mat, made sure my bowl and tissue were close, and opened my full heart in the spirit of surrender. I knew that no matter how challenging this was, I would surrender fully.

And just as I reached that total surrender of mind, of body, and of spirit, the inertia of the purge, (which had felt gargantuan) completely subsided. In one moment, it disappeared. My balance returned fully, and for the rest of that night, my purge bucket stayed bone dry.

I was gifted the state of full bliss which, in my personal experience, only comes with complete surrender.

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Can an Aya Retreat ever go "Wrong"?

For other stories, such as what happens during an Ayahuasca Experience if the retreat center, healer, or facilitators are not fully prepared for this sacred healing administration, check out the video below.

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In 2025, more people than ever feel called to Ayahuasca and many begin their journey without the proper guidance. One Behold Retreats team member shares their first life changing experience from an unprepared ayahuasca retreat center (not named), revealing how lack of preparation, grounding tools, and integration support nearly cost him his life. This raw reflection serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of choosing the right retreat offers, with hands-on guidance, traditional shamanic healing practices, and a space that honors both modern and indigenous traditions. At Behold Retreats, each ayahuasca healing retreat is designed to create an ideal environment for inner healing, safely held by traditional healers and supported by modern modalities like breathwork and coaching. The power of plant medicine is profound when paired with preparation, a clear itinerary, and reverence for the process.

Video Takeaways:

- Choose a retreat designed with deep care and certainly avoid large groups

- The shaman and facilitators must be energetically attuned and experienced

- A true healing center offers not just ceremony, but ongoing integration support

- Without tools like breathwork or emotional release techniques, the experience can be overwhelming

- Modern modalities like coaching, and a holistic approach, ensure sustainable results

- Many popular weekend retreat spots and cheaper centers lack the safety protocols and spiritual depth needed

- When done right, Ayahuasca can be the most profound and life-changing journey you can use as a tool at this day and age.

Behold Retreats offers one of the best ayahuasca retreats for those seeking deep, safe, and supported transformation

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Ayahuasca Ceremonies: Disconnect to Reconnect

In closing, as you’re looking for the perfect Ayahuasca Retreat near me, keep in mind that Ayahuasca is deeply benevolent. She gives you only what you can handle for your own personal growth.

Some ceremonies might be nothing but grace. Some might bring nothing but challenges. But all of them are true.

And for you, the reader: I do hope that one day, if the time is right, and if your mind, body, and spirit are aligned, you get to experience the most profound purge you’ve ever imagined.

Because everything that’s true is on the other side of fear.

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