What to look for to find a safe, quality Ayahuasca Retreat?

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Like most things in life, there a broad variety of Ayahuasca retreat options, and a number of factors that effect the quality and cost of an ayahuasca retreat that you may like to take into consideration:

• Safety: Many smaller operators are not in a position to invest in safety, and unfortunately, there are too many sad stories out there. (recommendation: choose a retreat that does in-depth screening to ensure your physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being). ‍

• Legality:  Practitioners who have dedicated their lives to medicine work typically live in locations where it is legal, so they don't have to live in a state of "what if". (recommendation: consider whether travelling to a place with "new energy" might be in your best interests).

• ‍Size of the group: It's common for retreats to have 20, 50, even 100 people in ceremony, which can be chaotic. Additionally, you are less likely receive the level of attention from healers that you are probably looking for. (recommendation: choose a retreat with an intimate group of say, 8-15 people).

• Length of the retreat: Shorter retreats feel rushed, and there are limits to what can be done in a few nights. (recommendation: go for at least a week).

• Comfort: (recommendation: spend a little extra for something where you will be physically comfortable and have your own bedroom to decompress and integrate, especially if this is your first time). Your future self can thank us later.‍

• Cosmology: (recommendation: choose a retreat that supports your own subjective experience, or one that you feel aligns with you energetically). The energy of the retreat and ceremony leaders will have a profound effect upon your experience. ‍

• Holistic approach: (recommendation: work with an organization that takes a holistic approach to working with medicine, and has options to support and guide your mental and emotional evolution). If a provider implies that "medicine will solve all your problems", proceed with caution (because it won't!).‍

• Service: (recommendation: choose a place that you believe can serve your individual needs. Consider whether or not they've taken the time to get to know you and understand you, or it's more of a take it or leave it retreat center).‍

• Booking process: (recommendation: speak with the provider before finalizing your booking). If it's all online, ANYONE could be sitting next to you in ceremony.‍

• Expertise: (recommendation: work with an organization that emphasizes healing, and you believe has a breadth of expertise to guide your transformation). Look for facilitators and healers who have a lightness of being and a sparkle in their eyes.‍

• Reputation: (recommendation: Google the provider). You may be surprised by what you find. If there's not much information, that is also information :)

• ‍Volunteers: (recommendation: work with an organization that pays their staff). Unfortunately, it is common practice for retreat centers to cycle through young, eager, and worn out volunteers and/or not pay healers fairly. If the people supporting your retreat aren't living their best life, they're not going to be able to lead you to yours.

Given the potential, power, and sensitivity of working with Ayahuasca, who you choose to work with is undoubtedly one of the most important decisions of your life, so we encourage you to take the time and the energy to educate yourself to be able to make a good one. If you're in a position to do so, you may also like to consider a private retreat.

If our recommendations above feel energetically aligned for you, and you'd like to explore a journey with Behold, apply below.

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‍Looking for a little more guidance for one of the most important decisions of your life? Watch this video.

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Ayahuasca is not currently legal in Germany, so looking for underground retreats is not advisable, seeing as the tradition of an ayahuasca ceremony is something that has been approached with great caution and respect for millennia indigenous Amazonian tribes.  The role of a shaman in each ayahuasca journey is to guide and promote a spiritual awakening in each person who partakes of this powerful plant medicine.

If you are looking for an ayahuasca retreat, you would do well to inquire about some of the more certified and well-established organizations and retreat centers, many of which are founded in places where the ayahuasca vine has been decriminalized, or where legal “gray areas” allow for these ceremonies to be held under special conditions.

Here is a list of retreat centers worth looking into, if you wish to know more.

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1. Behold Retreats - Costa Rica, Mexico, Netherlands, Portugal

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With beautiful locations for every retreat center, ranging from beachfront villas or resorts with views of the mountains of rainforest, in Costa Rica, Mexico and the Netherlands, Behold Retreats has a lot of different options for a luxury experience on your next spiritual retreat.

They incorporate a variety of plant medicines into their healing modalities, such as ayahuasca, bufo alvarius and psilocybin, and availability for these ceremonies changes, depending on which retreat you visit.  Their teams of highly-experienced healers and facilitators lead each ceremony, with personalized attention to each client, and free consultation is available online, should you wish to inquire more beforehand.

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2 Soltara Healing Center - Costa Rica

This plant medicine retreat center is located on the beaches of Costa Rica, with a splendid facility led by a team of shamans from the Shipibo tribe of Peru, and works to offer each of their participants a profound healing experience in each retreat.  Group sizes are limited, to ensure more personalized and intimate care, during each ayahuasca ceremony, and Soltara combines knowledge of Western medicine and psychology with the plant medicine healing of indigenous Amazonian cultures.  Retreats range from 5-12 days in length.

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3 Sinchi Runa - Portugal

Sinchi Runa is an ayahuasca retreat center located in Portugal, where work with  plant medicine faces far fewer government restrictions.  This organization believes very strongly in their healing mission, and each traditional shamanic ceremony using the master plant, ayahuasca vine, is led by Maestro Sanango, a man with over 25 years in guiding participants in this inner journey.  Diet and meditation are big parts of their practice, and this would be a good place to look for a very structured and thorough initiation into the ayahuasca journey,

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4 Ayayni Shamanic Retreats - Ireland

While ayahuasca is currently illegal in the UK, Ireland has laws that are not as strict, and Ayayni is one of the ayahuasca retreat centers that has been operating continuously under these conditions for many years.  Founded by (removed by request) , the name Ayayni is taken from the words “ayahuasca” and “aynI,” which describes the deepest level of connection between nature and ourselves.  The team of facilitators for each retreat are highly experienced, and because of the various locations and dates, looking for them online is the best way to find more information about the next possible retreat.

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5 Origen Sagrada - Colombia, USA

This foundation was inspired by a vision from the founder, who saw in it a perfect location to start her retreat center, alongside a river and tropical rainforest in the heart of Colombia.  Origen Sagrada built this EcoResort in that place, and it is filled with the beauty of nature, and each ayahuasca ceremony is led by an ingigenous Amazonian shaman, and a team of facilitators who believe strongly in the power of their own healing experience, and who work to share that with all participants.  If you are looking for a spiritual retreat with a connection to nature, this is definitely a place worth investigating.

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What to look for to find a safe, quality Ayahuasca Retreat?

‍

Like most things in life, there a broad variety of Ayahuasca retreat options, and a number of factors that effect the quality and cost of an ayahuasca retreat that you may like to take into consideration:

• Safety: Many smaller operators are not in a position to invest in safety, and unfortunately, there are too many sad stories out there. (recommendation: choose a retreat that does in-depth screening to ensure your physical, psychological, and spiritual well-being). ‍

• Legality:  Practitioners who have dedicated their lives to medicine work typically live in locations where it is legal, so they don't have to live in a state of "what if". (recommendation: consider whether travelling to a place with "new energy" might be in your best interests).

• ‍Size of the group: It's common for retreats to have 20, 50, even 100 people in ceremony, which can be chaotic. Additionally, you are less likely receive the level of attention from healers that you are probably looking for. (recommendation: choose a retreat with an intimate group of say, 8-15 people).

• Length of the retreat: Shorter retreats feel rushed, and there are limits to what can be done in a few nights. (recommendation: go for at least a week).

• Comfort: (recommendation: spend a little extra for something where you will be physically comfortable and have your own bedroom to decompress and integrate, especially if this is your first time). Your future self can thank us later.‍

• Cosmology: (recommendation: choose a retreat that supports your own subjective experience, or one that you feel aligns with you energetically). The energy of the retreat and ceremony leaders will have a profound effect upon your experience. ‍

• Holistic approach: (recommendation: work with an organization that takes a holistic approach to working with medicine, and has options to support and guide your mental and emotional evolution). If a provider implies that "medicine will solve all your problems", proceed with caution (because it won't!).‍

• Service: (recommendation: choose a place that you believe can serve your individual needs. Consider whether or not they've taken the time to get to know you and understand you, or it's more of a take it or leave it retreat center).‍

• Booking process: (recommendation: speak with the provider before finalizing your booking). If it's all online, ANYONE could be sitting next to you in ceremony.‍

• Expertise: (recommendation: work with an organization that emphasizes healing, and you believe has a breadth of expertise to guide your transformation). Look for facilitators and healers who have a lightness of being and a sparkle in their eyes.‍

• Reputation: (recommendation: Google the provider). You may be surprised by what you find. If there's not much information, that is also information :)

• ‍Volunteers: (recommendation: work with an organization that pays their staff). Unfortunately, it is common practice for retreat centers to cycle through young, eager, and worn out volunteers and/or not pay healers fairly. If the people supporting your retreat aren't living their best life, they're not going to be able to lead you to yours.

Given the potential, power, and sensitivity of working with Ayahuasca, who you choose to work with is undoubtedly one of the most important decisions of your life, so we encourage you to take the time and the energy to educate yourself to be able to make a good one. If you're in a position to do so, you may also like to consider a private retreat.

If our recommendations above feel energetically aligned for you, and you'd like to explore a journey with Behold, apply below.

‍

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