PLANT MEDICINE HEALING
ANANDA LODGE RETREATS
SHIPIBO
At Ananda Lodge, you will have the privilege of working with highly skilled and gentle Shipibo curanderos(as), who are deeply respected for their sacred plant medicines knowledge. Through years of deep commitment and solitude to various master plants, the healers call upon their plant spirit allies to bring energetic healing into the body.
While ayahuasca by itself can be considered deeply healing, it is the skill and level of mastery of the curandera(o) that profoundly impacts the depth of healing. We work with some of the most respected and powerful healers (Onanya) from the Shipibo tribe in the Peruvian Amazon.
Through the singing of their icaros, or sacred healing songs, the curendera(o) deepens their connection with the medicine in relationship with plant spirits and ancestors. This allows them to channel protection, strength, healing and guidance into the ceremony space and when working one-on-one.
“The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts.”
Marianne Williamson
The medicine
Oni, in Shipibo, is the name for the Ayahuasca brew. At Ananda Lodge Retreats, we operate with the highest level of integrity when serving medicine. Ayahuasca medicine that is brewed for our retreats is done with sacred reverence and prayer to provide deep healing for those who consume it.
Ayahuasca supports the energetic body in the process of cleansing, or limpieza. It is through this process of cleansing that we are able to release that which does not serve our highest self. It is this completion of traumatic imprints stored deep within the body that allows us to return to wholeness.
Mother Ayahuasca may not always give you what you want, but she will always give you what you need.
PASAJEROS
As our pasajero, or passenger, at Ananda Lodge Retreats, your well-being, safety, and deep healing is always our number one priority. In order to work with Ayahuasca medicine, you will need to complete a thorough intake form and interview with a CARE team member. This process ensures that the medicine is safe for you physiologically, emotionally, and mentally.
Traditionally, those attending healing ceremonies were not the ones that consumed the medicine; it was the curandero(a) that drank the medicine and performed healing works. Only in the past few decades has this tradition been adapted.
At Ananda Lodge Retreats, our philosophy of Accessible Healing, also extends to those individuals whose consumption is not safe, but still seek deep healing. Therefore, we are here to support your healing journey whether you drink the medicine or not.
“True initiation is a response to an inner call
ing; it requires that you face personal challenges heroically and experience a genuine rebirth into a new way of being.”
Albert Villoldo
C.A.R.E TEAM SUPPORT
Our C.A.R.E. team is dedicated to guiding and supporting you on your journey of integrating plant medicine experiences and helping you to create your own unique path to wholeness. We do this through four core principles: Compassion, Acknowledgement, Reverence, and Embodiment. You can learn more about these principles in our Healing Philosophy.
We understand that individuals seeking healing through plant medicine can be working with stress and trauma, either known or repressed, big or small. As survivors of trauma and stress, we treat each individual with the compassion and care that we each rightfully deserve. Our retreat programs are intentionally designed with a high healer/facilitator ratio , so that we can be fully present to witness and support your healing journey.
Continuity of care
At Ananda Lodge Retreats, we believe in continuity of care and that integration begins with the intake process. We also believe that consistent, clear expectations of care allow for deeper safety in the body and therefore deeper processing of trauma.
Therefore, we offer a unique approach in which you will receive a designated CARE team member as part of signing up for our retreat program. This individual will have a 1:1 conversation with you prior to your arrival and be your designated support partner during your stay, offering individual onsite integration sessions. Post-ceremony, you will also receive two additional check-ins, and the option to join in our monthly somatic integration circles.
At Ananda Lodge Retreats, we believe that we each are innate healers and that healing wisdom is a reciprocal process, meaning that we are divinely aligned to receive healing messages whether you are a pajasero or a facilitator.
“Safety is not the absence of threat, it is the presence of connection.”
Dr. Gabor Mate
The experience
At Ananda Lodge Retreats we believe in creating intimate healing containers. The maximum size for our ceremonies is 14 guests, allowing for deep processing and support from our CARE team members.
Each participant will begin their experience with a traditional vomitivo experience that is deeply cleansing, yet gentle. This helps to create a clean environment for the healers to do their optimal work.
Each retreat participant will receive multiple floral and/or vapor baths throughout the retreat program. This approach allows for enhanced energetic cleansing and supports the curandera(o) in doing their healing work in ceremony.
Plant baths have been used in Amazonian culture for thousands of years and are known to settle the spirit, rid the body of toxins, and protect the energetic body from malaise.
