Ayahuasca can be a powerful tool for healing and for spiritual and emotional growth. In simple terms, it can feel like a very clear mirror that shows you what is really going on inside you. With the right mindset and a safe, well-run setting, it may help you see the roots of fear, trauma, and other emotional pain that shows up in your life. From a place of compassion, it can help you understand your inner patterns and support you in letting go of habits that no longer serve you. That said, it’s important to have enough time, a supportive environment, and skilled healers and facilitators who can help you work with whatever comes up and fully trust the process.

With proper screening, preparation, a safe “container” (the overall structure and support of the retreat), and good integration afterward, serious negative psychological effects are rare. However, some medical conditions do not mix safely with Ayahuasca, including (but not limited to) schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and psychosis. Some medications are also not compatible and should be discussed with your doctor. You should only consider a retreat if it is safe for you, and only change or taper medications under medical guidance.

Beyond medical issues, an Ayahuasca experience can become unsafe if the healers are inexperienced, if the brew includes added plants that may react poorly, if the retreat lacks strong support and safety practices, or if someone takes multiple different plant medicines close together (“medicine stacking”), which can overwhelm the system and leave someone feeling ungrounded.

At Soltara, your safety, well-being, and healing are our top priorities. Our goal is to help each person get the most from their experience in a careful, supportive way.

We work only with highly experienced Indigenous Shipibo healers from the Peruvian Amazon. We are connected to respected family lineages with generations of training and decades of hands-on experience. This helps ensure they can hold ceremony safely and effectively. Our facilitation team also has decades of experience and has supported thousands of guests.

Our Ayahuasca brew uses only the two main ingredients – Ayahuasca vine and chacruna leaf – and is sourced in a sustainable, regenerative way from trusted providers in Costa Rica. We also focus specifically on working with Ayahuasca, without other plant or psychoactive medicines, because we believe it’s important to give this tradition and medicine the space to do its best work.

In addition to our on-site team of skilled healers and facilitators, we consult qualified professionals during screening and preparation. Our medical intake process is thorough and includes a detailed questionnaire during registration to help reduce risk from adverse interactions, as well as a 1:1 intake call and any required follow-up. We also have on-site staff trained in first aid, a local doctor on call, health checks before and after the program, 24/7 facilitation support, and a fully stocked medical kit onsite. Finally, we include a 1:1 preparation call with a member of our preparation team for each guest as part of the retreat. Our safety protocols are designed so you can make the most of your retreat and feel supported – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

We take integration just as seriously. A powerful experience and an initial “clearing” can be an important start, but it is usually only the first step in a longer, often lifelong process. For healing to last, we believe people need tools and support to bring what they learned into daily life. We also aim to provide longer-term support so the changes can stick. Much of our team has worked at other retreat centers, and we saw how much most people needed ongoing connection and guidance after returning home. You can read more about our integration program here and our safety protocols here.

We work only with highly experienced Indigenous Shipibo healers from the Peruvian Amazon. We are connected to respected family lineages who have trained with this medicine for generations and have decades of experience. This depth of training helps them hold ceremony safely and effectively. We rotate our healers so they can balance time with their families and communities in Peru while also serving at our locations in Costa Rica. For every ceremony, we work with one female and one male healer, and you will work with the same healers throughout your entire retreat. You can learn more about our healers and their individual stories on our team page.

Ceremonies take place in a large, circular hut called a maloca, which is the traditional Shipibo ceremonial space.

During ceremony, each guest has their own mattress arranged in a circle around the outer edge of the maloca, along with a pillow, blanket, and a bucket in case they need to purge. Bathrooms are just outside. Our facilitators are available throughout the ceremony to assist anyone who needs help.

The healers and facilitators sit in the center. During ceremony, the healers will come to each guest’s mat and sing a personal icaro (a healing song) based on your intention and what they sense is needed. The Shipibo tradition typically uses song as the primary healing tool, along with mapacho (sacred tobacco) and flower water. We have one female and one male Shipibo healer, plus three facilitators, for a group of about 18–22 guests.

Ayahuasca affects different people in different ways. While some people do have vivid visuals, it is often less common than many people expect. In many cases, Ayahuasca works on an energetic or emotional level that can be hard to describe.

People’s experiences can include physical and energetic sensations (like yawning, laughing, crying, sweating, vomiting, shaking), deep thoughts, strong emotions rising to the surface, mental images, revisiting memories, or a feeling of unity and connection. The experience can change from person to person and from one ceremony to the next.

We try to reduce the expectation of visions, because even when visions happen, they are not always the main part of the healing. Often, the deeper work happens in the body. Sometimes visions can be distracting; other times they can help the mind understand what is happening. We encourage guests to let go of expectations, trust the process, and believe they will receive what they need—even if it looks different than they imagined.

Shipibo beliefs come from a deeply rooted relationship with plants, animals, and nature. They see life as an interconnected energy field that exists in everything. This idea of deep “oneness” can feel unfamiliar to many Western minds, but it shapes how their healing works. The patterns in Shipibo art and textiles represent this interconnected reality and the connection between our world and the spirit world. In a similar way, icaros (healing songs) are like an audible version of these patterns.

During ceremony, the healer connects with the energetic patterns of the plants, and through the healer’s voice, those patterns become an icaro. In this view, the icaro carries a “design” that moves through the person’s system, helping restore balance and release energetic blocks and related emotions. The healer knows when a healing pattern is complete because the “design” becomes clear in the person’s energetic field. Often this takes multiple ceremonies. When the healed “designs” are fully embedded, they are called an arcana. In the tradition, this is considered lasting and protective for the person going forward.

Because this kind of work can be subtle, it may feel hard to “see” during the ceremony—especially for those with a more Western mindset. We tell guests that even if they do not get clear insights during the ceremony itself, insights may unfold over the days, weeks, and months afterward, once the energetic work has created the right foundation.

Ayahuasca can involve purging, including vomiting or diarrhea. If you need help getting to the bathroom, our facilitators are available and will show you an easy way to signal them.

It’s also important to know that “purging” can mean many things. For some people it may look like crying, yawning, sweating, shaking, or laughing. Our facilitators are trained to respond to many situations, and we aim to care for you quickly, calmly, and kindly if anything challenging happens physically. As we like to say, “everything is normal on Ayahuasca.” Whatever happens is okay, and there is nothing to be ashamed of.

Choosing where to take part in this sacred experience is extremely important, and it can strongly affect what you get out of it.

Wherever you are considering, our first suggestion is to check in with yourself: does it feel right? Next, make sure you clearly understand the healers’ training and experience, and whether the retreat provides a strong, safe container—both during the retreat and afterward.

Key things to ask about include: who trained the person leading ceremonies; their lineage; who their main teacher was and that teacher’s experience; how long they apprenticed; where they trained; what tradition they follow (if any); and how long they have been holding ceremony. These details help you understand whether they can safely hold the “energetic container” of the space.

In Shipibo and some mestizo traditions, one useful measure of training is the number of master plant dietas a healer has completed. A dieta is part of apprenticeship where the student spends time in isolation with a strict diet, drinks small amounts of tea made from a specific master plant, and connects with that plant through ceremony. Over time, this is believed to cleanse the body and spirit and help the healer learn the plant’s subtle energies. In this tradition, healers receive their icaros (healing songs) through this deep connection with master plants during dietas. This is a general overview of an important part of training in these traditions. A healer who runs ceremonies independently will often have done at least about five years of diets.

You can read more about the healers we work with at Soltara here.

Other factors to consider include the ratio of healers/facilitators to guests, and overall group size. A very skilled healer may be able to hold space for about 10–12 people alone, but larger groups often require multiple healers and strong facilitation to keep the space safe and stable. You should also ask about the brew: where it comes from and whether anything is added besides Ayahuasca vine and chacruna leaf. If there are admixtures, you should know exactly what they are and why they are included. Some added plants (such as certain strong trees or plants) can be risky if not handled by someone properly trained and “dieted” to work with them.

At Soltara, we work with two healers (one female and one male from the same lineage) and 2–3 facilitators, with a maximum of 22 guests. Our Ayahuasca contains only the two main ingredients: Ayahuasca vine and chacruna leaf.

Also, be cautious about retreats that combine many different medicines or traditions in a short time. Soltara believes it is important to work with each medicine on its own, both for your body’s stability and out of respect for each master plant teacher. This is one reason we recommend avoiding other psychoactive substances for at least 30 days before and after your retreat.

Finally, ask about integration and follow-up support: What support do they offer during the retreat (between and after ceremonies) and after you return home? Do they have experienced integration therapists or coaches available? Do they provide resources and ways to stay connected to the community? Do they prepare you with workshops, sharing circles, and practical tools for common integration challenges? For context,you can read more about Soltara’s integration program here.

We hope these guidelines help you choose what feels right for you. If you have more questions about how we work with medicine at Soltara, please reach out through our Contact page.