Personal Empowerment

We recognize and honor the healer within. The true modality of the medicines we work with is not one of fixing you, but of awakening you to your own inner power, your own capacity to heal yourself. It is only by facing, taking ownership, and reclaiming those unintegrated parts of the self that have manifested as fear, negative patterns, and disease, that we may get to the root cause of our suffering and truly heal.

The path to wholeness is for each person to realize for themselves. Our goal is to provide our guests with the space, tools, and support to discover how to walk their own unique path. For some, it may be working with ayahuasca and connecting to nature; others may resonate more with breathwork, massage therapy, or yoga practice; others may simply find what they need through our community and free online resources – we empower you to find what modalities work for you, what practices and therapies connect you to your truth, the teacher within. By allowing your intuition to guide your experience, you are equipped with the foundation and skill set to maintain the healing work done and integrate the lessons into your life.

Integration

Integration is as important as the ceremonies themselves. It begins during your retreat and continues for the weeks, months, and years after you return home. It is taking the knowledge and lessons learned during your experience and putting them into practice in your life. This can involve changing habits, relationships, or community; approaching life from a new perspective; applying an increased sense of awareness to your thoughts and actions; or working towards a new set of goals and purpose, to name a few.

You will undoubtedly face challenges upon returning home. At Soltara, we place a strong focus on preparing you for this with an actionable, solutions-focused framework that will help you maintain your connection to that healed self. We continue to support your integration process through post retreat integration sessions with a highly qualified support team who have a foot in both worlds – decades of experience working with these medicines, as well as a deep understanding of how to bring these ancient teachings into a modern world. We also welcome you into our global community where you will find continuous support, resources, and fellow guests who have undergone similar experiences and who can help you find your footing as you navigate the sometimes murky waters of the default world.

All in all, we aim to empower you to be your own healer, connect to your true and highest self through sacred ceremony, and then outside of ceremony, through our other modalities, understand what it takes for you to reconnect to and embody that highest self for the rest of your life.

Respecting Tradition

Far from being part of the “New Age” movement, plant medicine healthcare has existed for thousands of years and was a well-established system long before Western medicine developed in the last few hundred years. As more and more Westerners begin to seek this type of spirit-assisted healthcare, it is of utmost importance that we take heed, learn from and respect indigenous healing traditions.

We take seriously our role in the globalization and expansion of ayahuasca and other plant medicines, and believe that the knowledge and awareness of the indigenous culture surrounding them is a crucial part of the healing process. At Soltara, we focus specifically on the Shipibo tradition of ayahuasca and unlike any other center in Costa Rica, for these ceremonies we work exclusively with traditional Peruvian Shipibo healers. They are curanderos (master healers) with decades of training in the Amazon, who have done years of dietas such that they can employ a wide variety of plant spirit allies when working with guests in ceremony. We place a strong emphasis on cultural awareness and elevating indigenous voices and knowledge through our work, resources, and guest lectures. We feel that understanding the cultural background and history of these medicines is an important (and often overlooked) part of the healing, and we strive to right that balance as we bridge the gap between traditional medicines and a modern world.

Education

Knowledge empowers us to make meaning out of our life. It guides us on our journey of awareness and awakening, and deepens our understanding and connection to ourselves and the world. At Soltara, we believe that knowledge and context enriches our experiences and gives us the tools necessary to carry this work back home. Whether through informative media focused on the traditional history, practices, and use of plant medicine work and other healing modalities; workshops that provide you the tools to cultivate your own medicine practices; or integration sessions focused on living to your highest potential, we believe education in all respects continues the legacy and knowledge of those who came before us. It allows us to spread the healing and continue the movement of sustainable, healthy living back home. It is through knowledge and education that we can be most grateful for the full spectrum of abundance that is available to us always, and live out that gratitude in our everyday lives.

Professionalism

We are called to serve medicine in sacred ceremony with integrity, humility, and compassion. By creating a safe space and working only with experienced, well-intentioned healers and facilitators, we uphold the lessons of the medicines and build a foundation of mutual trust, authenticity, and respect. We are not gurus, preachers, or enlightened beings – our healers are healers who humbly transmit the knowledge and healing energies of the plants, and our facilitators are devoted to helping guests face, process, and explore difficult experiences and emotions, handle projections, manage expectations, and surrender to the process. We strive to uphold the highest integrity in everything we do and be a beacon for responsible, safe, and ethical practices, such that our guests feel safe and supported to get the most out of their healing.

Reciprocity

The medicine teaches us that all of life is interwoven and interdependent – none of us exist in isolation, and all are connected. In order to maintain balance and harmony for the individual, community, and society, there can be no taking without giving back. Thus, we are committed to living out this universal law in everything we do, from working closely with indigenous healers and creating employment opportunities for our local community, to promoting conservation efforts through our environmental initiatives, to choosing Costa Rica as our home, one of the most progressive, sustainable, and greenest countries in the world. At Soltara, we celebrate the interconnectedness of all things, and strive to embody the indigenous wisdom and spirit of the medicines and its people in order to be responsible stewards of the Earth and her bounty.