Ayahuasca and Integration Q&A with Soltara Healing Center
Ayahuasca is a sacred plant medicine that delivers transformative life experiences. Current research shows that ayahuasca can protect and restore certain parts of the brain, increase the capacity for mindfulness, improve the regulation of emotions, and reduce stress and depression almost immediately. In addition, studies also indicate that ayahuasca may benefit those with PTSD, as it paves the way to retrieve and reprogram repressed memories. Since it’s taken the spiritual tourism industry by storm, we sat down with one of the leading Ayahuasca centers, Soltara Healing Center, to help us better understand this powerful plant medicine and how someone can reap the benefits from integration post-ceremony.
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7 common Q&As from the team at Soltara Healing Center
What does a typical ayahuasca ceremony look like?
In line with the Shipibo tradition, ceremonies at Soltara take place in a large ceremonial circular wooden hut called a Maloca. Our ceremonies begin in the evenings around 7:30 PM, and last anywhere from 4 – 6 hours. Guests sit on their own mattresses in a circle around the outer rim of the maloca space, with pillows, blankets, and buckets in case the need to purge arises during the ceremony. The healers and facilitators sit in the center of the circle. Participants go up individually and drink their ayahuasca dose, which is poured by the healers. We have two Shipibo healers (male and female), two facilitators, as well as an assistant facilitator, with approximately 18 - 22 guests. The facilitators are there to support both the healers and the guests, the assistant facilitator helps guests walk to and from the bathroom as needed and keeps track of who comes in and out of the ceremonial space. After everyone drinks, there will be a period of silence to wait for the medicine to take effect. About 45 minutes to an hour later, once the healers feel the effects of the medicine, they will open up the ceremony space by singing their icaros, or healing songs.
First, they will sing to the space, call in the spirits of the plants and the spirit of ayahuasca, as well as perform any cleaning that is necessary. In addition to singing, they work with tobacco (mapacho) and agua de florida (flower water). After some time, the healers will go around individually and sing to each guest. This healing song will be based on their diagnosis in the moment, the energetics of the space, as well as the guest’s intention expressed during their consultation with the healers. Every person will receive their own healing icaro from both the maestra and the maestro. After making their way around the entire circle of participants, the healers will return to the center of the room and sing continually to the space until the mareacion (visions / effect from the medicine) begins to settle down across the space. Typically ceremonies go from 7:30 pm until somewhere between midnight and 2 am. The length of the ceremony depends on the strength of the medicine, the energetics of the space, and whatever healing work needs to be completed that night.
After the ceremony is closed, the maloca is considered a sacred silent space. Anyone who is still feeling the effects of the medicine or wants to stay in silence is welcome to stay in the maloca overnight. Guests that wish to connect or converse with others can go to the star deck area - where we offer an assortment of tea. Night guards are present just outside of the maloca with a walkie talkie in the event that one of the guests requires support after the facilitators leave the space. However, the facilitators will remain for some period of time after the ceremony and check in on everybody to ensure that everyone is ok. Those that want to stay later in the maloca to rest and sleep are welcome to do so.
As you can probably guess, the medicine works in different ways depending on the person. Visual imagery, as an example, while it can be part of some people's experience, is often less common than one might think from reading or hearing experiential accounts of others. Oftentimes ayahuasca works on a much more energetic level than we may consciously be able to perceive. The experience itself can take many forms, such as physical/energetic work - bodily sensations, physical purging through yawning, laughing, crying, sweating, vomiting, or shaking, to name a few -or deep thought, emotions coming to the surface, mental imagery, reliving past experiences, or a feeling of oneness and connectedness. It can be different not just for every person but for every individual experience. We encourage guests to surrender to the healing work, let go of expectations, and trust that they will get what they need, even if it isn’t in the way they expected.
How do the shamans/maestros help you to heal within an ayahuasca ceremony? What is their role?
The Shipibo cosmology comes from a deeply-rooted and animistic relationship to plants, animals, and the natural world. They believe in a harmonious energy field that pervades all things. This concept of an all-encompassing reality of oneness can challenge the average Western mind, but it is what informs and shapes the efficacy of their healing practices. There are typical patterns that the Shipibo are known for in their art and textiles, which represent the oneness of creation, and connect our world to the spirit world and the powers of Nature. In the same way, the icaros, or healing songs, sung during ayahuasca ceremonies are the audial representation of these patterns. During ceremony, the healer is accessing the geometric patterns of energy from the plants, which transform through the vessel of the Maestro/a to a chant or icaro. The icaro is therefore a conduit for the patterns of creation, which permeate the body of the patient, bringing energetic harmony in a way that penetrates the deeper layers of the patient’s system, releasing negative energetic blockages and their emotional counterparts. The healer knows when the healing is complete, as the design is clearly recognizable in the patient’s body. Oftentimes it takes multiple ceremonies to complete this, and when the completed healing designs are embedded in the patient’s body, this is called an arcana. This internal patterning is deemed to be permanent and to protect a person’s spirit going forward.
As a result of this type of work, in some cases, the healing appears intangible to the typical Westerner during the ceremony itself. We let people know that even if they do not receive any direct insight during their ceremony experience, part of the integration of this work is to be open to the idea that insights may unfold in the days, weeks and months following their ayahuasca retreat, after the energetic work has laid the appropriate foundation upon which the body, mind, and spirit can build.
When a person becomes a healer in the Shipibo tradition, they do so by studying with plants through a series of plant dietas. The dieta is a process of purification in which the dietero makes an effort to connect to the subtle energies of the plant. If they clean their vessel enough and study and work towards connecting with the plant spirits and teacher, the plant will gift them with a song. Through this song, they are able to call in the spirit of that particular plant teacher. The plant teacher can channel their healing energies through the conduit of the maestro’s icaro in order to shift the energy of the space. Through their icaros, the healer will call in the spirit of the plants, open the ceremony space, connect the plant spirits to the energy of the maloca, and work on the energetic bodies of the patients through these songs.
One analogy for the way that the maestros and the icaros work - the maestro is the head surgeon of a hospital and the plant spirit doctors are seen as specialists working on specific issues or energetic knots that are in the patient's body, or working to release specific traumas from the nervous system of the patient. In this way, the maestro is calling in and directing the efforts of the plant spirits to support the movement of this energy through the patient’s body.
In addition to the energetic work being done through the icaros, the maestros will also offer soplars through the use of tobacco smoke or agua de florida (flower water). The soplars can be used in many ways: to bring someone back into their body, to connect someone more deeply to the medicine, or to provide additional clearing and cleaning in certain instances. It can have differing effects depending on where the patient is in their process, as well as what the intention is for that patient's healing during the ceremony. In some instances, the facilitators will also soplar the guests and the ceremonial space. However, the main healing occurs through the healing chants (icaros) sung by the maestros.
Can you explain what an icaro is? What (energetically) is going on when the maestros sing their icaros?
In the Shipibo tradition and cosmology, the icaros are considered the main conduit of the healing work done in ceremony. Icaros are songs that carry intentions and deliver healing. They are the primary medicinal delivery system. These are sung in the traditional Shipibo dialect, and in their culture, the shamans believe the icaros are actually what's doing the healing, not the ayahuasca.
To become a healer in the Shipibo tradition, one must undergo a long apprenticeship, where they will work under a maestro or maestra as well as work with the different master plants in the Amazon. They will participate in plant dietas, which involves consuming small amounts of the plant they are learning from in an effort to connect with this particular plant spirit. They will undergo long periods of isolation in the jungle with limited energy exchange, food restrictions (no salt, sugar), sexual abstinence, minimizing any extra energy in order to clean their own vessel and begin to connect with the spirit of the plant they are dieting. Throughout this diet they will also drink ayahuasca to further connect with the spirit of that plant and learn its teachings. This period of dieta can last anywhere from 10 days to several years. Over time, the person dieting (dietero) will begin to tune into the subtle energies of their plant and if their efforts are sincere, sometimes the plant will gift them with a song. It is through this song that healing takes place. These songs are learned from the plants they studied with, and are the way for the plant teacher to move through the maestro/maestra and into the body of the patient in order to clean or align any misalignments. The ayahuasca helps the healers to connect to the world of plants, but it’s really the songs, icaros, that are doing the healing work.
Historically, only the healer would drink ayahuasca, and the patient would go to a ceremony to receive the healing song. Nowadays, we understand that it's helpful for the patient to drink ayahuasca themselves in order to connect more profoundly to their own energetic bodies and the subtle energies of the space. Ayahuasca is essentially the bridge that allows the healer and patient to connect to the plant spirits. The icaros are a fundamental part of ayahuasca ceremonies within the Shipibo tradition. Oftentimes people will come to ceremony without drinking medicine, and are still able to receive healing from the icaros themselves.
Why is ayahuasca called 'Mother Ayahuasca'?
Within the Shipibo tradition, we don’t refer to ayahuasca as any specific gender. It is called Oni (pronounced oo-ni), which means wisdom, and the healers are referred to as Onanya (wisdom keepers). Oni does not have a gender - it can come to people in the form of masculine or feminine energies. In all of our materials as well as our talks, we refrain from referring to ayahuasca as Mother Ayahuasca at all. The Shipibo feel that there are both masculine and feminine energies in the plant. We don’t want to overlay a gender onto the plant, as it can take different forms for people. This is a common misconception, which comes from many Westerners’ experiences with ayahuasca in which they felt a maternal energy or presence. However, this is not how the Shipibo refer to or connect with Oni.
Integration is a key part of the ayahuasca ceremony -- what does integration look like and how long does it last?
The word integration when referring to integrating psychedelic experiences has become a buzz word of late, and for good reason. The term refers to enacting any lessons, insights, wisdom and experiences from your plant medicine or psychedelic experience into your life. It is the bridge between the experience itself and the eventual embodiment of these insights in your life afterwards.
Integration really is a lifelong process, just like the healing journey. Integration of a specific journey can take days, weeks, months, or years. You may find that healing is more like a spiral rather than a straight line. It is common to revisit the same wounds and triggers again and again, but with a new opportunity to face them differently. If you notice that you are responding differently or with more conscious choice, that space in itself is a sign of healing and growth. Understanding and taking back your own power over how you live your life, and taking a different approach to the same wound or the same trigger is the work of integration. We continue to return to the situations in our lives with new understanding and perspective, allowing us to make conscious choices about how we want to show up. Acting from that deeper understanding is integration.
So how do you take the wisdom that you’ve gained and actually enact change in your life? Integration can look differently for everyone. It is as unique as each experience and each person is. It can mean changing habits or patterns. It can mean understanding at a deeper level one's relationship to oneself or others, and taking active steps to change or communicate within those relationships. It can mean making different choices based on the different perspectives that you've gained within your ceremony. Bringing the lessons and deeper understandings of yourself into your body by connecting with your body in different ways through embodiment practices, movement, somatic work, etc. Integration can involve creating space - thereby allowing a new way of living life to emerge from that stillness/non doing. It can also look like weaving ceremony and ritual into your life. Changing belief systems, changing the way you view life and approach it. Opening up a relationship to plants and the natural world. Opening up to your spirituality, or to your emotional life in a different way. Allowing a deeper connection to your inner child. Learning to respond rather than react. Understanding that the way you move through life is a result of the experiences you’ve had, and the way that your nervous system has held onto and processed those experiences. Creating practices and making space to be able to reconnect with those new insights is the work of integration, and is the bridge for creating positive change in your life and the world around you.
At Soltara, we place a strong focus on integration and have a robust aftercare program for all of our guests, including a private online community, The Maloca, with resources, groups, regular live events, and a trusted network of practitioners and teachers to support guests in continuing their healing journey.
It's commonly said that people will feel called to take ayahuasca when the time is right in their life. What does that look like for people? How will you know if you 'have the call'?
It seems that ayahuasca is calling more people into ceremony than ever before. This call looks different for everyone, but one way to describe it is a persistent tugging or energetic pull towards ceremony. Sometimes, people will sense the spirit of ayahuasca visiting them in their dreamtime or during their meditation practice. Other times, they may learn about it from a friend’s experience or read about it on the internet, and some type of preoccupation or longing sets in. It’s also common for people to consider working with ayahuasca when they are seeking deep transformation or release - and they may have some knowledge of its ability to provide healing at the root level. It is challenging to tell anyone else what it will feel like when they ‘have the call’, as this is something that will be communicated to each individual in a language that they uniquely understand. Ultimately, it is coming from a deeper place within us, and eventually it is something that is hard to ignore.
Even when someone has the desire to come on retreat, there may be strong feelings and compelling thoughts that arise to challenge their decision. There may be parts of ourselves which feel threatened by the prospect of drinking ayahuasca as it is possible to encounter challenging emotional material in the healing process, and there are certain defense mechanisms that have kept this material in the unconscious. If you notice both a desire to come on retreat as well as the arising of doubt/fear, this can be a valuable place to engage in personal inquiry and bring curiosity to your experience. It is also an opportunity to listen on a deeper level and connect to one’s motivation in working with this powerful plant medicine.
All this to say, the call to drink ayahuasca can be a multifaceted process. If you feel that you are being called - create space for this possibility, and engage with this calling as the beginning of a healing journey. Whether or not you decide to come to ceremony, you will likely learn more about yourself and the deeper parts of your being that are seeking healing and expression.
How can you best prepare for an ayahuasca ceremony?
Following the dietary requirements in preparation for your retreat helps to lay the groundwork for the medicine experience, demonstrates respect for the process and commitment to your healing, and prepares your body to receive the medicine. It can also reduce the amount of cleansing needed to be done in ceremony, in order to allow the healing work to unfold more easily.
As you begin to strip away the things that may have acted to cover up deeper emotional material and habitual patterns, you will likely notice strong emotions start to rise to the surface. This is perfectly natural, and is an important part of the healing process. Consider giving yourself extra compassion and space during this time to process these emotions and allow them to move through your body and being. Allow yourself extra kindness and understand that the healing is already happening.
Before coming into ceremony, it is useful to spend some time exploring what may be hidden in the depths and to have a feeling of intention in terms of engaging in this personal discovery. Recognizing that unconscious material (be it in the form of memory, emotions, physical sensations) can rise to the surface and be available to our conscious awareness in previously impossible ways. Being prepared for what one may encounter can go a long way if something surprising arises during a ceremony. Additionally, by engaging in the process of setting intentions, we can prime our subconscious mind to reveal certain insights to us. Either way, preparation is an essential part of the ceremonial experience.
As part of our preparation, we offer tools to meet this part of the journey, and we also offer support in the form of personal and group preparation sessions. If you’re coming to work with us at Soltara, you are welcome to connect with one of our therapists or join a plant medicine preparation call. This can be a great way to process whatever is coming up for you, address any anxieties about the experience, and set the foundation for the work you will be doing. Consider opening up a dialogue with ayahuasca through your meditation practice or by making an offering to the medicine. At times this preparation work can feel uncomfortable. We will be asked to look at our wounds and see the things that are holding us back in order to see where the healing needs to happen, learn what needs to be learned, and effect positive change in our lives. Seek support if you need it - from your community, from a therapist, or from someone on our team.
Wrapping Up
If you feel called to attend an ayahuasca ceremony, you can visit Soltara’s website to check the availability of retreats at both their Costa Rica and Peru locations.