Your Ayahuasca Questions Answered: An Interview with Retreat Center, APL Shamanic Journeys
The sacred plant medicine known as Ayahuasca is known to offer transformative experiences that can have a positive impact on one's life. Recent research suggests that this medicine may protect and repair certain areas of the brain, increase mindfulness, and aid in the regulation of emotions, which in turn can reduce symptoms of stress and depression. Furthermore, studies indicate that Ayahuasca may be beneficial for individuals suffering from PTSD, as it can facilitate the process of recalling and processing repressed memories. With the recent surge in spiritual tourism related to Ayahuasca, we interviewed APL Shamanic Journeys, a leading center for Ayahuasca ceremonies offering retreats in Spain and Mexico, to gain further insights into the powerful effects of this plant medicine and how to properly integrate the experience into one's life post-ceremony.
9 Ayahuasca Q&As from the team at APL Shamanic Journeys
Ceremony space in Mexico
1. How does someone prepare for an Ayahuasca ceremony?
Preparation for the retreat experience comes from an ancient tradition of dieting with Teacher Plants in the Amazonian rainforest for learning and healing. That is why it is vital to separate dieting into two parts: the first one that ensures the safety of participants, and the second one that allows connecting deeper with Ayahuasca as a teaching plant.
The first part includes refraining from drugs, recreational and pharmaceutical, as well as potent plants that interact with the active compounds in Ayahuasca (MAOIs) as it can cause adverse reactions that may be severe. Apart from drugs, it is essential to exclude all food products (mainly fermented and aged) that contain a chemical compound named Tyramine that interacts with Ayahuasca. These steps will ensure the safety of the experience on the physical level.
The second part, but not less important, is your preparation on mental, emotional, and spiritual levels. This process includes refraining from certain daily activities and behavior patterns that consume our attention. It allows a participant to show their respect for the Ayahuasca as a teacher plant, redirect accumulated attention inward, and form the required readiness and intention for participation in ceremonies. To do so, a participant shall refrain from:
Tasteful food (salty, spicy, and sweet)
Sexual activities
Disturbing information (news, horrors, heavy music, etc.)
Energy-demanding social interactions
Also, it is advised to introduce mindfulness and meditation practices, which will be helpful for intention setting.
2. What support does APL Shamanic Journeys provide participants with?
After you become a participant, your journey starts with completing a screening questionnaire that has to be approved by our off-site medical team to ensure your safety. After completing this step, you stay in touch with our support team to ensure you have all your questions answered. While preparing for your retreat, APL offers an opportunity to join a monthly hosted call with facilitators to address any questions in person and get to know each other. 14 days before the retreat, you will join a group chat where your facilitators and a therapist will support you on your journey to the retreat.
Traditional Ayahuasca ceremony
3. What does a typical ceremony look like at APL Shamanic Journeys?
At APL, we are focused on the work with deep respect for Peruvian traditions of Amazonian Curanderismo - a tradition of healing with plants. That is why every retreat is guided by one or two Peruvian curanderos (healers) who come from the rainforest to share their knowledge about Ayahuasca and other Master Plants. Therefore our ceremonies are hosted strictly following all the traditional rules from our shamans' tribes, such as Cocama, Achual, and Shipibo.
The journey of our participants starts in the evening with a group sound therapy that helps to get rid of unnecessary anxiety and focus on intentions they will address with Ayahuasca. After that, we slowly enter the ceremony hosted in darkness and orchestrated by the sacred songs of our healers.
We expect our participants to concentrate on their connection with Ayahuasca without any distribution from people around. Following the tradition, it is not allowed to verbally or physically interact with people around, and it is required to go into a state of meditation with a lot of concentration and discipline that represents respect for the power of Ayahuasca as a teacher plant and allows to be attentive enough to listen to its teachings. The ceremony lasts for around 4-5 hours with 3 facilitators and 1 therapist supporting participants on their journeys. After the process is completed, everyone can come back home or stay in the ceremonial place in silence under a supervision of a facilitator.
4. How do the Shamans interact with participants during a ceremony?
Traditionally shamans do not interact verbally with participants during a ceremony but navigate their experiences by performing sacred songs, called icaros, to bring energies and beings into the ceremonial space. By connecting with those energies, participants can self-heal and fulfill their intentions.
Apart from ceremonies, our healers host preparation group talks and lectures on Amazonian shamanism as well as offer individual consultations on the ceremonial experiences 2-3 times during the retreat program.
Traditional flower bath taken before an Ayahuasca ceremony
5. How would someone know if they're called to take Ayahuasca?
This reminds us of an old joke: Between the first thing and the second one, always choose the second because if the first one is truly needed, the second one would not appear :)
The same is with the call from Ayahuasca. If you consider it a possibility, it is already called you somehow. Now it is your turn to pick up a phone. Still, it is important to ensure that your participation is safe, considering your past health history and any medication you might be taking. That is why it is vital to inform us about your situation as detailed and openly as possible so our team can advise on the safety of participation and preparation steps.
6. What can someone expect to feel after a ceremony?
It is important to highlight that a ceremony is not a solo standing experience, but a part of a longer process called a retreat. Therefore the range of your emotions during the process may vary from deep introspection to cosmic bliss. That happens as Ayahuasca is tended to be a mirror of someone's interior and brings up everything that one can hold inside. The good news is that in your experience, you are not alone but supported by healers and Ayahuasca herself. With this help, overcoming challenges, releasing destructive mental patterns, letting go past traumas, and finding harmony between your inner state and the outside world becomes possible.
With that said, after the retreat, a participant may expect to feel purified on physical, mental, and emotional levels with the opportunity to fill in the new space with positive changes that come from the integration process after the retreat.
Maestro Pepe speaking with participants
7. What integration support does APL provide post-retreat?
When your retreat ends, you leave the place with a new Ayahuasca-formed family. That is why we keep our group chats open forever. There you stay in touch with your group mates and our facilitators.
Apart from this, every participant can join for free up to 2 online group integration meetings with one of the therapists we host monthly. It helps a lot to continue your process after the retreat and implement the new understanding into everyday life. For those who wish to be supported more, it is possible to set up an individual program with one of APL's therapists.
8. Is there a difference in the retreats and ayahuasca ceremonies offered in Peru, Spain, and Mexico?
When you join our retreats in Spain or Mexico, you go on a shamanic journey with Ayahuasca and Master Plants maintaining the comfort of staying in high-level accommodation and enjoying our modern western facilities. There, we are happy to host newbies and experienced participants who wish to learn more about Amazonian traditions and purify their bodies, minds, and spirits.
In Peru, we invite our participants, who have already been with us in Spain or Mexico, to visit our small traditional camp with no electricity and other modern facilities to participate in Dietas with teacher plants. If the Ayahuasca ceremony is a pike of an iceberg, Dietas with Teacher Plants is it’s underneath part. This is quite a challenging practice of self-isolation and self-discipline with the use of non-hallucinogenic medicinal teacher plants. It allows one to heal on a deeper level and learn about the secret essence of Amazonian Vegetalizmo as a mystical tradition of connection with the powerful healing Spirits of the rainforest.
Breath work class
9. What makes retreats at APL Shamanic Journeys unique and different from other ayahuasca retreat centers?
APL is a place that unites deep respect for ancient Amazonian tradition with a modern understanding of the integration process after ceremonies. That is why at our retreats, we always have a Peruvian shaman with a minimum of 20 years of experience of work with Master-Plants and a western therapist helping with integration in group and individual sessions on site.
It is vital for us to ensure that our participants are not simply joining us to try Ayahuasca out but to learn about the ancient tradition of the Amazonian Vegetalizmo from our Master-Shamans and facilitators. When the retreat program is completed, you will have a clear understanding of the ways of Amazonian curanderos and their practices for healing so you can continue your path with this medicine in a safe, respectful, and empowering way.
As a traditional center, we offer our participants not only to participate in Ayahuasca ceremonies but also to explore other ways of working with teacher plants. At every retreat, our participants can take 2 different medicinal teacher plants to receive their energies and complete their work with Ayahuasca.
All our facilitators passed the traditional training in the Amazonian rainforest in the form of Dietas with Teacher Plants and got certified for first aid assistance and a trauma-informed approach to their work. Their main goal is to share knowledge about the ways of Amazonian healers and create an atmosphere of support and the right understanding of the process for achieving better results.
Apart from ceremonies, our program allows you to relax and experience singing circles, individual and group sound therapy, enjoy a massage on a break day, and educational lectures from our healers about the Amazonian tradition.
After the retreat is completed, your integration journey starts, where you stay in touch with our center, partaking in online group circles. Perhaps one day, you will even decide to visit one of our healers in the rainforest to experience Dietas with Master Plants. We will be happy to support you.
Wrapping Up
If you feel called to attend an ayahuasca ceremony with APL Shamanic Journeys, you can use the code “sitesee” for a free 1-hour private sound therapy session when you sign up. (Send your request via email here).