Ayahuasca is a psychoactive plant brew with a long history of ceremonial use among Indigenous communities in the Amazon region. There are different traditions and recipes, but the brew typically combines plants containing DMT with plants containing compounds that inhibit the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO). This allows DMT to become orally active.

Whatever first inspired people to prepare it, it probably wasn’t the taste.

Ayahuasca can produce significant changes in perception, emotion and thought. Experiences vary widely. They may include vivid imagery, memories, strong emotions, unusual bodily sensations, changes in the perception of time and a different sense of self or surroundings. Some experiences feel meaningful or profound, others may be difficult, confusing or relatively uneventful.

The effects usually last several hours and can also include physical effects such as nausea and vomiting. Because Ayahuasca can interact with certain medications and may not be suitable for people with particular medical or psychiatric conditions, careful screening before participating is important.

What can an Ayahuasca experience be like?

No two Ayahuasca experiences are the same. Some people experience vivid imagery, memories or strong emotions, while others notice changes in bodily sensations, their sense of time or their sense of self and surroundings. An experience can feel beautiful, difficult, confusing, insightful or surprisingly quiet.

It is common to enter a ceremony with questions or intentions, but there is no guarantee that the experience will address them or provide clear answers. Sometimes an experience feels meaningful immediately; sometimes its significance only becomes clearer afterwards, and sometimes there may simply be very little to interpret.

Ayahuasca experiences can also be physically and emotionally challenging. Nausea, vomiting, fear, sadness or periods of disorientation can occur. This is one reason why we consider careful screening, preparation and experienced guidance important.

People sometimes say that Ayahuasca doesn’t give you what you want, but what you need. For some, this can be a helpful way of approaching an experience that unfolds very differently from what they expected. We prefer to leave room for both possibilities: an experience may feel deeply meaningful, or its meaning may remain unclear.

Integration afterwards can help you explore what it means for you.

When should I join an Ayahuasca retreat?

There is no single right time to join an Ayahuasca retreat. People come for many different reasons: curiosity, a period of change, questions about their lives, a wish to explore themselves more deeply, or simply a strong sense that this is something they want to experience.

Many people describe this feeling as being “called” by Ayahuasca or Mother Ayahuasca. For some, that calling feels spiritual or deeply intuitive; for others, it may simply be a growing curiosity that keeps returning. We don’t think there is one right way to understand it.

Feeling called or curious doesn’t necessarily mean that taking Ayahuasca is right for you at this moment. Your physical and mental health, medication, personal circumstances and expectations all matter. This is why we use a screening process before every retreat.

You also don’t need to arrive with a major problem to solve or a life-changing intention. And being uncertain doesn’t automatically mean you shouldn’t come. Questions and doubts can be part of deciding whether this is something you genuinely want to explore.

Our intake is not designed to convince you to participate. It is there to explore whether joining a retreat is appropriate for you, and to give you the information you need to make your own decision.