What is standing between you and your dreams? Discover the deep healing an ayahuasca retreat can bring and tap into your own unlimited potential.
Your 11-day Ayahuasca healing journey begins deep within the Shipibo homeland of the Peruvian Amazon. Starting from the bustling riverside town of Iquitos, Peru, we will pick you up and drive to a 2km hike into the jungle where the retreat center is located.
AYA Healing Retreats offers a life-altering opportunity to connect with shamanic healing traditions of the Iquitos region. Those courageous enough to immerse themselves in the process will catalyze profound a spiritual transformation, and return to wholeness.
Whilst on retreat we will enjoy three superb meals per day, freshly prepared by the team at our center. On the days of our Ayahuasca ceremonies, we will restrict this to 2 meals, the last one is not to be eaten after 2pm. All meals are prepared with the best local ingredients and will be mostly vegetarian with the occasional river fish and organic chicken. Please let us know if you have special dietary needs.
All meals will be free from: Sugar, Oil, Salt, Pork, Alcohol, Red Meat
You will also be expected to refrain from communicating via phone, text, and email for the duration of the retreat.
Transform
Nestled along the Amazon river lies El encanto de Chullachaqui, our retreat center, where you will find a tranquil setting which inspires change, facilitates healing, and will help you realize your full potential
“This trip was a dream. It far exceeded my expectations. I felt so welcomed and comfortable, but it also challenged me in ways I didn’t even know could happen.
– Jessica Farrelli
Interested in flexible pricing options? Speak to our program coordinator today
Don Miguel was born into a Shipibo community called Roaboya on the River Ucayali. When Don Miguel was a child, Angel Sanchez Vargas, his grandfather was the community’s curandero. Vargas was an expert in sacred plant medicines and was frequently called upon to heal and share his spiritual wisdom with members of Roaboya. The school built some years later was named after Vargas and Roaboya went on to be recognised as the first indigenous community 114 years ago. Don Miguel grew up surrounded by the Shipibo wisdom and possess intimate knowledge of the sacred plant medicines. At a very young age he began his apprenticeship as a curandero through plant dietas under the supportive guidance of his grandfather. Miguel is also a trained literature professor and thoroughly enjoys teaching the Shipibo language and culture. Since 2012, Don Miguel has spent the bulk of his time at the Ayahuasca Foundation where he supports his brother, Don Enrique in leading lectures, workshops, initiation courses and retreats. Don Miguel will lead our Ayahuasca ceremonies, circle discussions and be available for personal consultations whilst on retreat.
Maestra Juana was born into the Shipibo community of Pahoyan, one of the most powerful Shipibo healing lineages in the Peruvian Amazon. She is around 60 years old, however her exact age is unknown.She has been studying for more than 35 years under Maestra Manuela, Papa Gilberto and Papa Bejamin, who are all members of the highly-respected curandero family, the Mahua family. Juana began her dieta on the mythical Amazonian tree Noya Rao when she was just 20 years old and has dedicated her life to the path of healing ever since. Juana is also very learned in the workings of the human body, possessing an excellent knowledge of the bones and skeletal system. Juana specialises in bone massage and will be available on the Noya Rao retreat to provide our guests with this unique healing experience. We are delighted to have Juana’s expertise, depth of wisdom and fun loving spirit with us on the Noya Rao retreat.
Originally from Italy, and now living in Melbourne Australia, Elio Geusa is the founder of AYA Healing Retreats. Elio is a qualified Social Worker and has over thirteen years experience working both on national and international humanitarian projects. He has worked with people living with intellectual disabilities and mental health conditions. He has also had the privilege of supporting refugee populations to overcome the trauma of displacement throughout Asia, Europe, and Australia. Elio believes that compassionate and inspired action can create meaningful change in the world.
Elio’s grandfather was a highly-respected healer in a small village in southern Italy. From a young age, Elio was drawn to healing as a profession after witnessing the profound differences his grandfather made in the lives of members of their community.
In 2009, Elio encountered the plant medicine, Ayahuasca for the first time. Convinced of its power to cure the incurable, Elio began an apprenticeship under the guidance of Maestro, Vegetalista Manaco Manain. Since 2009 he has continued to deepen his knowledge, experience, and understanding of the workings of the sacred plant medicines, studying the Shipibo traditions under the revered Mahua family and has undertaken numerous Master Plant Dietas with well-respected curanderos in the Peruvian Amazon.
This immersion in the sacred plant medicines of the indigenous peoples of Peru enabled Elio to experience deep and profound healing. He has overcome crippling anxiety and anger as a result of traumatic childhood experiences, healing that was not possible through the Western medical paradigm. His renewed sense of self-worth, love, compassion, and empathy for himself enables him to extend those same qualities to others.
Elio founded AYA Healing Retreats because he is convinced of the healing potentialities of sacred plant medicines. Not only does he hope to share the indigenous wisdom of the ancient traditions of the tribe’s peoples of the Amazon, but he also intends to invest part of AYA Healing Retreats profits into humanitarian projects that are creating a more compassionate world.
Elio is committed to creating a safe, enjoyable, transformative experience for every participant, whilst on retreat please don’t hesitate to approach Elio for help and support as you navigate the complexities of your healing journey.
Anna was born in the United States and is currently based in the Andes of Southern Peru. She is an alternative health advocate, healing is her passion. Anna has devoted her life to healing and continued health education. She offers her clients tools of self-realization and personal empowerment. Anna’s primary focus is on plant-based medicine, yoga, qigong, and music. From an early age, Anna gravitated toward the healing arts. She knew through her own healing and self-discovery that her life’s work and personal fulfillment would be helping others.In 2010 her eight-year path of holistic healing and alternative medicine began at the Ashland Institute of Massage. Soon after she began working with Native American teachers learning Shamanistic rituals; she built on her newfound knowledge through the study of the healing practices across the world; earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Education and Native American Studies from Southern Oregon University in 2014. In late 2014 Anna felt the pull to focus on the ancient rituals of the Amazon. Traveling to Peru in August she had her first introduction to the profound healing capabilities of Ayahuasca. While Peru would eventually become her home; Anna continued to travel extensively through North, Central, and South America on a journey to connect with as many ancient rituals and practices as possible. Along the way, she discovered a natural ability to bridge culture, backgrounds, and unique personalities with the healing powers of the Amazon. By maintaining a strong personal practice of daily meditation and yoga that she learned in India; Anna has also been fortunate enough to share her knowledge of yoga and qigong with others for the last seven years. The foundation of Anna’s life is love, joy, and balance. She has enjoyed the opportunity to collect many ancient healing songs from around the world and is looking forward to releasing her first healing album in the near future.
“The healing plants of the Amazon have opened up my life and expanded my mind to amazing possibilities and opportunities. It’s a joy that this path opened to me, and an honor that I can share this healing with others”
Born in the United States, Adelina began her healing path at the young age of 5 with deep initiations through the womb. Modern-day medicine saved her life and would later unfold her dharma. Rooted in her Native American and Italian heritage, she began communing with the dreamworld and spirits in her early teens. She has always felt deeply guided by her ancestors. In 2011, Adelina graduated from university with a Bachelor’s in Human Behavior and Health Education, intending to attend medical school. She instead enrolled in Massage School and now specializes in modalities such as Polarity, Neuromuscular Therapy, and Trauma Bodywork. Shortly after, she was then guided to Peru and received her 200 RYT in the Sacred Valley in 2015. On this trip, she met the Ancient Mother, Ayahuasca, which changed the course of her life path.
She received many instructions from this plant teacher and shared deep prayers of gratitude. Following the call, Adelina traveled to the sacred lands of Mount Shasta to complete her facilitation certification in Clarity Breathwork. The sacred medicine continued to speak with her in dreams until she met with her again and full trust of this path was born. She has spent the past 3 years assisting in circles and helping in ceremonies. After holding space for so many, she began to realize the importance of grounded integration while working with such intelligent plant allies. This led to an in-depth focus on somatic studies, attachment theory, non-violent communication, and mind-body practices. Coming from a bloodline of addiction and sexual trauma, a lot came to surface while studying. She returned to the amazon to sit with Maestra Juanita and the Master Plant Noya Rao at AYA Healing Retreat Center in 2019 – where her respect for this path deepened even more.
Adelina is now focused on supporting people as they move through their traumas, addictions, ancestral conditions, and unaligned habits. She travels creating sacred spaces through sound healing, dance, breath-work, and somatic body awareness to help reprogram the subconscious. She is fully committed to helping people prepare and integrate their experiences with these ancient plants. Forever a student, she bows in deep gratitude to these sacred medicines and the lineages that hold them in protection.
For more about Adelina: www.adelinavaughn.com
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Our comprehensive screening questionnaire has been developed in partnership with the International Centre for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service (ICEERS). Please take your time to answer it as honestly and with as much detail as possible. This information will remain strictly confidential and will only be used to assess your suitability for a place on retreat with AYA Healing Retreats and keep you safe
Please remember that the purpose of this screening questionnaire is to determine whether plant medicine healing is suitable for you…not whether you are suitable for plant medicine healing. Plant medicines are tools, like any other healing modality and like other tools for healing experiencing them entails certain risks. We need to make sure that our plant medicines will not compromise your wellbeing or harm you in any way before we allow you to begin your healing journey with us. In short, we care about your safety and we need to do what we can to ensure that during your time with us you are not at risk of harm. Plant medicines can be dangerous if the plants are not the right fit for the individual. Your answers to this questionnaire will help us to determine whether the plants we intend to use are going to help, rather than harm you
