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Aya Healing Retreats

Seeking Facilitator

AYA Healing Retreats is seeking a Co-Facilitator

Calling In:

AYA Healing Retreats seeks an experienced and trustworthy co-facilitator to support our Retreats in Peru. We offer a variety of retreats and Master Plant dieta outside of Iquitos, Peru.

Who We Are

Elio Geusa founded AYA Healing Retreats, and is housed at the “El Encanto de Chullachaqui” outside of Iquitos, Peru. AYA Healing Retreats was created to empower indigenous communities, re-connection with nature, and create a courageous community committed to love and authenticity in themselves and others.

We facilitate Master Plant dietas and Ayahuasca ceremonies in the Shipibo tradition with plants native to the Amazon region, including Bobinsana, Chullachaqui Caspi, Marosa, Ciric Sanago, Aya Huma, and Noya Rao. Our retreats educate participants on the Shipibo culture, icaros, and healing traditions.

We seek an honest and compassionate co-facilitator role to join our team and support our retreats. 

The Right Fit

The right fit for our retreat practices embodies and strives for honesty, vulnerability, and clear communication and acts as a role model for other participants. We welcome all genders, sexuality, and people of color. 

AYA Healing Retreats is a safe space for participants to befriend their fears, doubts, barriers, and blockages and return with lessons to share. We also expect the co-facilitator to experience navigating their darkness and share the healing stories from those experiences in an empowering way.

Other preferred and desirable skills and experiences include:

Necessary  Desirable

Participation in several Ayahuasca group retreats

Experience working with Shipibo traditions. 

Group retreat support including facilitator, co-facilitator, or other support role Ayahuasca retreat support experience as a role of lead-facilitator or co-facilitator 

Longer dieta retreat experiences (longer equals two weeks or more with one Master Plant dieta )

Participating in our Shamanic Initiation Programs
Have completed the Trauma-Informed Plant Medicine Program with Atira Counselor, yoga instructor, meditator, musician
Knowledge of and connection with plants as teachers Noya Rao, Bobinsansa, Chullachaqui or Marosa specific connection
Social network to advertise our specific retreats Actively enroll participants from your network into the retreat
English speaking and comprehension, Spanish basic  Spanish speaking and comprehension

Expectations and Responsibilities 

Our main priority is the safety, security, and seamless support for our group members on our retreats following the Trauma-Informed Practices. 

The co-facilitator will be expected to provide overall support to the leading facilitator and Shipibo curendero/a inside and outside of Ayahuasca ceremonies. 

Our retreats will be eleven, fourteen, or twenty-six, including five to ten ceremonies. The co-facilitator is expected to attend at least the majority of these ceremonies.

We are seeking a team member whose main daily task will be to conduct various activities/workshops accordingly to the program organized by the lead facilitator and the general flow of the retreat and Dieta. The co-facilitator will teach people to connect with plants as teachers, access plant wisdom, and go deeper into their experience.

A secondary contribution would be providing individual guidance and integration support to participants throughout the Ayahuasca retreat. 

We prefer one who can guide us through experience and sharing.

We are also seeking Yoga Instructors with experience working with Plant Medicines and Ayahuasca for early 2024! 

We love to sing at AYA Healing Retreats, so providing music and song in and out of the ceremony would be a huge bonus!

Exchange

AYA Healing Retreats is committed to fair and balanced exchanges with work contributions. In exchange for the above expectations, we will provide the following:

  • The whole dieta experience includes the Master Plant dieta, and Ayahuasca ceremonies, including plant treatments when possible.
  • Accommodation and food for the full-time the retreat
  • Transportation to and from the retreat center
  • Monetary payment dependent on the number of participants enrolled + referrals by the co-facilitator

 

The co-facilitator will be responsible for the following:

  • Flight costs
  • Visa fees
  • Insurance and other travel-related costs
If you know you have what it takes, please get in touch with us at info@ayahealingretreats.com and provide the following:
  • 1 paragraph relating how you fulfill the necessary and desired skills and experiences
  • 1 paragraph on how you would contribute to the primary, secondary, and overall responsibilities of the co-facilitator
  • 3 references that can speak specifically to your qualifications and experiences in co-facilitating retreats
  • Please add the subject to your email: “Facilitator’s Application.”

 

What to expect from us after submitting your applications:
  • A reply of acknowledgment to your application 
  • Suitable applicants will be contacted via email to schedule an introduction and initial evaluation call with Elio Geusa
  • Final applicants will be invited for a final evaluation with Atira Tan.
  • Final candidates will join our core facilitator’s team to facilitate on different dates commencing from this year and future retreats

LET'S START

Improvements, Pricing Changes, and What’s On The Horizon For AYA Healing Retreats

While living mindfully in the present, we are always excited for the future and we have much in store for the coming year. Among other upgrades to better serve our guests, we will be:

  • adding new staff at the center that offer even better cleaning and laundry services
  • increasing the breadth and depth of training undertaken by our facilitators
  • offering more in-depth one-on-one preparation sessions to all of our guests, in addition to integration sessions
  • purchasing a Kangen machine for healthy, alkaline, antioxidant drinking water rich in minerals and purged of impurities.
  • purchasing additional medical equipment and continued medical training of staff for the safety of all, both here and in our community

Part of our improvement plans include raising our prices starting in 2024 to support our continuing efforts in improving everything that we do. With that said, we will always do our best to keep our prices attainable and within reach for as many people as possible, and we will also offer the possibility of discounts in a few different ways:

  • Earlybird discounts when you book your retreat in advance
  • Deep discounts for return attendees
  • Deep discounts for residents of Central and South America

We will continue to provide payment plans for all of our retreats, please contact us at info@ayahealingretreats.com to discuss options.

We are committed to prioritizing the quality of our retreats, giving you the most personalized and authentic experience possible, and caring for the health, safety, comfort and well-being of everyone who comes to AYA Healing Retreats.

WAITING LIST

What is a Master Plant Dieta?

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Don Miguel

Shipibo Curandero

AKA Senen Yoi - 'Speaking the Truth'

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 leading lectures, workshops, initiation courses and retreats. Don Miguel will lead ourĀ Ayahuasca ceremonies, circle discussions and be available for personal consultations whilst on retreat.

Application

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