I attended a 14-day women’s retreat with Aya Healing in May. This was my first exposure to plant medicine in this capacity and I was excited to be able to experience it in the heart of the Amazon jungle. The overall center was intimate and as mentioned in their site, is eco-friendly. It humbles and stripes you down quite immediately and allows you to really with yourself, Aya, and Noya Rao (recommend by our Shaman). We actually had amazing weather, with rain only the first two days, and the. Only night/early morning rain thereafter, so we did get spoiled to walk with sandals. The land and caretakers of the retreat were so wonderful, and very hard working, making sure each of us were taken care of food preference and allergy wise, cleaning our tamboo’s, laundry, and everything in between. The facilitators were communicative prior to, and it was wonderful meet them in person and have such an automatic beautiful connection, that you feel like you’re supported no matter what. Such pure hearts who truly believe in the power of plant medicine— as they have sat in ceremonies many more times before deciding to be healers in this path. So grateful for Adelina and Christina! The way they held us, the workshops, the support for the things we needed, and being our sisters as we worked with Mama Juanita. And what to say about Mama Juanita — powerful, intuitive, well-rooted in the Shipibo linage, snd all around adorable. She saw us individually at first to hear our intentions, and she was able to get to know us even more. Lastly, the other women, we really got raw, vulnerable, and shared so many personal stories, and intimate parts of our journey as humans. It was awe-inspiring to be around so many beautiful and amazing women. I’m already considering when I could potentially go back— and feel more prepared after this experience, but it moreso has to do with all the aforementioned people. Without them, I wouldn’t feel that I could do this again. And a quick shoutout to all the animals— the chickens, roster, dogs, boar, monkeys!A few things— mosquitos are a thing— plant based doesn’t really work. Just buy something when you get there if possible. And there are these things called “el sango’s,” which are microscopic little critters and most of us, if not all had to deal with it. They burrow under your skin, can’t see or feel them doing so. The caretakers tried to help and told us to use limes and rubbing it on our affected areas. Sharing so you can bring medicine for them, I don’t think you can entirely avoid them. Red bumps and scratching were really what we dealt with.
