AYAHUASCA CEREMONY OVERVIEW
How We Guide Our Ayahuasca Ceremonies at Nimea Kaya
Thank you for your interest in attending one of our traditional Ayahuasca retreats at Nimea Kaya. We recommend reading through the following information on how we facilitate our Ayahuasca Ceremonies, as it will help guide you on your journey with this plant medicine. This is a beautiful, powerful and serious healing journey you are about to embark upon. It is of utmost importance to us that our guests are clearly informed about the process of working with this sacred plant medicine.
Experience the Transformative Power of Ayahuasca Ceremonies at Nimea Kaya
First and foremost we want to convey that you will be working with a master teacher plant and healer, Ayahuasca. This work is for deep multi-level healing and is not for recreation, curiosity or amusement.
Ayahuasca is not a “cure all” medicine yet it can provide deep healing, profound insights and powerful teachings so the participant can learn how to reach their highest potential. It is important that you feel the call in your heart to work with this medicine for genuine healing, expansion and growth in your life.
This process will require great courage, determination, trust and surrender to reach the levels of healing desired. Proper retreat preparation will support achieving long lasting benefits.
Ayahuasca’s Ancient Origins and Traditional Use
Ayahuasca is believed to have been used within shamanic practices for hundreds of years for healing & divinatory purposes. Now, in this time of great change on our Mother Earth, this beautiful plant medicine is availing herself to anyone seeking genuine healing.
Ayahuasca is known for healing through a multilevel process. Also known as “La Purga”, many common ways of purging will be through vomiting, diarrhea, sweating, shaking, crying, yawning, laughing, etc. Often the medicine will begin the healing process first by cleansing the physical body. Ayahuasca will then move more into the emotional, psychological and spiritual areas for further healing.
What to Expect in an Ayahuasca Ceremony at Nimea Kaya
Gathering in the Ceremonial Maloka
The ceremony begins as guests gather in the ceremonial Maloka by 8 PM. This sacred space is where the healing journey unfolds, guided by experienced facilitators and shamans.
Support and Guidance from Trained Facilitators
Each ceremony is supported by a team of 5-6 Western staff members along with two Shipibo Curanderos (healers). Their presence ensures a safe, structured, and nurturing environment for participants throughout the experience.
Sacred Cleansing Ritual
Before the ceremony begins, facilitators perform a smudging and cleansing ritual using sage or palo santo. This process helps clear negative energies and prepares participants for the spiritual journey ahead.
Blessing the Medicine with Icaros
The shaman leading the ceremony blesses the Ayahuasca by singing or whistling their special Icaro (medicine song) into the bottle. This sacred chant charges the medicine with loving energy and calls upon benevolent spirits to guide the experience.
Ayahuasca Administration
Once the medicine is blessed, doses of Ayahuasca are distributed to each participant. The amount given is carefully determined based on individual needs and experience levels.
Duration of the Ceremony
The ceremony typically lasts until midnight, though the effects of the medicine can extend for several hours. To ensure comfort and safety, participants are encouraged to stay in the ceremonial Maloka overnight.
Overnight Support and Assistance
One or two facilitators remain with the guests late into the night, providing assistance whenever needed. Their role is to offer guidance, reassurance, and support as participants navigate their healing journey.
The Transformative Healing Journey of an Ayahuasca Ceremony
Each participant’s Ayahuasca experience is deeply personal and unique. No two ceremonies are the same, as the healing process unfolds in different ways for each individual. It is considered a journey of transformation, where layers of emotional, physical, and spiritual blockages are released.
Purging: Cleansing the Body and Mind
Ayahuasca often begins by purging toxins from the physical body. This process, known as “La Purga,” can manifest through vomiting, sweating, shaking, or other forms of energetic release. Once these physical layers are shed, the medicine can then guide participants deeper into emotional and psychological healing.
Facing the Shadow: Confronting Suppressed Emotions
In modern society, we are often conditioned to suppress painful emotions and past traumas. Ayahuasca brings these buried experiences to the surface, offering an opportunity to process and release them. This can be an intense but necessary part of the journey, allowing participants to break free from limiting patterns and emotional burdens.
Symbolic and Metaphorical Healing
As an intelligent plant spirit, Ayahuasca communicates through visions, symbols, and metaphors. It may take participants into different dimensions of consciousness, where deep insights and realizations occur. Feelings of disorientation or ego dissolution are common, as they signify the shedding of old identities and attachments, paving the way for profound transformation.
Ayahuasca Visions and Spiritual Insights
Visionary experiences during the ceremonies can be very powerful as well. These visionary realms may include geometric patterns, bright kaleidoscopic movements of energy, seeing into the plant and animal kingdoms, seeing spirits, etc.
Although this may come on very early for some guests and not for others, the visionary aspect is not the focus of the experience as often the healing takes place on much deeper levels.
The experience that unfolds is ultimately up to how the Medicine will work with the participant and is dependent on the unique personal experiences that one has accumulated in life.
Preparation for an Ayahuasca Ceremony: Setting Intentions and Diet
Proper preparation is essential for a transformative and healing Ayahuasca experience. This sacred medicine works deeply on the mind, body, and spirit, and preparing yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally will help you receive its teachings with clarity and openness.
Setting Your Intentions
Before attending an Ayahuasca ceremony, it is important to reflect on why you feel called to this journey. Setting clear intentions helps guide your experience and allows the medicine to work in alignment with your needs. Intentions should come from a place of sincerity, self-exploration, and healing. Some questions to consider:
- What areas of my life need healing or growth?
- What emotional or spiritual blockages am I ready to release?
- How can I surrender to the wisdom of the medicine?
While setting intentions is important, it is equally crucial to let go of expectations. Ayahuasca works in unpredictable ways, and true healing comes from surrendering to the process rather than trying to control it.
The Ayahuasca Diet (Dieta)
The Ayahuasca diet, or “dieta,” is a crucial part of preparation, as it helps cleanse the body and align your energy with the medicine. Following the recommended diet enhances the effectiveness of Ayahuasca and reduces the likelihood of physical discomfort. See more info on the Ayahuasca Diet: HERE
The Importance of Letting Go of Expectations and Trusting the Medicine
Approaching an Ayahuasca ceremony with an open heart and mind is essential for deep healing. While setting intentions is beneficial, it is equally important to release expectations and surrender to the process.
Ayahuasca works uniquely with each individual, guiding them through what they need rather than what they expect. True healing comes from trusting the medicine and allowing it to unfold naturally.
This journey is a recapitulative process, meaning that healing often involves re-experiencing and releasing suppressed emotions or negative energies. As the medicine works, it may bring these emotions to the surface, allowing participants to fully acknowledge and purge them. By surrendering to the experience, one can embrace the profound transformation that Ayahuasca offers.
Surrendering to the Healing Process: The Key to Transformation
After participants move through releasing these layers of dis-ease, they often experience a profound sense of gratitude and love. The heavy burdens that were once held begin to lighten, allowing space for a renewed sense of clarity and peace.
Many also gain deep realizations about their life, including insights into past experiences and how they could have been approached differently. These revelations provide guidance on moving forward with a more harmonious, fulfilled, and healthy lifestyle.
Some individuals may reach higher states of consciousness, where they experience communication with the spirit world, their guides, angels, or even loved ones who have passed over.
The range of experiences during an Ayahuasca ceremony is vast. Participants may feel intimately connected to the Universe, sense an energetic shift or DNA upgrade, undergo a Kundalini activation, or even recall past-life experiences. Others may witness divine connections with the plant and animal kingdoms or simply experience a heightened sense of energetic awareness and vibration.
Safety Protocols for an Ayahuasca Ceremony
Ensuring a safe and supportive environment for participants is our top priority. Ayahuasca is a powerful plant medicine that requires careful preparation and guidance. Below are the key safety measures we implement to provide a secure and transformative experience:
1. Experienced Facilitators and Healers
Each ceremony is guided by highly trained Shipibo Curanderos (healers) and experienced facilitators who are well-versed in the medicine’s effects. They provide physical, emotional, and spiritual support throughout the experience.
2. Pre-Screening and Medical Evaluation
Before attending a ceremony, all participants must complete a health questionnaire. Certain medical conditions and medications, especially antidepressants (SSRIs) and blood pressure medications, contraindicate Ayahuasca use. We carefully assess each individual’s health status to ensure safety.
3. Controlled Dosage and Individual Assessment
Doses are given based on each participant’s experience level, physical condition, and sensitivity to the medicine. The shamans carefully observe and adjust the dosage as needed.
4. Physical and Emotional Support
Throughout the night, trained facilitators are available to assist participants with any physical discomfort or emotional challenges that arise. They ensure everyone feels safe and supported.
5. A Secure and Comfortable Setting
Ceremonies are conducted in a safe, enclosed space (Maloka). The Maloka is in a jungle setting where nature’s orchestra may be experienced. Participants are encouraged to remain within the ceremonial Maloka until the morning where there is staff present to provide support.
6. Emergency Protocols
While adverse reactions are rare, our team is trained in emergency response. Nearby medical assistance is available if needed.
7. Dietary and Substance Guidelines
Participants are required to follow a special dieta (diet) before attending the ceremony. This includes avoiding alcohol, drugs, processed foods, caffeine, and certain medications that may interfere with Ayahuasca.
8. Psychological Readiness and Integration Support
We emphasize the importance of coming into the ceremony with a clear intention and an open mind and heart. After the ceremony, integration sessions are provided to help participants process and apply their insights into daily life.
Integrating the Ayahuasca Experience into Daily Life
The process of integrating the ceremonial work after the retreat is essential for successful healing in one’s life. Ayahuasca will be with you long after you leave the jungle. The tools, insights and teachings that you have gained can then be applied into your daily life which will lead to more harmony, creativity, health and peace. Integration oftentimes requires a reevaluation of the circumstances in one’s life that can result in many changes that lead to a healthier lifestyle and environment.
Post-Retreat Support: Guidance After Your Ayahuasca Ceremony
Dissatisfaction with the old routine is common in that you may realize how it no longer serves your highest and greatest potential. It is common as well for “tests” to surface in one’s life so that you are able to apply these insights to maintain a higher vibration that will resonate and uplift yourself and those around you. Post retreat integration support is provided to assist our guests so that they will be able to carry the teachings and tools as they continue forward on the path of life.
~ Thank you for considering taking this step in your life to heal yourself as it also helps heal the “whole”. Blessings ~