CURRENT TRAVEL TO PERU IS SAFE AND OPEN! CLICK HERE TO READ MORE

Aya Healing Retreats

ABOUT US

Your Shipibo Healers

WISDOM OF THE INDIGENOUS ELDERS

The Indigenous peoples of our world have lived in harmony with the natural environment for thousands of years. The wise elders of these traditions have much to teach us about our role as custodians of the earth and about the central importance of spiritual growth to a life lived well. Learning to take only what we need, to waste little, to honour our ancestors, to listen to our bodies and to the natural world are but some of the teachings these wise elders can share with us. At AYA Healing Retreats, we recognise the sacredness of these teachings and we draw from this generational wisdom passed down through the centuries to offer a powerful, authentic and life-changing healing experience.

We are blessed to have our curanderos / curanderas bring their expert knowledge of sacred plant medicines to our retreat center. Their primary role is to guide participants in directing the energy flow of the plant medicines, paving the way for a profound healing experience.

Ā 

Don Miguel

Shipibo Curandero

Maestra Juana

Shipibo Curandera

Papa Gilberto Mahua

Shipibo Curandero

OUR VISION

  • Empowered indigenous communities whose sacred healing traditions and native lands are respected and revered by the Western world.
  • Reconnection of all who are willing with nature, The Amazon and the powerful spirits dwelling in sacred medicinal plants.
  • A community of courageous people who are empowered to embrace their shadow and create a more loving and authentic life for themselves and for those who are less fortunate.

OUR MISSION

  • Facilitate profound spiritual, emotional and physical healing through sacred plant medicine.
  • Provide expert education in shamanism and sacred plant medicine informed by the Shipibo tradition.
  • Empower our guests to connect deeply with their intuition and to build a life-long relationship with the spiritual realms.
  • Bridge the gap between indigenous Peruvian Shamanism and Western culture.
  • Provide an exclusive once in a life-time experience deep within the heart of the Amazon rainforest.

OUR VALUES

  • Love:Ā For ourselves and for the environment
  • Compassion:Ā For ourselves and others as we prepare to face our truth
  • Respect:For the ancient wisdom and sacred healing traditions of the peoples of the Amazon Basin
  • Commitment:Ā To our healing journey and to the replanting and regeneration of native plant medicines
  • Transparency:Ā With our guests and non-for profit partners
  • Gratitude:Ā For the healing we experience, the opportunities we have in life and the generosity of the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon

Your Caring Facilitators

Sacred plant medicine healing can be a confronting experience. You will likely feel a variety of distressing emotions and be faced with shadow aspects of your personality and upsetting memories. The confrontation with these uncomfortable thoughts, feelings, and visions can cause us to panic, feel fear, to cry, scream and to vomit. Whilst uncomfortable, for the body to purge past trauma it must first have a chance to detoxify and rid itself of all that is preventing deep and enduring healing to occur.

The role of our facilitators, who all have extensive experience in sacred plant medicines and various psychological and creative therapies is to support you to locate the courage you need to move through the difficulty. Their primary role is to ensure your wellbeing. Our facilitators will create a loving, compassionate space in which all participants feel safe, respected and free to express themselves authentically.

Elio Geusa

Founder

Vocal Awakening Guide, Soulsong Revival

Facilitator, Trauma Expert, Integration Support

Kara Cura

Facilitator, Sound Healer

Kris

Lead FACILITATOR

Karo Munay

Facilitator, Women’s group

Adelina Vaughn

Facilitator, Women’s groupĀ 

Warren

Medical Doctor, Cardiologist, Facilitator

Maia

Yoga Teacher,
Facilitator

Sancya

Facilitator

Mathis

facilitator

Anna

Facilitator

Mariri

Facilitator

Iggy

Facilitator
Integration support

Chloe

Integration Support

Iggy

Facilitator
Integration support

Lulu

Administrative Assistant and Social Media Guru

Tranquil Retreat Centers

our home

Our new home and the location for the majority of our Ayahuasca Retreats. We are very grateful to be able to share this incredible healing space with many rare plant spirits in the area which are great teachers and catalysts for your healing journey and self actualization.

Limited Time Retreats

We understand not everyone is able to make it out to peru, and want to offer a more convienent solution to make powerful healing experiences more accessible.

Life Changing Retreats

Your Giving Back

Sacred plant medicine is a tool for realising profound spiritual, emotional and physical healing. These traditional medicines are gifts; gifts that over centuries have been cultivated and used by the indigenous tribespeople of the Amazon Basin to transform lives.Ā As the direct recipients of this healing it is our social and personal responsibility to ensure that we use our new-found knowledge, wellness and transformation for good.Ā 

AYA Healing Retreats is committed to creating a more compassionate, safe and equal world. Which is why we support one extraordinary humanitarian project.

We are 100% transparent with our community. We will regularly update all participants of our retreats on how their contributions are being used to effect genuine changes in the lives those our partner NGOā€™s support.

We will also visit, monitor and report back on the impact our donations are making.

Our Alliances

We only send useful content or promotions

Ancient wisdom, right to your inbox

The Shipibo Tribe

The Shipibo people have a population of between 35,000 and 40,000 people and are one of the largest and most resilient tribes in the Peruvian Amazon. Today, the Shipibo live in approximately 150 small communities nestled along the Ucayali River. Around 1600, Spanish missionaries first began to flood the Amazon rainforest, looking to convert the Shipibo to Christianity and to colonise the region. The Shipibo resisted and it wasnā€™t until 1950ā€™s that Christian missionaries attempted once more, with varying degrees of success to convert the Shipibo people. The Shipibo people are a resilient tribe, and despite numerous attacks on their culture and traditions, they have retained their traditional knowledge and customs.

The Shipibo people are deeply respected for their knowledge of the sacred plant medicines, ceremony and their spiritual connection to the rainforest environment. Traditionally, the Shipibo women, or Shipibaā€™s are artisans and are responsible for creating intricate and beautiful pottery, textiles and jewellery. The ceremonial songs, or Icaros and the energy that the songs produce is used to inspire the visual aesthetics of the Shipiboā€™s textiles, resulting in designs that are truly unique and hypnotic.

Several terrible political policies in the past have led to widespread degradation of the Shipiboā€™s natural environment. Increasing pollution of the waterways, unsustainable palm oil plantations, oil spills and the predominance of multinational oil and timber companies is an unrelenting threat to the Shipibo people. With this is mind, AYA Healing Retreats is committed to not contributing to the devastation of the Shipibo people that has been legislated by the Peruvian government for decades. We are committed to supporting the Shipibo peopleā€™s right to self-determination and to contributing what we can to restoring the vitality of the Amazon Rainforest.

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 communityā€™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.

Maestra Juanita

also known as Isa Yaka- Little Bird

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 Juanaā€™s expertise, depth of wisdom and fun loving spirit with us on theĀ Noya Rao retreat.

Gilberto Mahua

SHIPIBO MAESTRO

Papa Giilberto Mahua

Papa Gilberto Mahua was born into a lineage of renowned Shipibo healers. His grandfather, father and earliest ancestors were all respected curanderos, who, Like Gilberto, were initiated into the plant medicine tradition at a very young age. Gilberto completed his first master plant dieta at the age of 11. For eighteen months, Gilberto saw only his father and uncle who were guiding him through the dieta and his two brothers who are also being apprenticed in Amazonian plant medicine. Ayahuasca and Tobacco along with Ayahuma, Bobinsana, Huaira Caspi and Chiric Sanango formed the basis of his initial journey with master plants.
Since that time, Gilberto has accumulated close to 60 yearā€™s experience working in concert with master plants to promote healing in himself and others. He is regarded in his local community along the Ucayali River and throughout the West as a healer of great integrity, wisdom and excellence. Gilberto is revered not only for his experience and expertise but for his commitment to keeping the Shipibo healing traditions alive at a time when their culture faces ever-increasing political and environmental threats.
Gilberto is regarded as a father to his students. He cares deeply about the healing journey of each and every person and brings great compassion and strength to our ceremonies. His kindness and compelling presence coupled with his singular expertise create a container of safety that enables students to truly surrender to the healing process.

Elio Geusa

Founder - Lead Facilitator

Elio Guesa

Elio Geusa is the founder of AYA Healing Retreats and is a qualified Social Worker with over thirteen years of experience working both on national and international humanitarian projects, supporting adults experiencing mental health and intellectual disabilities, and refugee populations throughout Asia, Europe, and Australia.

Elio believes that loving and inspired action can create meaningful change in the world.

Elio has been devoted to the path of plant medicine and Ayahuasca since 2009 and began an apprenticeship under the guidance of Maestro, Vegetalista Manaco Manai. In his long time in Peru, 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 and healing that trauma imprints that were 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 Indigenous people of the Amazon, but he also hopes to make a bigger difference by investing profits from AYA Healing Retreats into humanitarian projects that create a more compassionate world.

Lindsey Wise

Vocal Awakening Guide, SoulSong Revival

Lindsey Wise

Lindsey has spent the last decade gathering people from all over the world to sing healing medicine songs and mantras. Sheā€™s the founder of Global Sisters Song Circle and Global Song Circle that gathers on new and full moons. She uses music and movement to break down the emotional and energetic barriers that keepĀ womenĀ stifled.

Following the birth of her first child, Lindsey Wise bled to death. During this Near-Death Experience, she found herself surrounded by multitudes of light beings, who initiated her into the world of subtle energies and healing vibrations. At that moment, she realized that all beings create their own unique vibrationā€”their soul song. Each personā€™s soul song makes up the great Choir of Life.

Lindseyā€™s work is to awaken humanity to the healing power of the voice. She has traveled the world and the astral realms, cultivating healing techniques to help people awaken to the power of their own voice and to the healer within. Lindsey is an E-RYT 500 certified yoga teacher. She blends yoga, breathwork, guided journeys, energetic healing, and community song to help people overcome fear and anxiety and to clear the energetic blocks that limit expression.

For more about Lindsey:Ā www.lindseywise.com

Atira Tan

Trauma Specialist - Integration Support

Atira Tan Portrait Photo

Hailing from her native Singapore Atira Tan, now based in Melbourne Australia, has over 15 years experience healing trauma through yoga, mindfulness, art, and counseling. Atira has a Masterā€™s Degree in Art Therapy from Latrobe University, Melbourne,Ā she was featured on TED X, is the founder of Art to Healing and the annual international Yogathon event, Yoga for Freedom. Atira works extensively throughout Asia and Australia in various projects that are centered around healing and empowering women and girls who have been sexually abused and violated through the sex trafficking industry.

From 2004 onwards, Atira established numerous clinical art therapy and trauma recovery programs and has partnered with international organizations to bring art therapy, somatic therapies, yoga, mindfulness to the refugee camps of Burma, the war zones of Cambodia, the brothels of Kathmandu, regions devastated by earthquakes in Nepal and to remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. In addition to her not-for-profit work, Art to Healing, Atira works as a clinician and clinical supervisor in Australia and the Asia Pacific region and as an educator in Transpersonal Art Therapy. Like Elio, Atira is dedicated to creating the space for transformative experiences to occur for each participant. She is the head of our integration team and as well as teaching yoga on selected retreats, she will facilitate your post-retreat integration sessions via Skype.

More about Atira Tan:Ā atiratan.com

ā€œMy mission is to inspire others to step into their TRUTH, toĀ LOVE themselves wholeheartedly and toĀ EMPOWERĀ their uniqueĀ EXPRESSIONĀ in the world.ā€

Kara Cura

Facilitator, Sound Healer

Kara Portrait

Kara has spent her life expanding her healing gifts, offering counsel to many, and building her career around the pillars of healing while offering services in many areas such as art and art therapy, music and sound healing, hands-on healing through Reiki and deep integrative trauma release bodywork and studying what draws her into deeper realms of healing through plant medicine, healing the body with food, and daily practices to keep the body and mind centered. Growing up with parents in the US that loved to travel, Kara realized at an early age that she loved traveling. Now spending the majority of her time in South and Central America, Peru and Guatemala have become her new homes.

In 2005 Kara met Ayahuasca and the introduction was life-changing for her. After moving into the work slowly ā€“ about 4 years only sitting once every two years ā€“ it wasnā€™t until she met her first teacher that she heard the calling to the medicine in a deeper way. After that calling, she began a serious 7-year study of this sacred plant medicine and found herself in Peru. Studying and learning from some of the most revered Shipiboā€™s curanderos in South America. Today she focuses most of her learning time with the Mahua family and the Gomez family in the Peruvian Amazon.

Her work with the Amazonian plants has deepened her own journey into facilitating retreats with her teacher(s), hosting her own retreats, and offering ceremonies. One of her main focuses in these spaces is integration. Kara believes the most important work comes during the time after the retreat ā€“ how we integrate the plants and their knowledge into our own daily lives is the key to successful plant medicine healing.

Kara offers facilitation and ceremonies that are built with the participants and their own intention. Holding a light to their goals and journey, Kara brings seven (+) years of study and practice to the circle, holding you with love, healing and humor, and with creative solutions and paradigms to help allow new information to integrate into your soul. Kara believes this is the best work we can offer to our own development. You can find more information about Karaā€™s offerings atĀ www.karacura.com.

ā€œThe medicine path is what I know, and the calling is an honor. May my path always hold me in love and allow me to guide others along their own unique healing. May we all rise to our highest expressions of self and hold the light for our fellow brothers and sisters to do the same. Together we change the world.ā€

Kris

Facilitator

Kris has been living for seven years in the Peruvian Amazon. Originally from Barcelona, she followed a calling to be of service to the indigenous elders. As soon as she arrived, Kris deeply immersed herself in the traditional knowledge of the rainforest.

She was an on-site facilitator and administrator for an Ayahuasca retreat center for five years. Her role enabled Kris to work closely with Ayahuasca and other plant medicines, facilitating Ayahuasca retreats and plant medicine dietas. She helped participants integrate and process their experiences and made sure the retreats ran smoothly.

For the past six years, Kris has forged a deep and very close relationship with the Matses tribe, who initiated and taught her how to work traditionally with Kambo.
During her time in the rainforest, Kris has worked and collaborated with many powerful curanderos from different lineages and tribes, giving her a broad depth of knowledge about Amazonian plant medicines.

Those experiences ignited a passionate love for Amazonian herbalism, and she has dived deep into plant medicine alchemy for the past seven years.

Kris currently works at Aya Healing Retreats, facilitating the groups and establishing a deep connection with the local Shipibo community.
She also offers Amazonian Herbalism training courses and has started her apothecary creating pure essences from these Amazonian plants and Master Plants.

Kris is a solid bridge keeper between the indigenous cultures and practices of the Amazon, and the West, bringing a unique perspective from her direct experience.
Kris is a strong jungle medicine woman with a kind heart that is always ready to help those in need; she is a faithful caretaker of the forest and the indigenous traditions.

Anna Keppen

Facilitator

Anna Keppen Ayahuasca Facilitator Photo

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. Annaā€™s primary focus is on plant-based medicine, yoga, qigong, and music.Ā From an early age, Anna gravitated toward the healing arts. She knew through her own healing and self-discovery that her lifeā€™s work and personal fulfillment would be helping others.In 2010Ā her eight-year path of holistic healing and alternative medicine began at the Ashland Institute of Massage.Ā Soon afterĀ she began working with Native American teachers learning Shamanistic rituals; sheĀ built on her newfound knowledgeĀ through the study of the healing practices across the world;Ā earning aĀ Bachelorā€™s Degree in Health Education and Native American StudiesĀ from Southern Oregon University in 2014.Ā InĀ lateĀ 2014 Anna felt the pull to focus on the ancient rituals of the Amazon. Traveling to Peru in August she had her first introduction toĀ theĀ profound healing capabilities ofĀ 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.Ā Along the way, she discovered a natural ability to bridge culture, backgrounds, andĀ uniqueĀ personalities with the healing powers of the Amazon.Ā By maintainingĀ a strong personal practice of daily meditation andĀ yoga that sheĀ learned in India; AnnaĀ has also been fortunate enough to share her knowledge of yoga and qigong with others for the last seven years.Ā The foundation of Annaā€™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.

Ā 

ā€œThe healing plants of the Amazon have opened up my life and expanded my mind to amazing possibilities and opportunities. Itā€™s a joyĀ that this path opened to me, and an honor that I can share this healing with othersā€Ā 

Karo Munay

Women's Retreat Facilitator

women retreat in Peru

Born and raised in the Andean mountains of Ecuador. Karo Munay dedicates her life to consciousness, alchemy, and art. She has embraced her deep call to dedicate her life force energy to supporting the awakening and liberation of all beings through her service, starting from herself, what is known as a Boddhisatva vow. Her understanding of oneness is the impulse that guides her to continue her path despite the intensity that this process may have, knowing that her inner peace is her gift to existence.

Munay is an explorer of music and poetry. Sound, vibration, and voice are her main medicine offerings; some years ago, the portal of music opened up for her, and she started exploring various instruments and receiving songs. For this reason, she is constantly invited to support healing circles with her medicine voice. Deep immersion in nature, dance, meditation and yoga have been her pillars for her balance. One of Karo Munay’s passions and mission is to support women by reconnecting with their sacred feminine gifts, self-care, and empowerment, guiding women’s circles, and supporting their one-to-one mentoring process to sisters looking for her support around the world. She dedicates her studies also to botanical and gem alchemy. She is a self-taught painter, and muralist, sharing her murals in various countries worldwide. A conscious health and nutrition researcher, sacred sexuality student, also a pilgrim and artivist for peace, she devoted the last 9 years to traveling around the world, learning deeply about meditation techniques, healing arts, ancestral wisdom, shamanism, fasting, vision quest and spirituality living in Buddhist monasteries exploring monastic lifestyle, ashrams, native and alternative communities.

She is the founder of the Vida Munay project, an initiative with conscious social projects such as Collective Meditation for Peace (promoting awareness about meditation as a tool for global peace) and Cantos para el Alma (an initiative that promulgates medicine music with elderly people), she is also the creator of the proposal Respira Consciente Ecuador (promotes conscious breathing on Ecuadorian education). Munay has combined her alchemy knowledge and meditation experience as a co-creator of a line of Vibrational Botanical formulas with therapeutic purposes in alliance with NunAndes in EC. She is also a devotee and guide of Dances of Universal Peace, a Sufi practice she has had the honor to share in many countries in Latin America.

In her path of self-acknowledgment, she has explored different areas of study. She is an engineer specializing in Sustainable Development and Social Responsibility at the University of The Hague in the Netherlands. Graphic Arts at the University of New Delhi. Meditation and mindfulness guide by the University of Leiden also with studies in India, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Hatha Yoga and Nada Yoga instructor and practitioner trained in India and Indonesia. Chi Kung guide and practitioner prepared in Vietnam. Ayurvedic body therapist trained in India. A sound therapist with Tibetan bowls with studies in Nepal. Mayan abdominal massage trained in Guatemala. Transpersonal and Flower Therapy. Currently, she continues her studies in Transpersonal Psychology and Music therapy. She considers herself a permanent student of life and allows herself to dedicate time to studying and investigating the topics that call her soul joyfully.

She holistically weaves together her passions, offering ceremonies, workshops, and retreats, sharing her experience and various tools for supporting others’ processes.

Karo Munay is dedicated to creating a sense of community in each experience she facilitates, holding a space of pure unconditional love, radical presence & authenticity from which to inspire the remembrance of our divinity, empowerment of our full potential & embodiment of the truth of who we are ā€“ pure love.

Adelina Vaughn

Womenā€™s retreat Lead Facilitator

Adelina Profile

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 Bachelorā€™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 ā€“ 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:Ā Ā www.adelinavaughn.com

ā€œThrough the heart, all can be healedā€Ā 

Warren

Medical Doctor, Cardiologist, Facilitator

Ayahuasca doctor

Warren is a trained medical doctor who became a specialist in internal medicine and cardiology. At the beginning of his medical career, he was introduced to Ayurveda – the traditional Indian art of healing. Fascinated by this holistic approach, he participated in a whole array of training courses and retreats, learning and exploring holistic methods and wisdom from all over the world.

Especially in the last years, he regularly visited the Amazon jungle to train under the guidance of the Shipibo indigenous people and received different Plant Dietas. Those Dietas clarified his understanding of Naturopathy and how to face medical issues holistically.

Warren is also a passionate musician. With the Dietas, he connects deeply with the amazon tradition of singing Icaros, the traditional healing songs of the Shipibo community. He delights the groups with his wonderful music and guitar playing while in service as a Facilitator.

With great enthusiasm, he is now working as a holistic consultant focusing on solution-based approaches that support health in a humble, intuitive, and natural way.

For more about Warren: www.warrenashley.com

MAIA

YOGA TEACHER, FACILITATOR

Maia, with more than 1000 hours of Certifications in Hatha, Vinyasa, Nidra, Kundalini, Yin Yoga, meditation and mindfulness that have led her to offer a practice in order to connect body and mind. “Yoga changed my life, improved my perspective, changed my relationship with myself and with others, allowing me to live in the present and be my best version.ā€ My practice aims to connect body and mind, create awareness and surrender to the present.

maiasana.com

Lara

FACILITATOR

Ayahuasca facilitator at Aya Healing Retreats

Born in Aotearoa, New Zealand, Lara has spent 8 years studying with plant medicines in the Peruvian Amazon. She also co-founded an ayahuasca retreat centre where she has supported hundreds of people on their healing journeys.Ā 

She is a devoted student of the rose, with a strong connection to the Venusian priestess lineages and feminine mystery schools. Her other passions include folk herbalism, embodiment, trauma informed care, myth, astrology and tantra yoga.Ā 

Lara loves to laugh and with her grounded, compassionate energy supports others to feel both empowered and at ease.

Kasia

Administrative
Assistant

‘Kasia has a love for holding space and organization, as well as creating ease and harmony in her administrative support role with us. Coming from a background in events curation and management in the wellbeing world, she is on hand to answer your questions and help you feel held and supported along your journey from your first inquiry. She is also part of Atira Tan’s ‘Dream Team’ for SMPI and TIPMF, so if you choose to study with us you’ll get to know her here too!
Ā 
She spends her time hiking in the mountains of North Carolina that she calls home, enjoying sweaty yoga practices, hanging out with her dog and singing medicine songs and mantras on her guitar and shruti box. She has a love for writing, kirtan, ayurveda and yogic philosophy and making sweet music.’

Mathis

Facilitator

Mathis was raised in Switzerland and has dedicated much of his life to traveling the globe. He currently serves as a plant medicine facilitator with over 7 years of experience in studying and applying entheogenic medicines. His sincere commitment lies in guiding individuals towards their genuine state of being and facilitating healing through various modalities, including body movement, sound healing, and medicine music.

Having honed his musical prowess as a professional musician touring worldwide for more than a decade, Mathis is passionate about integrating his personally composed medicine music into ceremonies while also imparting ancestral musical practices to access profound states of self-awareness.

Mathis’s specialization predominantly resides in the Shipibo tradition of Ayahuasca, complemented by training in the Chavin tradition with San Pedro. He consistently embarks on pilgrimages to the sacred sites of Peru, continuously deepening his knowledge and devotion to guiding others through their transformative journeys with ancestral medicines.

Anna

Facilitator

Anna Keppen has been working with Aya Healing Retreats since the spring 2018. Anna is from the United States and has dedicated her life to working with plant medicine and holistic health. Anna graduated with her undergraduate degree in Native American studies and Health Education at Southern Oregon University (SOU) in 2014. Directly after her time at SOU at age 21, Anna traveled to the Amazon jungle to begin her work and studies with a Shipibo tribe and Ayahuasca. Anna stayed in Peru and eventually got her Peruvian residency due to her connection to the Shipibo tribe and passion for ceremony work. In 2023 Anna completed a three-year graduate-level clinical therapy program in Oregon with the intention to pursue a career in legal psychedelic-assisted therapy in Oregon. Anna is a passionate musician and a joyful facilitator of plant medicine. Anna is also a practicing yoga instructor RYT-500 and shares her yoga and meditation classes at Aya Healing Retreats.

Mariri

Facilitator

Mariana Gutierrez (Mariri) is a trauma-informed plant medicine and kambo facilitator, sound healer, herbalist, yoga instructor, and sound engineer. She is passionate about guiding individuals in connecting to their voices as a powerful tool for healing and enhancing plant communication through improvisational, intentional, and somatic sounding.
She hosts and co-hostsĀ various healing and wellness retreats assisting participants on their healing journeys by safely guiding them through expanded states of consciousness. Her ultimate goal is to help individuals tap into their empowered selves, find their true voices, and discover the healing power that lies within themselves.

IGGY

Integration Support

Born at the foot of the Andes Mountains of Chile Iggy grew up listening to stories of the Peruvian Amazon and Ayahuasca. But it wasnā€™t till her late twenties that she was ready to answer the call of the Medicine and went on an adventure that changed her life forever, catapulting her to quit a corporate career and embark on a journey of healing and self-mastery that would unfold into a path of service.Ā 

Having completed formal studies in Communications, Economics and Finances she took a 360Ā°Ā turn that led her to delve deeper into the Medicine Path studying with Shipibo Maestros, and into the Mystic Traditions through various initiations in the HermeticĀ Kabalah and the Siddha Kundalini Lineage. She is anĀ eternal student of the mysteries and has trained in Yoga, Breathwork, Qigong alongĀ other modalities. Today she teaches Kundalini Yoga and combines Human Design and Astrology to guide others in their path ofĀ Self-Realization.

Forever a devoted apprentice and in service to the Master Plants, Iggy is a Trauma-Informed Somatic Practitioner dedicated to accompanying others on their journey to wholeness with compassion, presence and understanding. Coming from a history of complex trauma and having experienced the symptoms of CPTSD, her deepest calling is to create impeccable containers of safety for others to find remembrance of their divine nature and reconnection with their own innate power, wisdom, love and ability to heal.Ā 

Her prayer is that you too, canĀ create meaningful change, ground the insights,Ā and embody the wisdom received through the MedicineĀ so that you can find your own light, shine and share your unique Magick with the world.Ā 
Iggy is currently completing her Somatic Experiencing training and is based in Mallorca where she facilitates small retreats combining her passion for PM, Kundalini Yoga, Astrology and Trauma-Informed Care.Ā 

Chloe

Integration support

Chloe is an Integrative and Transpersonal Psychotherapist and Counsellor. She is dedicated to a path of learning and integration into health and wellbeing systems.Ā 

She has immersed herself in the study of numerous different modalities. She is particularly interested in how diverse cultures view and approach healing and what we can respectfully learn and integrate from them into our own lives and communities.

Ā 

Chloe holds a Bachelor of Integrative Psychotherapy and Counselling (IKON Institute of Australia), an Advanced Diploma of Transpersonal Counselling (IKON Institute of Australia), and a Certificate of Gestalt Therapy (Gestalt Therapy Brisbane) and a psychology major in her first degree (The University of Sydney).

Ā 

For two years, she lived and worked as a group facilitator in the Amazon Jungle of Peru at theĀ Temple of the Way of Light: a traditional plant medicine healing center that works primarily with Ayahuasca and indigenous Shipibo Maestros. There, she was dedicated to integrating plant medicine work with other practices such as yoga, meditation, and psychotherapeutic self-inquiry and embodiment processes.Ā 

Ā 

Chloe is wholeheartedly committed to the integration of mind, body, spirit, and soul: where we become progressively more aligned in our authentic sense of self, our somatic intelligence, our passion, our wisdom, and our actions. Her work involves supporting people to develop the tools and awareness necessary to form an empowered relationship with their wounds, uncover their unique path in life, become anchored in their soul purpose, and awaken their innate, life-affirming creativity.Ā 

Ā 

She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, and offers one-on-one psychotherapy and integration sessions, both online and in person.

Lulu

Administrative Assistant and Social Media Guru

Sheā€™s the one who has the answers to all your questions. But please allow at least 24 hours.

Graduated in Linguistic Mediation, she speaks English, Spanish and Italian.

Beautiful on the inside as much as on the outside, she radiates a loving feminine presence. She puts love and magic in everything she does. Old-soul piscean, compassionate, open-hearted, rock-n-roll mom. Lulu is the proud mother of the cutest red haired little girl named Ginni.

Sheā€™s spiritually aware and a kindness advocate. Interested in Yogic and Tantric studies, Human Psychology and Astrology. She believes in the naturally ecstatic and blissful essence of humanity.

OUR fREE GIFT TO YOU

Critical Considerations When Choosing An Ayahuasca Retreat

No matter where you end up for your ayahuasca retreat, we want only the best for you. So here’s a little something to help you decide: Check these four necessary boxes before you make your final decision to ensure the best journey possible.

Absolutely free, no strings attached, and not published anywhere else.

Art To Healing

Sex Slavery Trauma Recovery

Art to HealingĀ is an Australian charity that is dedicated to transforming the lives of women and girls who have suffered unimaginable trauma through sex slavery, torture, abuse and exploitation throughout Asia and The Pacific.Ā Art to HealingĀ is a community of volunteers, founded and directed by Expressive Art Therapist and yoga teacher Atria Tan. Art to Healing deliver numerous trauma recovery, art therapy, counseling, yoga, mindfulness, reproductive health workshops and peer to peer leadership initiatives for women and children in Asia who have experienced sex slavery.Ā Art to HealingĀ is committed to creating a world where every woman can lead a life free from abuse, harm and injustice.

ā€œThrough the heart, all can be healedā€Ā 

Alianza Arkana

Peruvian Amazon NGO

Alianza ArkanaĀ is a grassroots non-government organisation (NGO) that supports regenerative projects in the Peruvian Amazon that enhance the wellbeing of both the Amazon and its indigenous people.Ā Ā Alianza ArkanaĀ work primarily with rural and urban Shipibo people who, due to mass deforestation, marginalisation and discrimination face increasing hardship and the devastation of their homelands. Each project thatĀ Alianza ArkanaĀ embarks on is guided and led by the needs of the local Shipibo community. This has a twofold benefit. Firstly the Shipibo people are involved in making decisions about whatā€™s best for their collective community, and secondly, they are active leaders in realising the changes they wish to see, which enables them to benefit financially from the projects. Some of the key projects thatĀ Alianza ArkanaĀ has committed to include improvements in sanitation and the quality of community drinking water, scholarships that support Shipibo youth to go to university and advocating for indigenous rights and environmental justice by strengthening indigenous federations and collectives.

Protecting the Lungs of the Planet

LET'S START

Your Instant Free Download is almost ready

Thank you for your submission. We’ve sent you an email. Please click the link to receive your free download for our Ultimate Ayahuasca Starter KitĀ and confirm your subscription to our email list.

Help us heal our collective consciousness

Every like, follow, and share helps us immensely. We’d be very grateful if you helped us grow our influence and change more lives.

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 youā€¦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

Improvements, Pricing Changes, and Whatā€™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
  • implementing a new water filtration 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

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 youā€¦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

AYA Healing Retreats - The Movie