- Join us on the coast of Ecuador and deepen your yoga practice at this special plant medicine retreat. Discover how exploring your inner world strengthens your practice and ability to share it by combining yoga and plant medicine, which compliment each other in many ways.
- Deepen and strengthen your yoga practice with workshops, daily classes and heart technology practices in our beautiful yoga shala. There will be daily asana, meditation, and pranayama classes. You will also dive into yoga philosophy with our experienced yoga teacher, Vanessa, and heart technology with Hwaneetah.
- Meet with the sacred plant medicines, along with sweat lodges, rituals, meditations, and ancient wisdom workshops to learn new ways to purify and align.
- Gain a supportive community of yoga teachers who recognize the power of supporting each other, sharing wisdom, and growing together.
Ayllu Medicina's Fire of the Heart Retreat in June 2025 is designed to help you strengthen your teaching and own yoga practice by opening up space to explore your inner world. When we open space to explore our inner world, we can then hold space for others and gain more clarity on our own path.
This transformational plant medicine retreat is the first of its kind, combining the healing of yoga and plant medicine specifically for those interested in deepening their practice with experienced guides.
This week is full of powerful yoga philosophy workshops, classes, ceremonies, , and activities, along with nourishing food, snacks, and rest time, so you can go deep into your inner nature.
Purifying your body, mind, and spirit can help you align with your heart, which is why we include different types of ceremonies as part of our plant medicine retreats. These ceremonies are led by our experienced guides, honoring the ancient traditions from which they come.
Plant Medicine Ceremonies
We will gather together two Ayawaska ceremonies and a San Pedro ceremony. Ayawaska is often compared to a wise Grandmother, and like an onion, she can help you find your center and let go of what no longer serves you.
Grandfather San Pedro is the healing masculine energy, helping you find alignment and open your heart once more, ready to take flight. We will meet with Grandfather San Pedro twice in two different types of ceremonies; a medicine sweat lodge and a power walk.
We will provide preparation support, and we hold circles during our plant medicine retreats to discuss any questions you may have in advance. After our plant medicine ceremonies, we also have sharing circles, so you can share any pearls from your ceremony experience. Some people have sat in ceremonies previously, whereas, for others, it is their first time meeting with the plant medicines.
A strong yoga and meditation practice can be highly beneficial. Learn more here. Our team will also be supporting you throughout retreat preparation, the retreat week, and beyond.
Sweat Lodges
There will also be multiple sweat lodges (temazcales) throughout the plant medicine retreat week. Enter the womb of Mother Earth to integrate, purify, and experience rebirth.
Our volcanic grandmother stones are heated in the fire and are placed in the womb, the sweat lodge. Different incenses are placed on the stones before the door closes, and the heat begins to rise as water is poured over the stones. We share prayers and songs to guide each round.
There will be a variety of workshops and discussions around yoga philosophy to help deepen your practice. These workshops will also focus on integrating the experiences of the plant medicines and learning how different practices weave together.
We will also be sharing more about the incredible technology of the heart and how to connect with this space through various heart technology practices and meditations.
Join us for daily yoga classes led by Vanessa, our experienced yoga teacher. She has over 1000 hours teaching students from around the world. She studied under the guidance of Yogi Vishvketu in the style of Akhanda yoga in Canada, is a yoga teacher trainer, has level 2 Reiki and has been studying Ayurveda for 12 years - she is a practitioner and teaches certified courses.
More recently she has completed a Masters Program in Pranayama with over 200 hrs of study, and is now a Yoga Nidra and Meditation Faciliator.
There will also be guided breathwork and meditation to help you connect with your true essence.
Ayllu Medicina is based on the coast of Ecuador, in Manglaralto, situated near the world-famous surf capital of Montañita and the peaceful haven of Ayampe.
Immerse yourself in nature in our retreat space, which is perfect for renewal. It is magical during ceremonies to hear the sounds of all the nature around, from the birds singing to the waves crashing.
You can easily access the beach, which is a ten-minute walk from the accommodation. The accommodation has everything you need to be comfortable, feel at peace, and retreat inwards during your stay, including a swimming pool with ocean views, one of the best spots to enjoy Ecuador's sunsets!
Rooms include air conditioning, large comfortable double beds, and hot water.
Do you plan to stay for longer? We are happy to offer recommendations for where to stay and where to visit pre or post-retreat.
Your plant medicine experience and healing process will be led by Aime, medicine man of the Sacred Fire of Itzachilatlan, a medicine family based in the Ecuadorian Andes, and his wife, Hwaneetah. Their purpose is to share medicine, prayers, music, and intention for healing with whoever is called to share in this journey. These two healers are well-known in the region for their music, resonant prayers, and heart-opening medicine.
Aime and Hwaneetah speak fluent English, Spanish, and French and have been working with medicine for over 20 years, along with other healing modalities.
Hwaneetah was initiated and certified in Sacred Geometry by Drunvalo Melchizedek, an internationally celebrated spiritual visionary who is known for defining the Merkaba and the flower of life. She also studied in the Mystery School Yotolon of hermetic sciences, which focuses on the nexus between science, philosophy, and spirit.
In this school, she also learned about neo-shamanism, or new ways of seeking visions and healing, and directed the female part of the school for six years, developing a branch of study called the Technology of the Womb. She is currently writing a book based on her studies on awakening all of the secondary functioning of the womb with our consciousness.
Hwaneetah is also a quantum holonomic healer, canupa carrier, sun dancer, and runs sweat lodges. She also supports her husband, Aime, during ceremonies with traditional songs, instruments, incense, and holding sacred female energy in the space of medicine. She also shares her knowledge about womb healing through workshops and 1:1 sessions.
You can watch Hwaneetah's talk on ancient womb technology on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X9LkyK4bHw
Our yoga teacher, Vanessa, is a yoga teacher trainer, with over 1500 hours of study, ranging from 200 YTTs to a Pranayama Master Program. She is also a Yoga Nidra and Meditation Facilitator, Wisdom Years Yoga (50 and over), has her reiki level 1, and more.
The Ayllu Medicina team will be supporting you throughout your retreat week; you can learn more about our medicine guides and facilitators on our website under 'team'. Many of us have a consistent yoga practice and some of us are also yoga teachers.
We also have a great kitchen team who will be providing nutritious food and drinks throughout the week.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. We will also be providing orientation support, and there are options for integration sessions post-retreat. You can also choose from other add-ons, such as a 1:1 moon session with Hwaneetah or a shamanic cleansing with Aime.
Call to the four winds & directions to set our main intention for retreat, reconnecting with the Sacred Fire of our hearts. Release old patterns & unwanted energies with a Tobacco cleanse.
Learn about ancient womb technology, the feminine principle, and other ancient teachings, which can also inform your teaching.
Connect to the purifying medicine of the sweat lodge (temazcal). Through incenses, steam, songs, & prayers, we release stress, tension, and detoxify the mind, body and soul.
Sit with the medicine of Ayawaska, also known as Grandma Ayawaska for her feminine energy. Dive deeper into your inner world during these night ceremonies.
Deepen your yoga philosophy study to inform your own practice and teaching, with various workshops.
Meet with the Grandfather medicine of South America, San Pedro. Connect to your heart's center, let go, and raise your flight with this healing masculine energy.
Multiple daily yoga classes and pranayama exercises to expand your practice in our new yoga shala.
Learn meditation techniques to help guide you throughout the week and beyond.
Integrate your ceremony experiences in our sharing circles.
Connect to the medicine of music and learn some plant medicine songs when we gather to sing. No previous experience required!
Learn other rituals to purify such as the ice baths (2-3).
Our local chefs provide plant-based, healthy meals aligned with the plant medicine dietas. Enjoy healthy nourishing plant based cuisine, which will support you during the detox week.
Our kitchen will be ready to provide you with local tropical fresh fruits, smoothies, juices, and other homemade snacks throughout the day. Try different drinks native to Ecuador, like Guayusa.
Enjoy Ecuador coastal living with our comfortable accommodation, which allows you to fully retreat inwards. Enjoy ocean views, a pool, & relaxation. Rooms include AC, hot water & private bathrooms.
Speak to one of our Ayllu Medicina team members on a video orientation call to discuss preparation advice, your intentions for this retreat and any questions you may have.
Close the week and directions with your retreat group, so you can begin the next part of your journey!
It is recommended to fly into Guayaquil airport or Manta airport unless you are already based in Ecuador.
We can arrange transportation for you via taxi. Rates are between $60-$100 depending on location.
- Arrive at our retreat space and settle into your accommodation.
- Enjoy a welcome lunch and meet the rest of the group.
- Set your intentions and open the retreat week with our opening fire ceremony.
- Opening sweat lodge to purify (temazcal)
- Dinner
The schedule is subject to change. Before the retreat, you will receive a retreat-specific agenda. We can guarantee there will be time to integrate, rest, and find some quiet time between activities.
- Breakfast
- Yoga, breathwork, & meditation
- Ice Bath
- Light lunch
- Intro to ceremony circle
- Meditation and Rest time
- Ayawaska ceremony (beginning around 8 pm)
- Breakfast
- Gentle yoga, breathwork, meditation
- Sharing circle
- Silent lunch
- Workshop
- Rest & integration
- Sweat lodge (temazcal)
- Dinner
- Breakfast
- Energizing yoga, breathwork, meditation
- Ice Bath
- Light lunch
- Workshop and discussion
- Rest & Restore
- Ayawaska Ceremony
- Breakfast
- Gentle yoga, breath work, meditation
- Sharing circle
- Lunch
- Rest & integration
- Yoga philosophy and Yoga Nidra
- Dinner
- Breakfast
- Yoga and meditation time
- Workshop
- Lunch
- Intro to ceremony circle
- Rest time
- Gentle yoga and meditation
- San Pedro night ceremony (around 10pm to morning)
- Beach offering
- Songs around the fire
- Breakfast
- Integration time
- Celebration Lunch
- Gentle yoga and meditation
- Rest time
- Dinner
- Breakfast
- Yoga, breathwork, meditation
- Closing fire ceremony to close the week and say farewell
- Optional sweat lodge
The adventure continues...
