- Take a journey to the center of your heart during this transformational plant medicine retreat. Reconnect to your own rhythm by taking a pause and retreating into your inner world with the help of the master plant teachers, ancient purifying practices, and the medicine of music. 

- Remember your connection to the whole by connecting to your heart's center and your body's profound technology. Connect to your inner nature within and the outer nature around you, starting on the beautiful coast of Ecuador at this retreat. 

- Reconnect to your heart's center with the sacred plant medicines of Ayawasca and San Pedro, with our experienced guides leading the ceremonies. You will also be assisted with cleansing your mind, heart, body, and spirit in different ways, such as through sweat lodges, tobacco medicines, daily yoga, breathwork, and nutritious food.  

- Learn about the healing power of music, its role in ceremonies, and how to connect with your own voice. 

Ayllu Medicina's Journey to the Heart Retreat in June 2024 will provide the space, support, tools, and wisdom to help you dive into your inner world and find alignment in your heart's center. 

This plant medicine retreat has a focus on heart technology meditations, with the sacred plant medicines of San Pedro and Ayawasca. Music is also an important part of the retreat, and an important medicine for Ayllu Medicina, and you can listen to some of our medicine guides' songs, Pájaros de Luz,  to get a taste of this.

During the retreat, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the sacred instruments we use, why music is medicine, and why our elders say that to sing is to pray twice. This retreat is designed to help you find more presence, awareness, peace, clarity, and connection. You will learn to tune into your own rhythm and listen to the beat of your heart. 

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 in Ecuador. These ceremonies are led by our experienced guides, honoring the ancient traditions from which they come. 

Plant Medicine Ceremonies 

We will gather together in two Ayawasca ceremonies and a San Pedro ceremony. 

Ayawasca 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. She can help you shine a light on areas of darkness, finding your way to the infinite love in your heart. 

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 once after our meeting with Grandma Ayawasca. The plant spirit can also help you integrate your retreat experience and let go of anything that remains which is blocking you from residing in your heart's space. 

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 participants have sat in ceremonies previously, whereas, for others, it is their first time meeting with the plant medicines. 

You can learn more about these medicines on our Ayllu Medicina blog. 

Sweat Lodges 

There will also be sweat lodges (temazcales). 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. 

Learn specific techniques and follow guided meditations to center in your heart. Some of the workshops and meditations include: 

• Heart technology 
• Basic understanding of our electromagnetic fields - torus or toroid.
• Trinity Heart Meditation and Activation
• An ancient way to reconnect our heart with our sacred Universal Mother’s heart, represented by Mother Earth - and our Universal Father’s heart, represented by Father Sun.
• Expeditions into the heart:
• Moving our consciousness from the brain into our heart.
• Guided imagery is a spiritual technique to live and create from the heart.
• Exploring our sacred space of the heart, the space that holds our soul's history and spiritual guides, through Imagery exercises and meditations.
• Exploring the sacred, tiny saint space of the heart (singularity, oneness)

Learn medicine music songs and connect to the sacred instruments around our fire during song circles, workshops, and ceremonies. We will be sharing different ways to connect to music and also how we use it to guide our ceremonies. You will also have the opportunity to share sacred songs from your own country if you feel called. 

Connecting to your voice is a powerful way to express gratitude and connect with your inner altar. Learn how to integrate music into your life and use it to connect with your center.

Your plant medicine experience and healing process will be led by Aime and 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.  Aime is a medicine man of the Sacred Fire of Itzachilatlan, a medicine family based in the Ecuadorian Andes. Hwaneetah runs women's sweat lodges and works with different healing modalities. 

You can watch Hwaneetah's talk on ancient womb technology on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X9LkyK4bHw . She is also a canupa carrier, sun-dancer, and runs sweat lodges. 

The Ayllu Medicina team will be supporting you throughout your retreat; you can learn more about our medicine guides and facilitators on our website under 'team.' 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. 

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. 

- 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 

- Guided Ice Bath

- Light lunch  

- Intro to ceremony circle

- Rest time

- Ayawasca ceremony (beginning around 8 pm)

- Breakfast

- Gentle yoga, breathwork, meditation

- Sharing circle 

- Lunch

- Rest & integration 

- Song Circle and Sweat lodge (temazcal)

- Dinner 

- Breakfast

- Energizing yoga, breathwork, meditation

- Workshop 

- Guided Ice Bath 

- Light lunch

- Art and music time

- Rest & Restore

- Ayawasca ceremony 

- Breakfast

- Gentle yoga, breathwork, meditation

- Sharing circle

- Silent Lunch

- Heart Workshop 

- Rest & integration

- Sun and Moon Dynamics Workshop 

- Dinner 

- Breakfast

- Energizing yoga, breathwork

- Heart meditation 

- Intro to ceremony circle, music time 

- San Pedro ceremony (*if it is a San Pedro night ceremony, lunch & light snack will be provided)

- Breakfast

- Beach and music time 

- Lunch 

- Music, sharing, relaxation 

- Goodbye celebration dinner 

If the San Pedro ceremony is at night, then the next day will be a day of medicine music, going to the beach, meditation time, and a goodbye celebration dinner.

If the plant medicine ceremony was during the day on day 6, then this day will also include the sharing circle.

- Breakfast

- Yoga, breathwork, meditation

- Closing fire ceremony to close the week and say farewell

- Optional afternoon sweat lodge 

The adventure continues...