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Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (November 2026). They will be updated if Guided by Michelle submits its own information.

Guided by Michelle: An In-Depth Review for Acacia “Egyptian Ayahuasca” Ceremonies in Florida and Egypt

Guided by Michelle, formerly Guided by Mushy, is a solo facilitator business run by Michelle Escalera of West Palm Beach, Florida, that sells overnight “ayahuasca” ceremonies in a yurt in Palm Beach County for $700 and private or small-group “Egyptian ayahuasca” retreats in St. Catherine, Sinai, for $5,000 to $5,500, per its Retreat Guru page. The brew her listings describe is acacia, a DMT-containing plant, not the traditional ayahuasca vine brew. It offers very small groups and preparation and integration calls. Against that, no screening criteria, medical staff or emergency plan are published, it claims a legal “church pathway” without naming the church, it advertises DMT ceremonies in Egypt, and its two reviews are reused across every venue.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A ceremonial yurt in Loxahatchee and The Acreage, Palm Beach County, Florida, USA, with a one-off retreat in Ona, Florida; Egypt retreats are advertised for St. Catherine in South Sinai and Siwa Oasis, and one retreat was listed in Tepoztlán, Mexico, for March 2026.
• Approach: Night ceremonies with hapé and two acacia brews, sound healing and somatic work, plus psilocybin and women’s retreats.
• Suitable For: Very few people. Anyone considering it should understand that the brew is not traditional ayahuasca and that the legal risk is real. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: $700 for a Palm Beach group ceremony, $5,000 to $5,500 for a three-day Egypt retreat with one ceremony, and $2,900 to $4,200 for the 2026 Mexico retreat, per its Egypt retreat page; the plant medicine is paid separately, off the platform. The deposit is refundable until a day before and full payment until 30 days before.
• Overall Assessment: Small groups and integration calls, offset by a relabeled brew, no published medical safeguards, an unsupported legality claim, serious legal exposure in Egypt and thin, recycled reviews. Directory evaluation: D+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

Retreat Guru shows 5.00 from two reviews dated August 2025, praising thorough preparation calls and a non-judgmental guide; the same two reviews appear on every Florida, Mexico and Egypt listing, one describes a jungle setting, and no review describes an Egypt retreat. A BookRetreats listing for an Egypt retreat now redirects to a general page. No reviews of 3 stars or lower were found. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms and English, Spanish and Arabic-language news for reports involving Guided by Michelle, Guided by Mushy, Rich in Full and Michelle Escalera.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: No allegations found.
• Theft and fraud: None found.
• Legal action: None found.

The business has a thin public footprint and has changed names, so this absence offers limited assurance.

If you have experienced or witnessed an incident with this center, please report it confidentially.

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Michelle Escalera describes herself as a ceremonial facilitator, somatic healer and business strategist with short courses in plant medicine facilitation, brewing and trauma-informed guiding from 2020 to 2025, an acacia course in 2025 and first aid and CPR training, per her teacher profile (unverified). The same profile claims work supporting a MAPS clinical study, which we found no record of. No partner shaman, venue or company is named.

What is served. Every listing title says ayahuasca, but the ceremonies are described as brews of acacia, marketed as “Egyptian Ayahuasca”, per her private Egypt retreat page; a Florida ceremony page described “two psychoactive brews of acacia”. Acacia is a different plant from the ayahuasca vine and chacruna, and no listing gives the recipe.

Screening and medical support. A Florida ceremony page required an application “for medical clearance”, but no criteria, contraindication list, medical staff or emergency protocol are published, and the Egypt and Mexico pages mention no screening. Egypt retreats pair a solo facilitator with a night ceremony in the Sinai mountains, far from major hospitals.

Listings. Pages place one Egypt retreat both in St. Catherine and “close to pyramids”, list Cairo while lodging at Siwa, give group sizes of 4 and 10, show two overlapping October 2026 Egypt retreats, add pool, spa and sauna icons to yurt events and list a “cenote plunge” in Florida.

Status. Operating; Florida ceremonies were listed through mid-2026 and the next listed date is 8 to 10 January 2027 in St. Catherine. We found no evidence that any Egypt retreat has taken place.

Legal context. The listings say she “operates legally through a recognized church pathway” without naming the church. DMT is a Schedule I drug in the United States; the DEA has called an Orlando church’s ayahuasca distribution illegal and federal courts upheld its decision, per WFTV, and none of 24 church exemption requests from 2016 to 2024 was approved, per a GAO figure cited by Jules Evans. Egypt’s narcotics law carries penalties up to life imprisonment with hard labour for unlicensed import or supply, per Law 182 of 1960.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Acacia ceremonies in this style are usually preceded by an MAOI tea, and an acacia teacher warns that SSRIs combined with an MAOI can cause fatal serotonin syndrome, per Perri Heller. ICEERS notes the same MAOI risk for ayahuasca and that it is contraindicated for people prone to psychosis. Never stop a psychiatric medication to qualify for a ceremony without your prescriber’s guidance.

🧪 Brew Substance

Acacia brews served by the facilitator; the species, recipe and any MAOI ingredient are not published. Traditional ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Rural, subtropical Palm Beach County, or the desert mountains of Sinai and Siwa Oasis.
• Rooms: A shared yurt or your own tent in Florida; an eco-lodge, private home or villa in Egypt.
• Style: Neo-shamanic “Egyptian Tree of Life” ceremonies with coaching and sound healing.

Practical guidance: For Florida, fly to Palm Beach (PBI); Egypt retreats include airport transfers, but confirm the venue and airport in writing.

Should You Book?

We cannot recommend it. If you still consider it, ask in writing what is in each brew, the screening criteria and contraindication list, who on site is trained in first aid, the emergency plan and nearest hospital, the name of the church and any legal authorization, and what you pay off the platform. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Michelle presents her work as ancestral Egyptian plant medicine and feminine healing, guided one to one. Do not confuse her with Perri Heller, who writes as “Perri Michelle” and also runs acacia retreats in Egypt. We did not independently verify anyone’s training.

Prep & Integration Tips

Before you go: Disclose every medication and condition in writing, plan any change with your own doctor, and check the law where the ceremony takes place. After you return: Use the integration calls offered and arrange support from a qualified therapist at home. Our guide on how to research ayahuasca incidents can help you check any center.

Pros & Cons

Book Your Ceremony

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Last reviewed November 2026.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice. Consult a qualified medical professional.