Ayahuasca
Roots of the Shipibo Medical System and Ayahuasca
The Shipibo-Conibo people are an indigenous tribe in the Peruvian Amazon rainforest, mostly from the surrounding areas of Pucallpa and regions along the Ucayali River. Many of their ancient traditions are still practiced today, including ayahuasca shamanism. Traditionally a Shipibo onanya or curandero (healer) would drink oni (Shipibo for ayahuasca) and sing their healing songs called icaros to the patient. Only within recent decades have Westerners also started drinking ayahuasca during the ceremony.
To become a healer in the Shipibo tradition, one must apprentice for many years before given permission to serve and sing with ayahuasca. The apprenticeship is long, arduous, and very disciplined. Think of it like a jungle medical university; the length of time for studying and “dieting” numerous plants and trees is equivalent to the length of time in a Western medical school when studying to become a doctor. Shipibo curanderismo is held with the highest regard in the ayahuasca community because of the skill, knowledge, and mastery acquired in the challenging apprenticeship process.
Traditional Medicine
Traditional ayahuasca is a mixture of two plants. It combines the leaves of Chacruna (Psychotria viridis) and the Ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi). This entheogenic tea is a special recipe handed down from one generation to the next. It is always cooked with intention, protection, and blessings given by the curandero/shaman. Chacruna leaves contain high amounts of dimethyltryptomine [DMT], a chemical substance naturally found in many plants and animals around the world. The DMT in the ayahuasca brew is responsible for the opening of a visionary state. The vine portion of the brew allows the DMT to be absorbed into the bloodstream as it contains a MAOI inhibitor along with other alkaloids. The vine is responsible for the purging, which is a large part of the cleansing process within ayahuasca shamanism. Our ayahuasca brew contains only chacruna leaves and the ayahuasca vine, and is cooked by our healers.
Remedies and Treatments
We offer supportive plant based treatments in addition to the ayahuasca ceremonies during your stay with us. Before your first ceremony, you will receive a medicinal plant bath containing selected flowers and leaves from both the Amazon rainforest and Andean nurseries to rinse off dense energies before ceremony. These botanical baths will continue each ceremony day before your journey with ayahuasca in the evening.
At the beginning of the retreat, guests will also participate in a vomitivo, a cleansing technique consisting of drinking a special tea containing a specific plant or plants. This drink will be purged almost immediately after consumption. Vomitivos not only clean the stomach in preparation for ayahuasca, but also allow the ayahuasca to be received more effectively.
Surgical Sound Vibration with Songs and Plant Diets
Participants will have the opportunity to sit in four ceremonies. On ceremony days, we will begin our ayuno (fast) after lunch, and this continues until breakfast the following morning. The ceremonies last between 4-6 hours, although sometimes the medicine can still be felt after the ceremony is closed. During the ceremonies, you will receive personalized icaros (healing songs) from our healer. The icaros contain strong and penetrating medicine through sound vibration, and this is how the deepest healing takes place…. you are essentially undergoing energetic surgery with the precision of the icaros.
An ayahuasca ceremony without icaros is like an orchestra without a conductor. The brew itself is medicinal in any context due to the beneficial alkaloids of the plants, but the icaros direct the medicine where you need it most as seen by the healer. The icaros being sung to you in ceremony are not only carrying the healing properties of oni (ayahuasca), but you’re also receiving the healing benefits of many plants that the healer has “dieted.” The healer is the conduit for this glorious transmission to take place.
Safety and Eligibility
It is critically important to drink ayahuasca under a qualified and well trained healer supported by an experienced team of facilitators. Ayahuasca completely opens the energetic body, and if not practiced in a safe and contained space, experiences could potentially lead to physical, mental, emotional, and/or spiritual harm.
Every guest will undergo a psychological screening on completion of our medical form. Ayahuasca is a very potent medicine that can trigger certain underlying psychiatric conditions. Ayahuasca is also strongly contraindicated against some pharmaceutical drugs. Our highly experienced team will evaluate your eligibility as some people are not candidates to drink ayahuasca. All personal medical information is kept strictly confidential between the staff of Intertwining Medicines.
Safety is always our #1 priority. Our combined team brings over 60 years experience and wisdom with ayahuasca. What sets our facilitation team of Western staff apart from those at other centers is our depth of understanding the nuances of Shipibo ayahuasca shamanism. Every team member is an apprentice of the Shipibo tradition, and we continue to learn the depths of energy medicine that can only be achieved through years of dedication and first hand experience. We firmly believe this is the most important component to serving sacred medicine with the utmost integrity- that we walk the path ourselves.
Our collective intention is to facilitate your greatest awakening while holding a safe and loving container on your plant medicine pilgrimage. With a maximum number of 10 participants per retreat, every guest receives personalized facilitation and guidance from our team before, during, and after each ceremony. We are here to meet your needs as they arise, and will help you navigate any uncharted waters during your cosmic swim with ayahuasca.
Why drink ayahuasca?
People feel called to connect with ayahuasca for a variety of reasons. On a physical level, some people work with this medicine to assist in ongoing healing process from types of cancer, autoimmune disorders, arthritis, brain injuries, parasites, unexplainable sicknesses, neural degenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimers, etc.
On a mental level, others partake in ayahuasca ceremonies to address issues around depression, anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, sexual trauma, and addiction. Ayahuasca has the potential to dissolve the barriers which keep us from accessing our own self healing pathways. This can look like moving through layers of unprocessed grief, trauma release, tapping into forgiveness, mending a broken heart, unpacking relationship issues, connecting to deceased loved ones, clearing blockages, and much more.
Other people are called to connect with ayahuasca for spiritual or religious purposes.
Shadow Work
Ayahuasca can very much be a doorway into yourself, revealing not only the light you hold within but also the shadows you carry. We all have light and shadow aspects, it is our human nature. Ayahuasca is a powerful tool into shadow work- the understanding of our subconscious patterns and habits. Little by little, light is shed into these “shadows” of the mind to bring more awareness into consciousness. The more consistently aware an individual becomes, the more sovereignty they have to make healthy life decisions rooted in understanding, compassion, self love, and authenticity. Shadow integration is the gradual reclaiming of the parts of self that have been rejected, disowned, shamed, or denied. We have found this aspect alone has the power to change lives.
Growing a Relationship with the Plants
It is important to understand that ayahuasca is not a panacea. It cannot be compared to swallowing a pill in hopes it will fix everything overnight. This medicine is a medicine of action. It requires your willingness to work, and it asks for your trust, patience, attention, and intention. Having faith that the medicine is here to help you, not harm you, is a fantastic approach to begin your relationship with these plants. No matter what surfaces for you during our retreats, you will be safely held and fully supported by our trauma-informed team.
Ayahuasca affects everyone differently. No two people experience the exact same thing, and that’s the beauty of it. The technology that lies within the plants knows precisely how to work with you so long as you remain open. There is an ancient intelligence in ayahuasca. The more you able to soften, surrender, and trust the process, the less mental blocks/barriers the medicine needs to penetrate, and the more you will receive out of your experience as a whole. Trust that you will get exactly what you need, not necessarily what you initially think you want. What is waiting for you on the other side is worth every uncomfortable moment.
