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Atmosphere and feature ratings above are based on Best Retreats research (November 2026). They will be updated if One Breath of Yoga Ashram submits its own information.

One Breath of Yoga Ashram: An In-Depth Review for Ayahuasca Retreats in Puerto Morelos, Mexico

One Breath of Yoga Ashram is an Ashtanga yoga center in the jungle near Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico, founded by Canadian teacher Coco, that runs eight-day yoga and plant medicine retreats with ayahuasca, kambo and bufo (5-MeO-DMT) for up to 18 guests from $1,162, per its BookRetreats listing, and rents its venue to other ayahuasca operators. Guests rate it highly on BookRetreats and Google. Against that, two 2026 Google reviews allege that a man who serves the medicine takes advantage of women (unverified, denied), no screening, contraindications or medical staff are published, and ceremonies are excluded from the price with no cost stated.

🎯 At a Glance

• Locations: A jungle property listed in Puerto Morelos, Quintana Roo, Mexico, which guests describe as about 3 miles west of town, per its Ashtanga retreat reviews; Cancún airport is 20 to 30 minutes away.
• Approach: Daily Mysore-style Ashtanga with evening ceremonies, including ayahuasca with sound healing, kambo, bufo, cacao and a Mayan temazcal, plus integration circles; the website also offers a 10-day Noya Rao plant dieta and a 200-hour teacher training. The number of ayahuasca ceremonies is not published.
• Suitable For: Yoga practitioners wanting Ashtanga alongside optional ceremonies, who can screen themselves. Not suitable for people taking antidepressants or with heart or psychiatric conditions.
• Costs: From $1,162 for eight days on BookRetreats, with a $239 deposit, and $1,200 on its Retreat Guru program page, which says the ayahuasca, bufo and kambo ceremonies are not included; their cost is not stated. The deposit is refundable until a day before arrival and the full payment until 30 days before; the balance is due on arrival.
• Overall Assessment: A long-running yoga ashram with strong ratings, offset by unverified misconduct allegations against its medicine team, no published screening or medical cover for an ayahuasca, kambo and bufo program, and unpriced ceremonies. Directory evaluation: D+.

💬 What Guests Are Saying

BookRetreats shows 4.96 from 80 reviews dated January 2024 to October 2026, a pool shared with its yoga-only listings, and Google shows 4.8 from 62 reviews; Retreat Guru shows none, per its Retreat Guru page. Guests praise Coco’s teaching, the raw vegan food, the jungle, the community and ceremonies that felt safe. A five-star October 2025 review says the ceremonies did not feel safe for someone with complex trauma, that the facilitators left quickly and that the host was not on site, per its nine-day listing. On Google, three one-star reviews raise the concerns set out below. A BookRetreats review posted under the name of another center where Coco teaches matches a same-day Google review, and several five-star Google reviews in October 2026 answer “the negative comments” directly. If you have attended, we encourage you to share your experience through our submission form.

🚩 Incident Report

We searched review platforms and English and Spanish-language news for reports involving One Breath of Yoga Ashram, Coco, Pamela Dharani and the Ayaruna group that works at the venue.

• Deaths and serious injuries: None found.
• Sexual misconduct: Unverified allegations. A one-star Google review from about August 2026 says men there take advantage of women, “one being the man who serves medicine”, that staff know and allow it, and that ceremonies are pushed on guests who decline. A one-star review from October 2026 says the Ayaruna group has for years supported a facilitator it names as Ivan, and his wife Pamela, who “repeatedly blindside women”. One Breath replied to the first that it gave no incident, date or person to investigate, that it does not tolerate abuse or coercion and that participation is never forced. Guest reviews name Pamela and Ivan as leading the plant medicine work.
• Ceremony safety: An older one-star Google review, posted about two years ago, says no facilitator was sober during ceremonies, a guest who panicked was tied with a rope, and bathrooms and showers had no doors. One Breath replied that facilitators drink a much smaller dose, that it restrained a man once for his own and others’ safety, and that he was grateful afterward.
• Theft and fraud: None found; the same older review says extra costs were not disclosed at booking.
• Legal action: None found.

Ivan’s surname is not published by One Breath, which limits this search.

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

🔍 Critical Notes

Who runs it. Founder Coco (Corinne), born in Canada, a former dancer who says she was certified in Ashtanga in Mysore in 2005, is also listed as teaching at Orion Healing Yoga Centre on Koh Phangan, Thailand, per Balance Gurus. Pamela Dharani, the listed medicine facilitator, says she began with Santo Daime in 2006, trained with Shipibo masters and has facilitated at Arkana since 2015, per her BookRetreats profile (unverified); she also works with Ayafes and other operators. Listings call Coco, Pamela and the chef “Dr.” without stating any degree. The website footer names “One Breath of Yoga Ltd.”, which is not a Mexican company form, and no registration was found.

Screening and medical support. None of One Breath’s own listings describes a medical questionnaire, a contraindication list, medical staff or an emergency plan, although kambo and bufo are offered in the same week as ayahuasca. Puerto Morelos has primary care only, per the municipal government; the nearest full hospitals are in Cancún and Playa del Carmen, per an expat guide.

Listings. Programs are listed as both eight and nine days, meals as raw vegan or cooked, groups as “small” or up to 18, and Retreat Guru shows a spa, sauna and hot tub that the program text does not mention. At least five older BookRetreats programs, including teacher trainings with ayahuasca, now redirect elsewhere.

Status. Operating, with retreats listed from November 2026 to January 2027 and reviews from October 2026. The venue also hosts Ayaruna Retreats and MexiSoul Retreats.

Legal context. DMT is illegal in Mexico, and at least nine people, mainly Indigenous healers, were arrested with ayahuasca from 2022 before being released, per AFP via the Tico Times. 5-MeO-DMT is not federally scheduled, but the Sonoran Desert toad is a protected species, per Mind Medicine Law.

🆘 Screening & Mental Health Risks

Offering bufo, a serotonergic drug, in the same week as ayahuasca with no published screening or gap is a serious concern. ICEERS notes that ayahuasca’s MAOI component makes it dangerous with SSRIs and other serotonergic drugs 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

Ayahuasca served by the medicine team led by Pamela Dharani; the source and recipe are not published. Ayahuasca combines the Banisteriopsis caapi vine with a DMT-containing leaf such as chacruna, as Erowid explains.

📍 Location, Setting & Style

• Setting: Hot, humid Caribbean coastal jungle with a pool and temazcal; the beach is about a 35-minute walk.
• Rooms: Cabañas, private rooms and studios; guests note that not every room has air conditioning or a double bed.
• Style: A yoga ashram blending Ashtanga, Santo Daime and Shipibo-influenced ceremony, Mayan temazcal and kirtan.

Practical guidance: Fly to Cancún (CUN); transport is offered for about $25, or take a taxi or ADO bus to Puerto Morelos.

Should You Book?

Only with caution. Ask in writing who serves the medicine and their full names and training, how the allegations above were investigated, how many ayahuasca ceremonies are held and what they cost, the screening questions and contraindication list, the gap between ayahuasca and bufo, who on site is trained in first aid, and which hospital is used. Read our guide to verifying retreat facilitators.

The Team & Story

Coco says she moved from Canada to the Riviera Maya in 2003 and has taught full time since 2010, per her Mixcloud profile; BookRetreats reviews date from 2019. Other team members include kirtan leader Ale Sai and an Ayurvedic chef. 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 decide in advance which medicines you will decline. After you return: Use the integration circles 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

Programs are listed on its website, Retreat Guru and BookRetreats. Best Retreats does not take bookings; learn more about our mission.

Last reviewed November 2026.

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