– TRADITIONAL SHIPIBO SHAMANIC HEALING –
Ayahuasca Ceremony at Caya Shobo
– SMALL-GROUPS, SAFE CONTAINER, KNOWLEDGEABLE PRACTITIONERS –
In Shipibo shamanism, Ayahuasca Ceremony is a sacred experience allowing us to journey into the spiritual realms, and the energetic worlds of the plants.
Ayahuasca alone is a powerful plant entheogen that has the potential to provide great insights into yourself and your spiritual nature. When combined with traditional Shipibo Plant Dieta treatment, Ayahuasca works together with the healing power of the Plant Dieta to go deeper into your issues.
This approach can more sustainably transform your life and your entire relationship with your your body, mind, heart and spirit. That is why Plant Dieta is the principal healing practice in the Shipibo shamanic tradition, and the focus of our healing treatments at Caya Shobo. All guests, facilitators, and Shipibo shamans (Onányas) actively participate in traditional Shipibo Plant Dieta during our Ayahuasca Retreats.
By limiting our retreat groups to 12 guests, our shamans can better manage the energetic stability of our Ayahuasca ceremonies. So you can be sure of a safer, calmer experience, and a more deeply focused, personalized healing treatment.
- Personalized Healing Treatment -
During your Ayahuasca Retreat at Caya Shobo, you will be prescribed a personalized Plant Dieta with master Teacher Plants such as Bobinsana, or Ajo Sacha, or Marosa or Pinon Blanco, or many other possible Teacher Plants.
In 8 Ayahuasca Ceremonies over 12-days, our highly experienced Shipibo shamans will sing their healing song Icaros to connect you more and more deeply with the healing power of your Plant Dieta and bring the energy of the plants strongly into the ceremony space.
Your Plant Dieta practice allows our Onánya shamans to have the clearest vision possible to diagnose and treat you. And the shamans’ healing songs (Icaros) can work more effectively at clearing your energy as the Teacher Plants actively clean and strengthen your body, mind, heart and spirit.
- Ayahuasca in Historical Shipibo Shamanism -
In the historical way of working with Ayahuasca in Shipibo shamanism, only the shamans drank the Ayahuasca brew. Ayahuasca is used to clean the body, open the ‘vision’ and connect with the spiritual world of the Teacher Plants. The patient would not traditionally drink Ayahuasca, unless studying to be a shaman.
Today, the powerful healing benefits of Ayahuasca for those seeking a personal, spiritual journey are well known. Ayahuasca offers an opportunity to access deep self-knowledge and have a direct experience of your spiritual essence. In itself this can be truly life-changing.
However, it is important to understand that Ayahuasca in Shipibo shamanism has always been practiced hand-in-hand with Plant Dieta practice. While Ayahuasca opens a doorway to the spiritual realms, it is the Teacher Plants which carry specific medicine for healing and bringing about a lasting personal transformation.
To achieve the highest levels of shamanic vision and power, Shipibo shamans need to actively practice Plant Dieta.
At Caya Shobo we follow the traditional approach of working with Ayahuasca as part of a comprehensive plant medicine treatment plan. We also strive to create the most supportive environment for our shamans to be active in their Plant Dieta practice. So you get the deepest healing benefit from the most advanced, dedicated shamans.
- Ayahuasca Preparation -
Ayahuasca is a powerful plant medicine requiring an attitude of serious respect and a careful physical and mental preparation. So, at Caya Shobo we help you get ready for safe Ayahuasca ceremonies and Plant Dieta practice before your Ayahuasca Retreat in Peru.
Preparation for Ayahuasca involves purifying the body by following dietary restrictions for a minimum period before drinking Ayahuasca. Also, it is important to discontinue certain substances and medications.*
Ayahuasca is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor which can NOT be safely combined with certain medications, substances and pre-existing health conditions. *Note: Any changes to your prescribed medical plan should be first discussed with your doctor.
Physical purification supports the process of mental preparation. Because your intuition is more clear when your body is clean. Observing your dreams and meditations in the weeks before your Ayahuasca Retreat can provide important insights. Which can help you better understand what is ready for healing, and can help you clarify your intentions for your healing retreat.
Before your stay at Caya Shobo our experienced facilitators will have a private talk with you about your health status and your goals for your Ayahuasca Retreat. During your retreat, you will receive in-depth guidance to help navigate your Ayahuasca experiences and your Plant Dieta practice.
- The Ayahuasca Journey Unfolds -
Ayahuasca ceremony occurs at night in the gorgeous ceremonial space of our traditional Shipibo maloka. The ceremony typically runs between 8pm to 1am or later.
For groups of 8 to 12 guests, there are 2 to 3 advanced Shipibo shamans plus 2 to 3 experienced facilitators in each ceremony. Also there are additional security staff outside the maloka.
About an hour after everyone has drunk Ayahuasca, the shamans begin to sing their powerful healing songs (Icaros). This helps to create an energetic protection, a kind of ‘sacred vessel’, for the spiritual journey of everyone present.
Our highly experienced shamans then sing to each guest, connecting you with the healing powers of Ayahuasca and your Plant Dieta. The shamans’ vision shows them what needs treating, so their Icaros are crafted uniquely for you in the moment. The Icaros work to clear and align your energies, and foster your connection with the Teacher Plants.
Each one of us is an entire world within ourselves. So, for everyone the Ayahuasca experience is different. We recommend trying not to hold too much expectation or attachment to the experience. And approach Ayahuasca as an opportunity for greater self-knowledge, which can best be observed with calm reflection.
It is common for Ayahuasca to provoke an intensive cleansing of the body and mind. Vomiting or diarrhea or other physical flushing can occur. Also, sometimes deep psychological manifestations or emotional releases can bring us to an uncomfortable, or even intimidated, state.
This blessed predicament we see as an authentic experience of the truth that we are much more than what we think. A lot of who we are is determined by our past experiences. And gratitude is an important key to initiate the process of healing.
- Skilled Attention & Support During the Ceremony -
At Caya Shobo, our experienced facilitators are attentive throughout the Ayahuasca ceremonies and during your Ayahuasca Retreat. We supervise the space and are available to help you get to the bathroom if you need support.
- Rest, Reflection and Ayahuasca Integration -
As the energy of the Ayahuasca ceremony settles, each participant gradually returns to a normal state of awareness or sleep. Each Ayahuasca experience is unique, and there is often much to consider and reflect on. But first it is best to enter a generous period of rest. At the end of the ceremony you may return to your room or rest in the tranquility of the maloka.
After the ceremony, the Ayahuasca Integration period begins. Your body often feels more purified and your thoughts more clear. But you may feel emotionally delicate for a time.
By continuing the dietary restrictions, the energetic vibration of Ayahuasca can remain active in your body for a few days. The tasty, nutritious meals at Caya Shobo can help to nourish and ground your body. Our meals are designed to keep your energy clear to facilitate your ongoing connection with the Teacher Plants. Clean, simple food enhances your insights, visions and dreams.
Throughout your Ayahuasca Retreats in Peru you will have the opportunity for group and individual feedback. Our highly experienced facilitators and master Shipibo shamans are available to talk about your Ayahuasca journeys and help you better understand your experiences. Such expert Ayahuasca Integration support is especially important when you are in Shipibo Plant Dieta treatment.
After your Ayahuasca experience, you may also find it beneficial to seek professional therapeutic support. Caya Shobo’s in-house psychotherapists and counsellors hold extensive experience with Ayahuasca and the Shipibo Plant Dieta tradition and are available for scheduling private consultations.
ATTEND AN AYAHUASCA AND PLANT DIETA INFORMATION SESSION – November 12 at 5PM (PST)
Learn more about how Shipib Plant Dieta Treatment works with Ayahuasca Ceremony
Read about recent guest Annelie’s experience with Ayahuasca ceremony and Plant Dieta at Caya Shobo
Rafael was born into a family of Ayahuasca Curanderos in the Shipibo village of Santa Rosa de Dinamarca, 5 hours journey by riverboat to the south of Pucallpa. Growing up immersed in the world of Ayahuasca, he observed his parents and the men and women of his extended family always working in healing ceremonies and guiding plant dietas. At the age of 18, his curiosity to learn more about this path inspired him to open his first plant dieta, and he has since been learning and dieting with different master plants over the past 15 years.
Meeting Walter you immediately recognize his natural warmth and humility as a person, as well as his impressive capability as an experienced Onánya Maestro healer. His beautiful, lower toned voice and variety of melodic Icaros can transport you to a place of peace and reconciliation with your life’s experiences and your healing path. Walter is always solid in the middle of the storm.
Maestra Maricela is a highly experienced Shipiba Onánya curandera and Raomi herbalist. Born in the Alto Ucayali river village of Roya, south of Pucallpa, her father Nicolas Vardales is a well known Shipibo medicine man with a strong famileal lineage of medicine knowledge. At age 13, in receiving treatment for some serious health issues of her own, Maricela began to learn about the healing properties of Amazonian medicine plants. She continued dieting with different master plants until she started working with Ayahuasca in her early 30’s.
Immersed in the medicine world her entire life, Maestra Lucinda is the eldest daughter of renowned Shipibo Onánya Maestro Pascual Mahua Ochavano, born in the Shipibo village of Paoyhan or ‘Water of the Pearls’ located on the banks of the beautiful Ucayali river, north of Pucallpa. When she was a tiny infant of 4 months old her father opened her first learning dieta to bring her the advanced knowledge of the Noya Rao “Tree of light” of her ancestors.
Orlando also belongs to the famous family Mahua. His great-grandfather Manuel Mahua was renowned as one of the most powerful Onánya shaman in the entire history of the Shipibo tribe. Manuel’s daughter Manuela, grandmother to Orlando, is also a well – known living Onánya Maestra. Manuela brought up Orlando from early childhood and opened his first medicine plant dieta at age 7. 
Fernando Levi, also born in the village of Paoyhan, is the grandson of Pascual Mahua, and, like his father, his grandfather and many generations before him, Fernando has inherited the Shipibo name “Sani Piko” which means “The Great Medicine Men.” This legacy of ancestral knowledge and the discipline Fernando has brought to developing its power within himself is clearly evident in his Icaros, in his medicine and also in his extensive knowledge of master plant dieta for healing and learning.
Francisco (or Pancho) has been working with the Shipibo medicine path since his early 40’s, and is now in his late 60s.
As a teenager, Pablo felt the call of the medicine, but without access to knowledgeable teachers in his own family or community, he pursued his own learning path with Ayahuasca in the way of the ancient Shipibo Maestro Onánya – by entering the jungle alone and following the call of the plants in isolation dieta.