More than a weekend retreat
This page walks through the whole arc of an ayahuasca experience (preparation, ceremony and integration) and what each phase asks of you. It is for anyone considering a first ceremony who wants to see the full commitment before deciding.
Last updated 28 October 2026.
Embarking on an ayahuasca journey can be experienced as a rite of passage that invites you to explore the deepest layers of body, mind, and spirit.
To help you prepare, navigate, and integrate this experience safely and meaningfully, we invite you first to be aware of these Essential considerations, valid for each of the three phases of the journey.
Essential considerations
Safety & Care
Prioritising wellbeing before, during, and after your experience. Understanding contraindications, proper screening, and qualified facilitation is essential for minimising risks. Safety includes choosing facilitators with authentic experience and a genuine connection to their tradition. This protects both you and the integrity of that tradition.
Set & Setting
Your mindset, physical environment, and preparation shape your experience. Consider your intentions, the ceremonial space, and the context in which you take part. Your mindset might include gratitude toward the traditions that preserved and shared these practices, and humility about your role.
Integration
The process of making meaning from your experience and weaving its insights into daily life. Integration extends beyond the ceremony, and often determines the lasting value of your experience. It can include considering how a richer quality of life might contribute beyond yourself, through supporting the communities that preserve these practices, rainforest protection, or service to others.
The three phases
Preparation
Understanding what ayahuasca is and isn’t, choosing wisely, caring for body and mind, and setting an honest intention before you arrive.
Setting the stage → II DuringCeremony
What may unfold as you drink and settle in: purging, visions, and how to meet intensity when it comes. The journey is yours.
Navigating the ceremony → III AfterIntegration
The quiet, ongoing work that gives ceremony its lasting value, the neuroplastic window, daily practices, and knowing when to seek support.
Bringing it home →See Safety and care for the standards worth insisting on and the warning signs to watch for, and Questions to ask before you book for what to ask any facilitator or centre.
Before the journey, an honest look at readiness.
The arc from preparation to integration asks a great deal. This helps you see where you stand.
Choice and expectations
Whether the decision is your own, and what you expect one ceremony could do.
Practical arrangements
Whether there is room for quieter days afterwards, and for the guidelines before and after.
Support and boundaries
Who you could talk to afterwards, and whether you would ask how to decline something or stop.
The self-check can bring more clarity to the three areas above, but it cannot determine medical suitability. Medication, psychiatric history and health conditions need proper screening with qualified healthcare professionals.