INTEGRATION SUPPORT

Plant Medicine initiates a healing process deep within all levels of our system that unfolds over time, often taking months or years. The goal of ayahuasca and other medicine integration practices is to maximize that healing process.

It is common to experience tests and challenges when you return home. They may be big or small, difficult or easy to navigate, but they will for sure come up. In the Amazon, traditional healers working with plant spirit medicine talk about the plants ‘testing’ us. This is one of the ways the plant spirits find out who you truly are, how strong is your commitment and dedication, and how sincere is your search for healing and learning.

Life challenges or upsets can be perfect opportunities to practice what you’ve learned and to relate to old situations in new ways. Navigating the ayahuasca integration process while also trying to live life, with work, kids, family, relationships, and everything else to manage can be extremely challenging.

Ayahuasca Integration is really what grounds your healing: where YOU take the reins in implementing the lessons from the medicine, taking steps forward in your life as an empowered being, consciously guiding and practising the positive changes you want to make in your life. There are a few things you can do to help yourself through this process of continued healing.
Here are some ayahuasca integration basics to consider:

Follow the Post-Ayahuasca Dietary Suggestions

The dietary guidelines after the retreat are there for your benefit and safety and are based on what is traditionally known to maximize the effects of ayahuasca healing.

Receiving healing from the Shipibo Onanyabo is in essence an energetic surgery. Similar to physical surgery in the Western medical system, it is in your best interest to rest and recuperate, and respect and follow the instructions of your surgeon.

Honoring your post dieta restrictions is a critical part of the healing process., that supports the healing that is occurring on all levels – physical, mental, emotional and energetic. The first week or two following a retreat can be compared with being in post-op.

We provide comprehensive ayahuasca integration support following retreats, through a guidebook on ayahuasca integration, an online integration community, a group integration video call on Zoom, and the opportunity to book one-on-one ayahuasca integration sessions with a Temple facilitator/integration specialist.

Have a Practice

It’s important to carve out space in your day to still your mind. This can be a seated meditation practice, or it can be watching your thoughts as you do the dishes.

However, especially in the early weeks after your retreat, you may find it helpful or necessary to do more than just watch your thoughts. Carving out some time in your day to dedicate simply to embracing your feelings can be very helpful. This may flow naturally with meditation or may require more active participation to be present to whatever is coming up.

A practice can also be anything that you do with regularity, especially one that encourages reflection and introspection. A yoga practice, an art practice, a journaling practice, a cooking practice – any activity can be done with intention. It’s important to carve out space in your day to still your mind and devote a little time to caring for yourself.

Find a Community

One of the biggest challenges that people face with integrating ayahuasca healing is a lack of community. People come to the jungle and experience authentic connections, develop deep friendships, and are surrounded by a community of people who are as committed to their healing as you are.

Then back at home, it’s not as easy to talk about what you experienced, especially with people who have not had similar experiences. It can be difficult for people to relate to your experience, and the lack of understanding and connection can have a negative impact on your continued healing process.

Finding ways to communicate authentically, and to have friends who are doing similar work, is extremely helpful. More and more people are open to talking about ayahuasca, so you may be surprised who you find.

If you can’t find local ayahuasca communities in your area, you might try communities that are focused on other kinds of spirituality or personal work. Yoga studios and meditation groups are good places to start. Reaching out to people who were on your retreat with you is another good place to start.

You will also have a new community of friends from your retreat and an invitation to join the Temple Ayahuasca Integration Community (available to all previous guests).

Spend Time in Nature

Find time in your day to spend in nature, even if it’s just the little park down the street. Of course, the bigger and wilder, the better.

Get out into fresh air and include all your senses: lie down and earth yourself on the ground, touch the grass, hug a tree, breathe deeply, dip your toes in the stream, and look out at the horizon and up at the birds in the sky. There is an overwhelming body of scientific evidence that shows the calming effect that nature has on your nervous system.

And after working in a shamanic healthcare tradition, where the wisdom of nature is fundamentally guiding your healing process, and where plant spirits continue to work with you well after you leave the jungle, paying your respects to the natural environment of your home is an important way to honor the healing you’ve received. You can express gratitude to the land by offering some tobacco to a tree or a plant, or simply by saying or thinking thank you.

Take Care of Your Body

It sounds simple, and it seems obvious, but it’s often the first thing we forget in times of stress or difficulty. You have to take care of your body if you want your healing to continue.

This includes eating well even after the diet restrictions and finding ways to make healthier choices daily. Be kind to yourself. As energetic beings, we are what we eat. Try to eat as much organic food as possible, cut down on junk food, cut down on red and processed meat, increase your vegetables, and go easy on refined and processed flour and sugars. Be conscious about your caffeine and alcohol intake, and pay attention to how quickly you eat.

Exercise is an important part of taking care of your body. It doesn’t need to be vigorous, but you do need to move around. Yoga, especially yin yoga, is a great way to stay connected to ceremony experiences and to continue to learn to sit with uncomfortable feelings and sensations.

Walking, swimming, biking, running, hiking, team sports – whatever gets you moving at a slightly uncomfortable but not acutely painful level. It helps move energy through and out of your body, which in turn helps your mind calm down. It’s best to sweat a bit, and if moving around is too much to manage, try a sauna or steam room to stimulate sweating and promote physical relaxation.