Becoming Light Retreat - Ecuador

How would your life be different if you know you could counsciously create how you feel each day?

How would you feel if your life was full of magic and mystery?

And you were completely in your power to bring any energy that you want to live forward through your everyday practices?

If you believed in manifestation and energy again and knew how to show up for yourself and others in difficult moments?

In this retreat, we work with deep subconsious repatterning, activations, movement and vibrational therapy, as well as offering workshops on consciouss communication, authentic relating and freedom of expression. Learning and encorporating these into your life, you will be able to completely get out of your own way and come back to joy and power that is inherently yours.

Humanity has always been fascinated with altred states of consciousness; we can see it in the oldest scriptures, from ‘soma' in vedic texts to ayahuasca in Amazonian rainforest and pre-dating it all, the Algerian cave paintings of a mushroom shaman. Nearly all the ancient tribes had something in common: they all worked with some sort of plant medicine used in a ceremonial way.

At this hidden jungle Eco-Community, we aim to bring that knowledge forward in a gentle and accessible way, to show you how all these practices, that are on the rise in the west can illuminate a deeper transformation through the use of subtle, or even sub-perceptual mind alteration.

That’s where the revolutionary idea to weave together plant medicine and conscious movement, sound and breath came to life. As you immerse yourself in a five day long program of daily yoga, meditation, breathwork and sound journeys, we will provide the missing elements, and guide you on this deep exploration of what’s possible.

What we aim for with this process is giving you an idea and tools to see what is possible on the path of healing. So many of us have an imense desire to heal and grow, and we often get stuck on the ´how´. Our practices are designed to bring you out of this limbo of not knowing and into your own power, where you become your own guide, your own 'shaman'.

This retreat is curated to bring you through subtle shamanic initiation with learning how to navigate microdosing and self induced altered states and two psilocybin journeys, guided by professional facilitators for both shamanic and medical backgrounds.

We have just added a traditional temazcal ceremony to open the space and connect with the four elements and directions in the way of the natives of the land, as well as became a part of an online platform that offers guided psychedelic integration.

During these days, you will stay in a beautiful permaculture based center where all the huts are built in sacred geometry design and is nestled deep in the jungle in Ayampe, Ecuador.

With the help of grandfather plant Huachuma and Kai Kai Kuna (magic mushroom), we will open ourselves in a sensual embrace of Mother Earth, Gaia, and learn to experience reality in profoundly different ways.

The retreat is facilitated by an international group of healers, chefs and teachers. We choose to work with smaller groups to make the experience more intimate and personalized and we encourage the development of skills that you can use as tools beyond the days of the retreat.

We believe it requires bravery to step out of the traditional constructs of globalized monoculture and step into alternative systems grounded in the reality of what is possible when we align ourselves to the wisdom and power of Nature. To activate our roots as children of Gaia and remind us of our responsibility to live symbiotically with the source from which all life originates.

We have a lot of free time allowing you to individually process all experiences and during the entire retreat, you will have the opportunity to work 1 on 1 with a psychedelic integration specialist.

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Below is our daily activities list giving each day has its own tone, but nothing is ever set in stone we set a general guideline but ask you be open to changes.

DAY 1 MONDAY – INTENTION

ARRIVAL & CHECK IN

2:00 PM LATE LUNCH AND ORIENTATION

4:00 PM RESTORATIVE MOVEMENT WITH SENSORIAL ALCHEMY

6:00 PM DINNER AND OPENING CEREMONY

DAY 2 TUESDAY - OPENING

7:30 AM MEDITATION & INTENTION WITH HUACHUMA MICRODOSE

9:00 AM LIGHT BREAKFAST

11:00 AM VINYASA FLOW

1:30 PM LUNCH

3:00 PM TRE (TRAUMA RELEASE EXERCISE) INTRO

5:00 PM TRADITIONAL TEMAZCALLI  (SWEAT LODGE)

7:30 PM LIGHT DINNER

DAY 3 WEDNESDAY - DEVOTION

7:00 AM CHI GONG

8:00 AM BREAKFAST

11:00 AM EFT (EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE)

2:00 PM SMALL LUNCH

4:00 PM THETA HEALING ACTIVATION

8:00 PM MAGIC MUSHROOM HEALING CEREMONY

DAY 4 THURSDAY – INTEGRATION

9:00 AM BREAKFAST

10:00 AM CONSCIOUSS GUIDED INTEGRATION

1:00 PM LUNCH

4:30 PM FREE TIME AND INTEGRATION SPACE

6:30 PM  DINNER

8:30 PM CRYSTAL ALCHEMY SOUND BATH

DAY 5 FRIDAY – BREATH

7:30 AM  MEDITATION WITH HUACHUMA MICRODOSE

8:00 AM SURFING EXCURSION AND WATER PRAYER CEREMONY

1:00 PM LUNCH

2:30 PM FREE TIME

7:00 PM LIGHT DINNER

8:00 PM COMMUNITY SONG SHARING OR FREE TIME

DAY 6 SATURDAY – HEALING

7:30 AM SUNRISE MEDITATION

8:00 AM YOGA

9:30 AM BREAKFAST

11:00 AM MICRODOSING PROTOCOLS

2:00 PM SMALL LUNCH

4:00 PM INTENTION/INTEGRATION SPACE

12:30 PM PSILOCYBIN JOURNEY

DAY 7 SUNDAY – CLOSING

7:30 AM SUNRISE MEDITATION & MUSHROOM MICRODOSE

8:00 AM KUNDALINI RISING WORKSHOP

9:30 AM BRUNCH AND FREE TIME

2:00 PM SHAMANIC BREATHWORK

6:00 PM DINNER AND INTEGRATION SPACE

DAY 8 MONDAY – DEPARTURE DAY

7:30 AM SUNRISE MEDITATION & MUSHROOM MICRODOSE

8:00 AM BREAKFAST

9:30 AM CLOSING CIRCLE

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About the Facilitators:

This retreat will be facilitated by Jakob Gricar (co- founder of Vortex Retreats), Ashley Barba (Awakened Radiance) and Akasha and Kira of Harmonic Hearts.  

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Jakob Gricar's journey with psilocybin began in Thailand where a single microdose opened his mind about being able to treat anxiety and depression on his own.  After doing extensive research on the effects of the structured treatment, he started experimenting with it as he was living in Australia.  Within three months, his life had changed completely.  He He left Australia for Peru where he helped facilitate ceremonies with stronger mind altering healing plants, learning about traditions of the Andean and Amazonian tribes.  He came back to working with psilocybin in Mexico where he helped organize and hold space during various ceremonies.  Jakob's personal healing story is a strong testimonial of the power and wide range of benefits of the use of plant medicine and his connection and knowledge of how to energetically assist the process are what makes it accessible to anyone.

(see more on facilitators page)

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Akasha and Kira are traveling yogis and sound healers who have dedicated their lives to living and sharing the feelings of joy, abundance, and ease. They combine many different techniques learned all around the world in their daily practice and teachings, such as yoga asana, transformational breathwork, reiki, theta healing, pranayama, and subconscious repatterining.

Originally from California, they travelled to India for a year to live and work in ashrams and conscious communities, completing yoga teacher trainings in a traditional Indian ashram and an intensive Kundalini course. They have spent the past two years traveling with crystal alchemy and Tibetan singing bowls along with various other sound healing instruments. They have led sound baths, workshops, and trainings across the United States, India, Thailand, and Mexico.

The two together hold a balanced space of feminine and masculine energies in order to harmonize all that is within and all that is with out. They are passionate about using the most fundamental elements of vibration and breath to create space for people to connect with and explore the part of themselves that never dies. They aim to help people to see what lies on the other side of fear and to find out that they are capable of far more than they believe.

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During plant medicine ceremonies, the layers that we shed, the profound healing and epiphanies we experience can be beautiful but can also crack the foundation that we’ve been living our life from making us question who we are, what we’ve been doing and where to go from here.

Ashley Barba is a psychotherapist, certified yoga therapist, and reiki master, who serves as mentor and integration therapist for sacred plant medicine ceremonies. Experiencing a spontaneous spiritual awakening at 20 years old, Ashley’s life trajectory took a 180- transitioning from studying business management to all things related to psychology and holistic health. Creating her career based on the guidance she was given, Ashley has spent the last 15 years immersed in psychology, culture, feminism, nutrition, yoga, somatics, Ayurveda, Chinese Medicine, quantum physics and numerous energy and spiritual healing modalities.

Within months of receiving her Bachelor’s in Psychology and Gender Studies from University of Illinois Chicago, Ashley attended the Sivananda Ashram in Bahamas where she received her 200-hour yoga teacher training and Children’s Yoga Teacher training with a specialization in learning and developmental disabilities. When she arrived back state side, Ashley attended Pacifica School of Oriental Medicine, Chicago, for massage therapy with the goal of combining the model of Chinese medicine with yoga for mental health. She then went on to receive her Master’s of Social Work from Loyola Chicago and her yoga therapist certification from Kripalu.

Over the past 10 years Ashley has been integrating her knowledge while serving various populations in the city of Chicago from underprivileged to large corporations and celebrities including Chicago Public Schools, hospitality, corporate events, intermittent services, hospitals, refugee communities and private practice. Ashley continues to expand her knowledge drawing upon teachings from C.G. Jung, Abraham Maslow and attending trainings by Gary Kraftsow, Ana Forrest, Gabriel Cousens, and Judith Lasater.

Using an integrative approach, Ashley serves as a guide to understanding the programing stirred up during ceremony and assists its actualization in the physical world. Her sessions involve talk therapy and personalized mind-body exercises for each participant’s needs including yoga, somatics, breathwork, guided meditations and energy healing. You can learn more about her at www.awakenedradiance.com

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ABOUT THE LOCATION:

Wild Child Village in Ayampe is an Eco-Retreat Center grounded in sustainability and community. They are a conscious collective of artists rooted deeply in traditional and spiritual practices, permaculture, artistic expression, movement, and a commitment to co-create new understandings of self and tribe. Through transformational wellness retreats, educational programs and adventure, they seek to empower people to explore their passions, find their purpose and help create bold actions to bring forth a sustainable future that works for all.

This eco-community is built based on permaculture principles and designed with perfect sacred geometry architecture. It's rooted on the edge of a rainforest in La Reserva Manabi, a 70 acre Eco-community in the hills above the charming surf town of Ayampe. With views of the ocean and mountains, the center is discretely tucked in the canyon for privacy and solitude. You can see some of their spaces and activities on their page https://www.wildchildvillage.com or their instagram profile @wildchildvillage 

The inital deposit is required to reserve your space and is non-refundable after 3rd October 2022. The deposits are only accepted as bank transfers in EUR, USD, GBP and blockchain transfers in ETH, BTC and USDT.

If you're ready to make the first step by doing the deposit, but unable to pay the full cost of the retreat, send us an inquiry email on info@vortexretreats.com and we'll respond to you shortly.