Multiple pigeons flying in the sky with the word 'HEAL' in the center.
Close-up of a tree branch covered with green leaves and vines.

6 Week Program
7 Day Immersion
3 Ayahuasca Ceremonies

Heal is the second of Ceremonia’s 3-stage Arc of Transformation working with the plant sacrament of ayahuasca in beautiful Baja, Mexico. In Heal, you will release the grip of shame, guilt, fear, and anger to free yourself from suffering; clarify and purify your inner sense of Truth to harness your Innate Power; and let go of limiting beliefs in service of fully activating your Enlightened Vision. Within the Immersion, our experienced ministers serve the sacred entheogenic sacrament of ayahuasca in three ceremonies.

Welcome to Yandara

Just 40 minutes from Cabo San Lucas, Yandara is one of North America’s most beloved retreat sanctuaries. Nestled between desert cacti and the Pacific Ocean, it offers open-air yoga shalas, oceanfront hammocks, organic gardens, and soul-stirring ceremonial spaces. The energy here is tranquil, expansive, and deeply connected to nature—an ideal setting to remember who you truly are.

The Path of Emptiness

Learn how our 8-week Heal program accelerates the human experience towards persistent embodiment of peace, joy, gratitude, and a purposeful life.

Modern Enlightenment

Watch Ceremonia co-founder Austin Mao share his transformation with plant sacraments and the synthesis of psychology, spirituality, and psychedelics that is shared at Ceremonia.

Testimonials

7 Day Sacred Retreat

Day 1: Root (Grounding)

The day of the Root Chakra establishes the sacred container for your journey. Through intentional grounding rituals, somatic movement, and authentic relating exercises, you'll build deep safety and trust with your fellow journeyers, the land, and yourself.

Day 2: Sacral (Flow)

The day of the Sacral Chakra invites you to reconnect with your emotional flow and creative life force. You’ll explore stored emotional energy through movement, dance, and expressive arts. By embracing vulnerability and release, you prepare your body and spirit for for insight and emotional release in the evening's  ceremony.

Day 3: Solar Plexus Chakra (Power)

The day of the Solar Plexus Chakra contains workshops where you are invited to step out of victimhood and into radical responsibility. We dive into the moments where we betrayed our own integrity as the ego chased safety. This helps us rediscover and reintegrate the parts of us that we have hidden away for so long, enhancing our wholeness—an essential tool for the evening’s plant sacrament ceremony.

Day 4: Heart Chakra (Love)

The day of the Heart Chakra is provides the environment for finding forgiveness for others and yourself. You will embrace your wounded inner child—the exiled parts of yourself—with the recognition, love, and leadership that s/he has craved. These tools will help you explore the depths of your Self within the evening’s plant sacrament ceremony.

Day 5: Throat Chakra (Expression)

The day of the Throat Chakra explores all the times we said “yes” when we should have said “no”, or vice-versa. We find courage in our Inner Power to express ourselves in full congruence with the Inner Truth that has laid dormant within us. You will practice standing in your power and taking up space. This, in turn, provides the footing to create your, which gets crystallized in evening’s breathwork experience.

A woman with dark hair pulled back, making a stern face, has her index finger raised and is facing a man with a beard and short hair in a blue shirt. In the background, a woman in a pink dress is blurred near a window with brick walls and plants.

Day 6: Third Eye Chakra (Insight)

Finally, the day of the Third Eye Chakra ties all the prior chakras together by grounding a new way of being discovered in the Preparation and Immersion. The Integration workshops provide tools to translate the ineffable, felt-sense experiences within the psychedelic experience into actionable tools that can be employed in daily life. We practice these tools by intentionally acting out triggering situations so that our members can respond healthily with intuition instead of reacting with impulse back at home.

Person holding a colorful decorative fan, smiling and partially hiding face, in a cozy room with large windows and natural light.

Day 7: Crown (Oneness)

Finally, the day of the Crown Chakra integrates all the prior chakra experiences into a new way of being. Integration workshops help translate your profound experiences into practical tools for everyday life. You’ll rehearse responding with wisdom and intuition rather than reactivity, anchoring your transformation deeply and durably as you prepare to return home.

6 Weeks of Preparation & Integration

  • Open book, two lit candles on a wooden tray, a cup of coffee, pine cones, star-shaped confetti, a stack of books, a card with a house and books, and a gray blanket on a white table.

    Online Preparation Course

    Training videos, psychospiritual readings, consciousness exercises, meditations, rituals, routines, and health/nutrition guidance

  • A laptop displaying a video conference call with multiple participants, a coffee mug filled with dark beverage, and a potted plant on a white desk with warm lighting.

    Preparation Workshops

    Two 1-hour Full Circle Preparation workshops that develop shared foundations and community

  • A person is practicing mindfulness with a calming arrangement of candles, stones, and scented sticks on a wooden disc, sitting on a soft surface with a sparkly pillow in the background.

    Online Integration Course

    Psycho-spiritual readings, practicums, accountability tools, meditations, rituals, and routines

  • A laptop displaying a virtual meeting with many participants, placed on a wooden table next to a ceramic mug of coffee.

    Integration Calls

    Three 1-hour Full Circle Integration calls that continue support and guidance after a transformational retreat

  • A group of ten people sitting on a cozy, well-lit indoor wooden bench, smiling and enjoying each other's company during a social gathering at night.

    Inner Circle Peer Groups

    Five 1-hour Inner Circle peer group calls led by expert facilitators for more intimate sharing and accountability

  • Three women standing outdoors on a sunny day, wearing sunglasses and jackets, with trees and a blue sky in the background.

    Community Access

    Our growing community of creators who have also awakened their Higher Selves, sharing resources, support, and love

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Sacrament: Ayahuasca

  • Ayahuasca is an entheogenic brew or tea made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Psychotria viridis leaf. P. virdris contains DMT, a powerful psychedelic, and B. caapi contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), notably β-carboline, which work synergistically with DMT to produce a long-lasting psychedelic experience. It is used in traditional ceremonies among the indigenous tribes of Amazonia.

    We believe that Ayahuasca is uniquely suited to accelerate communion with Nothingness, the quality of enlightenment of surrendering all positionalities and identity in service of pure essence.

  • The use of ayahuasca is a widespread practice among indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Such practices were almost certainly well established in pre-Columbian times, with some speculating that the practice goes back to the earliest human inhabitants of the region. Ayahuasca, along with many other medicinal plants, gradually became integrated into the ethnomedical traditions of the mixed populations following European contact in the New World.

    The therapeutic use of ayahuasca tea is experiencing unprecedented expansion worldwide and is the object of increasing biomedical research. Its constituent plants were central to indigenous cultures in the New World and were used in medicine, religious ceremonies, and rites of passage. Throughout the first half of the twentieth century, small groups of indigenous people continued to use these plants in traditional ceremonies and other cultural practices.

    These practices continued without external interference until more recent times, likely due to the relative isolation of many of these groups in the Amazon rainforest. During the 1980s, over 70 different names were recorded for ayahuasca preparations from disparate indigenous tribes, illustrating its widespread use by isolated groups.

  • Various studies have shown that ayahuasca therapy may be effective in the treatment of depression and addiction. Many who seek experiences of personal growth with ayahuasca report a sense of connectedness and compassion with others around them. Some report spiritual awakenings that lead to long-term, stable perspective shifts. This is likely a result of achieving a particularly intense level of introspection that leads to profound self-awareness and clarity regarding personal issues and belief systems.

    Many lines of anecdotal evidence suggest that ayahuasca holds promise as a healing tool for disorders like addiction, several mental illnesses, and immune disorders. One recent study of a ceremony in Canada found significant effects on the treatment of addictive behaviors. With appropriate supportive settings that include talk therapy and social network support, regular and long-term use may aid in lasting lifestyle changes. This is most notable for substance abuse and addiction.

Content vs. Process

More than 95% of our participants share that this is the most transformative experience of their lives. With this extraordinary opportunity comes an equally extraordinary responsibility. We believe that tools from psychology and psychospirituality are essential for safe and durable transformation.

The foundational framework for Heal is Internal Family Systems (IFS), a therapeutic approach developed by Dr. Richard Schwartz in the 1980s often considered to be the best framework to pair with psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. IFS posits that the mind is made up of multiple parts, and underlying them is a person's core or true Self.

Book cover titled 'No Bad Parts' by Richard Schwartz, PhD, featuring abstract artwork of colorful shapes and a continuous line drawing of a face.

Our Sacred Space

  • A spacious living room with large windows and abundant indoor plants, including trees in black pots, multiple sofas, and ceiling fans, with a partly tiled and hardwood floor.

    Tropical Living Room

  • Indoor swimming pool with lounge chairs and decorative elephant statues along the sides.

    40 Foot Pool

  • Indoor tropical garden room with large potted plants, a hot tub, and natural wood accents.

    Indoor Hot Tub

  • Indoor spa room with a bench made of smooth stones, tiled walls with a large 'Relax' sign, and ceiling lights.

    Stone Steam Room

  • Bright living room with large windows, skylights, and exposed wooden beams, decorated with multiple green houseplants, a beige sofa, a white armchair, and a brick accent wall with a mounted flat-screen TV.

    Lush Lounges

  • An indoor rock-lined cave with a small pond and a built-in fireplace, featuring steps leading to a room with a beige chair and large windows.

    Koi Pond Grotto

  • Open-concept kitchen with wooden cabinets, stainless steel stove, and black countertops, opening into a living area with large windows and lounge furniture.

    Modern Kitchen

  • A bedroom with a wooden platform bed, white bedding, and towels on top. The room has a wood-paneled ceiling with recessed lighting, and a rock wall with stairs leading to a window. There is a glass railing around a hot tub or enclosed area on the rock wall.

    Luxury Bedrooms

  • Aerial view of a large brick house with multiple decks, outdoor furniture, and surrounding yard.

    8,800 Sq Ft Campus

  • Snow-capped mountains reflected in a calm lake.

    Near Mountains & Lake

Community

Imagine sharing what our alumni call “the most profound experience of my life” with others embodying the same powerful transformation. What bonds could be formed?

When you invest your energy into a Ceremonia journey, you are also joining a community of incredible humans that have dived into the innermost corners of their hearts. Together, we have breached the limiting beliefs that have barricaded us from our Highest Selves. Together, we have embraced, cried, screamed, danced, celebrated, and contemplated the cosmos. Together, we are stronger, more resilient, connected, and empowered.

Together, we celebrate the ceremony of life.

A group of people sitting and lounging indoors, smiling and enjoying their time together at night.
Group of people standing outdoors in a scenic landscape with mountains, a lake, and autumn trees in the background, posing for a photo with dogs.
Group of people standing in a forest around a campfire, dressed in white clothing, some with cultural accessories, smiling at the camera.
People gathered outdoors in a circle around a small fire, practicing a meditation or spiritual ritual in a forest setting.
A group of 15 people, including a dog, posing happily indoors with large windows and trees outside in the background.
Group of smiling people gathered in a living room with large window, plants, and warm lighting. Some seated on the floor and sofa, others standing behind, posing for a group photo.

Alumni Gallery

 FAQs

  • We believe that ayahuasca combined with its history of shamanic use over thousands of years is particularly well-suited for shadow work.

    Ayahuasca is often considered a more powerful psychedelic than psilocybin. It produces more gastrointestinal and physical effects, which both pose challenges in sitting with and the opportunity to surrender resistance in the body. As the body is the seat of our emotions and intuition, the localization of attention of the body often produces more emotional content.

    The tradition of “purging”—which is most often associated with vomiting—carries with it the meaning-making tradition of letting go of suffering that we have held onto.

  • We are a non-profit entheogenic church that serves plant sacraments to facilitate connection with one’s Higher Self, which we believe is the source of divinity. Our sacred practices and use of these sacraments are protected by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which has been upheld in the Supreme Court in concern with other plant sacrament churches. Additionally, Colorado recently decriminalized psilocybin mushrooms and DMT (the psychotropic compound in Ayahuasca) on November 9, 2022 in Proposition 122.

  • Ceremonia’s ministers and facilitators guide the experiential retreat and group calls. We also invite expert psychotherapists, spiritual teachers, and plant medicine facilitators to support in the creation and facilitation of the program.

  • Each stage of Ceremonia’s 3-stage arc of Awakening, Healing, Manifesting requires completing the prior training or significant experience with plant medicine ceremonies. Qualifying for the Heal training is on a per application basis. In general, if you are serious about doing The Work and do not have any contraindications with the sacraments, we would love to have you.

  • We work with a variety of creators from entrepreneurs to artists, visionaries to psychologists, and even other plant medicine facilitators.

  • Studies show that group therapy is as effective if not more so than individual therapy. The group dynamic provides a field of vulnerability, accountability, and shared experience that can enhance the feeling of safety for each individual in the group. In addition, group experiences unveil insights and tender moments that may shed light on unseen corners of an individual’s consciousness.

  • Our programs usually fill up within a month of the retreat. The deadline to sign up is two weeks before the in-person experience.

  • Yes, Ceremonia is a non-profit 501(a)(8) church. As such, all donations collected are tax-deductible including the donations for the journey or scholarship program.

Blog

  • A hand holding a compass in front of a body of water during sunset, with the compass lid open and the needle pointing west.

    Content vs. Process: the Key to Durable Transformation

    “Content” are the emotions, stories, beliefs, and challenges that come up in therapy and ceremony. “Process” are the tools by which we can transmute our content into love and peace. While the felt-sense of a new way of being with your content is the compass, the process is the map on how to get there.

  • A group of people sitting on the floor in a circle around candles in a dark room, some holding guitars and others engaged in conversation or singing.

    The Human Experience: the Mind, Body, and Spirit

    The human experience consists of three layers: the mind, body, and spirit. The mind is a sharp tool. The body experiences emotions and projects intuition. The spirit is the ever-present, incorporeal knowing that is Love.

  • A man with short black hair and a small mole on his left cheek, smiling indoors with a ceiling window and two windows in the background, some plants are visible.

    Modern Enlightenment: How to Awaken, Heal, and Manifest

    This talk presented by Ceremonia co-founder, Austin Mao, presents the 3-stage Arc of Transformation of Awaken, Heal, and Manifest towards living a more joyful, peaceful, love-filled, and purposeful life.

  • Group of diverse people meditating outdoors in nature, standing with eyes closed, some with hands raised or in prayer.

    The Pursuit of Wholeness

    Wholeness is more than a state of being. It is a practice of persistently feeling truly and deeply. It stems from a value of consistently honoring one’s Self, allowing the beingness of life to exist, and surrendering pain before it becomes suffering.

Money Back Guarantee

Money Back Guarantee

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More than 95% of our participants have expressed that this is one of the most transformative experiences of their lives. We 100% guarantee your satisfaction with our journey or you investment back.