Treatments and services

What does an ayahuasca treatment at Casa de Pawua look like?

While a big portion of healing is done within the ayahuasca and tobacco ceremonies, the time spent in between is just as important. A lot of healing is done in solitude and tranquility in the diet. In today’s world, we’re oftentimes too busy to allow ourselves the time to truly slow down and focus deeply on self-reflection. The ayahuasca diet is a wonderful tool to help us reevaluate the course of our lives without any distractions. Below are some items you can expect in a dieta with us:

• Immersed stay in the jungle in one of our sustainably built cabins built in traditional Tacana style

• Bathing in river and natural swimming pool: our center is located right by the main river in our nearby community. You are welcome to go swimming here or in our natural swimming pool.

• Guided jungle walks to demonstrate medicinal plants: our center is located just outside Madidi National Park. It’s a biodiverse area that holds many of the various different medicinal plants we work with.

• Guided hike to a view point overlooking the town

• Hammock time: a lot of the time during the diet will be spent resting, processing and reflecting. Because of the intense work we do in ceremony, the day-time is important time to rest.

• Nutritious meals following the ayahuasca diet: you will be served three meals per day with the exception of the days of ceremony where there is no dinner.

• Private consultations: we meet individually with each of our patients prior to starting the first treatment, thereafter we will hold consultations on a continuous basis

• Individualized treatment plan: there is no cookie-cutter approach to healing. Everyone is different and has different needs which is why the treatment plans vary from patient to patient. Anything from the master plant being dieted, to the length of stay, the number of tobacco ceremonies, whether or not there will be rapé applications will differ from patient to patient

• Tobacco ceremony: for most treatments, you will need to first participate in a tobacco ceremony, which is a mental, physical and spiritual purge to help cleanse your body prior to work with master plants and/or ayahuasca

• Master plant diet: this is only applicable to those staying with us for one week or longer. For more information on the master plant diet, scroll down.

• Transportation to and from our center from Rurrenabaque

• Optional hotel or airport pick-up

• Mineral drinking water right from the mountains: all the water we use comes directly from the mountains surrounding us, so there is no need for filtering it.

• Personal reading/ note-taking or other therapeutic activities: unless you are doing a tambo diet, you are welcome to bring a book for reading, do some journaling, practice singing or other non-intensive private activities you may find therapeutic.

What our treatments don't include

• An itinerary: this is a treatment program and not a tour. During the diet, the energy quickly diminishes due to the hard work we do in ceremony and because of the food restrictions. We may do occasional jungle walks but apart from that, it’s plenty of hammock time.

• Sharing circles: we do not offer any pre- or post-ceremony sharing circles. Choosing to enter this type of treatment is a very personal matter and while we will hold continuous private consultations with each of our patients and will always be approachable for any questions, we do not see the benefit in holding mandatory sharing circles with the rest of the group.

• Yoga or meditation classes: our focus is on the medicine and while meditation and yoga practices have wonderful benefits, we find that it is important to focus on one tradition only when working with plant medicine.

• A diverse menu/ buffet: the diet is strict and may be even more strict from patient to patient depending on what one is looking to heal. The menu follows Ashaninka tradition and consists of different grains and vegetables, occasionally fish and eggs. Part of what the diet does is test our discipline and commitment to the medicine by seeing how willing we are to sacrifice enjoyment of certain flavors for healing. That said, you will be served enough food to fuel you through the work you will be doing in ceremony.

• Luxurious accommodation: we offer basic accommodation. Though comfort and luxury can be nice this is simply not our focus. Our focus is on the medicine and the healing work that comes with it. Keep in mind, we are in the jungle so everything is relative but that said, we do our best to offer the most comfort we can.

• Facilitators: our team consists of our shaman and his students. To us, “facilitator” is a non-traditional concept. During ceremony, it is our shaman and his students who will guide and heal.

• Talk therapy: we understand that many questions may come up during your treatment. It’s a lot of work and takes time to process, especially if one is healing from trauma. We gladly try to shed as much light as possible on what you are experiencing but please do not confuse our work. Ayahuasca shamans are trained to diagnose illnesses and cleanse energies and blockages in ceremony but they are not therapists. The work lays in the ceremony.