Voice Alignment 12 Day Dieta Retreat

The Retreat

Voice Alignment Retreat is where we come to deeply understand the sacred connection between the language of Song and nature, while immersed in a National Park in the Amazon Rainforest, where animals, plants, and spirit thrive. 

We'd like to provide you with a safe space to reset, physically, mentally and emotionally, with experienced shamans and facilitators. Where you can slow down, get back on track to yourself, process and heal things that haven't been allowed time and space for. We advocate for Trauma-informed awareness and practices and understand the intrinsic link between mind and body connection, holding the ceremonies in the light of the medicine so that healing can come through in gentle but intentioned ways.

The Center

The Chaikoni Temple is situated inside Sierra del Divisor National Park, in close proximity to Aguas Calientes Hotsprings, a Guacamayo Sanctuary and Wildlife Reserve. Because of this, only 100% natural products are allowed at the Temple,  there is no electricity either so we recommend bringing your own solar charger or power bank. In conclusion, the location, logistic and feeling of the Temple brings a more traditional and powerful experience to the participants of how the ancestors used to diet, deep in the jungle, in isolation, and immersed in the medicine of the forest.

About the Dieta

A dieta (samá) is an ancestral practice specifically from the Shipibo tribe of the Peruvian Amazon. It consists of creating and stablishing a relationship with a plant spirit, as well as learning, healing, and getting guidance and wisdom from her. Which also includes getting a lot of inspiration, unblocking creativity, developing our own medicine and connecting to our Voice through medicine songs and Icaros. The Icaro or chant is the language in which one communicates with a plant spirit, it's a song that consists of frequencies, harmonies, melodies and structure, usually sung in their own shipibo language. From the Shipibo perspective we all have our own Icaro that we're born with which is intimately related to our own medicine, when we get out of balance then our Icaro is unbalanced as well, when we step back into reconnecting with our medicine then we start realigning to our Icaro, our song, and we come back into center, balance and harmony within our energetic and physical bodies. 

Whilst on dieta the participant will learn the Icaros from Wexa Metsa's lineage, understand the structure of ceremony through song, develope his or her own icaros, learn shipibo language, and learn the ancestral traditional way of dieting to stablish a life long bond with their master plant. A traditional dieta consists of abstaining from certain foods as any red meat, pork, salt, sugar including fruit, alcohol and ingesting any other plant which is not the master plant being dieted, unless given permission by the curandero. The dietero should also abstain from sexual encounters with self and others, as well as having mental hygiene, taking care of one's thoughts as to not think poorly, badly, judgemental or overly angry at the lenght of the dieta. When dieting it is a time to deeply know oneself and the master plant, a time when we are given gifts and realisations of conflicting and destructive patterns, when we are shown our own gifts and talents as well as our obstacles and karmic bonds. It is a time when we are specifically carefull of what we ingest and what we expell. 

Wexa Metsa's dietas are set up as how the ancestors used to diet. Tambos or huts are far away from each other providing the participant the space to connect with his or her master plant and to meet the jungle spirits first hand. Each tambo has its own private dry toilet, desk and hammock. The retreat also includes any kind of extra treatment, saunas, flower baths, shipibo and icaro classes, voice activation classes, art therapy, 5 ayahuasca ceremonies held by the shaman and trauma-informed plant medicine facilitators. The Temple keeps a small number of 8 participants per retreat so we advice you to anticipate your reservation. We also advice you to get medical insurance in case of any emergency.

At the Chaikoni Temple there is two types of Dieta, the type of dieta will be selected by the participant.

Healing Dieta  The dietero is cured by the plant spirits teaching, guidance, protection and healing by doing a contract, where the intention is only to heal any kind of bad symptoms physical or energetical.  Where any plant medicine is taken only as a remedy then the plant spirits are aware that you seek specific help. These people are called patients as they only come to improve their health or heal their health issues.

Healing and Learning Dieta  The dietero receives help from the plant spirits through teaching, guidance, protection and healing by doing a contract, where the intention is to heal and learn. Especially, when we have intentions of learning about curanderismo and wish to become a curandero, then the plant spirits are aware of it and prepare him/her during the dieta.  Students make a commitment to the plant just like entering university, the commitment could be for months or years. And will last until the student is ready to lead ceremonies by himself/herself. In the process, the student will learn the plants and tradition including botany, ayahuasca rituals and preparation of plant remedies.  One of the most important terms of a dieta is knowing how long the diet will be kept (duration).

Usually, a dieta is done in isolation to avoid temptations from interaction with people that are not participating or do not understand dieting.  

About the Shaman

Marco Lopez (Wexa Metsa) is a Shipibo curandero originally from a small community on the main headstream of the Amazon River. He began his apprenticeship with his grandfather when thirteen years old and later trained with his great-aunt, Maestra Olivia Arévalo. When Eighteenth, he began singing in his native language and using his knowledge of medicinal plants following the ancient Shipibo tradition.

 "I was born in a small community called Roaboya six hours downriver from Pucallpa on the Ucayali River. I grew up with maternal grandparents, their siblings, their daughters, sons and all of them curanderos. My father Don Miquel López, his brother Don Enrique López and the rest of the paternal family are curanderos, as well. When five years old, my parents split and my mother and I moved to San Francisco, the largest Shipibo population located outside Pucallpa where most of my maternal family resides. There, I met my great uncle Leonardo Inuma, one of the most respected Shipibo curanderos in the community. At that time, there were few curanderos because it requires much sacrifice to walk the path. It is said that the older curanderos used to test novices to confirm their knowledge of curanderismo so they could survive, if not they would fall ill and die on the shamanic path.   I took my first cup of ayahuasca at thirteen with my grandfather Leonardo Inuma. One night when no one else was home, my grandfather invited me to sit with hìm. I didn't think twice, I went with him and began the journey of curanderismo and participating in ceremonies. After taking only ayahuasca with grandparents for years, I met my great aunt Maestra Olivia at the age eighteen who was a renowned curandera and a matriarch of the Shipibo community. She knew plant healing for visions and increasing human intelligence. She dedicated her life to the medicine and to encouraging our people to practice their customs and ancestral knowledge.

She, also, learnt Spanish through the plants. She just happened to be looking for a maloca (lodge) to do ceremonies and she found our place, at that time, we didn't know that she was a relative. But my mother asked after her family and village names and we discovered she was my maternal grandfather's sister. While spending time at our center, they found out that I speak English and asked me to translate for participants who do not speak Shipibo or Spanish. Also, they invited me to diet for the first time (3 month period) to understand their world, the world of plant medicine and plant diets. I began taking ayahuasca almost every other day while dieting and learnt firsthand how much sacrifice is required to become a curandero. After my first 3 month plant diet, I took a rest and then began another diet for 3 months. There've been many diets and many trials after that. Before apprenticing with Maestra Olivia I was devastated by the death of my stepfather, I was living alone and studying in Lima and became addicted to alcohol, experienced lots of illnesses and all this affected my relationship with my family.

I returned to Pucallpa to visit my mother and sister and that's when I met my great aunt and the plant spirits. And from that time, life has been positive. While dieting and taking ayahuasca I began to receive direction from the plant spirits and from Maestra Olivia, as to, how to live, how to be. I healed under their aegis while dieting with master plants like bobinsana, Noya Rao, Piñón Blanco Tabaco, etc. And listening to the stories of Maestra Olivia. That's how I started living in the medicine and sharing it with the world from our small village, San Jose, outside Pucallpa. Now years have passed and we are still living the medicine path in San Jose, and in Contamana, where our school Chaikoni Temple is located."

Macarena Arias is a Peruvian plant medicine practitioner, artist, SE therapist, expressive arts facilitator, and bridge keeper of the Shipibo-Konibo language. In 2016 she arrived to Ucayali to work with shipino communities with the NGO Alianza Arkana. Around that same time she began learning the shipibo language with professor Pakan Meni and started her own medicine studies with Onanya Manuela Mahua (Jakon Rate). In 2020 during a long term samá, Macarena received inspiration to share her language abilities, create a musical project and continue to develope in Plant Medicine. She began partnering with Pakan Meni, Xawan Rabi and linguistic Brian Best to share the language with the samataibo community. Together they created the Jakon Joi Language Education Initiative to teach the first group modules for beginners. In 2021 she met her partner Wexa Metsa. In 2022 she joined him at Kushi Ayahuasca Retreat Center, later they launched Koshi Joi an advanced icaro immersion module for plant medicine students. Today she continues to share shipibo-konibo language, medicine, and is working in her own art projects.

The Facilitators

Facilitators work as a cultural bridge between the shamans and the participants. As well as space holders and care takers in ceremony. Mariana Gutierrez (Marirî) is a trauma-informed plant medicine and kambo facilitator, Sound Healer, and Herbalist. Her passion of communicating to spirit through music led her to the Shipibo-Konibo tradition. She thrives on guiding people on opening their voices and singing skills through playful, intentional and improvisational techniques. She beliefs that the power of our own voice to be a tremendous tool for our own healing and that of others and of nature, helping us realign, clean, and balance the energy centers. She also does her own healing remedies in Mexico through her brand Pachamagic.

Dieta Guidelines

Two weeks prior to arrival you should abstain from:

Alcohol, pork, sexual activities, salt and refined sugar, red meat, fried food and unhealthy fats, fermented drinks and foods, caffeine and spicy food. 

As well as some pharmaceuticals, antidepressants, sleep medications and some herbal supplements that inhibit MAO like Saint John's Wort, Rhodiola, Skullcap, Kava, Kratom, Ephedra, Ginseng, Yohimbe, Sinicuichi, Kanna, Boswellia, Nutmeg, Scotch Broom, and Licorice Root. 

Other medications you must suspend taking are decongestants, cold medications, allergy medications, antihistamines, sedatives, tranquillizers, amphetamines (including Adderall), some hypertensive medications, sympathomimetic amines including pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, carbamazipine, methylphemidate (Ritalin), macromerine, phenelanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, asarone/calamus, asthma inhalers and diet pills.

*This list is not complete but we will review any medications or supplements you are taking before we confirm your booking. Please be as forthcoming as possible, if any potential medical or herbal contraindications are present, we will inquire further to ensure your safety.

Logistics

Price: 1,450 USD 

Includes:

• Personal consultation
• Master plant teacher*
• 5 Ayahuasca ceremonies
• 6 vapor baths
• 6 love baths
• 6 ayahuma baths
• Palo santo smoke bath
• 3 optional vomitivos (purgatives)
• Vocal Alignment workshops
• Basic Shipibo and Icaro classes
• Traditional dream interpretation
• A song book and recordings of the Icaros
• Private tambo with single bed, hammock, desk and dry toilet
• Visiting the jungle hot springs "Aguas Calientes" at National park of Sierra del Divisor.
• 2 meals (or one**) per day
• Transportation to the center
• Airport pickup
• Laundry at the center
• Accommodation for two nights at the guesthouse in Yarinacocha: The night before and after the retreat.
• Healing tools like mapachos and agua florida
• 30 min. integration session 4-6 weeks after the retreat.

*the quantity of tea ingested depends on the master plant being dieted.

**whilst on dieta you will either have lunch, breakfast or both depending on the intention of the participant and dieta.

What's not included

• Airfare (international and national). 
• Personal expenses and meals outside of the program. 
• Local Transportation. 
• Travel insurance. 
• Personal healthcare expenses if needed. Visa (if necessary).

Sugested items to bring

• Flashlight or headlamp. 
• Travel alarm clock or watch. 
• Raincoat or poncho. 
• Hiking Boots (optional but a good idea). 
• Sandals.
• Water Bottle. 
• Toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, etc  (only natural products please). 
• Camera/phone, with extra batteries or external/solar charger or power bank. 
• Notebook and/or art supplies for personal processing. 
• Hat and sunglasses. 
• Ceremonial or sacred objects you want to have for ceremonies or in your tambo. 
• Plastic bags or zip-lock bags (to protect electronics and other items from humidity). 
• Musical Instruments. 
• Extra spending money, there may be an option to purchase Shipibo craft items from our family, so be prepared with extra money if this interests you.

Payment

After reviewing your Registration Form you will be guided to save your spot paying 50%. The remaining half of the total retreat cost will then be requested via PayPal three weeks before your arrival. We recommend selecting "Friends and Family" to avoid any additional fees. 

Cancelation Policy

Any cancelation should be done at least 3 weeks before the retreat starts, you will be refunded the total amount minus a 300usd cancelation fee, or the option to reschedule for a later date.

Ready to take your understanding of  Voice and Medicine to the next level? Let us know!

To book a 30 min. inquiry zoom call about this retreat please go to this link:

Voice Alignment Inquiry Free 30 min call link