What to Expect During a Psilocybin Mushroom Retreat
Each mushroom retreat experience has unique structures and offerings. But most share many of the following elements:
1. Unplugged Atmospheres
Retreat centers are often purposely located in serene natural environments, away from distractions and the hustle of daily life. These settings provide a conducive atmosphere for introspection, reflection, and connection with nature.
Retreat centers commonly incorporate the following:
Less technology: Retreat centers typically offer wifi unless they’re significantly off the grid. But most do not provide TVs or in-room phones. Air conditioning is also not guaranteed, although facilities increasingly offer this amenity.
Fewer indulgences: Guests probably won’t find coffee, alcohol, sweets, or processed foods at mushroom retreat centers. They may not see meat for a week, either. But most aren’t deprived because they receive chef-cooked meals featuring farm-fresh, local ingredients instead.
Isolation: Some retreat centers offer excursions outside the property, like Sayulita, which organizes horseback riding trips for guests. However, most psychedelic retreats operate like the world outside doesn’t exist. These centers often require guests to stay on-site for various reasons, including safety and to maximize the introspective process.
2. Group Activities and Discussions:
Retreats typically involve group activities such as meditations, yoga sessions, nature walks, and meals. These activities foster a sense of community and provide opportunities for guests to share experiences, insights, and challenges to the extent that they’re comfortable doing so. Group activities can also help people prepare for the high-dose mushroom experience.
Breathwork ceremonies, such as holotropic breathing, can induce an altered state of consciousness that resembles psychedelic journeys. Through rhythmic breathing patterns, participants can taste expanded states of awareness, heightened sensory perceptions, and deep emotional release.
Movement practices like yoga and stretching bring the group together to release stuck energy and collectively relax the body to open the mind.
Intention-setting ceremonies, typically on the first day, include symbolic objects, guided meditations, prayers, and sharing that foster a sense of togetherness and collective intention that can amplify the journey.
3. Medical Intake
Medical intake is not an optional mushroom retreat element. It is a safety must. All reputable facilities should employ licensed medical providers that screen guests for potential health issues prior to the psilocybin sessions.
Intake appointments are fairly straightforward.
Most are about 15 to 30 minutes and involve taking the guest’s blood pressure, inquiring about medications and health history, and examining potential psychological impediments. Well-equipped facilities, like Sayulita, also provide experienced medical staff to monitor guests throughout the retreat.
4. Psilocybin Mushroom Ceremonies
Guided psilocybin sessions are the core element of the mushroom retreat experience. These sessions are carefully facilitated by experienced indigenous shamans, trained guides, or traditional healers who create a supportive space for participants to surrender to the medicine.
The sessions’ dosage, duration, and structure vary depending on the retreat, type of mushroom, and the day. Most high-dose journeys last five to seven hours and typically occur in the evening.
Regardless, all credible facilities will carefully design psilocybin ceremonies to minimize the risk of “bad trips” and maximize the potential benefits.
First ceremony
Many retreat centers start with a tiny psilocybin microdose (.15 – .3 grams) or a moderate dose (1-1.5 grams) to ease guests into working with the compound.
Microdosing typically provides sub-threshold amounts that improve mood and self-awareness without eliciting psychoactive effects.
Moderate doses alter the mind without dissolving the ego, allowing people to explore their inner worlds while maintaining a comfortable level of control.
Lighter ceremonies typically occur during the day and last a few hours.
Second ceremony
The second journey is usually the highest dose and often occurs at night. Most retreat centers organize group ceremonies in a shared space, like a temple, illuminated with candles and filled with music and the sounds of nature.
Guests often lie on mattresses arranged around a sacred altar, fit with eye masks, tissues, and buckets in case of purging. Temples should also include readily accessible bathrooms and ample water for guests who need it.
Other centers, like Sayulita Wellness, conduct private psilocybin therapy ceremonies between the guest and their psychotherapist for more personalized care. These one-on-one sessions occur in the guest’s private room or suite.
Whatever the setting, guests typically consult with facilitators and medical staff prior to determine the right amount. Throughout the journey, guides may also offer a booster dose for people who want to go deeper.
Facilitators generally recommend guests stay lying down with their mask on to amplify the inner work. But guests who need to use the facilities or simply want to look around can always do so.
Third ceremony
Many retreat centers offer a third psilocybin dose to help guests solidify the lessons from the prior sessions. Third-journey dosages vary from micro to macro, depending on the person’s needs.
Beyond psilocybin
Some retreat centers offer other psychoactive compounds beyond psychedelic mushrooms to enhance purification, celebrate cultural traditions, and promote focus and healing. For example, Sayulita’s trained psychotherapists offer guests an optional smokeable DMT experience toward the end of their high-dose psychedelic therapy session. As Andrew puts it:
DMT can really help people cultivate the final breakthrough, especially those who might have had an experience that left them with more questions than answers. It provides that final closure or wisdom nugget that can help people get out of their own way. Because it’s really common to resist the experience and get stuck, DMT pushes people across the finish line, and in my opinion, makes integration more effective.
Guests may also find medicines like:
5. Integration and Aftercare
After the psilocybin journeys, participants can expect to engage in psychedelic integration sessions and aftercare practices that can extend weeks after the retreat ends.
Integration involves reflecting on the psychedelic insights and incorporating those discoveries into everyday life. Approaches include journaling, therapy or counseling, and adopting new habits supporting personal growth and well-being. Andrew shares,
Our psychotherapists work with guests 1-1 during the retreat to create take-home action plans. Then we schedule 4 weeks of 1-1 calls after guests head back home to ensure the transformation and commitments made at the retreat are cemented. We believe successful integration relies on accountability.
