Wellness is a natural part of travel. It helps to relax and recenter yourself while giving you a much-needed break from everyday life and responsibilities. But when was the last time you embarked on a travel adventure that was solely focused on your personal journey?
I went on my first wellness retreat this summer and walked away transformed and with more clarity and a better understanding of the healing on the other side of a mushroom trip. Yes, that’s right, I took part in a plant medicine experience courtesy of Sayulita Wellness Retreat, which included a guided psilocybin therapy session that was very intense but cathartic in all the right ways.
The thought of a mushroom trip might scare most people. But have you ever thought about the healing that’s on the other side of a guided plant medicine experience?
Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic produced by more than 200 species of fungi, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation in Australia. Also known as magic mushrooms or shrooms, the psychedelic drug is naturally occurring and consumed for hallucinogenic effects.
Views and uses for psilocybin have evolved in the 50-plus years since the United Nation’s 1971 convention ruling claiming it had no medicinal purpose. On July 1, Australia made a big step toward recognizing the medicinal elements of psilocybin by allowing authorized psychiatrists to prescribe medicines containing psilocybin to people experiencing treatment-resistant depression, ADF.org reports.
Psilocybin has been around for centuries, with links to many Indigenous communities around the world for over 1,000 years. Scientists in the 1950s and 1960s were in the process of researching how psychedelics could possibly treat anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and alcohol dependence. Despite promising findings, by the late 1960s, the U.S. banned all psychedelics. Most of the world followed suit.
Now, we’re seeing a re-emergence of interest in the use of psychedelics, particularly those of psilocybin or magic mushrooms. Recent studies have found psilocybin to contain anti-depressant and anti-anxiety properties that can last for several months.
It can also be helpful in the treatment of nicotine and alcohol addictions and is considered to give patients a new perspective on life, leaving them with new emotional and information pathways.
Like most psychedelics, there are risks, as noted by the New York Times. Psilocybin can cause changes in mood, perception, and thoughts. It can also worsen symptoms of certain mental conditions like personality disorders and schizophrenia.
Research also shows that psychedelics might increase the chance of negative side effects for some physical health conditions, like heart and liver disease.
But that’s where a psilocybin retreat comes in since psychedelic therapy should always take place under professional supervision to reduce risks. After my experience at Sayulita Wellness Retreat in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, I gained a better understanding of just how transformative a guided mushroom trip could be for those who qualify. Because again…..it’s not for everybody.
For those interested, but still skeptical, here are six reasons why you might want to try a psilocybin wellness retreat.
1.) Healing/Letting Go
There is much healing on the other side of a psilocybin retreat. Depending on where you go, the program is typically modeled to help you set your intentions ahead of the mushroom therapy. At Sayulita, we had an intention-setting ceremony, did a series of meditation, yoga, and somatics, and maintained a clean eating diet ahead of the psilocybin session. This all aided in guiding us into a place of release and letting go.
As cited in studies by the National Institutes of Health, psilocybin contains healing properties that can change one’s outlook on life for the better. It can show you how to embrace or overcome your fears and live life more freely. So once we took the mushroom that took each participant on a different journey, everyone had their eyes opened in new life-changing ways.
2.) Third Eye Awakening
Psilocybin is believed to open the pineal gland to see the subtle plans of reality and observe auras, chakras, and spiritual entities around us. A 2014 study from Human Brain Mapping found that those who took psilocybin activated parts of the brain that are typically only active when sleeping or dreaming. There’s no guarantee about what you’ll see or experience during a mushroom trip, but you’ll most likely see something that’ll open you up in new transformative ways.
3.) Connection to Your Ancestors/Indigenous Healing Treatment
While many psilocybin retreats are in Mexico, like the one I attended, the practice isn’t exclusive to Native and Latin Americas. Rock paintings found in North Africa have led historians to believe the use of magic mushrooms in the country dates back as far back as 9000 B.C. While the use of psychedelics has long been credited to Mayan, Aztec, and Asian cultures, its use in Africa was deemed negative under stereotypes placed on Voodoo culture.
But researchers like UK-based educator Darren Springer are dedicated to informing the masses on the forgotten history of psychedelics in Africa, as he told Double Mind Mag. During my mushroom trip at Sayulita, I was in an astral state where I vividly saw Native American ancestors within the trees surrounding the compound. While it might sound crazy to many, the visions were real and sparked my interest in how our indigenous ancestors might be all around us through nature, bloodline, and spirit.
4.) Guided Experience
As mentioned before, if you’re going to do a psilocybin therapy session, you should do it right. Get with the right professionals, shamans, and teams who work together to guide you on a safe and healthy magic mushroom trip. Johns Hopkins Medicine has conducted research about the importance of consuming psilocybin in regulated spaces facilitated by a medical team over a series of guided sessions. So choosing an accredited psilocybin retreat facility, like Sayulita, is of great significance to your overall health, well-being, and the experience you’ll walk away with.
5.) Alternative to Pharmaceuticals & Traditional Therapy
Studies from the National Institutes of Health have found that psilocybin therapy has shown encouraging results in the treatment of substance addiction, which is notoriously difficult to treat. They also found psilocybin can aid in the treatment of major depression, cancer or end-of-life mood disorders, and in reducing the burden of many psychiatric conditions.
6.) Wellness Vacation
Ultimately, a psilocybin retreat is another form of wellness vacation that offers all the scenery, relaxation, and experience a typical getaway provides. At Sayulita, we enjoyed a beautiful private beach, infinity pools with captivating views, hikes, and a beachfront horseback ride through the jungle,. After going on a mushroom trip, you’ll have so many thoughts to process and most credible retreats will provide you with a post-psilocybin therapy session experience to guide you along your come down.
So if you’re thinking about trying psilocybin, do your research, and pick the right accredited resort that will safely guide you along your journey to higher self-awareness. There’s only enlightenment waiting for you on the other side, and maybe an ancestor or two.
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