We Want You Here.
And We Want You to Arrive Ready.
MahaDevi is a small, carefully held retreat. We screen every participant because the work we do together deserves that care, and because you deserve to arrive knowing the space is held well.
This page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you take any medication or manage a health condition, consult your healthcare provider before attending ceremony.
Who Is This Page For?
This page is for people who are seriously considering attending a retreat and want to understand what we look for and why.
We are selective about who we work with. Not because we are trying to be exclusive, but because good ceremony requires the right container, and the right container requires knowing who is in the room. The more honestly you share your situation with us, the better we can serve you.
Most people who read this page will find nothing on it that applies to them. If something here does apply, we would rather know now. Those conversations are exactly what the discovery call is for.
Who Should Not Attend
The following are absolute contraindications. These are not cautions or areas where we use individual judgment. They are conditions that make ceremony genuinely unsafe.
Medical Conditions
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding. No exceptions. A safety position based on available evidence, not cultural preference.
- Severe or uncontrolled cardiovascular conditions. Including serious hypertension, recent cardiac events, and arrhythmia not under medical management.
- Active epilepsy or seizure disorders. Seizure risk increases with the brew's compounds.
- Serious liver or kidney disease. The alkaloids require healthy hepatic processing.
- Active serious infection. Attend after full recovery.
Psychiatric Conditions
- Personal or family history of schizophrenia, psychosis, or bipolar disorder with manic or psychotic features. Ayahuasca can precipitate or worsen these conditions. This is pharmacology, not judgment.
- Active suicidal ideation at the time of application. Stabilisation comes first. Ceremony is not a substitute for crisis care.
Medications
The following require complete washout before ceremony is safe. With MAO-A inhibited by ayahuasca's compounds, these can accumulate to dangerous levels.
- SSRIs and SNRIs (fluoxetine, sertraline, escitalopram, venlafaxine, duloxetine, and others)
- MAOIs (phenelzine, tranylcypromine, selegiline)
- Tricyclic antidepressants and trazodone
- Lithium
- Triptans (sumatriptan and similar migraine medications)
- MDMA, amphetamines, cocaine. Fatalities have been documented from combining these with harmala alkaloids.
- Dextromethorphan (present in many cough preparations)
- St. John's Wort and 5-HTP supplements
We work through the specifics with you in the discovery call. If you do not have access to a healthcare professional and want guidance on where to start, let us know.
How We Screen: Step by Step
We do not rely on a form alone. Forms give us a starting point. The conversation is where we understand what the form cannot capture.
You complete a medical questionnaire covering health history, medications, and psychiatric background.
We go through everything together. This is where we hear your situation fully and ask the questions a form cannot ask.
If you are approved, preparation begins with full resources and direct facilitator contact.
A registered nurse is available for participants with a higher-risk profile. If anything warrants concern on a given night, that participant does not sit in ceremony until we are satisfied.
30 minutes from Hospital José María Hernández for any emergency that requires it.
Travel insurance covering emergency medical evacuation is strongly recommended for all international participants.
Women's Health at MahaDevi
Practical questions answered clearly and with warmth.
🌱Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a contraindication. We do not hold ceremony for pregnant participants. If you are pregnant and feel drawn to plant medicine work, we are happy to talk about what support is appropriate during this time.
🌙Menstruation
Menstruating women are welcome at MahaDevi. We do not exclude or separate.
In many Amazonian traditions, menstruation is understood as a time of heightened energetic sensitivity that calls for extra care, not exclusion. We work within that understanding.
Taita Miguel is informed in advance so he can prepare the appropriate container and offer lighter medicine if the situation calls for it. A female facilitator is present throughout. We ask that you communicate your status before arrival.
You Are in Good Hands
The people holding ceremony at MahaDevi are not generalists who discovered plant medicine recently. Our facilitators have years of direct experience working within a living Colombian Amazonian lineage, alongside healers who have practiced this tradition their entire lives.
When you arrive, you are held by a team that knows what it is doing. A clinical psychologist and psychiatrist with plant medicine backgrounds are available when needed. If something arises before, during, or after your retreat that calls for their expertise, they are brought in.
We also maintain an integration support period of 30 days after your last ceremony, because what opens in ceremony continues to move long after you leave the space. You are not alone in that.
If You Have Anxiety or Depression
Anxiety and depression are not contraindications. They are, for many people, exactly why people come.
Clinical research has shown significant antidepressant effects from ayahuasca, including in treatment-resistant cases. Many of the people who attend MahaDevi are working through depression, anxiety, grief, burnout, and the patterns that have refused to shift through conventional means.
The questions we ask are: how managed is it, what medications are involved, and is there a psychiatric history that warrants closer attention. Those are questions for the discovery call, not this page.
If you are uncertain whether your situation is compatible with ceremony, tell us. That conversation is exactly what the discovery call is for.
After Your Retreat
Our responsibility to you does not end when you leave the ceremonial space.
Every participant enters a 30-day integration support period after their last ceremony. Four structured calls. Emergency one-on-one access throughout. A clinical psychologist and psychiatrist with plant medicine backgrounds are available when needed.
We also maintain an emergency contact protocol: if we do not hear from a participant during a scheduled check-in, we contact their emergency contact directly. This is not a formality. It is a commitment.
30-Day Integration Period
Structured calls, group breathwork, one-on-one sessions, and community access.
Emergency Contact Protocol
Missed check-ins are followed up directly. You are not left to navigate your experience alone.
Clinical Specialist Access
A clinical psychologist and psychiatrist with plant medicine backgrounds are available when needed.
A Note on Readiness
Not being accepted into a retreat is not a failure.
In many cases, it is an act of care.
Our responsibility is not to include everyone, but to create the conditions where those who do attend can participate as safely and fully as possible. Ayahuasca is not a cure, a shortcut, or a guarantee of outcomes. It is a tool that requires preparation, respect, and integration. If the timing is not right, we will tell you honestly and, where we can, help you understand what readiness might look like.
The Right Place to Begin Is a Conversation
The discovery call is not a test or a gatekeeping exercise. It is a genuine conversation where we learn about you, you learn about us, and together we work out whether MahaDevi is the right fit for you at this point in your life.
Medical Disclaimer: The information on this page is educational and does not constitute medical or legal advice. MahaDevi requires full medical screening of all participants prior to acceptance. If you take medication or manage a health condition, consult your healthcare provider before attending ceremony.
About the Author
Yasha Shah is the founder of MahaDevi Ayahuasca, a retreat center in Colombia. He has been working with ayahuasca since 2017, with experience across hundreds of ceremonies as both a participant and retreat organizer. Trained within the Shipibo and Camsá traditions, his work bridges indigenous wisdom, harm-reduction principles, and practical integration for modern seekers. Yasha writes about ayahuasca, plant medicine, and psychedelics, covering integration, preparation, and harm reduction to help readers make informed and responsible decisions.