"The best and most important week of my life!"
It is hard for me to express what my week at Rythmia meant to me. It is simply the most important and best vacation I have ever had. The Rythmia staff have created an extremely safe space for women to heal. I felt that great attention is paid to curating an environment where women can let their guard down and be vulnerable. In a time where spiritual centers are rife with accusations of sexual assault (my family has been involved in 3 spiritual centers where this has happened), Rythmia is the only place I have been to that explicitly addresses during orientation that there is a power dynamic at play while under the medicine and because of that staff are not allowed to engage in any way intimately with visitors even if consent is given. THANK YOU, RYTHMIA! This was so important to me because I was on this trip to heal sexual trauma and PTSD that I have had since a young child. l was made to feel I was truly being held in a safe container to work with this medicine. I have tried everything to get out of the fight or flight/hypervigilance mode I have been in since childhood - therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, antidepressants - without experiencing a change. I can say that after one week at Rythmia, I feel my life has been radically transformed to the miraculous and I have gone from a dysregulated neurological system to a regulated neurological system. I have been out of fight-or-flight mode and sleeping soundly through the night since I returned home. And that is what Gerry and his staff have done - figured out the science of how to support their guests in achieving miracles in a week. Dr. Jeff speaks about how the medicine impacts your brain and the science behind the transformations the medicine offers. I believe the miraculous is achieved also by how the program is structured and the unparalleled level of support you receive while there. I have been fortunate enough to stay at 5-star resorts around the world and have never experienced being held and cared for in the way I was at Rythmia. I cried when I hugged Tatiana, the woman who serves meals, goodbye because of how sincerely I felt seen and supported by her. I felt that every single person on that property, from Adonis who checked us in, the Shaman in charge of the medicine to the wonderful women at the gift shop, was holding space for my transformation. I was nervous to take the medicine as I have no experience with hallucinogens. The Shamans and support people, which are plentiful, are absolutely spectacular. And I mean SPECTACULAR. I had several Shamans and support people work with me over the course of the four nights as I asked for assistance with my experience. They were patient, loving, and incredibly compassionate but not enabling, supporting me to get the most out of the experience for my transformation possible, while not taking me out of the experience. I am a business owner and work with children. The staff modeled something extremely profound to me regarding abundance in business and how to hold space. The rooms are immaculate, the pool is saltwater (my eczema was very grateful, as I can’t swim in chlorine pools), my massage therapist was incredible, the volcanic mud bath, steam room, hot and cold plunge pools were a fabulous nurturing extra during my stay. The landscaping is extremely beautiful and we saw macaws, other beautiful birds, monkeys and iguanas while there. I have a severe gluten allergy and was nervous that there would not be gluten free options. The food is organic, FABULOUS and most of what is served is gluten free! They also have lots of vegan options. The folks I attended with have formed a WhatsApp group and we are all sharing the recipes we loved so much. Gerry told us we could achieve a miracle while there and we were given a framework to work within to do so. I achieved several. I believe I healed not only my abuse but my ancestral trauma in both directions of time. I had a miracle with my husband who attended with me. I had a miracle with my business partner whom I also brought with me. I had a miracle in the Answer Is You class with Kim Stanwood Terranova. Her classes were one of my favorite parts of the week. Miracles truly abound at Rythmia! The medicine helps bring you to a place of emptiness and then they give you the tools to work with once you get home to fill the space with intention and bring this transformation into your everyday life. This was absolutely one of the biggest keys for me. There are so many conferences where you have a spectacular time getting inspired and motivated but then you go home and nothing changes. I have been using the tools they gave me to begin shifting the energetics of my everyday life and things are beginning to unfold in a new and profound way for me. After four nights of ceremony, on Friday they invite you to engage in ecstatic dance, which I loved, and breathwork. It is hard for me to describe how transformational the breathwork was for all three of us in my group. My business partner, husband and I all had completely different experiences on the medicine and breathwork, but all were shocked at how euphoric and free the breathwork made us feel. The breathwork offers breakthroughs of its own right and is a spectacular way to both open and close out the week. I mean this with the utmost sincerity - every time I thought my week could not get any better I had another breakthrough and hit a new level of understanding and compassion for myself and found a more nurturing place of self love and acceptance. I am so glad I had the courage to make this trip and take the medicine. My life, my relationships, and my work have all been transformed. Most importantly, I truly believe that my stress response was reset as a result of the medicine and my week. When I made the reservation I thought it would be a one and done deal for me. Now I plan to go next June and will be counting the days until I can return. I am so grateful, especially for the Shamans and support staff who held my process with the utmost tenderness and care. I am forever changed, which I know will ripple out to my family and community in ways I can not imagine. I am crying as I write this and cried when I left the property. The experience exceeded my expectations in every way possible and ways I could not have even dreamed when signing up.
Ariel DM
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