Francesca is a naturopathic medical practitioner, holistic nutritionist, and plant medicine facilitator. Growing up in the Midwest, she sparked a desire at a young age to be of service to the world around her as she witnessed a health and spiritual epidemic. She left home at a young age and began traveling the world gaining knowledge in mind-body medicine and spiritual teachings. Her passion is rooted in guiding others through a variety of natural healing practices to help them restore their vitality and true essence. She is committed to helping others rediscover their empowerment through self-healing, compassion-based therapy, and connection to Spirit.
Since beginning her work with shamanic healing practices and plant medicine, Francesca has helped hundreds of clients release the imprints of trauma and emotional imbalances they carried with them for years. She supports her clients intimately as they move away from Western medical practices that solely treat disease symptoms and inspires them to find emotional liberation and embodied aliveness through treating the root-causes of their pain, often originating in childhood trauma. Francesca is a trauma-informed practitioner and long-term student of Gabor Maté’s work specializing in early-developmental trauma, somatic healing, and addiction therapy.
Francesca’s work is alive with passion and vitality. She believes wholeheartedly that every being on Earth is deserving and capable of emotional freedom and sustainable health, through integrating the parts of ourselves with unwavering compassion. She herself lived a life of addiction and disconnection for years before her first encounter with Ayahuasca, served by beautiful Shipibo maestros that have become her life-long teachers. Her love and reverence for the Shipibo lineage and healers she works besides is felt by her guests. A forever student and explorer of life, Francesca continues her ever-unfolding journey of deepening with plant medicine and working to bridge ancient indigenous practices with the Western world in need of deep collective healing.
Neils’ spiritual practice is primarily informed by the decade he spent living in Peru. During this time, he worked extensively with indigenous shamanic traditions of the Shipibo, Mestizo, and Quechua cultures. He has created, directed, and facilitated many Ayahuasca retreats throughout Latin America and guided thousands of clients through their personal plant medicine journeys.
Those who have worked with Neils are inspired by his deep sensitivity and connection to earth energy and spirit. He embodies an innate gentleness and profound trust in each person’s process and has a unique way of guiding other towards their sacred, heart medicine. He incorporates elements of Somatic Experiencing, IFS, Compassionate Inquiry, and a heart-based, humanistic approach in his work supporting plant medicine. The core of his work is centered around gently guiding clients back to presence, deep acceptance, and trust.
At heart, Neils is a traveler and a seeker. He is passionate about honoring indigenous traditions and facilitating the remembrance of ancient wisdom. Neils is deeply committed to his mission to help others reconnect to self, source, reciprocity, and deep liberation.
Details of this retreat
During our retreats, we encourage vulnerability and compassion in a heart-based container where profound transformation is catalyzed by the powerful healing properties of Ayahuasca served by deeply gifted Shipibo Maestros from the Peruvian Amazon. We complement traditional indigenous plant medicine ceremonies with a trauma-informed, body-based therapeutic approach, and long-term ongoing integration support to help you flourish in the ever-unfolding possibilities of sustainable and lasting transformation.
This intimate plant medicine retreat takes place near the town of Nosara, on the Guanacaste Penninsula in the generous lands of Costa Rica. Our luxury retreat space is immersed in a secluded environment surrounded by lush jungle, breathtaking ocean views and healing nature. The sacred land will submerge you into a supportive place to explore the beauty of nature while you embark on your personal plant medicine journey with a family of world-renowned Shipibo Maestros and highly experienced facilitator support.
This all-inclusive event includes 3 Ayahuasca ceremonies, with Ayahuasca grown, harvested, and brewed by our family of Shipibo maestros in the Amazon jungle of Peru. Included in your private retreat cost will be daily yoga, breathwork, hikes in nature, sacred plant baths, integration circles, community activities, and a highly experienced facilitation team there to support your process fully. All organic meals are included and intentionally prepared with love to best support your health and medicine work. This luxury retreat center offers beautiful rooms all equipped with private bathrooms, hot showers, and beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean leaving you feeling comfortable in your space and fully supported in diving deep into this immersive medicine experience.
We honor and acknowledge that each person's relationship with plant medicine and healing journey is intimate and highly personal, with an array of different needs. Our approach to this work is to meet each guest where they are at in their process, honor their individuality, and provide a safe container of connection and healing.
You will be need to arrive to the retreat space by taxi from Nosara. It is a 20 minute drive from downtown Nosara.
Accommodation
This intimate medicine retreat will take place in the generous lands of Costa Rica, near Nosara. Immersed in a healing natural environment, surrounded by mountains and ocean lies our expansive retreat space. This beautiful and nurturing land will submerge you into a supportive place to explore the beauty of nature while you embark on your personal plant medicine journey.
Shared Casita | All Inclusive
Luxury Glamping (shared) | All Inclusive
Private Single Suite | All Inclusive
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi
Spa
Sauna
Pool
Towels
Free Parking
Kitchen
Tour Assistance
Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea
Cafe
Restaurant
Fitness Center
Yoga Studio
Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent
Meals
Menu Types
Vegan
Vegetarian
Pescetarian
Ayurvedic
Includes Meat
Organic
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Nut Free
We offer intentionally prepared, ayahuasca-friendly meals made with love, featuring local organic produce from small farms throughout Costa Rica. We offer organic chicken and locally caught fish.
What's Included
3 plant medicine ceremonies
Meditation and breathwork classes
Daily yoga
Sacred healing plant baths & steams with Amazonian plants
All organic meals throughout the retreat
Intimate group size and 1:1 personalized care, counseling, and facilitation
Multiple workshops, talks, and group circles throughout the retreat to support medical work
1:1 Preparation calls with your facilitators
Virtual group preparation and connection calls
Multiple 1:1 post-retreat integrations calls with your facilitation team 3 months post-retreat
Custom made 100-page plant medicine integration journal
Beautiful retreat venue nestled in the beautiful mountains overlooking the ocean
Customer Reviews
4.98 out of 5.0 average rating
5.0
Verified
Sublime experience
Neils and Francesca, hosted such an amazing weeklong retreat, supported by Zaia and Maestro Felix and Maestra Safa. The group was designed around a smaller group, thus providing the dedicated one-to-one intention support, love, and care where required during this amazing journey.
The ceremonies were sublime and super helpful translations / open interaction of the journey and messages and the healing lessons were incredible.
The plant medicine and ceremonies were well complemented, by Holistic yoga and breathwork practices,, dancing, cacao ceremony and other healing activities
A ceremonial connection with music, singing and laughter to support some of the more intense journeys, and amazing support all around from pre-retreat to post-retreat support.
Lastly, the location, accommodation and staff support were beautiful in a serene jungle experience within nature.
Mucho Amor
David A.
5.0
Verified
Couldn't recommend this place more highly!
I did soooo much research on many places, and I couldn't find a more supportive retreat centre. Anam Cara gives you so much preparation support and integration! Their facilitaros are all essentially somatic therpaists which is a huge perk, their yoga teacher Zaia is an emodied specialist and lead transformative experinces that blew everyone away, their maestro's / healers at top class, the facilities are 5 star and even on the dieta the food is amazing, everyones energy is incredible and they are so selective with who they attract and bring on board that everyone becomes apart of your healing journey in a beautiful way. I couldn't ask for a better retreat, I felt so supported!!
5.0
Verified
The presence you want and need
You can tell he works from the heart. He is highly experienced and trained, he's done so much personal development and he is exactly the energy you need around you during ceremony. He's also a beautiful singer and guitarist which is such a treat post ceremony, he's light, fun and funny when you need him to be, and his breathwork is insane. There is much to learn from him, if you can't do the retreat, you should consider trying his coaching!
5.0
Verified
Beautiful soul!
She blew me away with her support during the preparation. I thought I was just jumping on a call to discuss my goals, and it felt like a whole somatic therapy session. She has so much wisdom and so many tools, I felt it was fate that she was my facilitator and I felt so grateful. I love that she has a very holistic approach and can bring natropathy and nutrition into your journey. She was a core person I would go to for advice throughout and she always blew me away with the wisdom and advice she would give. She has so much care about giving high quality supportive expereince, so much so that they should be charging double!
5.0
Verified
Deepest gratitude for you
Neils is a dream come true kind of guy. He is so grounded and solid in his being yet vulnerable and communicative about himself. I feel his strength as he is such an important anchor for the group during the ceremonies. His compassion and loving heart really add to the safety felt during the entire retreat. His availability for questions or heart-to-heart conversations to help process experiences is a great comfort. Thank you Neils
Refund & Cancellation Policy
Retreat deposits are non-refundable as a rule however we assess each case individually and do our best to refund your deposit if we can.
Guests must pay their remaining balance in cash upon arrival at the retreat.