952F+X29 Guanacaste Province, Playa Grande, Costa Rica
Up to 10 in group
January 16 - 18, 2027
About this Retreat
Nikki grew up just outside Toronto, Canada and currently lives nestled amongst the Andes in the Sacred Valley of Peru. As a teacher dedicated to working with people with special needs and at-risk youth, she has devoted her life to being a support to others.
Coming from a background of addiction and depression, she was called to Peru in 2018 to start working with her teachers Bernard Karshagen and Chase Moore for a deep dive into her healing. Wanting others to experience the grace of the medicine as she has, she offers a safe space of presence and love, weaving in various mind, body, and energetic practices. She is a balance of grit and softness, embodying permission for each guest to explore their unique experience with the medicine.
With deep reverence for the magic that unfolds in ceremony and thereafter, she meets each individual where they’re at. She loves to play with life and you’ll often find her cracking jokes and laughing, seeking lightness and joy amidst the challenges of life.
Testimonials:
“Nikki is a rockstar! I’ve been lucky enough to work with a lot of different people in the psychedelic/plant medicine world. I’ve met good ones, average ones and terrible ones. Nikki is one of the best. She’s easy to work with. Kind and generous. She knows how to listen without inserting her own narrative or story. And she doesn’t give unsolicited advice (a sign of a pro). The emphasis has always been on me figuring my own shit out. No gurus. No high and mighty vibes. Nikki’s there if I truly need help… but otherwise, it’s between me and the medicine. That ability to step back is quite rare, and it’s why I think she’s one of the best people I’ve worked with. It’s where the magic happens, where I’m free to learn in my own way. If you’re looking for a psychedelic experience, with lots of crazy visuals and a peak experience, as well as someone to tell you what to think, believe and feel (a guru, in other words), Nikki’s not for you. But if you’re looking for the truth, about yourself and about life, and you’re willing to work for it, come what may (whether it’s beautiful, terrifying or somewhere in between), Nikki is a wonderful guide to the medicine. I trust her completely.” ~ John
“Nikki is an incredible facilitator - she is simultaneously a wise sage and salt-of-the earth in a beautifully balanced way. During ceremony, I felt really safe and cozy in her presence, like I had total permission to be myself and show up however I needed. I have historically had a difficult time purging, and I was finally able to purge in my ceremony with Nikki and that was a huge relief. She has a really solid foothold and connection to source and what is sacred, which helped me orient over and over again in ceremony. It was a beautiful ceremony and I am deeply appreciative of my time with Nikki.” ~ Melanie
It is such a joy to be in a Huachuma ceremony with Nikki. She brings in so much love and light to her work... lots of laughs too. Her medicine has helped me tremendously in working through my past traumas and my overall mind-body-spirit alignment. I always feel safe and comfortable in Nikki's ceremony space. Nikki is a true professional, and her passion for her work and medicine comes through in all aspects of her life. I can't recommend her highly enough to those called to work with Huachuma. ~ James
Details of this retreat
Huachuma. Three days with the Illuminator. A first meeting, or a deeper return.
You have been hearing about this medicine. Or the medicine has already found you.
Some people come to San Pedro with curiosity and a little caution. Others come because they have sat with the medicine before and know there is more. This weekend is built for both: a contained, well-held way to meet Huachuma, or to go further with the medicine, without stepping away from your life for a full week.
If you are new: curious, and wanting to do this right.
You want a first experience held by someone experienced
A gentle, daytime medicine feels like the right door
A weekend feels possible when a week does not
You want preparation, safety, and answers first
If you have sat before: ready to go deeper with the medicine.
You know Huachuma and feel called back
You want to sit with a carrier devoted to this one path
Something from your last ceremony is still unfolding
You want a focused reset at the start of the year
Either way, you will not be rushed.
The medicine: San Pedro (Huachuma), the Illuminator.
San Pedro, or Huachuma, is a cactus revered as sacred medicine for more than three thousand years in the Andes. Its Quechua name is often translated as “removing the head,” the quieting of the thinking mind so the heart can speak.
The medicine is taken in daylight and works gently over many hours. People describe the medicine as heart-opening and grounding, keeping you present in your body and connected to the land around you. For those new to plant medicine, that steadiness is often what makes San Pedro the right first step. For those returning, that steadiness is what lets the work go deeper.
What you leave with: three days, a clearer way home.
Every experience with the medicine is personal, and we make no promises about what yours will hold. These are the things guests most often describe as they head home:
A quieter mind: less noise, and a clearer sense of what actually matters to you
An open heart: softness toward yourself and the people you love
Feeling at home in your body: settled, present, and back in touch with your own felt sense
Connection to nature: the jungle, the ocean, and your place within them
A thread to follow: one or two clear insights, carried into the year ahead
Trust in the medicine: for first-timers, a safe foundation; for returners, a deeper relationship
Why a weekend: short enough to say yes to, held carefully enough to matter.
Three days and two nights: arrive, sit in one full daylight ceremony, integrate together, and go home with a group integration call still ahead of you.
Who holds you: a carrier who lives the path.
Nikki Szeghalmi, Medicine Carrier and Huachumera, was called to Peru in 2018 from her own history of addiction and depression and has given herself to the San Pedro path. Trained in somatic, trauma-informed facilitation through Atira Tan, she meets each guest with a rare balance of grit and softness, and a quickness to laughter. First-timers find her steady. Returning guests find her deep.
Kimberly Ocaña, Co-founder of Ananda Lodge, is a somatic, trauma-informed plant-medicine coach, sound-healing therapist, and herbalist. She walks beside each guest from the first call to integration.
“I feel more alive, joyful, grateful and full of love than I have in my entire life. This place is special. Go if you are being called.” [attribution]
How to begin: start with a conversation.
Whether this is your first time or your tenth, we start by listening: to where you are, what you are hoping for, and whether this weekend is the right fit.
Reserve your call: a complimentary 30-minute Sacred Journey consultation
Complete your intake: a health and medication review, then your preparation session
Hold your place: ten guests, enrollment closes January 2, 2027
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