Cameron's Staff Pick iconCameron's Staff Pick

Immersion Retreat - Costa Rica

5.009 reviews
Location icon
Holos Retreat Center, San José Province, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica
Users icon
Up to 15 in group
Date
February 23 - 27, 2025

Retreat Highlights

  • Preparation Sessions
  • Psilocybin Mushroom Healing Ceremonies
  • Breathwork
  • Yoga
  • Voice
  • Live Music
  • Integration Sessions
  • Experienced Synthesis retreat facilitators

About this Retreat

Details of this retreat

A Comprehensive Program Including
Preparation, a 5-Day Psychedelic Supported Retreat and Integration

Are You Curious About How Psychedelics Might Support You in Connecting to Your Authentic Self?

Join Us for this Cornerstone Experiential Program Designed to Reveal Your Potential for Personal Growth and Expansion.

Interest in psychedelics and the potential they hold to unlock latent parts of ourselves, kick-start behavioural changes, and address emotional, spiritual, and physical challenges has created an increasing demand for access.

With a proven track record for leading safe and legal psychedelic retreats for more than 2000 individuals, Synthesis has collected years of data, experience, and anecdotal success stories that make us uniquely qualified to offer you the opportunity to experience the potentially life-enhancing benefits of a psychedelic retreat experience.

The Immersion Retreat is a comprehensive experience that includes pre-retreat preparation, a 5-day psychedelic-supported retreat, and post-retreat integration—is our cornerstone program designed for those who are eager to gain a deeper understanding of their true nature, tune in to their deepest wisdom and truth, and unlock their unique gifts and talents.

This is a legal opportunity to take moderate to high doses of psilocybin that carefully creates a safe, intentional, and transformative container consisting of preparation and integration components essential to activating the full potential for personal breakthroughs.

Past Immersion Retreat participants have reported their experience provided:

The ability to access deeper levels of consciousness promoted new insights and sparked creativity.
A deeper connection to others and the larger world encouraged the development of stronger personal relationships.
Increased resilience and a feeling of more balance and peace as they navigate life.
A greater sense of purpose and meaning in their life, resulting in a renewed sense of focus and direction.

Synthesis is committed to safely, legally, and effectively stewarding psychedelics into modern culture through our use of psilocybin mushrooms (or truffles containing psilocybin in the Netherlands). In our professionally curated settings, this remarkable organism can be an agent of life-enhancing experiences.

Using our integrative approach to transformative wellness, we combine leading-edge research with ancient wisdom traditions, rituals, and spiritual practices to curate a potent container that has the potential to catalyze change.

Led by professional facilitators, Immersion Retreat integrates psychedelic education, workshops, open-dialogue, breathwork meditation, sound, psychedelic ceremonies, and integration with the aim of restructuring disempowering thoughts, sharpening perceptual lenses, and awakening expanded forms of consciousness.

The Retreat Team will support you by creating a safe container conducive to deep exploration. They have worked with Synthesis for years, leading ceremonies at the facilities in Costa Rica and The Netherlands. This diverse team possesses a range of holistic, therapeutic, and shamanic qualities. In addition, students from the Synthesis Institute Practitioner Training will join as assistants to provide support. They will aid with operational aspects of the retreat as well as serving as helpful allies on your journey.

Our Approach

At Synthesis, we focus attention on the following six (6) conditions, each of which plays an essential role in every psychedelic journey:

Set: The mental attitude of a would-be psychedelic voyager.
Setting: The surroundings in which a psychedelic substance is ingested.
Guide: The program team who are all experienced with non-ordinary states of consciousness and equipped to mitigate challenges and channel insights.
Substance: The type and quantity of psychedelic agent; in this program, psilocybin.
Session: The entirety of a psychedelic trip, including all ancillary activities and rituals.
Situation: The environment, people, and culture a person comes to a retreat experience from and returns to afterwards.

When these elements are not carefully considered, and psychedelics are not used in a safe, supported, and structured setting, many of their potential benefits may not be experienced.

That’s why Immersion Retreat includes the critical preparation and integration elements that anchor the psychedelic ceremony experiences.

Because of the potentially powerful nature of psychedelic experiences, and the impact that sharing this experience with others can have on your psychedelic journey, we keep each Immersion Retreat program to between 15 to 20 carefully screened participants.
Program Overview
Immersion Retreat is a Three-Part Comprehensive Experience:

Online Pre-Retreat Preparation Sessions:
Inclusive of three (3) 75-minute sessions in the weeks immediately prior to the retreat
A 5-Day Experiential Retreat:
Inclusive of two (2) psychedelic ceremonies and three (3) 1:1 preparation and integration support sessions with your assigned facilitator.
Online Post-Retreat Integration Sessions:
Inclusive of three (3) 75-minutes sessions in the weeks immediately following the retreat

All participants will receive an Immersion Retreat Program Manual that contains important details, as well as a list of recommended resources.

Part One: Pre-Retreat Preparation Sessions

Setting the container for your experiential retreat begins weeks in advance. Our preparation process draws upon scientific research, as well as wisdom traditions, to get you ready for your experience.

Ahead of the first preparation session, we ask that you begin to work with the intention setting process outlined in your Immersion Retreat Program Manual. The sessions are hosted by our professional facilitators and will include all the other participants in your program.

There are three (3) 75-minute Preparation Sessions:

Preparation Through Practice: Whether expert or novice, we come together with a beginners mind. In the first session, we begin by getting to know one another and focus on simple practices that help you connect to your deepest intentions for the journey ahead.
Awareness Through Active Listening & Noticing: Being the listener is one of the most simple, yet advanced practices on the path. Active listening is an art all unto itself; more than a skill, active listening is a way of being. In this session we focus on developing our listening into an integrated practice of deep-rooted listening to ourselves, others, and life.
Opening Up Around Resistance: Resistance is a powerful force for transformation. During this session, we will explore what resistance is, how it may be showing up in your life, and how resistance can show up during a psychedelic journey. Together we will walk through acceptance practices that support us to remain present and grounded.

You will emerge from the preparation phase with a unique intention to inform the experiential phase of your journey.

 

Part Two: A 5-Day, Experiential Retreat


Day 1: Your retreat begins the day you arrive at the venue. We will start with a welcome circle, followed by one-on-one facilitation meetings where you will clarify your intentions and confirm the dose for your first psilocybin mushrooms (or truffles) experience. The evening culminates in a group sound meditation experience.

Day 2: After morning practice and detailed instructions, you will participate in your first psychedelic ceremony using psilocybin mushrooms (or truffles). You will be fully prepared and made comfortable in a setting optimized for your needs, allowing you to make the most of your psychedelic experience.

Day 3: You will spend time integrating your first psychedelic experience while simultaneously preparing for your next one. The schedule includes group practices, integration workshops, and one-on-one meetings with an experienced facilitator.

Day 4: After morning practice and a guided workshop, you will experience your second psychedelic ceremony.

Day 5: The retreat’s final day centers on integration. You will participate in one-on-one and group integration sessions to begin processing your experience which will help support and enable you to integrate it more fully into your life.

You will emerge from the 5-day experiential retreat with a deeper understanding of the intentions that are guiding you and clarity around what you need to continue cultivating in your life as you prepare to return home.

 

Part Three: Post-Retreat Integration Sessions

While preparation is essential for maximizing the potential of a psychedelic retreat, integration is critical for unpacking and understanding your experience and transforming it into your desired outcomes. During our three (3) virtual group Integration Sessions, you will explore how to move from the retreat experience back into your day-to-day life.

There are three (3) 75-minute Integration Sessions:

Somatic Integration: Coming home with a renewed sense of possibility and vision is both an exhilarating experience as well as a potentially difficult one. Using a variety of integration tools, we will provide support in accepting the challenges, however they may arise. We encourage you to connect to what is empowering and nourishing, and to remain feeling everything as deeply as possible by attending to your body.
Social Integration: In a world where language around expanded states of consciousness is rare, and the experiences themselves are frequently and easily misunderstood, you may face challenges in speaking your new, authentic truth. You may encounter disagreement, judgment, and unfavorable responses from people in your life. In this session, we will address how to remain integrated in the social sphere and how to discern when and how much to share with others.
Synthesis - The Culmination of Elements: This will mark the last week of your Immersion Retreat, and in this session, we will bring the program together by reflecting and making an inventory of what has changed and setting intentions to remain connected moving forward.

You will emerge from the Integration Sessions with a renewed sense of how to apply and embody the insights and learnings gained from this growth-enhancing experience to your everyday life, and equipped with the tools and practices to continue to evolve on your personal journey.

Schedule

Day 1: Your retreat begins the day you arrive at the venue. We will start with a welcome circle, followed by one-on-one facilitation meetings where you will clarify your intentions and confirm the dose for your first psilocybin mushrooms (or truffles) experience. The evening culminates in a group sound meditation experience.

Day 2: After morning practice and detailed instructions, you will participate in your first psychedelic ceremony using psilocybin mushrooms (or truffles). You will be fully prepared and made comfortable in a setting optimized for your needs, allowing you to make the most of your psychedelic experience.

Day 3: You will spend time integrating your first psychedelic experience while simultaneously preparing for your next one. The schedule includes group practices, integration workshops, and one-on-one meetings with an experienced facilitator.

Day 4: After morning practice and a guided workshop, you will experience your second psychedelic ceremony.

Day 5: The retreat’s final day centers on integration. You will participate in one-on-one and group integration sessions to begin processing your experience which will help support and enable you to integrate it more fully into your life.
Note: Schedule is approximate and may change

Getting Here

Location icon The Synthesis Institute, Holos Retreat Center, San José Province, Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica

Directions

From San Jose Airport, a taxi 3 hours to the Retreat Center. From Uvita Airport, a 1h30min taxi drive.

Accommodation

Accommodation
Immersion Retreat

Venue & Amenities

Venue & Amenities
Venue & Amenities
A/C in Rooms icon A/C in Rooms
Free Wifi icon Free Wifi
Spa icon Spa
Sauna icon Sauna
Pool icon Pool
Towels icon Towels
Free Parking icon Free Parking
Kitchen icon Kitchen
Tour Assistance icon Tour Assistance
Hot Tub icon Hot Tub
Coffee/Tea icon Coffee/Tea
Cafe icon Cafe
Restaurant icon Restaurant
Fitness Center icon Fitness Center
Yoga Studio icon Yoga Studio
Housekeeping icon Housekeeping
Bicycles For Rent icon Bicycles For Rent
HOLOS is a retreat center nestled in the sacred Diamante Valley in Costa Rica. This emerald haven is a magical landscape of cascading waterfalls, lush jungle, and mountain peaks. Holos Retreat Center has a stunning bamboo air shala, a ceremony space that breathes with the rhythm of nature. Chefs provide nutrient-rich foods, much from their own lush vegetable garden. Relish the experience of being immersed in nature, with the open-sided shala, luxury glamping accommodation and outdoor showers.

Meals

Menu
Menu

Menu Types

Organic vegetarian menu. We serve for allergies and dietary restrictions

What's Included

  • 5 Day retreat at HOLOS in Costa Rica
  • 3 Pre-Retreat Preparation Sessions
  • 2 Psilocybin Mushroom Healing Ceremonies
  • 2 Breathwork Sessions
  • Sharing circles
  • 1:1 Preparation and Integration Sessions (on-site)
  • Yoga Practice
  • Voice Practice
  • Embodiment Practices
  • Nature Practices
  • Live Music
  • 3 Post-Retreat Integration Sessions
  • Experienced Synthesis retreat facilitators
  • Trauma-informed

What's Not Included

  • Airfare
  • Travel

Customer Reviews

5.00 out of 5.0 average rating

5.0
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Exceptional facilitators: a magnificent retreat experience of togetherness, growth, and profound inspiration
Exceptional. Marvelous. Even though I didn’t know the majority of the megapode facilitators before the retreat, I felt almost immediately at home with them. They proved an enormous resource throughout the retreat. Their teamwork was a remarkable model for me going forward as well. I felt supported, held, and given space to grow in my own way. Magnificent!

The experience of being TOGETHER was even more mind-blowing than I’d expected. I already knew that this was an extraordinary group of people — but I had no idea of the extent to which that was true until we were physically together in one place. The openness, attentiveness, attunement, intelligence. and gentleness of the staff was extraordinary.
On how the Immersion informed one’s personal practice: “I feel an even greater draw than usual to slow down, spend time in nature, and give myself space to breathe. The conversations I had with both fellow participants and staff will be influencing my personal practice and my outlook on life for a long while. The experiences of the retreat went very deep indeed.

Everyone was super-helpful, respectful, and friendly. Couldn’t ask for better.

5.0
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Synthesis embodyies the commitment to wholeness
I would emphasise how the different lenses all worked to inform each other and therefore made the overall offering richer. I would also talk about how Synthesis has consistently promoted the value of "walking the walk", so not just lip-service, but the actual lived embodied commitment to our own wholeness; only then can we be taken seriously to facilitate someone else's journey towards wholeness.

5.0
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Exceptional care, communitas, and profound personal growth - a life-changing retreat
It’s difficult to know quite where to start in describing how these days exceeded all my expectations. I have never been looked after as well on all levels. Like staying with your favourite grandmother with benefits. From the minute we arrived, I left welcomed, safe, held. The walk from taxi to room - guided and handed over between Synthesis staff.. I learnt so much about myself, to witness how to hold space in the most gentle and exquisite way, about the real meaning of communitas that has affected me at a cellular level and will stay with me forever. To experience such love and kinship - such understanding. I left forever changed. Forever grateful.

Quite an exceptional group of people who clearly had incredible passion for the work. Staff almost floated at times. The way they held space, cared with lightness and compassion for those journeying and afterwards. The acts of kindness. For each and everyone of you. Thank you - including the amazing chefs and people who did our laundry.

5.0
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Diverse lessons, brilliant facilitators, and transformative support
This training provided diverse and thorough lessons with excellent facilitators. The four lenses were beautifully blended within each track, one supporting the other. The amount of information seemed too much at time, yet it all worked, especially when there was enough time for pod meetings. The faculty is brilliant! The support (again, Courtney is the bomb) team were so helpful, especially with details around practicum and Immersion. And I cannot say enough about the learning mentors and the capacity they had to hold each pod member with such respect and care. I know more about myself as a practitioner because we all, as a larger cohort, supported each other and will continue to support each other through Immersion in The Netherlands. Thank you Synthesis. This was an amazing Journey - like the ceremony: it showed me what I needed and connected me with myself and others.

5.0
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A Transformative Journey to Restore the Sacred and Create a More Beautiful World
How do we create a more beautiful world for our children? How do we restore the sacred that has been lost from our lives? How do we live lives of compassionate, loving kindness, grounded in our bodies, in traditions but also in all the precious knowledge that science offers? How do we live our lives as fully expressed individuals, while also being vital contributors to the societal networks? I went in to the psychedelic training with all these questions- and not only was I taught precious lessons but most importantly, I was SHOWN. That a more beautiful world IS possible, that the sacred CAN be restored. That we can have difficult, challenging experiences, and still be held in calm, loving, kindness. What the people at Synthesis have created is the most profound, exquisitely beautiful experience of my life, that has opened up hope and unlimited possibilities for me and my family.