The Buena Vida — Plant Medicine Retreats
Plant Medicine Retreats — California & Mexico

You've Tried
Everything Else.

If therapy, coaching, and personal development haven't created real movement — you are who this was built for.

If you're still looking for something gentle, exploratory, or casual — this is not it.

Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes · Not everyone is accepted

2,000+Guests served safely
7Years running
All-femaleLeadership team
2Legal locations
From the founder

What to expect from
a Buena Vida retreat

The Buena Vida — Plant Medicine Retreats
We know why you're here

Something underneath
hasn't moved yet.

You've read the books. Sat in therapy. Done the inner work most people never attempt. And still — there's a layer that nothing has fully reached.

·

Anxiety that never fully quiets, no matter what you try

·

A low-grade depression that lifts and returns

·

Burnout that sleep and rest don't fix

·

Patterns in relationships or work that repeat no matter how much you understand them

You're not broken. You've just reached the edge of what conventional approaches can reach. Plant medicine — held inside the right container — can go further.

Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes · No commitment

Why plant medicine

You've probably
already researched this.

You know the studies. You've read about the outcomes. You understand that psilocybin is showing some of the most promising results in mental health research in decades.

What you're looking for now isn't more information. It's the right place to do this work — safely, legally, and with people who have done this thousands of times.

That is a very short list.
Buena Vida is on it.

Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes

What makes this different

The container
is everything.

The ceremony is not where lasting change comes from. It's where something gets opened. Everything around it determines whether that becomes real transformation.

Before you arrive

Preparation that actually prepares you

Medical and psychological screening. A group call with your facilitators. A 7-day online prep course to set intentions and arrive ready. No one enters the container unprepared.

In ceremony

Live shamanic music. Every ceremony.

Our women facilitators don't play a playlist. They sing, play instruments, and channel sound in real time — traditional medicine songs woven with modern music, responding to what's happening in the room. The music moves with your journey and holds you through it.

After you leave

Integration built into the program

A 2-week personalized integration course. Group calls. Optional 1-on-1 coaching. Breakthrough without integration is just an experience. We're here for what comes after.

Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes · No commitment

Credibility

Not experimental.
Refined.

One of the longest-operating plant medicine retreat organizations in the world. Legally grounded in California and Mexico. Built on thousands of hours of real ceremony with real people.

2,000+ Guests served safely
7 years Running since 2018
90% Exceeded expectations
75% Strong mental health shift
New York Times Condé Nast The Cut Vice Thrillist
Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes

Who holds the container
Amanda Schendel
Amanda Schendel
Founder & Medicine Woman

Seven years. Over 2,000 people held in ceremony. More experience in this specific work than almost anyone alive. She built this from inside the container — thousands of hours watching what actually creates lasting change and what doesn't.

She leads every Buena Vida retreat personally alongside Wellness Directors Sarah McCunn and Autumn Flory.

2,000+ people held in ceremony
The Buena Vida team

Clinical contributors

Dr. Rayyan Zafar
Imperial College London

Researcher studying psychedelic-assisted treatments for addiction. His work informs how preparation and integration influence lasting outcomes.

Dr. Rosalind McAlpine
University College London

Developer of the Psychedelic Preparedness Scale. Her work directly informs Buena Vida's screening process and outcome tracking.

Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes · No commitment

What people say

Not how it felt.
What stayed.

Most people who find us have already tried multiple paths.

"In a matter of minutes I experienced a level of emotional clarity that years of traditional work couldn't access."

Kristen C.

"I had done years of therapy and still felt stuck. This was the first time something actually shifted."

TJ — Joshua Tree retreat

"The ceremonies were the safest I've ever attended. Amanda leads with humor, power, wisdom and an extraordinary presence that reaches you on a level words can't describe."

Katja von Tiesenhausen

"I struggled with depression and anxiety from a young age and tried many treatments. I felt completely safe and supported."

Carlos — 7-day retreat

"I just finished my 2nd retreat and I would give them 100 stars. It is impossible to leave not in a better place mentally, physically, spiritually."

Megan C.

As Featured In

The Buena Vida — Plant Medicine Retreats
The investment

World-class Retreats
ask for an investment

A 6-week program led by one of the most experienced teams in the world. Two of the most carefully designed legal retreat settings available. The investment reflects that.

Joshua Tree, California 5-Day Immersive · 2 Ceremonies
from $4,000

Preparation · Live ceremony · Somatic workshops · Chef meals · Integration support

Sayulita, Mexico 7-Day Intensive · 3 Ceremonies
from $8,000

Preparation · Live ceremony · Ocean villa · Somatic workshops · Chef meals · Integration support

Both programs include 6 weeks of preparation and integration support — not just the days on site.

Needs-based scholarships available through our Church.

Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes · No commitment

Who this is for

Selective by design.
Not by exclusivity.

We screen every applicant carefully — medically, psychologically, and for readiness. Not to turn people away, but because what happens in the room depends entirely on who is in it.

The people who thrive here are those who have done real inner work, understand this is not recreational, and are ready to be uncomfortable if that's what real change requires.

If that's you, we'd love to meet you.

Find Out If You're a Fit

Takes 2–3 minutes · No commitment

A note from Amanda

I built this because I needed it first.

Before this was my work, I was the person sitting exactly where you are. Trying to understand why the things that were supposed to help weren't reaching the layer that actually needed to change.

What I found inside this medicine, inside this container, inside this work together — I have watched it change thousands of lives. Including mine.

If something in you knows it's time, come. We will hold you through it. The whole thing. Before, during, and after.

You are welcome here.

Amanda

Find Out If You're a Fit Takes 2 to 3 minutes. No commitment.