If you’ve worked with plant medicine, you’re no stranger to those deep moments that push your edges — the intense contractions that often precede the beauty. The realignments of your frequency that usher you into the exalted realm of the plants and their magic.
If you’re preparing to work with plant medicine for the first time, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the wide range of challenging passages people can experience in these spaces.
In those moments, it can feel impossible to remember that it’s a temporary experience. You may feel like you’re going to be stuck in the trenches for eternity. But inevitably, the experience shifts — the sensations soften, the heaviness lifts, and you find your center again.
Sometimes, no tool is needed — the only way out is through, and we must simply sit with ourselves. But other times, it’s empowering to have an inner toolkit to draw from: gentle anchors to help you meet the moment with presence and sovereignty.
Below is a list of practices you can lean on to support yourself during deep passages in ceremony. You won’t need all of them all the time — in fact, we recommend choosing just one or two that resonate and practicing them outside of ceremony so they become second nature.
These practices are just one small piece of preparing adequately for a ceremonial experience; we encourage you to download our Preparation Guidebook for more detail about what this process can look like.
🧭 Orienting
(Can be done with eyes open or closed)
With eyes open: Slowly look around the space, including behind you. Let yourself really take in your surroundings. If you notice something that feels good to look at, rest your gaze there. Stay as long as it continues to feel good. Shift your gaze again only when you feel the natural impulse and repeat as desired.
With eyes closed (or in darkness): Gently scan through your body. When you find a body part or a sensation that feels good, let your attention linger there for as long as it continues to feel good, naturally shifting your focus whenever you feel the impulse.
If you can’t find something (internally or externally) that feels good, try to find a small something that feels just a little less bad — even 1% less bad than everything else. This small shift can expand your capacity to feel other “less bad” things… and eventually, truly good things.
🙏 Gratitude
If it feels authentic, see if you can bring appreciation to the challenge itself.
What is there to be grateful for within this moment?
- “I’m grateful for this chance to grow my capacity.”
- “I’m grateful I have a body that can feel this.”
- “I’m grateful to meet myself in a new way.”
Even one genuine point of gratitude can shift your state profoundly. Don’t force it — but if you find it, let it carry you.
🌬️ Breath
The breath is a fantastic tool we can use to consciously adjust our mental & emotional state. But usually when someone says, “Breathe,” we instinctively take a big inhale — and that can actually be activating for your nervous system. If you’re feeling fear, panic, or unease, the best first step is to slowly blow out all your air. Empty your lungs completely until the inhale comes naturally.
Focus on long, complete exhales. The out-breath is naturally more down-regulating to the nervous system and can help settle your body and mind quite a lot.
🧘♀️ Return to Your Intention
Let your intention become a mantra. Distill it into one or two succinct, affirmative phrases that invoke your intentions as if they are already realized.
For example, if your intention was to heal your relationship with your body, you might silently repeat:
“I trust my sacred body in all its expressions.”
Use whatever phrase feels authentic to you. Repeating it (mentally) can provide a steady thread of focus when things feel chaotic or overwhelming.
🕊️ Prayer
Some challenges are simply too big to hold alone. In those moments, prayer becomes essential.
Call on the Divine — by whatever name you use — and surrender the weight of the experience. Let yourself be held by something bigger. You can also pray to the spirit of the medicine if that feels authentic to you, trusting that the process has intelligence and purpose.
(This doesn’t mean bypassing or suppressing your experience — and if you truly need help, ask for it.)
📐 Adjust Your Posture
Posture shapes perception. When you’re slumped over or curled up, the suffering can feel endless. Gently extend your spine, open your chest, and lift your gaze; or lie flat on your back rather than curled on your side.
Even if it feels nearly impossible to move — try anyway. The medicine often empowers us in our efforts. Once you shift your posture, it will usually feel easier to stay there.
🙋 Ask for Support
Know what kind of support your facilitator or helpers can offer — and also know the etiquette around who and how you can ask for help. There’s no shame in reaching out when you need help.
If you’re shamed or dismissed for asking, that’s a red flag. We strongly recommend not returning to any ceremonial space where this is normalized.
Additional Tools
These may not be allowed in every ceremonial container. Always check with your facilitator beforehand.
🌀 Movement
Move your spine or stand up and gently dance in your place. It’s a great way to lift the energy if you’re feeling heaviness. Let your body move intuitively and keep your focus within — it’s not a show for anyone else.
🍃 Hapé
Serve yourself or ask to be served. Hapé is a fantastic medicine to pray with when you come up against an obstacle that feels insurmountable. It can help clear stuck energy, ground you, and bring you back to your heart.
But discernment is crucial here, as it is entirely possible to lean on hapé excessively, in an attempt to avoid uncomfortable feelings. Would your process be best served by letting it unfold in its own time? Or do you feel like you’ve been stuck and you need help coming out of it? Ultimately only you know the answer.
💧 Ask for More Medicine
Sometimes, the reason you’re struggling is because you need more medicine to move into a different consciousness. It may seem counterintuitive, but a small additional dose can help a lot.
Some facilitators only serve at designated times, so make sure you ask about this if it isn’t already covered during the orientation.
🌲 Step Outside (if permitted)
If the container allows for it, a few minutes outside can bring relief — fresh air, trees, stars. Just don’t linger too long; once you’ve gotten the breather you needed, go back to the ceremony space.
It’s easy to get “vortexed” outside (same goes for the bathroom), and you might find yourself feeling more alone or disconnected than before. Come back to the healing energy of the ceremony space as soon as you feel ready.
🔥 Come Closer to the Altar or Facilitator
If movement is allowed and the altar is accessible, sitting near it can offer powerful energetic support. You may also feel more held sitting nearer to the facilitator, if that’s permitted.
Always respect the space’s flow and guidelines.
Final Thoughts
Remember – this isn’t a checklist or a task list. Choose a few tools that feel resonant and get to know them — not just conceptually, but in your body.
And know this: sometimes, when the medicine brings you deep, you forget everything 🤪
Even the tools you know you know. That’s part of it too.
There is nothing wrong with having a challenging experience. These tools aren’t meant to “fix” anything — they’re here for you if they feel supportive and appropriate.
And after any deep process, we encourage you to place an even stronger focus on integration. Having someone who can hold a safe space for you to process your experiences can bring a kind of completion that may not be fully accessible in solitude.
