Enter a different way of living.
Private immersion · Southern Costa Rica
Spend one or two weeks in a completely private immersion at our family homestead.
The immersion takes place inside a life already being lived.
The family homestead
Suma Kallay is our family home in Southern Costa Rica. The land, relationships, and responsibilities that shape it are part of our everyday life, whether or not an immersion is taking place.
Meals are shared. Children play. The land needs care. You are welcomed into the daily rhythm as a participant.
The rhythm holds. The days change.
A steady rhythm
Each immersion follows a steady rhythm of sleep and waking, morning movement, shared meals, focused periods of practice, time outside, and rest. This gives the body time to settle and each day a reliable shape.
The structure remains steady while the emphasis of each day responds to what is needed. Over time, the rhythm becomes something you inhabit rather than merely follow.
More time allows the work to deepen.
One or two weeks
Both formats are unhurried and personally shaped. The difference is how much time you have to settle in, participate, and practice different choices.
Both lengths are available for individuals, couples, and families. A one-week immersion is available when your schedule is limited, but two weeks is always preferred. We decide together what best fits you and the work you want to do.
The work is experienced directly.
Practice and participation
Each day brings together focused periods of practice and participation in life at the homestead.
- Morning Movement
- River & Nature
- Shared Meals
- Meditation
- Breathwork
- Creative Practice
- Coaching
- Land Work
- Steam Sauna
- Ceremony
- Family Life
- Rest & Solitude
This is not a fixed itinerary. The balance changes with you and what is unfolding, while coaching stays close to the experience throughout.
Ceremony is part of a larger whole.
Plant medicine
Most immersions include private plant medicine ceremonies, often with yagé, commonly known as ayahuasca. Two-week immersions typically include two evening ceremonies. Ceremony within a one-week immersion is considered individually.
The medicine, timing, and structure respond to you and the wider arc of the immersion. Yagé is often appropriate, while other forms of plant medicine may occasionally be considered.
Ceremony is held within the larger experience, rarely as a standalone offering. Preparation gives it context, and the days afterward create space to meet what arose through the rhythm of daily life.
In his words
“I could just let go because I was held one-on-one.”
“The most surprising thing for me was how deep I was able to go in a ceremony. I’ve done ceremonies with great people before, but I was always holding a little bit back.
“This was the first time, while working with ayahuasca or yagé, that I could just let go because I was held one-on-one. I didn’t know what that could feel like until I had this experience.”
Reid Hettinger · Two-week private immersion
The immersion begins before you arrive.
What is included
Pre-arrival conversations establish context, support your preparation, and coordinate the practical details of your stay.
- Round-trip ground transportation between San José and the homestead
- Private accommodation
- All meals, including shared family meals
- Daily coaching and personal guidance
- All practices and activities described above
- Ceremonial preparation and integration when ceremony is included
Readiness is what matters.
Who it is for
People arrive at different turning points and with different histories. What they share is a recognition that continuing in the same way is no longer workable.
A good fit is someone who is:
- Ready to make different choices
- Willing to take part
- Open to guidance
- Ready to examine familiar patterns
- Prepared to take responsibility
- Able to make the commitment
The environment is lived before it is shared.
The people behind the immersion
Suma Kallay grew from the family life we created together and continue to build with our children.
Michael
I lead the intake, personal guidance, structured practices, medicine decisions, and ceremonial work. My background includes eleven years with plant medicine, including a nine-year apprenticeship with an Inga elder, six years in regenerative health coaching, and seven years as a professional ceremonial musician.
Yara
Yara is a co-creator of the homestead, family culture, and way of living each participant enters. Her involvement develops naturally through daily life and responds to the person and format. For couples immersions, we guide the experience together.
Start a conversation.
How to begin
The process gives you and Michael time to understand what is bringing you here and consider fit without pressure.
01
Short Inquiry
Share your name and a brief note about what is leading you to reach out.
02
Personal Reply
Michael replies personally with current availability and the investment for each format.
03
Private Conversation
If there may be a fit, you and Michael will speak privately. You can share more of your story, ask questions, and decide together whether moving forward feels right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Practical details
A clear view of ceremony, screening, accommodation, family formats, and practical fit.
No previous experience with plant medicine is necessary. Ceremony is always optional and is offered unless the intake and screening process identifies a reason it would not be appropriate.
If ceremony is not desired or cannot be offered safely, the immersion can continue without it. The rhythm, nature, guidance, participation, and daily life remain the foundation of the experience.
Before an immersion is confirmed, Michael reviews your medications, physical and mental health history, current substance use, and previous experiences with plant medicine.
Much of the medical screening is used to determine whether plant medicine can be offered. If ceremony is not appropriate, an immersion may still be possible without it. The wider fit is considered through conversation and the detailed intake process.
The recommended accommodation is a spacious private glamping tent on a neighboring ten-acre fruit farm owned by our longtime family friends. The farm has more than 700 meters of riverfront along the majestic Río San Pedro. There are no other immersion participants.
The farm remains an active, lived-in place. A full-time farm worker works on the land, and a resident caretaker lives in the house. The bathroom is shared with the caretaker. The property is a five-minute walk from our family homestead, and the immersion moves between the two.
The stay is intentionally simple rather than luxurious. The mountain climate is cool enough that air conditioning is not needed, and the tent keeps you close to the natural environment throughout your stay. Other accommodation may sometimes be available.
Round-trip ground transportation is included. Pickup can be arranged directly from the San José airport or from a hotel in San José. The drive takes approximately three hours, and transportation back to the airport or your hotel is arranged when you leave.
For young men under 18 attending a coming-of-age immersion, Michael can personally meet them at the airport if desired.
Yes. You can come with your partner, your children, or both. Children of all ages are welcome, and Yara and I greatly enjoy working with families.
Each family immersion is shaped around the ages, needs, and interests of everyone involved. The structure and investment are determined individually.
A couples immersion includes both shared and individual work. Michael and Yara guide the experience together throughout.
Relationship work is an explicit focus, while the rhythm, practices, and conversations respond to the couple and the current season of their relationship.
Yara occasionally considers private immersions for women, which she leads herself. Her approach draws from her work with women, family life, creativity, and ceremony.
Michael supports the experience by preparing meals and caring for their children. If a plant medicine ceremony is included, Michael facilitates the ceremony while Yara remains present and guides the wider experience.
Wi-Fi is available, but phone use is discouraged as much as possible. Stepping away from the usual stream of messages, information, and responsibilities is part of entering a different rhythm.
Necessary contact can be arranged. You can give emergency contacts Michael’s direct contact information so you remain reachable when it matters.
No. Suma Kallay does not provide detoxification, rehabilitation, medical treatment, or psychiatric care and is not a substitute for necessary clinical support.
The immersion is not appropriate for someone experiencing active withdrawal or an acute psychiatric crisis. No particular outcome is promised or guaranteed.
Tell us what is bringing you here.
When you’re ready
The first step is a short inquiry. Michael will reply personally.