You're feeling called to work with the sacred and powerful plant medicine, Ayahuasca. And you need to know everything there is to know about Ayahuasca preparation.
The psychedelic tea usually brewed from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine (often referred to as the Ayahuasca vine or “vine of the soul”) and the leaves of the Psychotria viridis shrub (commonly known as chacruna), ayahuasca has long been used by indigenous people in healing ceremonies in Central and South America.
Groups like the Shuar of Ecuador, the Shipibo of Peru, and various Tukano groups in Colombia maintain a culture of traditional use, and many of their practices, as well as the plants have been transported around the world with the rising demand for ayahuasca experiences.
For a culture living in the tropical Amazonian jungles, preparing for an Ayahuasca ceremony was fairly straightforward.
In the Amazon basin, ceremonial participants didn’t have to worry about detoxifying from recreational drugs, alcohol, processed foods, and the like — unlike modern-day seekers of plant medicine healing, these elements were not available. Participants would undergo a period of preparation to purify the body to interact with the plant spirits on a deeper physical and spiritual level. This usually included eating a specific diet, abstaining from certain behaviors, and intensifying spiritual practices of preparation.
So, although the last line of decision and advice ultimately lies with the curanderos facilitating your journey, here’s an in-depth look at what you need to know to prepare for your first time sitting in an Ayahuasca ceremony.
In the tradition of shamanism, it is believed that all illness and malady has an energetic or spiritual component.
Seekers would come to work with a shaman or curandero to address this issue and promote overall well-being in their lives, families, and communities. The prescriptions for healing varied widely depending on the individual’s needs, but the Ayahuasca brew has been used as the central gateway for deep, transformative experiences.
In some cases, people suffering from a serious illness, such as cancer, turn to the medicine for guidance and physical healing, or even to find peace with the looming possibility of death.
Because of Ayahuasca’s (sometimes) hallucinogenic properties, many say they feel like they journey to meet the Divine.
This experience has a powerfully transformative effect on how people view themselves and the world following their experience. There have even been cases where plant medicine has relieved addiction, depression, and other psychological problems.
The structure of an actual Ayahuasca experience itself differs depending on what type of Ayahuasca retreat or ceremony you attend.
After western spiritualists like Terrence McKenna, William Burroughs, and others began traveling into the mountains of the Amazon in the 50’s to seek a direct experience with shamanism, the face of Ayahuasca ceremony as we know it throughout the west has certainly gone through a transformation. Now, we could categorize the types of Ayahuasca experiences available into broad categories:
These require significant and rugged travel to reach an indigenous healer. Ceremonies are small and offer a lot of individual attention from the maestro. There are typically multiple ceremonies over an extended period of time and additional plant medicines may also be used in concert with the spirit of Ayahuasca. In these ceremonies, you're likely to hear the Icaros and other traditional medicine songs throughout the course of your journey.
These are usually held at forest centers, with indigenous or mestizo shamans who maintain a strong thread of traditional ceremonial structure.
Ceremonies are often performed in a maloka, or an open structure with just a roof, where participants are provided with a mattress and only minimal items of comfort. Participants are usually attended by the primary curandero as well as a team of supporting facilitators, often comprised of the healer’s family members. Retreat centers often provide more structure for a participant to prepare prior to ceremony and integrate afterward, including on-site lodging and meals.
The practices and dietary protocols followed leading up to a ceremony are known as a dieta — and though the word most obviously refers to food intake, the preparatory practices extend to behavioral abstinences and spiritual practices as well.
Here are the overarching principles of each.
The most glaring change in behavior that is suggested before meeting the plant spirits is abstinence from sexual activity, both with others as well as on your own.
Shamanism understands sexual intimacy as a form of energetic connection between the people involved; it would make sense then, that in ceremony you might feel the energy or presence of that person in a strong way. This can lead to a confusing experience, distracting from your ability to focus on your own healing and to see your connection with the other person clearly.
Sexual activity with yourself is said to deplete the individual of spiritual energy that would otherwise be used in the healing process during the Ayahuasca ceremony, limiting your ability to dive deep and preventing the medicine from communicating with you clearly.
The recommended length of time varies, so follow the recommendation of your healer; most retreat centers recommend at least 1-2 weeks before and after the ceremony.
Step back and take a look at your current lifestyle.
Are there pockets of negative energy that you can reduce or eliminate in preparation for your journey?
If you live in the middle of New York City, for example, can you take a trip to the forest to connect with nature and clear your head before you travel?
The spiritual preparation for a healing experience involves clearing your mind and your energetic space. Take a break from your television and Netflix subscription, cut down your internet time, and spend more time in quiet solitude. Get out into nature as much as you can to breathe and connect with Earth.
This is incredibly important to remember: two people who prepare for a ceremony in the same exact way are highly likely to have two very different experiences.
The ayahuasca tea offers each individual what he or she needs — and needs are incredibly variable. So while you might prefer to have some sense of what’s coming, the best way to prepare your mind for the night is to let go of your expectations and become open to possibility.
There is no use in judging your experience as right or wrong, or, better or worse than anyone else’s. It simply is.
Simply stated, eat basic, bland foods without red meat (including pork) and dairy for at least two weeks or more prior to ceremony and immediately afterward. Eat no less than four hours before the start of the ceremony, and even then it is best to eat soft foods and vegetable broths to be gentle on the stomach.
Any medication that has an effect on the serotonin system, including Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) and MAOI drugs, should be cleared from your body through a slow weaning process with your doctor.
Whether you journey to the jungle to drink yage (the Colombian Ayahuasca brew) or meet the caapi vine in the concrete jungle of an American city, how you integrate your healing experience is just as important, if not more so, than how you prepare.
As your shaman will likely tell you, the plant spirits will be working with you and continuing your healing process for weeks and months, maybe even years to come. The question is: How can you be intentional about integrating your lessons and providing space for continued healing while navigating your friends, family, work commitments, and westernized lifestyle?
Continuing with your dieta while you integrate not only supports your body in continued healing but is a tangible reminder of everything you have experienced. Maintain the diet for 1-2 weeks, slowly reintroducing salt and spices. Be cautious about reintroducing processed foods, caffeine, or sugar, and avoid alcohol and recreational drugs as long as possible. Honor your body by keeping it as clean and free of toxins as you can!
This is especially important if you live in the city. Find a way to ground yourself into the earth, sit beneath a tree or near a river, and reconnect with the rhythms of the earth. This supportive practice will help keep your rhythm aligned with that of the earth, keep you grounded, and support your healing.
This can include meditation, walking, yoga, or prayer. Find a way to intentionally connect to the spirit of the plant and the divine on a daily basis. Carve out time to be present with your feelings and your process by stilling the mind. In the first few weeks after your journey, you may find it useful to journal or do more active reflection.
Many retreat centers offer continued opportunity to connect with facilitators or fellow participants after the ceremony.
This creates a supportive container for you to continue learning and understanding your process — these are people who understand what you went through. If your retreat doesn’t offer such a structure, find people in your local or online community who can provide that support. This will protect you from feeling isolated in your healing process.
Many blessings on your journey.