Why is the Ayahuasca Diet and Preparation so important?
This diet is crucial to prepare your physical body for the Ayahuasca journey and to allow for full integration of the plant medicine. When we are occupied with and distracted by impure foods or activities, it makes it more difficult to focus on the Medicine. It can also make ceremonies much more challenging when one has to purge more than necessary because of dietary or lifestyle choices.
Adhering to the diet is a test of discipline and displays respect for and commitment to the spirit of Mother Ayahuasca. This type of diet is a common, time-honored tradition among Ayahuasca practitioners and shamans across the Peruvian Upper Amazon.
Dietary Restrictions
We recommend that guests begin their diet at least seven days prior to drinking Ayahuasca and continue the diet for seven days after the last Ayahuasca ceremony. A minimum of 5 days before or after is recommended if 7 days isn’t doable. On one level, the diet involves shifts in the food that we digest, but equally important are the changes in what we ingest mentally and energetically. Incorporation of solitude and minimal talking and the elimination of idle chitchat are very important. For those living in modern countries, the diet also involves abstinence from television, radio, mass media, and any other activities that alter perception without your participation.
Restrictions Include:
- No salts (e.g table salt, soya sauce, fish sauce, etc.)
- No sugar or artificial sweeteners (Stevia, aspartame, agave, honey, etc.)
- No pork/red meat (for fourteen days before and after a ceremony)
- No caffeine
- No animal fat (lard, etc.)
- No dairy products ( milk, cheese, yoghurt)
- No oil ( except coconut /olive oil very sparingly
- No hot spices/chilies/pepper
- No ice cold or carbonated drinks
- No dried Fruits
- No vinegar or pickled foods
- No spinach
- No yeast or yeast extracts
- No fermented foods ( kimchi )
- No alcohol
- No recreational or prescription drugs ( anti-depressants , benzos , marijuana , mushrooms, ecstasy , cocaine , LSD , etc.
- No fluoride toothpaste
- No sexual activity of any kind including masturbation, kissing, and raising kundalini energy.
- No discordant music, reading, or movies
- You also want to avoid synthetic soaps , perfumes , toiletries, etc.
What you’ll eat and enjoy during your stay
NOTE: It is important to start and observe the diet, as listed above, a minimum of seven days prior to your first Ayahuasca ceremony.
During your retreat, you will be provided with an optimal diet of fresh fruit and vegetables (sourced from the organic farm on our property when possible), rice, quinoa, oats, legumes, gluten-free pastas and eggs.
We serve breakfast, lunch and dinner according to a fixed schedule with dinners being skipped during ceremony nights. Meals will also be skipped for those partaking in sapo or other medicines that require an empty stomach.
Please alert us of any food allergies or needs so that we may prepare and accommodate you. You are also invited to bring any diet-friendly snacks with you which we’ll store in our kitchen to help with any hunger you may experience between meals. We ask that you store food in the kitchen to avoid attracting rodents and other jungle creatures to your huts (tambos).
Prescription Medicines and Contraceptives
For your health and safety, please disclose all medical conditions and any medications you are currently taking or have recently taken. You may securely submit this information during your booking.
Ideally, all prescription medications should be stopped, with consultation and guidance of a licensed medical practitioner, prior to your ceremony. This allows those medicines to be removed from your system in anticipation of sitting with Ayahuasca.
Women using contraceptive pills should stop taking them a minimum of five days before their stay begins and during their stay. Any women participants who are menstruating will need to express such information to head staff, and they will convey this to the Shaman. This is not meant to disrespect the feminine in any way; instead, the Shamanflora will ensure that changes in the flow of energy that occur in one’s body during menstruation have minimal impact on both you and the rest of the group.
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