Preparation for Ayahuasca experience
What does a preparation for an Ayahuasca experience means and what purpose does it serve? What really (directly) affects the Ayahuasca experience?
These indications mostly wouldn’t be needed in the traditional cultures where Ayahuasca originates from, but are very important for anybody approaching Ayahuasca from the Western world. On the other side Learning with Ayahuasca are specific to the Ayahuasca tradition which our community belongs to. Ayahuasca is a practice of purification, learning and self-transformation and, as any other practice, is usually an ongoing process. The same is true about the preparation described here: it is a process of purification, learning (exploring ourselves) and self-transformation by eventually finding what serves our deepest purpose and what doesn’t serve it. The preparation for an Ayahuasca experience can be divided in two stages.
The basics
Basic preparation is the ground for the work with Ayahuasca; a safe experience, both physically and mentally, is provided when the basic guidelines are followed.
Following of these guidelines is a crucial element, usually a requirement to be allowed for the participation in an Ayahuasca ceremony or a Ayahuasca Retreat, because a basic preparation helps us to create right conditions, to get our bodies and minds essentially receptive, allowing the Ayahuasca to be metabolized and to let us be more sensitive towards the effect of Ayahuasca.
Before everything else these important things need to be considered:
Preparation of the body
Well at first physical preparation is not always purely physical, as it also may concern any non physical activities that affect our bodies and our energy levels. Physical preparation for Ayahuasca is one of the cornerstones of such practice with Ayahuasca that serves the purpose of deepest connection with the Teacher plant. Whether we decide to drink the tea of Amazon jungle shamans or we practice Yoga, Qi Qong, in any of these occasions our practice will be more efficient and direct if the physical preparation is considered at least on a basic level.
To be physically prepared does not mean that we are completely purified and cleansed or that we don’t have any physical issues. Physical preparation means to do make the best effort within your possibilities so that we are more able to be aware of our bodies, the energy that the body carries, the emotions, having direct link with the body etc. In this case the best effort is to go through the following guidelines, with a lot of attention towards what is contraindicated and then doing the best in following the suggestions or avoiding things that are better off our tables.
Drugs to avoid before Ayahuasca
Which are a potentially dangerous drugs, contraindicated with Ayahuasca? In case you are in need to take pills for a health problem, consult this comprehensive list of medication and drugs to avoid before attending an Ayahuasca ceremony.
Which foods are contraindicated with Ayahuasca? Which foods are better avoided for some days before you are going to attend an Ayahuasca ceremony or a retreat? These are the suggested guidelines!
The nutrition before and after Ayahuasca
Consider these basic nutrition guidelines (minimum suggested period of abstinence) before and after the Ayahuasca/San Pedro ceremony:
- NO red/heavy meats (pork, beef, sheep, tuna, eel etc.) week before and after
- NO Strong alcohol, beer, vine – week before and after
- NO hot food, red pepper etc – 2 days before
- NO Fermented food, pickles, herring, anchovy’s, old cheese etc – 1 day before and after
- Moderate consumption of salt and sugar/honey – 3 days before and after
Recommended food for Ayahuasca (before & after)
Sometimes its more easy to follow a set of principles than to learn all of the possible combinations of what not to do, so here are the guidelines for the food. If you follow this, nothing could ever go wrong concerning your nutrition for the Ayahuasca. These recommendations are the preferred choices of the author, based on personal experiences combined with guidelines from the native Peruvian Ayahuasca tradition. Anything given below can be a subject for your personal exploration.
Most recommended is to eat light vegetarian food for 3 days before and after the Ayahuasca ceremony is, with moderate-low levels of salt, sugar and fat. Use olive oil or ghee, no fried food. Fresh or cooked vegetables and or legumes (beans, peas) with rice, buckwheat, oats, barley or other cereals. Fruits, juices (no orange or lime on the day of the ceremony). Eventually some fresh eggs (not on the day of the ceremony)
Recommended food on the day of the Ayahuasca ceremony: simple vegetarian breakfast and lunch (recommended vegan food or fasting in individual cases). No chili! Avoid coffee, black or green tee (no caffeine), eggs, dairy and sweet pastry. No food after 15:00 until the breakfast of the next day. Drink only water or herb tea after lunch.
For the people having an unstable, problematic digestion its recommended to exclude from the diet at least a week before the Ayahuasca ceremony such foods as all dairy (cheese, cream, except yogurt and kefir) and white bread, products with high gluten, butter and its products like cakes, cookies etc.
In my personal experience, the most deep experiences of highest clarity and sensitivity towards the Ayahuasca medicine were when raw fruit diet was followed throughout the day of taking Ayahuasca.
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