This article is written to support those about to start their journeys with Ayahuasca and those familiar with plant medicine. We aim to share our philosophy and what the actual preparation requires. We’ve also included a series of links that cover related themes in greater depth. Feel free to check them out.
Preparing for Ayahuasca = preparing to acquire the language of love
The philosopher James Carse talks of finite games vs infinite games. We see Ayahuasca as an opportunity to reframe your vision of life from a finite-limited-winning-losing game into an infinite one that promotes continuous learning through loving and compassionate habits.
Love is an infinite game, and Ayahuasca is a great way to step back into it. Back because, as children, we did function in alignment with it, but as adults, we drifted away from it.
Embracing this framework of possibility and growth requires thorough preparation of the mind, body, and spirit. It’s like learning a new language—it demands mental flexibility and a willingness to change. Similarly, the spirit needs to be fully engaged, free from the limitations and projections of the mind that often divide our existence.
When it comes to spirit, if we compare it with a language, the spirit needs to be felt in its totality. One needs to synchronise with it to shake off limitations and projections of the mind that tend to separate and divide our existence. A soulful way of living is about feeling deeply connected to oneself and the world around us, a sense of belonging that transcends individuality.
Before diving into how to prepare for the Ayahuasca ceremony, we would like to bring in a little briefing on what Ayahuasca is. We do that because we’re “pesados” (Spanish for stubborn) with things that are important to us, and we can’t talk about preparation without recapping some of the essential things related to Ayahuasca. It’s short. We promise.
A short introduction to Ayahuasca
Ayahuasca is a brew prepared from plants native to the Amazon jungle. The main components are the vine Banisteriopsis caapi (Ayahuasca) and the leaves of Psychotria viridis, also known as Chacruna.
When ingested, the brew leads to altered states of consciousness that can last up to 8 hours, depending on the dosage. Although Ayahuasca creates an experience unique to each person, we often encounter some general effects. Visions, changes in the way of thinking, distortion of reality, purging, and projections of one’s deepest fear or longing are just some of them. The benefits of Ayahuasca are countless, but they do come with some risks, which is why, unlike many other medicines, Ayahuasca is being served in a safe space under the direct supervision of trained shamans.
What is an Ayahuasca ceremony?
In the shamanic traditions, there is a core belief that every illness or imbalance has a spiritual and energetic aspect. Due to the power of this medicine and the way it works on so many levels or dimensions, it needs to happen under the close supervision of a shaman.
People seek the ceremonies today for their spiritual journeys and for healing modern illnesses, particularly mental health issues like addiction, anxiety, depression, and emotional trauma.
Then and now: What’s the difference in how we prepare for an Ayahuasca ceremony today?
Indigenous people in South America have brewed the tea for centuries for healing ceremonies, and preparing for an Ayahuasca ceremony was simple there. Participants didn’t worry about detoxifying from alcohol, recreational drugs, processed foods, sugar, salt, and other toxins. During preparation, participants purified their bodies to interact with plant spirits on a deep spiritual and physical level. A diet was followed, and some behaviours were stopped to intensify the spiritual practices.
For the modern participant, however, preparing for Ayahuasca may feel a bit complicated. Prescription medications, toxins in the modern diet, and recreational drugs may make the experience unpredictable. If you are still deciding if Ayahuasca is for you, we recommend you read the following two articles before making any decision: Am I ready for Ayahuasca? and Everything you need to know about Mother Ayahuasca.
How to prepare your body for Ayahuasca?
Food
Your diet should be simplified as much as possible in the months, especially the two weeks before your ceremony. Some important things you should do include:
- Eliminate artificially coloured, preservatives, and processed foods.
- Eliminate red meat.
- Cut out sugary, salty, and spicy foods.
- Cut out anything addictive, including tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drugs.
This is but a scratch on the surface of what you need to know. Hence, we invite you to read the complete Ayahuasca diet.
Medical treatment
Work with your doctor to eliminate or reduce your need for prescription drugs at least six weeks before the ceremony. This is especially true for drugs used to treat mental illness. It would be best if you did not attempt to work with Ayahuasca while taking such medications because they may interfere with the brew.
Gentle stretching
We recommend you introduce some gentle stretching to your daily routine. Think not of giving it names or how flexible or inflexible you consider yourself to be. Go one step at a time. Breathe and expand your body and mind!
How to prepare your mind for Ayahuasca?
Identifying and phrasing intentions
The intention setting is having an idea about why you want to work with Ayahuasca. “Idea” because that’s the best your mind can do, considering its limitations. Before the ceremony, spend some time answering these questions.
- What do I seek to learn or understand?
- What’s calling me?
- How do I feel about my life?
- What’s difficult for me at the moment?
It’s okay to have more than one intention, especially since retreats usually offer more than one Ayahuasca ceremony. In a previous article, we’ve phrased 99 questions one can ask the medicine. Feel free to use it as inspiration.
Managing Expectations
“Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.” – Alexander Pope.
Expectations for what will or will not happen can often create barriers to what the plant wishes to show us. We urge you to use your grit and stay in an “I receive your blessings” space as much as possible. Neutralising expectations opens you up to receiving guidance in how the plant communicates it.
It’s essential to embrace the fact that the mind needs support when it comes to expectations, which is why we recommend you pursue your curious mind by reading more about other people’s experiences and what might happen.
Awareness
Awareness is like the Fascia in our body, a muscle we sometimes forget about. It is barely noticeable yet holds everything together.
Simple activities like taking a walk and focusing on the way you breathe, your feet, or your shoulders can pour down information about your state of being and bring a sense of relief. The great part about awareness is that it awakens consciousness not only of one’s inner self but also of the world around us.
For example, the Ayahuasca diet is an opportunity to reconnect with the nature of food. The absence of fancy dress-ups, just plain flavour, can be a journey on its own.
- When did you last cook a two-meal course from scratch for yourself?
- Can you tell me the difference between veggies raised with care and those grown without respect for nature?
- Can you appreciate something just the way it is?
- What would it take to translate that appreciation to yourself and your life?
Presence
Meditation and breathwork are great tools for practising presence, especially during the two-week wait when you’re starting to feel that really nervous, anxious energy with a tinge of distractedness. This energy can turn against the process you’re working on and start picking on everything in your life, whether it’s a relationship or self-criticism. Preparing for Ayahuasca can become a lot harder if this energy is not channelled in the right way.
If you are unfamiliar with meditation, YouTube is a great source for easy, guided meditation. We recommend you start with short ones; getting your mind to agree and start is easier. Later, you can prolong your stay with the practice.
How to prepare your spirit for Ayahuasca?
Connecting with nature
We previously mentioned our philosophy: preparing for Ayahuasca is like preparing to acquire the language of love and see life as an infinite game. There is nothing better than nature when observing this love language. We recommend you take as many walks in nature as you can and observe the following:
- How you feel before and after your walks.
- How understanding nature is because it allows you just to be.
- How words are not necessary in order to give or receive.
- How you are part of it all.
- And how you are still you, independent of that. A “you” defined by yourself using malleable clay.
Energy exchange
It is very important to limit your interactions with people while preparing for Ayahuasca. Every encounter requires energy; hence, both the superficial and the meaningful ones should be reduced or, better yet, put on hold. There are two reasons why this is required :
- So you can focus solely on yourself and your healing process.
- So you can familiarise yourself with your own energy. Relearn how it feels to be you—without the interference of others’ plans and projections for your life.
Familiarising yourself with your energy and practising to bring your attention to yourself and your healing will significantly help during the ceremony when it comes to processing the medicine.
In Shamanism, it is believed that abstaining from sexual activity with yourself and others is a significant part of this preparation for two reasons:
- Sexual intimacy with others is a form of energetic connection between people involved in the act. Suppose you don’t abstain from all sexual activity while preparing for Ayahuasca. In that case, you might feel the presence of the person you recently had sexual relations with, and that will certainly distract you and make you lose focus during the ceremony.
- Abstaining from sexual intimacy with yourself is equally essential because reaching climax leads to a depletion of your life force. Preparing for Ayahuasca is primarily a process of raising your life force so that later, during, and after the ceremony, you can count on this stock of energy to carry you through your healing and integration.
If you are to arrive depleted of life force energy, your healing with Ayahuasca will be superficial.
What to bring to an Ayahuasca ceremony?
Packing is an essential part of preparing for an Ayahuasca ceremony. We’ve included a full list of recommendations in What to bring to an Ayahuasca ceremony?. You might be tempted to spend your time finding the “perfect” dress, journal, or water bottle, but we recommend keeping it simple and packing light.
Recommendations during the ceremony
We want to give you a heads-up about what might occur during the ceremony and our expectations of you as a participant. Knowing all of this is part of the preparation because we are aware of just how much your mind needs to know “what can happen.” In our experience, if previously informed, the ceremony can move a lot more smoothly compared to being caught by surprise by an event that locks your mind in a loop for a big part of the night.
Mind games
When you find yourself caught up in thinking, interpretation, and analysis, know that you’re in a cognitive or egoic state and drop into the associated emotional state instead. Ask yourself, “What am I feeling?” Every emotional state also has a bodily felt sense, and this somatic connection is the vehicle to drop into, explore, and remain present with what’s happening for you.
Bad trips
The medicine can amplify physical and mental aspects that are typically unnoticed or considered minor. Ayahuasca tends to teach through direct experience that our focus might need a recalibration. What turns this process into a bad trip is our resistance to the changes that this new-found truth might require. It’s hard for the mind to cope with all this, so it starts defending what you are right now. Our defence mechanisms kick in, and we lovingly defend our previous commitments. Here are a couple of recommendations for when that happens:
- Call on support staff for help moving through the experience—a touch redirects your flow of consciousness back into your body, the space where you are, and out of the grips of your past.
- Use the mantra “Breathe, feel, heal.” to empower the medicine to cross the boundaries of your wounds into the core of your being.
- Connect with authentic gratitude for the experience –redirect your awareness towards the energy of appreciation. In the weeks you’re preparing for Ayahuasca, journal some moments and people that fill your heart with gratitude to keep them fresh in your mind.
- Lean in with curiosity, ask questions –develop a relationship with Ayahuasca like you would with another human. Have conversations. Share with her, ask questions, and express gratitude.
Our expectations of you
During the ceremony:
- Respect noble silence guided by the music unless you need assistance from one of the facilitators. Then, you can whisper or raise your hand and will be attended to.
- Phones, watches, and gadgets are not allowed at the ceremony to focus solely on your healing process.
- Do not try to help other participants (by touching, talking, hugging, etc.)—focus on your journey and trust the facilitators to support the group.
- Purging might occur in moments when you can’t move, and that’s alright. However, if you can move or flag the team, please do so. The sooner what you release is out of the energetic space, the sooner the healing begins.
- Please do not leave the ceremony space for too long. The team works on containing the energy field, and your long absence will affect it.
Schedule your ceremony today
We are here to remember what we are and why we are here on Earth. We offer safe Ayahuasca retreats in Europe with the intention to:
Wake up, clean up, grow up, and show up.
Wake up from the conditioning and programming of the past. Clean up old emotional wounds and harmful patterns. Grow up to the fully expressed, youthfully free and responsible human being. Show up to benefit the world with our unique purpose on Earth.
Now that you know how to prepare for an Ayahuasca ceremony, book your Ayahuasca retreat with us and show up for yourself. And remember, if you need guidance, you can schedule a one-on-one discovery call with us for clarity. We love to accompany you in your transformation journey.
