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Ayahuasca is a medicinal hallucinogenic tea that’s been used for more than a thousand years by the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. It’s a combination of two jungle plants: the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi), which contains alkaloids that act as monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), allowing human bloodstreams to absorb the dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from the leaves of another Amazonian plant, (Psychotria viridis). Ayahuasca is widely anecdotally known to cause physical, emotional and spiritual healing. Awareness of the brew has spread widely across the globe and many come to her to re-connect with themselves, work through past abuse or trauma, free themselves from addictions, or find relief from physical disease ...
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Ayahuasca is experienced by some as hallucinogenic but is both non-toxic and non-addictive. You can neither overdose on it, nor does usage create tolerance, even if you drink it daily. For most people, the long-term side effects are solely positive. While some studies have suggested that Ayahuasca can affect your liver by making it work a little harder during ceremony, there is also potential for affecting the liver positively by avoiding alcohol before and after drinking Ayahuasca, which is part of the prescribed preparatory diet. Recent research has also noted significant reductions in alcohol consumption and generally healthier lifestyles among participants following an Ayahuasca experience. Short term physical effects can include increased heart rate and changes in blood pressure, but most sensations occur inside the mind ...
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Ayahuasca is considered a sacred medicine, not a recreational drug. As such, its effects are never referred to as being “high.” Typically a ceremony lasts 4-12 hours, with the medicine producing visions and/or deep introspective experiences for an average of five hours. The depth of any given Ayahuasca journey can vary depending on how much you drink, its potency, your genetic and spiritual sensitivity, and, say those who work with the medicine, her own intention ...
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Finding the right plant medicine retreat depends on what makes you feel comfortable. If you’re not a fan of bugs and mosquitos and balk at the idea of rustic accommodation, the Peruvian jungle isn’t for you. But if you would like to experience the medicines where they have deep roots in tradition and where shamanism is a way of life, Peru, Brazil or Colombia would be a good choice. If you prefer spa services, a giant pool, and fancy fresh juices, a luxury Ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica may be more suitable. Other considerations include: your purpose for attending (personal growth, physical healing, spiritual adventure), and whether you’d like to work with traditional Ayahuasca Shipibo shamans, western ayahuasceros, or a combination of both. Group size, gender exclusivity, and retreat dates will also guide you. You may want to combine your medicine journey and choose a retreat that offers other healing practices or medicines such as breathwork or San Pedro ...
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In ceremony, it’s best to arrive with a clear intention for what you’d like to welcome in or improve in your life. The ceremony is often opened with prayers or icaros (ancient sacred songs). One-by-one, the participants approach the shaman or ayahuascero, focus on their intention, then drink the medicine. The ceremony can be silent, but usually involves singing and/or musical instruments. With this specific plant medicine, every time you drink is different. Some people “purge” as a way of spiritual, physical or emotional cleansing. This comes in the physical form of vomiting, sweating, crying, shaking, excreting, laughing, moaning, or yawning. Some have visions, and others don’t. Some face past experiences, and others have conversations with Mother Ayahuasca herself. Ayahuasca healing comes in a variety of forms ...
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Your decision to drink Ayahuasca is important. But, once you’ve filled out the medical screening questions, chosen your destination, asked about setting and group size, the work is just beginning. You’ll hear the term ‘do the work’ along your healing journey, and this doesn’t just apply during the ceremonies, or even the integration period afterward. All retreats suggest a prescribed Ayahuasca diet that includes important nutritional recommendations. You should follow these for at least a full week before your retreat, but two weeks is better. The dietary restrictions vary between centers and facilitators, but their similarities include removing pork and other red meat, dairy, alcohol, caffeine, and strong spices ...
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As you begin your search to embark on your first or next spiritual journey, you find yourself wondering: Is Ayahuasca even legal? That’s a logical question, coming from the western context where psychedelics are illegal. In countries such as the Netherlands and Portugal, drinking the Ayahuasca brew is a grey area. In countries like Peru, Columbia, and Brazil where the medicine grows native to the Amazon rainforest and has been used for hundreds of years, Ayahuasca is legal. In North America, technically the answer is no, Ayahuasca is not legal. However, there are a few Ayahuasca churches (The Santo Daime and the Uniao do Vegetal) in Canada and the United States where Ayahuasca ceremonies are legal ...
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