Healthy Body – Healthy Mind – Healthy Spirit
When preparing for your retreat with us we advise you to begin a diet of fresh and healthy foods. Eating meals and snacks that are rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, eggs, and some dairy are all good ingredients to use. If you include meat in your diet, we advise to cut down the amount in your daily intake as much as possible and limiting this to chicken, turkey, and fish. It is also highly recommended to cut out refined sugars and to limit the use of spices and salt.
This diet is recommended to begin the cleansing process and to reduce the levels of a particular amino acid tyramine. As Ayahuasca contains an MAO inhibitor, this interacts in with tyramine which can instigate the release of adrenaline. This can cause headaches, sweating, increased heart rate, and increased blood pressure. Although these effect are mild, lessening the amount of discomfort to you during this process is our highest priority.
Certain medications, drugs and supplements can also cause complications and stoppage is required up two weeks prior to the retreat. Nose spray, for example, could prevent you from participating in a ceremony so it is best to check with us any medications you are taking. You can find a list of unrecommended substances below.
2 weeks prior to retreat:
- Stop the usage of drugs and supplements. When in doubt, please contact us.
- Begin reducing refined sugars, salt, caffeine, alcohol and other stimulants.
- Limit red meat, heavy fats and processed foods.
- Stop eating pork.
3 days prior to retreat:
- Stop the usage of certain prescribed medication (always consult a medical professional and the team at Acsauhaya)
- No alcohol or drugs
- No dried or fermented sausage/meats (e.g. salami, pepperoni, corned beef and liver)
- No fermented cheeses or foods (e.g. canned foods, sauerkraut, soy, tempeh, kimchee)
- No old or mouldy cheeses (you CAN eat young cheese; e.g ricotta, mozzarella, cottage cheese & cream cheese)
- Reduce dairy
- No dried or salted fish
- No large amounts of chocolate
- No protein extracts or supplements (they often contain yeast extract, e.g. Marmite/Tartex)
- No artificial sweeteners
- No caffeine, toramine or other stimulants (coffee, energy drinks)
- Avoid certain herbal drinks/teas, like Ginseng & St John’s wort
- No nose sprays
- Reduce release of sexual energy (orgasms) – sexual energy is a potent energy source and can be reserved for your ceremony.
- Drink plenty of water
It is generally recommended to keep the diet for at least 3 days after the ceremony.
Although it is not mandatory, it can be very helpful to develop a body/mind practice, like meditation or yoga, if you don’t have one already. These practices focus your energy and helps you connect to your breath, which can assist you throughout the whole process (see Preparing yourself).
Preparation of the Body Helps the Preparation of the Mind and Spirit to Embark on a Powerful Healing Expereince
FAQ
The MAO inhibitors that are present in the ayahuasca brew, strongly conflict with certain drugs, medication or certain physical abnormalities, which can result in serious consequences. Therefore, we ask you to fill out our extensive questionnaire. We review each case one-by-one and decide if your situation is a contraindication to the usage of ayahuasca.
Aside from the possible contraindications (that might exclude you from participation), there are also certain foods that do not go well with the MOA inhibitors in the ayahuasca brew. These are foods that contain the amino acid “tyramine”. In the dietary guidelines we provide a detailed list of these. Under normal circumstances, the enzymes in our bodies can degrade this amino acid, but when we have a MAO inhibitor active in our system, these enzymes are – temporarily – not functioning. This causes a release of adrenaline which can trigger headaches and sweating and can increase the heart rate and blood pressure. Therefore, it is wise to limit the intake of foods that contain this amino acid, especially when you suffer from high blood pressure or heart problems.
Besides, by carefully preparing our bodies and minds for the upcoming ayahuasca experience, we show our willingness and commitment to truly dive into this process to receive the healing we need.
On the days of your ceremonies, it is best to have only light meals. You can start the day with some cereals with fresh fruits (no banana!) and plant-based milks. Later you can have some bread/crackers with a bit of spread, a soup or a smoothie as a light meal. You can drink herbal tea or water as much as you want.
We advise you not to eat up to three hours before the ceremony. When you will participate in our retreat, we will make sure the food that will be served is safe for you to eat. We will also make a round to warn people about the “last round” of food before the next ceremony.
Before and during your ayahuasca retreat, you need to avoid certain foods that contain tyramine, because they can interact with the MAO inhibitors in the brew. For a full description of the proper diet, please click here.
We recommend you to start (certain aspects of) the diet at least 2 weeks prior to your retreat (e.g. stop the usage of drugs and certain prescribed medication – NEVER WITHOUT CONSULTING YOUR DOCTOR FIRST!). Read more in the dietary guidelines.
One important aspect of the preparation for your ayahuasca experience is rest. Make sure to get enough sleep, but also limit the intake of stimulants. Don’t lose yourself in distractions and allow plenty of time for and with yourself. Try to spend time in nature, and quiet your mind through yoga, meditation, music, journaling, whatever suits you best.
We do not allow participants to smoke cannabis/weed on our retreats, as we have a no drugs and no alcohol policy.
We believe in a careful preparation for receiving the sacred plant medicine in the purest way and part of this is to stop the usage of marijuana. Smoking cannabis occupies quite some mental space. Ayahuasca does as well. Combining the two can create a foggy experience, while we strongly believe that you can get most out of your ayahuasca experience, if “she” gets your full attention and you go in purified from marijuana. Besides that, commitment to work with ayahuasca is essentially committing to look at yourself and your patterns and habits honestly. Abstaining from marijuana usage for a period can make reflect on your smoking behavior more purely and clearly?
Notice: Our experience is that some heavy marijuana users have been left disappointed with their ayahuasca experience, because it didn’t seem to work (well) for them. Even though we have also seen examples of people that have had a great experience after having used marijuana regularly for years, or examples of people that were able to break through marijuana addiction, it is important to know that recent heavy marijuana usage might impact your process.