Ayahuasca is a brew made by mixing the leaves of a shrub, scientifically known as Psychotria Viridis
Ayahuasca is a brew made by mixing the leaves of a shrub, scientifically known as Psychotria Viridis together with the stalk of Banisteriopsis caapi vine. However, some experienced Shamans do add other plants and ingredients. But science has justified the two plants as the major players.
As science qualifies it, Psychotria Viridis contains N, N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT), a psychedelic substance, and a powerful hallucinogenic chemical. On the other hand, Banisteriopsis caapi contains MAO inhibitors (MAOIs) called β-carbolines, which is psychoactive as well.
However, DMT is known to have low bioavailability in the body as it is rapidly broken down by the monoamine oxidase (MAO), an enzyme in your liver and gastrointestinal tract (GIT). For that reason, DMT has to be combined with something containing MAOIs for it to last in your nervous system. That is why these two plants blend well.
When used to prepare Ayahuasca is a brew made by mixing the leaves of a shrub, scientifically known as Psychotria Viridis The effect causes an altered state of consciousness mostly hallucination, euphoria, and out of body experience.
A shaman who is an experienced healer, locally known in South America as Curandero, prepares the leaves and the stalks of the plants mentioned above by smashing leaves and cutting the stalks into desired sizes. The crushed leaves are then boiled in the water alongside the stalks to the Shaman’s satisfaction.
The resultant dilute tea is then decanted out and reserved. Another bunch of the crushed leaves and the stalks are added boiled again until it is ready and the brew decanted. The process is repeated until a highly concentrated liquid is achieved. The brew then undergoes purification to remove impurities.
This brew has been used as sacred beverages by some religious communities in South America and North America. A visit to Peru Ayahuasca The retreat will also introduce you to the culture much better particularly during the retreat. However, Many communities in Brazil, Costa Rica, and Mexico still offer retreat and Ayahuasca ceremonies regularly as well.
The brew is administered during the ceremonies and retreats mostly at night. To get the most out of Ayahuasca retreat and ceremonies, you have to adequately prepare yourself and a responsible Shaman will ensure that. Adequate preparation will ensure you have the safest, most positive, and life-changing experience possible with a divine mother.
Read more: World Vegan Day: Veganism – A diet, A business, or just a trend?
Lifestyle towards Ayahuasca
Many visitors from the west make gross mistakes by visiting Peru during the retreat and out of their own knowledge copy the lifestyle of the Amazonian in preparation for an Ayahuasca retreat. Everyone has a unique set of beliefs, stress and we ail from different societies.
Western cultures are associated with a materialistic lifestyle and may be compelled to a much stricter lifestyle preparation. The Amazonians are accustomed to the vegetarianism lifestyle and therefore, they may not require much preparation.
With that clarified, as a general rule of thumb, before participating in Ayahuasca ceremonies or retreats, you are required to strictly follow a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. This usually begins 4 weeks before the actual day of meditation.
During this time, you are expected to abstain from sex, drugs, cigarettes, and caffeine at all costs. If you land in the hands of a stricter Shaman, you may have to refrain from sugary products including wheat products and some corn or even by extension salty foods.
Why a vegetarianism lifestyle towards Ayahuasca ceremonies?
We need to adapt or create an environment within our system that works well with Ayahuasca medicine. According to Jan Kounen in his book titled The Psychotropic Mind, there are substantial organic materials that need to be cleared before you can see the effect of the medicine.
Most of our bodies are made up of stimulating sensational food from our diet. Given the pharmacodynamics of the medicinal Ayahuasca, foods filled with salts, sugar, and caffeine may interfere with its effect.
Alan Shoemaker, Ayahuasca Shaman in his book (The Shamanic World of Amazonian Sacred Plant Healing) looked at it from a different perspective. According to him, the plant diets are designed to help a person connect with the spirit of plants. To develop new healing capabilities, vision, and site, you need adequate time in isolation and a strict dietary regimen. He further mentioned that when you follow a strict diet, the spirit world is more accessible.
This may concur with the beliefs that the adrenaline and the stress that animals go through before killing are translated into our bodies once we consume them. There, to have peace of mind, you need to survive on plant products entirely.
Vincent Ravalee seemed to concur with Jan Kaunen when he stated in the Psychotropic Mind that all the toxins that we accumulate in our body from the diet are the first things that Ayahuasca attacks. That explains why you need to get rid of the toxins from your body and the best natural way of doing that is sticking to a vegetarian lifestyle.
Pre – Ayahuasca Lifestyle and Dietary Guidelines
Just to get you further back, remember the mention of Monoamine Oxidase, the unwanted enzyme that rapidly breaks down the DMT. Since this enzyme is crucial in processing amino acid tyramine, it would be prudent to refrain from foods containing this amino acid. These foods include:
● Pork
● Red Meat
● Aged Cheese
● Yoghurt
● Alcohol
● Aspartame
● Supplements like protein powder
● Fermented food like soy sauce
● Chocolate and peanut (in large amount)
Besides foods containing tyramine, you should also refrain from the following:
● Salty foods (mostly canned and processed ones)
● Refined sugar
● Dairy products
● Oils
● Caffeine
● Spicy foods
Other lifestyle practices you should refrain from:
● Some medications like sleep medication, barbiturates, alpha, and better blockers, and any other that Shaman may dictate.
● Street drugs including cocaine, opiates, marijuana, amphetamines, and MDMA.
● Sexual activities including masturbation should be avoided weeks before and after Ayahuasca.
The Final Verdict
To be safe during the Ayahuasca ceremonies, you need to prepare as per the guidelines of an experienced Shaman. What we have given is just but a general guideline. Some Shaman may have additional precautions that you may need to take.
About the Author:
Rafael is often called “The Millionaire’s Shaman” by his clients because of his powerful personal fulfilment and financial wealth formula. Rafael walks his talk having created an extraordinary life of living in a tropical island paradise, sailing the Thailand archipelago with his family, and enjoying the big city experience from his Bangkok Ritz Carlton residence.
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