Preparing for an Ayahuasca Ceremony

There are many aspects to consider when preparing for a ceremony with mother Ayahuasca, here are a few important points to guide you in the days running up to your ceremony.

Intention

Intention is key when working with Ayahuasca, it’s a useful way to navigate the experience, always returning to a guiding path that can lead you to the answers you are seeking. In preparation for the ceremony we suggest you meditate on your intentions, take time for yourself to deeply connect and reflect. We encourage noble silence so you can really be in your own energy.

For your preparation we provide a nurturing family home for you to stay with a comfortable bed and healthy local food. We are surrounded by beautiful, quiet and energetic spaces, where you can connect with yourself, the Mountains, Mother Earth and Pachamama and really get in tune with your intentions.

Further days of preparation are available to help you connect with the surroundings and get the most from your retreat. Contact us to book a longer stay.

Food

We advise that you start monitoring your diet 7 days prior to your first ceremony. The earlier you start the better. Be conscious of what you are eating, try to eat healthy and light food. Avoid alcohol, chocolate, coffee, spicy food (salt and peppers), meat, and fermented foods, reduce sugar and salt intake and avoid tyramine rich foods. Refrain from smoking tobacco and consuming drugs. Guests are not allowed to take any sort of medication, vitamin or supplement during their preparation process and while at the retreat center, if you foresee a challenge with this requirement we have a medical authority that can give advice and support for you if you have questions about coming off prescription medication.

The day of the ceremony will be spent fasting. We will discuss your dietary needs to determine the best form of fasting for you that day.

Sexual intercourse

In preparation for an Ayahuasca ceremony it is important to focus on yourself and your own energy. We advise you to not have sexual intercourse at least one day before the ceremony and during your retreat.

Lose your expectations

Grandmother Ayahuasca will always give us what we need, it goes beyond the mind, and what we think we want. It’s important not to have expectations and let the healing grandmother Ayahuasca do her work.

Ayahuasca has powerful healing benefits, but we should be aware that she is not a wonder that cures everything after one ceremony. She works with different people in different ways, sometimes in a stage by stage, digging and releasing deeper and deeper each time.

It is important to have respect and be open and humble to what she wants to show you, often it can be nothing to do with the web of intentions your mind drew up in preparation. Be open, surrender and accept what she wants to teach or heal.

Clean your mind!

During your retreat and your connection with Ayahuasca it is important to be conscious of your mindset. In preparation we try to nurture such qualities as: Respect, Humbleness, Courage, Trust, Positivity, Honesty to yourself, others, and the medicine.

Communication

We encourage open and honest communication at Willkamayu Spirit, it is an important part of the healing process. Authenticity is of high value for us. We also enjoy quiet times of meditation and noble silence. We encourage you not to use your electronic devices during the retreat, this out of respect for your cohabitants, but also as a way of removing distraction from the task of healing and connecting with the plants, this is after all why you are coming to stay with us.

Connect to your local nature

It will be of great benefit before your ceremony to find and go into your personal space, and to explore nature around where you are located. Long walks through mountains, along rivers or even sitting in a local park with the trees and flowers will bring you closer to preparation for the ceremony.

We also recommend to raise your internal dialog to give acceptance and gratitude to those around you, family members and any entities that come into your attention, including ancestors and Mother Ayahuasca herself. If your intentions are focused towards self-love and trust, then we ask you to concentrate on those blockages that you feel are contributing to the resistance in these spaces. Forgiveness and acceptance are key in these areas.

After the Ayahuasca Ceremony

It is advisable to take it slow on the days after the ceremony. You are still open and sensitive, you may feel yourself physically or emotionally weak as things surface for healing. Don’t be alarmed, it is all a natural part of the healing process, integration. Take your time and care for yourself, remain with your intention. You might enjoy writing or creative endeavours, these can be an important way of processing the experience.

Mother Ayahuasca is willing to teach you, and heal parts of you, but it is up to you to be proactive about what you are going to do with these messages after a ceremony. To integrate her messages, you must be committed to implementing her teachings on a daily basis. Regularly revisiting the experience and your intentions can lead to further uncovering in the days and weeks after the retreat. Learning and growing is a life time journey.

We are here to listen and, where we can, provide coaching and advice. We are here to facilitate your healing and we remain available via email if you have any questions or want to share your process following the retreat.

Like you, our work continues long after the ceremony so don’t hesitate to contact us.