Healing with Iboga

Iboga is a native shrub from central and western Africa. This tree is considered sacred in Gabon as it helps to understand life itself. The “rootbark” as it is known of the Iboga tree contains medicine that is harvested in a very special way by invoking the spirits of earth and asking for their permission to access its intelligence.

This sacred plant acts as a key to access the spirit of Iboga, to guide us toward a deep journey within our own universe. When we take the medicine, we are granting and asking on this spirit to enter into our body and mind. Once the Iboga spirit has entered, consciousness expands and there is a union with the whole and clarity of thought.

The name Iboga or “Taber Ibo” literally means “open the head (mind).” In Africa, Iboga is also called “the plant that enables men to talk to the dead.” Understanding that the world of the dead in the primitive cultures is referred to the subtle world or what is not perceived by the basic senses. Traditionally what is used for initiations is the root bark alone, also colloquially known as “wood”.

We recommend the use of Iboga for problems with the so called addcitions of: Cocaine, Alcohol, Heroin, Benzodiazepines, Crystal, Methamphetamine, Barbiturates, Methadone, Crack, Nicotine, and Marijuana. Iboga is also able to help many people with ADHD, mental blocks, emotional trauma, chronic fatigue, stress and fibromyalgia (pain all over the body; tenderness in joints, muscles and other soft tissues).

In Sinchi Runa we only work with the powder root bark, looking for the real healing action of Iboga. We administer on the side several entheogenic tools and other master plants that complement the process depending on the specific needs. Iboga as any master plant should be taken naturally with the minimal process or chemical intervention to amend its therapeutic action and to retain its full spirit. This allows the Iboga to work symbiotically with the human body and allows self-regulation that prevents lethal reactions. Western society has synthesized its alkaloids to prevent the physical discomfort, but takes away the actual shamanic experience and alters or discards the spirit of the plant.

The shamanic experience is not guaranteed if you are taking ibogaine HCL (1) or Iboga TA extract. The reactions of the body of the isolated alkaloids are different, and the relationship-healer-patient is established only as a biochemical exercise. It is the spirit of the plant which operates in all its pureness and intelligence towards the healing process.

The most natural and safe way of taking Iboga is the rootbark, which is very useful for micro-dosing and small to medium flood doses; however, It is very hard on the body at a level of discomfort. The bark contains several alkaloids and would be impossible to synthesize them all.

To directly interrupt drug addiction, Ibogaine (1) or Iboga TA (2) may be faster than the root bark, as it does not generate as physical discomfort and the action is with very little preparation. In Sinchi Runa we use other plants that can help with this previous stage as the person prepares for the rootbark itself. It is important to understand that to get to the essence or to comprehend the real cause for abusing substances, which is the most important element to become free of addiction, one needs to embark a journey with the natural form of the plant, along its divine healing intelligence and symbiosis with the human body. This is the only way one can gradually reprogram the psyche for definite positive change.

(1) People often confuse the root bark of Iboga with Ibogaine HCL.
Ibogaine was popularized by Howard Lotsof, research scientist in the 1960s. He found that a dose completely cleared his heroin addiction. Ibogaine has been reported as effective in helping drug abstinence, especially in cases involving cocaine and heroin-type drug. Ibogaine assumes to reduce the severity of the withdrawal symptoms.In recent years Ibogaine has received much coverage in the media and has been touted by former addicts as the “miracle cure” for drug addiction.

(2) Iboga TA (Total alkaloid) – is a total alkaloids extract containing most indole alkaloids present in the root bark, but not all.
Alkaloids are a group of complex compounds of organic origin and some of them have psychoactive properties that would be impossible to extract. Iboga TA is a concentrated form that allows easier dosing. Iboga TA is able to provide deeper, wider and more complex therapeutic qualities than Ibogaine, however, as mentioned above, due to chemical extraction process it damages a great deal of vital alkaloids, It does not carry within the intelligence, wisdom and spirit of Iboga that comes in its natural form.