Preparation Guidelines and Integration
Preparation Guidlines and Integration
True preparation and integration are essential for a meaningful and transformative experience with Ayahuasca. Approaching the medicine with sincerity, respect, and an understanding of its sacredness are vital elements in the healing journey. By embracing these practices, you create the foundation for deep healing and lasting transformation.
Psychological and Spiritual Preparation
A retreat or experience with Ayahuasca can be deeply transformative, often becoming a pivotal turning point in one’s life and existence. It’s natural for feelings of fear, nervousness, or anxiety to arise in the days leading up to your retreat. These emotions are often a sign that something within you is shifting, and that you’re on the verge of new understandings, healing, and awakening.
If you’ve made the decision to join the retreat, trust that you are ready for this experience. The only thing required from you is to show up as you are, with respect, openness, and dedication to both the medicine and your personal healing journey. Ayahuasca will meet you where you are and guide you where you need to go. This is a process of communion with Spirit, where profound healing and insights emerge from the depths of your own being and ancient wisdom.
Below, we’ve outlined a few points to help you mentally prepare as you approach this sacred experience.
Leave all expectations and pre-conceived knowledge behind
To truly embrace the opportunity of Ayahuasca and plant medicine, it’s important to leave behind any preconceived notions or expectations. Approaching like a blank book, open and ready to live the experience without overthinking or overanalyzing. Ayahuasca isn’t concerned with how much you’ve read or what others have shared; she works most deeply in a mind that’s open and receptive, one that can fully embrace the wonder and magnitude of the journey.
The most profound way to prepare for this or any spiritual process is to unlearn what you think you know, and instead, open yourself to learning from the heart, from your own direct experience.
We live in an age of abundant information, but also one clouded by confusion and misinformation. While technology connects us in ways never before possible, it also floods us with distorted truths and false narratives. The rise of “shamans” and Ayahuasca centers around the world is unprecedented, yet many of these bear little relation to the true traditions of shamanism. Much of the information circulating today is misleading, and it can be difficult to discern what is genuine.
That said, if you’re seeking intellectual support, it’s important to look for serious, reputable sources—authors and books that provide truthful, grounded information. But above all, remember that the most important preparation comes from seeking silence, meditation, a deep connection with nature, and resting in what is real and essential.
Purity of Intention
The decision to take Ayahuasca should come from a genuine desire for healing and understanding. It’s a sacred opportunity that requires surrendering to forms of knowledge that go beyond intellectual understanding and cannot be easily transmitted.
Ayahuasca is a medicine for the soul, and the journey it offers is one of deep, sincere, and often challenging inner work. This is not a process to be taken lightly, but with reverence and commitment.
A pure and genuine intention for healing and understanding comes from the heart. If you find yourself with multiple intentions, take a moment to explore what lies beneath them. Perhaps it is forgiveness, love, self-compassion, or the healing of destructive patterns—whatever it may be, honor the root of your intention.
Intention Practice:
Take about ten minutes each day to sit quietly, focusing on your breath. Place one hand on your heart and the other on your stomach. Relax your body from the top of your head down to your feet. Feel your breath, feel your body, and surrender to the present moment—allow everything to simply be.
Then, gently bring to mind your intention. Breathe with it, and allow yourself to feel the courage and confidence in that intention. Trust in the universe and the process that is calling you to embark on this transformative journey of healing, awakening, and deep self-discovery.
After about ten minutes, close with gratitude towards yourself for answering the call to this sacred process.
Sacred Commitment to the Healing Process
When you choose to take Ayahuasca or another master plant, you enter into a sacred pact or commitment with the spirit of the plant and the healing process. The shaman or guide, in turn, makes their own commitment to transmit the plant’s energies and frequencies through sound, whether through mantras or icaros, creating a bridge between the spiritual and the physical realms.
The most important thing to understand is that you are working with a living, divine intelligence incarnated in the plant. Approach this experience with respect, openness, and humility. It is essential to establish a sincere commitment to the process, embracing it fully with reverence and understanding.
Take time to reflect deeply on this significant step. It may ask you to step outside your comfort zone, but know that this journey has the potential to transform your life. Ayahuasca is not simply a medicine; it is medicine for the soul. It can shift your worldview, enrich your understanding, and open you to profound healing and awakening.
Be aware that the path ahead may involve a purging process that can be physically and mentally challenging. It is a confrontation with parts of yourself that may have been buried or ignored. Unlike traditional Western medicine, this process is holistic, working on a deep, energetic level. Symptoms like nausea, pain, or diarrhea may arise, but these are part of the cleansing and healing process that the plant medicine offers.
This commitment requires you to honor specific traditions that have been followed for generations. These rules, which stem from both spiritual teachings and biochemical safety, are essential for the effectiveness of the healing work. Following these guidelines supports not only your own healing but also your ability to communicate with the plant as a form of cosmic or divine intelligence.
By embracing this commitment with respect, you open yourself to the transformative potential of Ayahuasca. You will receive what you need—whether it’s healing, insight, or a deeper understanding of your truth and path in life.
Trust and Surrender
We cannot rehearse for the unknown, but we can prepare for it by cultivating humility and the ability to surrender in trust. Surrender is not to be understood as leaving your will behind and giving your power away to someone or something else. It is the open availability to what is. To surrender is to let your guard down, to open up, to listen, and to stop resisting what is.
Fears may arise before and during the retreat and ceremonies, some of the more common ones are: I could die, I am dying, I could go mad, I am going mad, will I stay like this forever? etc. None of these fears are real. They are attached to leaving the confines of our mental comfort zone that gives us an idea of being in “control” of our world and perceptions. Ayahuasca can drastically open our perceptions and we will be able to perceive much more than in our habitual state of consciousness and see the illusion of our own creation, receive healing and awaken to our inner wisdom.
By deeply trusting the universe and yourself, which have brought you to this opportunity, and by giving yourself fully to the process, leaving resistances behind, you will be able to take this sacred opportunity and avoid unnecessary thoughts that might otherwise disrupt and interfere with the process. The only true control we have is in how we face each situation. By maintaining equanimity in an attitude of surrender and humble listening we will be able to enter into the sacred world of Ayahuasca.
Solitude and Silence
Silence, solitude and introspection are important factors going into a process such as this. Through these we are able to build the foundation that allows us to wholeheartedly open up, tune in and listen to what is truly happening within ourselves without the natural tendency to self-distract. We are able to face and go beyond the unnerving restlessness that pulls our attention in so many different directions. Through silence, we are able to experience life through a raw, unique, naked and healing presence. We arrive to the stillness and harmony of nature; reconnecting with the natural and loving movement of pure presence. We are able to open up and finally come into direct intimacy with life itself. In order for this to happen, each person needs a space that completely nurtures their own reconnection with themselves without the distraction or preoccupation of what is happening outside of them.
To honor, protect and respect the participants and the work with the plants, in the case one interferes with the space or silence of another participant while he or she undergoing a plant diet/shamanic diet, one will be required to leave the retreat without receiving a refund.
Understanding the Challenges
At Sinchi Runa, our mission is simple: to serve the truth with love. We invite you to join us with a respectful understanding and a sincere commitment to your own healing journey. It’s important to acknowledge that, at times, this journey may not feel easy or comfortable to the ego.
Our role is not to cater to, satisfy, or fulfill the desires of the ego. Doing so would weaken and compromise the integrity of the process. True healing often requires us to step outside our comfort zones, and you may encounter moments where both physical and emotional challenges arise. These moments are opportunities for growth, and they call for your genuine dedication and commitment.
Our responsibility is to hold a safe and loving space where you can face your wounds and fears, allowing them to be transmuted and healed. This process is not always easy, and at times, it may feel difficult or confronting. The work with master plants is a sacred journey that, while transformative, is not always filled with joy or light. It often involves deep shadow work, bringing up the hidden parts of ourselves that are in need of healing.
This is a delicate and challenging process, and we ask you to reflect deeply on your readiness to commit to this transformative work. It requires a willingness to engage with both the light and the dark, knowing that each challenge you face will bring you closer to wholeness.
Relationships, sexuality and energy protection
The work with the master plants involves a continuous reorchestration of energies. During this process, you may feel more open, vulnerable, and sensitive. This heightened sensitivity is crucial for healing, as it allows you to listen deeply to the plants and the universe, creating a space where higher understanding and healing can take place.
To facilitate this process, it is important to maintain a protected and safe space of introspection and silence. Reducing both verbal and physical contact helps conserve and direct your energy in a way that supports the plant medicine’s work.
During your retreat, we ask that you refrain from any sexual activity or intimate physical contact, including with yourself. This is not a moral rule, but rather a practice rooted in the wisdom of the plants, which helps you remain fully open and receptive to the healing process. After the retreat, all social and sexual relationships can return to normal.
Food restrictions
Working with master plants requires a special and specific diet to support the healing process. The food we provide is carefully designed to align with this dietary requirement and is served at predetermined times to ensure the safe and effective integration of the plants, as well as participation in the purges and ceremonies.
To maintain the integrity of the process, we kindly ask that you refrain from bringing any outside food or snacks. Please consume only the meals provided during the retreat.
Use of electronic devices and communication
To fully immerse in the plant medicine work, electronic devices and communication through phones and the internet are not compatible with the process. Upon arrival, we will ask you to hand in all electronic devices, which we will store safely until the end of your retreat.
For peace of mind, we provide contact information for your family, friends, and loved ones. We are more than happy to stay in touch with them to ensure you are safe and well during your time with us.
Drugs, medicines, vitamins and natural supplies
To ensure a safe and effective healing process, you must refrain from bringing any drugs, medications, vitamins, or natural supplements to the retreat without consulting us first. We work with powerful yet delicate plants, and it’s essential that we understand your health needs to ensure everything is compatible and safe for you. Your transparency is vital for your well-being and to support you in having the most healing experience possible.
Cosmetics and toiletries
We ask you to not wear cosmetics or jewelry during your process. Only bringing natural toiletries with weak or no odor that do not interfere with the work of the plants or contaminate the natural surroundings.
Participation in Ayahuasca Ceremonies are Voluntary and Free of Charge
The use of Ayahuasca is not illegal in Spain, provided that each participant takes full responsibility for their own cup, from the brewing process to ingestion. To ensure a legally safe practice for all involved, we ask each participant to sign an agreement before the retreat, acknowledging this understanding.
The payment for the retreat covers accommodation, meals, facilitators, and the team who work to create a transformative and healing experience. Sinchi Runa does not charge for the Ayahuasca itself. Participation in the ceremonies is voluntary and free of charge. We offer a safe, therapeutic, and sacred space where Ayahuasca can be experienced in alignment with its deepest potential. Ultimately, each participant is responsible for their own cup of Ayahuasca, from preparation to intake.
Preparation and Post Diet
Ayahuasca is a medicine, an intelligence, and a Maestra, whose compassion allows us to understand and heal. The pre- and post-retreat diet is a way of showing our respect to the spirit of the plants, the Cosmos, and our own soul and body. It also helps us attune ourselves to the plant medicine, so the healing process can unfold with as little interference as possible.
To support this, we ask that you follow these dietary and lifestyle guidelines for at least 10 days before the retreat and for one week afterward:
Avoid dairy in all forms, especially cured cheeses.
Refrain from processed and canned foods.
No pork or red meats (you may eat fish and eggs).
Avoid citrus fruits, though small amounts of lemon may be used if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Avoid saturated fats, fried foods, spicy foods, and foods with vinegar or ferments.
No sweets, ice cream, or overly sweet foods (small amounts of honey or other natural sugars are fine). Please also reduce your salt intake. No carbonated sodas.
Cigarettes (if you smoke, you can continue smoking natural tobacco, but not conventional cigarettes with additives).
Sexual abstinence is essential, including masturbation, at least one week before and after the retreat. This is not a moral rule but a practice grounded in the understanding that the work with the master plants reorchestrates energies. These energies often leave you open, vulnerable, and sensitive. This heightened sensitivity is crucial for the healing process, allowing you to open up and listen deeply to the plants and the universe. It creates a space for higher understanding and healing to flow undisturbed. Limiting verbal, physical, and especially sexual contact helps you conserve your energy in a way that supports the work. After the process, all social and sexual relationships may return to normal.
Medication and substances: Please refrain from taking any contraindicated medications, narcotics, or supplements before the retreat. Consult your medical practitioner, and read more under the “Contraindications” section for further details. It is your responsibility to inform us of any substances you are currently using.
We understand that there is a great deal of varied information about Ayahuasca dietary restrictions available online. The specifics can vary from source to source, and some lists may be more extensive than others. Rest assured that by following the guidelines we’ve outlined above, you will be well-prepared for the retreat.
It’s important to note that the Ayahuasca healing process does not originate from a Western context, it comes from the Amazonian traditions. The Amazonian diet, for example, is simple and primarily based on foods like rice, bananas, coconut, fish, and a few tropical vegetables and fruits. The diet excludes preservatives, alcohol, recreational drugs, and chemical or synthetic medicines. It’s also minimal in meat, typically from small jungle animals. The traditions are adapted to the context of those partaking in the process. The “nakedness” and silence of the indigenous mind are very different from the often overburdened, distracted state of the Western mind.
Contraindications
Ayahuasca is safe when experienced in a ceremonial setting with a genuine shaman and facilitators with real experience and knowledge of how to work with the medicine. At Sinchi Runa we have not experienced any serious complications during our 10 years as a healing center. To ensure you a safe retreat, it is important that you let us know about any of the following contraindications:
- Heart conditions or chronic diseases: Ayahuasca and the Purge may cause strong emotions to surface, leading to increased heart beats. This may in some cases mean a risk to people suffering from heart conditions, as well as those with high or low blood pressure. In most circumstances even those with heart conditions can safely participate, but must have a medical evaluation from their doctor, and must inform Sinchi Runa beforehand so we can evaluate the situation.
- Consumption of any Psychiatric Medications & Prescription medications or MAOI inhibitors (amongst others antidepressants, anti-anxiety, antipsychotics, anticonvulsants, benzodiazepines, anti-parkinson’s drugs etc.)
- Consumption of any Narcotics, Drugs, Alcohol, Psychoactive and Psychiatric medications, are strictly contraindicated and must be informed, including cocaine, MDMA, ecstasy, amphetamines, opioids
- Other medications or supplements you are taking must be informed (prescribed or otherwise).
Please be aware that it is your responsibility to openly and honestly disclose any medications, narcotics or other substances you are currently consuming, or have consumed in the past, as well as disclosing any physical/psychological conditions or addictions you may be suffering from or have suffered from in the past.
If you come to a retreat whilst taking medication or consuming substances, without letting us know, you are placing yourself at risk of physical and psychological harm.
We are able to provide assistance in the process of leaving the medication and aid you in safely participating in one of our retreats. In the case of most contraindicated substances, you need to leave enough time to be able to wean off the medication and be completely free from it for at least 4 weeks before the retreat. This means the last dose of the medication must be taken at minimum 4 weeks before, not ‘starting to wean off’ 4 weeks before. Be sure to account for this when planning to wean off any medication.
If you have any doubts about the safety or potential contraindication of any condition or substance with plant medicine, or need assistance with stopping substances safely, then it is important that you consult with us. Please note that it is your responsibility to check any doubts about substances in time for the retreat.
If you require assistance then please get in touch with us through info@sinchiruna.com
The Gift of the Plants
One of the best ways to get to know Maestro Sanango, and how we work with Ayahuasca and Master Plants at Sinchi Runa, is through our podcast & blog. We are honored to share recordings of Maestro Sanango’s wisdom, where he speaks about awakening through a path of Yoga with the Plants, and the immense gift and opportunity that the plants are for the healing of humanity and our hearts.
