Ayahuasca Retreat Preparation
Making the Best Start to Your Deepest Healing Journey
Ayahuasca Retreat Preparation
Making the Best Start to Your Deepest Healing Journey
Ayahuasca and Master Plant Dieta requires physical, mental & emotional preparation...
Traditional Shipibo healing treatment can provoke deep, intensive healing. Or it may be approached more gently for a more gradual healing process. Either way, it is important to be prepared physically, mentally and emotionally for working with Ayahuasca and Plant Dieta to ensure your safety and improve the quality of your healing experience.
Our guidelines for your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation come directly from the master Shipibo shamans, who have worked safely with Amazonian plant medicines for decades. These guidelines are intended to help clean your body, calm your mind and emotions, and prepare you to work in a good, safe way with Ayahuasca and the Master Plants.
For many, the traditional way of Shipibo shamanism becomes a long-term path of healing and sacred discovery. Our community of experienced facilitators and Dieters is here to support and guide you through this rich and mysterious journey of personal transformation.
Shipibo shamans believe the plant spirits hear our intentions and reward our good discipline with gifts of insight.
Shipibo shamans believe the plant spirits hear our intentions and reward our good discipline with gifts of insight.
Ayahuasca and Master Plant Dieta requires physical, mental & emotional preparation...
Traditional Shipibo healing treatment can provoke deep, intensive healing. Or it may be approached more gently for a more gradual healing process. Either way, it is important to be prepared physically, mentally and emotionally for working with Ayahuasca and Plant Dieta to ensure your safety and improve the quality of your healing experience.
Our guidelines for your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation come directly from the master Shipibo shamans, who have worked safely with Amazonian plant medicines for decades. These guidelines are intended to help clean your body, calm your mind and emotions, and prepare you to work in a good, safe way with Ayahuasca and the Master Plants.
For many, the traditional way of Shipibo shamanism becomes a long-term path of healing and sacred discovery. Our community of experienced facilitators and Dieters is here to support and guide you through this rich and mysterious journey of personal transformation.
We provide expert guidance for your Ayahuasca Retreat Preparation
Mental & Emotional Preparation
Clear intentions, open mind, humble heart
Art therapy can support your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation
Your healing journey starts when you decide to work with Ayahuasca or the Master Plants. Even before you commence your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation, a mystical process has been initiated. As you sense the potential for deep healing with the Master Plants you may already feel something shifting inside. It’s not uncommon to feel nervous.
You may begin to notice things surfacing in your thoughts or dreams, seeking your attention. The Shipibo shamans say that Ayahuasca reflects to us the reality of ourselves, especially what lives deep inside, such as memories and patterns that we may have avoided looking at. Exercising calm self-observation as you enter your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation can help to ground your nerves. Gentle exercise like yoga or walking in nature or therapeutic activities can also help move you through what is emerging.
Clear intention-setting is also helpful for focusing your mind and your healing process. Ask yourself why you feel drawn to experience Ayahuasca or Master Plant Dieta healing? What is it you would like to change or improve in your life? What are you seeking to understand?
No one person can tell you what your journey will be like. Our many years of working with the Shipibo tradition has shown us one consistent truth – that your experiences and your healing path is uniquely yours. So, rather than doing a ton of research into other peoples’ accounts, we recommend approaching your journey calmly with an open mind, respect and humility.
Our facilitators are highly experienced with Ayahuasca and Master Plant Dieta and are available to support you with your preparation.
Mental & Emotional Preparation
Clear intentions, open mind, humble heart
Your healing journey starts when you decide to work with Ayahuasca or the Master Plants. Even before you commence your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation, a mystical process has been initiated. As you sense the potential for deep healing with the Master Plants you may already feel something shifting inside. It’s not uncommon to feel nervous.
You may begin to notice things surfacing in your thoughts or dreams, seeking your attention. The Shipibo shamans say that Ayahuasca reflects to us the reality of ourselves, especially what lives deep inside, such as memories and patterns that we may have avoided looking at. Exercising calm self-observation as you enter your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation can help to ground your nerves. Gentle exercise like yoga or walking in nature or therapeutic activities can also help move you through what is emerging.
Clear intention-setting is also helpful for focusing your mind and your healing process. Ask yourself why you feel drawn to experience Ayahuasca or Master Plant Dieta healing? What is it you would like to change or improve in your life? What are you seeking to understand?
Art therapy can support your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation
No one person can tell you what your journey will be like. Our many years of working with the Shipibo tradition has shown us one consistent truth – that your experiences and your healing path is uniquely yours. So, rather than doing a ton of research into other peoples’ accounts, we recommend approaching your journey calmly with an open mind, respect and humility.
Our facilitators are highly experienced with Ayahuasca and Master Plant Dieta and are available to support you with your preparation.
“Caya Shobo have amazing, knowledgeable facilitators that helped guide me through this process from preparation to my retreat...”
Ayahuasca Retreat Preparation Key Steps
Health Clearance
The first step in your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation is to fill in a Health Form. We will give you guidance and support. Ayahuasca is not always suitable, however gentler treatments may be possible.
Mental & Emotional Clarity
Taking time in solitude to reflect on your intentions and calmly observe the thoughts and feelings that are arising, can help focus and stabilize your healing preparation process.
Physical Cleansing
Preparing your body to work with Ayahuasca and other plant medicines is crucial. This includes following dietary and lifestyle restrictions for at least 2 weeks prior to your Ayahuasca Retreat.
Medical Considerations & Safety
Your wellbeing is our number one priority
Ayahuasca and the Teacher Plants are strong plant medicines that bring the potential for tremendous opening, cleaning and healing. Plant medicines also demand caution and respect. Many plant medicines are toxic and/or are dangerously contraindicated with medications or other substances. Certain physical and/or mental conditions may make it unsafe for you to drink Ayahuasca or other Teacher Plants.
At Caya Shobo, we are first and foremost committed to your safety. The first step in your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation process is to fill in a Health Form. We need you to provide full and detailed information regarding your medical, physical and mental health history, including any medications or substances you have taken in the last 12 months.
We will carefully review your health form and let you know of any special preparation instructions to ensure your safety and the best results for your Ayahuasca Retreat. In some cases, such as if you are following medical prescriptions, it will be necessary for you to discuss your health situation or changes to your medical regimen with your healthcare provider/s.
Sometimes, based on certain conditions or the interaction with particular medications, it is inadvisable for you to drink Ayahuasca. It may, however, still be feasible for you to engage in Master Plant Dieta healing with more gentle plant medicines. This is the traditional approach to healing in Shipibo shamanism and can still offer profound benefits. We are happy to explore these possibilities with you.
Medical Considerations & Safety
Your wellbeing is our number one priority
Ayahuasca and the Teacher Plants are strong plant medicines that bring the potential for tremendous opening, cleaning and healing. Plant medicines also demand caution and respect. Many plant medicines are toxic and/or are dangerously contraindicated with medications or other substances. Certain physical and/or mental conditions may make it unsafe for you to drink Ayahuasca or other Teacher Plants.
At Caya Shobo, we are first and foremost committed to your safety. The first step in your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation process is to fill in a Health Form. We need you to provide full and detailed information regarding your medical, physical and mental health history, including any medications or substances you have taken in the last 12 months.
We will carefully review your health form and let you know of any special preparation instructions to ensure your safety and the best results for your Ayahuasca Retreat. In some cases, such as if you are following medical prescriptions, it will be necessary for you to discuss your health situation or changes to your medical regimen with your healthcare provider/s.
Sometimes, based on certain conditions or the interaction with particular medications, it is inadvisable for you to drink Ayahuasca. It may, however, still be feasible for you to engage in Master Plant Dieta healing with more gentle plant medicines. This is the traditional approach to healing in Shipibo shamanism and can still offer profound benefits. We are happy to explore these possibilities with you.
- MEDICAL DISCLAIMER -
Ayahuasca - sacred knowledge plant of Shipibo shamans
For millennia, Shipibo shamans have been drinking Ayahuasca to open their shamanic vision and connect with the spirits of nature. At Caya Shobo we closely follow the master Shipibo shamans’ extreme care when working with Ayahuasca.
That’s why we work with Master Plant Dieta and only the most experienced shamans – for better management of Ayahuasca energies and more enduring healing results.
Dietary & Lifestyle Restrictions
For the best healing results with Ayahuasca and Master Plants
A limited selection of fresh vegetables and fruit may be eaten during the Ayahuasca Retreat preparation period
Quiet self-reflection in solitude can be supportive to your healing process
For your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation, you will need to follow certain dietary and lifestyle restrictions to ensure the best healing results and to mitigate undesired effects. These restrictions are essential for clearing your body of congestion, toxins and strong energies, so that Ayahuasca and the Master Plants have space to work most effectively in you.
For at least 2 weeks before and during your Ayahuasca Retreat it is essential that you abstain from alcohol, recreational drugs, plant medicines and substances (including for therapeutic use), and pharmaceutical drugs (unless otherwise guided by our team for your specific Ayahuasca Retreat preparation plan). Please note that some drugs may require a longer abstinence period than 2 weeks.
For 10 days before your Ayahuasca Retreat it is important that you observe the following dietary restrictions:
- No pork or red meat. (Chicken or fish is ok)
- No dairy – milk, cheese, yoghurt. (Eggs are ok)
- No salt or very salty foods. (Celery is ok)
- No vinegar, lemon juice or other highly acidic foods (eg mayonnaise)
- No spicy food – such as chilli, curry, hot sauce, etc
- No sugar or sweeteners.
- Avoid caffeine and other stimulants
- Avoid fried and oily foods.
- Avoid aged and fermented foods (eg miso, tofu, smoked fish, etc).
Dietary & Lifestyle Restrictions
For the best healing results with Ayahuasca and Master Plants
A limited selection of fresh vegetables and fruit may be eaten during the Ayahuasca Retreat preparation period
For your Ayahuasca Retreat preparation, you will need to follow certain dietary and lifestyle restrictions to ensure the best healing results and to mitigate undesired effects. These restrictions are essential for clearing your body of congestion, toxins and strong energies, so that Ayahuasca and the Teacher Plants have space to work most effectively in you.
For at least 2 weeks before and during your Ayahuasca Retreat it is essential that you abstain from alcohol, recreational drugs, plant medicines and substances (including for therapeutic use), and pharmaceutical drugs (unless otherwise guided by our team for your specific preparation plan). Please note that some drugs may require a longer abstinence period than 2 weeks.
For 10 days before your Ayahuasca Retreat it is important that you observe the following dietary restrictions:
- No pork or red meat. (Chicken or fish is ok)
- No dairy – milk, cheese, yoghurt. (Eggs are ok)
- No salt or very salty foods. (Celery is ok)
- No vinegar, lemon juice or other highly acidic foods (eg mayonnaise)
- No spicy food – such as chilli, curry, hot sauce, etc
- No sugar or sweeteners.
- Avoid caffeine and other stimulants
- Avoid fried and oily foods.
- Avoid aged and fermented foods (eg miso, tofu, smoked fish, etc).
Be mindful of who you spend time with and what kind of information (media) and environments you are exposed to leading up to an Ayahuasca Retreat. Think of it like a cleanse for your mind and emotions, as well as your body. Quiet self-reflection in solitude is always beneficial when preparing to enter a deep healing process.
Sexual abstinence (with self or others) takes on crucial importance in the Shipibo healing tradition, where sensitivity to energies becomes heightened. We ask that you begin abstaining from all sexual activity 10 days prior to and during your Ayahuasca Retreat.
Quiet self-reflection in solitude can be supportive to your healing process
Be mindful of who you spend time with and what kind of information (media) and environments you are exposed to leading up to an Ayahuasca Retreat. Think of it like a cleanse for your mind and emotions, as well as your body. Quiet self-reflection in solitude is always beneficial when preparing to enter a deep healing process.
Sexual abstinence (with self or others) takes on crucial importance in the Shipibo healing tradition, where sensitivity to energies becomes heightened. We ask that you begin abstaining from all sexual activity 10 days prior to and during your Ayahuasca Retreat.
Ayahuasca requires great respect and demands strict preparation.
A longer Ayahuasca Retreat preparation period can typically enhance your healing experience.
Shipibo Plant Dieta - an ancestral shamanic practice
Over the millennia, master Shipibo shamans (Onánya) have identified certain plants as Master Plant Teacher spirits. Master Plant Dieta (Dieta) is the Shipibo shamanic practice involving restrictions in food and lifestyle, which can allow direct connection with the spirit of the Master Plants.
During our Ayahuasca Retreats we teach you how Dieta can bring about deep, lasting healing and personal transformation.
Menstruation / Moon-time
Honoring the power of natural energies
In the Shipibo tradition, during a woman’s moon time or menstruation period, women refrain from drinking Ayahuasca or sitting in Ayahuasca Ceremony for at least the first 3 days of strong bleeding.
We understand this may seem to be an overly restrictive attitude. What we have learned over our many years of relationship with master Shipibo shamans is that this restriction is wholly founded in practical considerations regarding the energetic sensitivity of both the menstruating woman and the master Shipibo shamans (including female maestra Onánya shamans).
Some Onánya shamans are more sensitive to menstruation energy and the energy of blood in general. Those that are sensitive tend to experience the energies very strongly during Ayahuasca Ceremony (when all energies are amplified). This sensitivity makes it very difficult, if not impossible for them to tend to other guests.
We invite you to consider that menstruation is a sacred time with its own deep processing and “ceremonial” rhythm. It can be a welcome opportunity for isolation, quiet self-reflection and rest, which Master Plant Dieta practice is always benefited by. Engaging with Ayahuasca at this time can be energetically destabilizing, potentially overwhelming and depleting. You may continue drinking your Master Plant tea and having flower baths, or even enjoy a private yoni steam at the end of your moon, if you wish.
Our Ayahuasca Retreat program is structured so that if you are menstruating during your retreat you are unlikely to miss more than 2 Ayahuasca Ceremonies. If you prefer not to sit out of any Ayahuasca Ceremonies, we ask you to plan your retreat for when you are not likely to be menstruating. Please note there will be no partial refunds for nights in which a woman on her moon-time is unable to participate in Ayahuasca Ceremonies.
Please contact us if you have questions about this requirement.
Menstruation / Moon-time
Honoring the power of natural energies
A limited selection of fresh vegetables and fruit may be eaten during the Ayahuasca Preparation period
In the Shipibo tradition, during a woman’s moon time or menstruation period, women refrain from drinking Ayahuasca or sitting in Ayahuasca Ceremony for at least the first 3 days of strong bleeding.
We understand this may seem to be an overly restrictive attitude. What we have learned over our many years of relationship with master Shipibo shamans is that this restriction is wholly founded in practical considerations regarding the energetic sensitivity of both the menstruating woman and the master Shipibo shamans (including female maestra Onánya shamans).
Some Onánya shamans are more sensitive to menstruation energy and the energy of blood in general. Those that are sensitive tend to experience the energies very strongly during Ayahuasca Ceremony (when all energies are amplified). This sensitivity makes it very difficult, if not impossible for them to tend to other guests.
We invite you to consider that menstruation is a sacred time with its own deep processing and “ceremonial” rhythm. It can be a welcome opportunity for isolation, quiet self-reflection and rest, which Master Plant Dieta practice is always benefited by. Engaging with Ayahuasca at this time can be energetically destabilizing, potentially overwhelming and depleting. You may continue drinking your Master Plant tea and having flower baths, or even enjoy a private yoni steam at the end of your moon, if you wish.
Our Ayahuasca Retreat program is structured so that if you are menstruating during your retreat you are unlikely to miss more than 2 Ayahuasca Ceremonies. If you prefer not to sit out of any Ayahuasca Ceremonies, we ask you to plan your retreat for when you are not likely to be menstruating. Please note there will be no partial refunds for nights in which a woman on her moon-time is unable to participate in Ayahuasca Ceremonies.
Please contact us if you have questions about this requirement.