Ayahuasca (Yagé)

What is Ayahuasca?

Ayahuasca is a powerful plant medicine traditionally used by indigenous tribes of the Amazon for physical, emotional, and spiritual healing. Made from the Banisteriopsis caapi vine and the Chacruna leaf, it allows for deep inner exploration, often bringing clarity, release, and reconnection with oneself and the world around.

The medicine we work with is prepared by experienced shamans we know and trust personally. It is cooked over several days in a sacred process filled with prayer, traditional songs (icaros), and intention. This ritual honors the spirit of the plants and ensures the medicine carries the energy of healing and respect.

On our retreats, we usually hold three ceremonies, giving participants time to slowly build a relationship with the medicine. Each night deepens the process, allowing trust and understanding to grow. Working with ayahuasca is like forming a bond - you learn to listen to it, and it learns how to work with you.

How Ayahuasca Works

Ayahuasca is often described as a mirror or a guide. It works on multiple levels - emotional, physical, energetic, and spiritual. The experience can bring up repressed emotions, reveal limiting patterns, and offer insights into your life, your relationships, and your soul’s path. Some people experience visions, deep emotional release, physical purging (vomiting, crying, sweating), and a strong sense of connection to nature, spirit, or something greater than themselves.

Healing with ayahuasca is not always comfortable - but it is deeply transformative. The medicine meets you where you are and works with your unique journey.

While it’s natural to be curious and seek information beforehand, we always remind people: every journey is unique. The best way to approach ayahuasca is with an open heart, clear intention, and without expectations. The medicine meets each person exactly where they are, offering what is needed in that moment.

How to Prepare

Proper preparation is essential to get the most from the experience. This includes preparing your body, mind, and spirit:

Physical Preparation:

• Follow a clean diet (often called a dieta) at least one week before the ceremony: no sugar, alcohol, caffeine, or recreational drugs.

• Avoid sexual activity for a few days before and after the ceremony to preserve and focus your energetic field.

• If you are on any medications, especially antidepressants or MAO inhibitors, please consult with us beforehand.

Mental & Emotional Preparation:

• Set clear intentions: What are you seeking? What questions are you carrying? What are you ready to release?

• At the same time, it’s important to let go of all expectations about how the ceremony should unfold. Ayahuasca works in its own way, often beyond the mind's ideas of what should happen.

• Spend time in quiet reflection, journaling, or meditation in the days leading up to the ceremony.

• Let go of expectations. Every journey is unique and unfolds in its own way.

Spiritual Preparation:

• Approach the ceremony with humility, openness, and a willingness to surrender.

• Offer a prayer, ask for guidance, or connect with your own spiritual practice to open the space within yourself.