FAQ
Q: What is ayahuasca and what does it do?
A: Ayahuasca is plant medicine that helps to clean and heal the body. Clinically speaking, ayahuasca is a vine that grows in the amazon which contains monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), sometimes referred to as harmine, and other alkaloids which help with the plasticity of the brain. It is often combined with plants like chacruna or chaliponga which contain dimetihyltryptamine (DMT) to add a visual element to the medicine.
Q: How does ayahuasca work?
A: Ayahuasca works by energetically cleaning and opening you up on the physical, emotional and spiritual levels. Energetic purging is common during ceremony, and can come in the form of yawning, body tremors, laughing, crying, vomiting and pooping. Your experience will differ from anyone else´s, and can differ from ceremony to ceremony, depending on what is being addressed. This is also where your intention comes into play. Ayahuasca works with you, as you are an active participant in the healing process. Having a goal in mind to works towards will help direct the energy of the medicine. The process can sometimes feel uncomfortable, but it is important that during this time you do not try to resist the process that is taking place, but rather, relinquish control and have trust.
Q: What is plant medicine and why would I need it?
A: Plant medicines have been used for thousands of years in the Amazon basin. Prior to hospitals and pharmacies, the Amazon natives saw nature as their pharmacy. The use of ayahuasca and plant dietas has been shown to have profound healing effects on the body, mind and spirit. The technological techniques employed by Western medicine undoubtedly are very sophisticated when treating the body and mind, but the spiritual aspects of lived reality are not revered in the same way as the other dimensions of the human experience. Trauma, as an example, can "get stuck" in a person and disrupt the functioning of the body and mind, manifesting as ulcers, cancers, and mental disturbances. Plant medicines have a way of going straight to the issue to mediate the traumatic event and restore holistic health to the person. Many people recount their ayahuasca experiences as "10 years of therapy in one night." The Shipibo tribes believe all illness manifests in the spirit before we experience it elsewhere. So if the spirit is treated, the body and mind will also receive the benefits.
Q: What are the origins of illness?
A: From the shamanic perspective illness originates when the spirit is imbalanced. This disequilibrium renders a person more susceptible to infection, lowering the capacity of immunological responses and other processes inside of an otherwise healthy person. Because mind, body and spirit are all connected on the same axis, when the spirit is affected, the other bodies respond accordingly.
Q: What is required of me to participate in a dieta?
Depending on your purpose for wanting to diet, you can relate to being in dieta as either being in school or being in the hospital, or sometimes both. As you can surmise from these analogies, it is a process that should not be taken lightly. Astounding benefits may be reaped from the practice of la dieta, however this will require time, sacrifice, patience and trust on your part. Unlike a pharmaceutical that you can easily take once a day, the outcome of a dieta well done will result in lasting healing and enjoyed benefits.
If you choose to participate in a dieta, your focus during this time will be directed inwardly.
The idea here is to avoid external stimuli to the best of one's ability, in order to connect with and receive the utmost healing from the master plant you have been prescribed. This means you will be in relative isolation during your dieta, spending time reading, writing, drawing and reflecting. Time on the phone, socializing, listening to music and sexual activity are not allowed during dieta. Your food intake will also be restricted to: chicken, eggs, fish, beans, lentils, peas, quinoa, oatmeal, potatoes, plantains and bread. We offer lemongrass, chamomile and anis tea to drink during dieta. All without oil, sugar or salt.
Q: What are icaros?
A: An icaro is a song that is taught by the plants to one who is engaging in a process of dieta, be it a maestro or a participant. Those who train to become curanderos do many processes of dieta to learn these particular songs. These are used in the medicine space to help catalyze and direct the energies during ayahuasca ceremonies.
Q: What conditions can ayahuasca and plant medicines treat?
A: This modality of healing is by no means a panacea, nor is it the modality for everyone. That being said, plant medicines and ayahuasca have helped people with a myriad of conditions such as: migraines, insomnia, digestive disorders, depression, diabetes, trauma, chronic pain, cancers, and addiction to name a few. There is a wide array of benefits to be gained from proper usage of plant medicines.