The Garden of Peace FAQ’s
Ayahuasca is a vine (banisteriopsis caapi), which grows natively in the Amazon basin. When cooked together with the Chakruna plant (Psychotria viridis) the psychoactive, medicinal tea commonly called Ayahuasca is formed. This tea is used in traditionally in a ceremonial setting for its healing, purgative and visionary qualities.
Ayahuasca is made from the two plants Ayahuasca and Chakruna. When these two plants are prepared in a correct manner the medicinal tea called Ayahuasca is created. Sometimes other plants or ayahuasca admixtures are added such as chiric sanango, bobinsana or Toe’ (datura). At The Garden of Peace we do not add Toe’ to our ayahuasca.
Generally speaking yes however as with all herbal medicines there are some health conditions and pharmaceutical contraindications. You can read our medical guidelines page to see more information.
There have been reports of people dying after consuming ayahuasca. Generally these have been connected to pre-existing health conditions or physical accidents.
Ayahuasca is a psychoactive medicine and during the time of the ceremony, it is common for participants to experience psychedelic effects such as hallucinations and strong physical or emotional processing. However, once the effects of the ceremony pass these effects generally pass too. People with history of psychosis, schizophrenia or other psychological challenges with strong delusionary symptoms should take extreme caution if considering working with Ayahuasca and consult with a range of experienced healers and professionals before making the decisions to drink. This is because the strong psychoactive effects of the medicine may in some cases trigger a relapse of the former condition. Like all medicines, there is no panacea that is right for everyone.
At The Garden of Peace we caution those with heart conditions, history of psychosis or current pregnancy against drinking ayahuasca. Also there are some pharmaceutical medications that do not mix well with Ayahuasca especially certain anti-depressants. Please speak to us about all conditions and medications before booking a retreat with us.
There is mounting scientific and qualitative evidence to suggest that Ayahuasca is a potent medicine for helping those challenged with depression as well as anxiety and PTSD. This article goes deeper into some of those studies.
“Eye – ah – wa – ska”
We like to clarify the difference between the foods that you eat to prepare for an ayahuasca ceremony and the medicinal process called La Dieta , which involves other medicinal plants and a strict regime of behavioural and dietary requirements. The Ayahuasca Diet in terms of ceremony only we suggest a whole foods diet that is largely plant based avoiding, pork, chilli, alcohol, drugs, pharmaceuticals, heavily processed foods, fermented foods and chemicals. Basically having a clean as possible system before ceremony aids your process greatly. You can check out our how to prepare page for more details.
A master plant dieta is a traditional form of shamanic apprenticeship and deep healing. It involves going into a period of isolation, reducing stimulants in the form of certain foods and refraining from sexual contact. During this time the participant drinks specially prepared master plants to deeply connect with their teachings and healing properties. You can read more about Master Plant Dieta here.
At The Garden of Peace we suggest that for one week after drinking Ayahuasca you refrain from pork, chilli, alcohol, pharmaceuticals and recreational drugs. The Post Dieta after a Master Plant Dieta is 30 days minimum and much stricter. You will be given detailed instructions on that when you apply and can read about the post dieta we prescribe on our website here.
We suggest being well rested, eating a clean plant based diet for 3-7 days before hand and taking the advice of whoever is facilitating your ceremony in terms of how to prepare. It’s important that you check out any medical contraindications especially if you are taking medications well in advance. This page has more information on that.
In terms of mind-set and intentions we suggest that it is useful to have some awareness and intention around why you are drinking, what are you asking for help and guidance around? You should also be open to surrender to whatever the Ayahuasca ceremony is bringing up or presenting to you even if these means your initial intention is put to one side for the time being.
While some traditions are fine with pregnant women drinking ayahuasca, we feel as a matter of best practice it is not necessary or responsible for us to offer this medicine to pregnant women. This is a matter of personal choice which we urge you to thoroughly research and make an informed choice based on the question, “is this truly necessary for me and my baby right now?”
Again this is a matter of personal choice. Most of our teachers and healers would say it is better not to drink on the first 3 days of your moon cycle to let the body rest and process without additional intensity. Also some healers feel that a menstruating women’s energy is so strong it can impact the work they are doing in the ceremony or interfere with other people’s ceremonies. Our policy at the Garden of Peace is that menstruating women are free to choose if the wish to drink but we ask you to inform us so we can adjust your dosage and give you any necessary support.
Not necessarily, what is found in the jungle however is healers native to the area with a long and profound connection to this medicine. Also there are a wide variety of other plants that these healers connect with and use to assist the healing process. We feel that master plant dieta for example is wonderful in the jungle where the plants we are working with are growing and can be connected with both physically and spiritually.
Natively Ayahuasca grows in the upper Amazon of Bolivia, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and Colombia.
The songs you will hear in a ceremony at the Garden of Peace are songs received from the Curanderos (Shaman) during long periods of fasting and isolation working with specific teacher plants known as master plants, Ayahuasca is also a master plant. The songs called “Icaros” which these healers receive during their training come in dreams, visions, through auditory transmissions or are taught to them by other teachers. The songs are living medicine encoded with the life force and energy of the plants and spirits used for healing n these traditions. The vibrations, tones, prayers and invocations contained in the songs are an essential part of the Shaman’s craft.
There are many ways to find a Shaman in Peru. However if you are coming from overseas we recommend you find a healing centre with reputable reviews online, safe, supportive facilitators that work alongside the shaman and can help translate if you do not speak Spanish. Retreat Guru.com is a good site as is Ayaadvisor.com. Word of mouth is also fairly reliable if you trust the source but we always recommend you contact the place and be sure that your questions can be answered and instructions given regarding the safety of the medicine work being done before you attend.
Ayahuasca the vine is available in many vegetalista (herbal medicine) stores in Peru, especially in the Amazon region. In terms of the prepared tea, ready to drink this is another matter. If you are new to this kind of medicine work we suggest only drinking ayahuasca in a supportive and safe environment under the guidance of a healer you trust. We do not advise drinking ayahuasca alone until you have done some initiatory training and been giving the blessing to drink alone by an experiences curandero/a.
Premade Ayahuasca tea is sold online sometimes or in stores in South America however, we feel that it can be dangerous to buy this medicine without full knowledge of the ingredients and how it was made and by whom. We suggest if you wish to work with Ayahuasca you find an experienced shamanic practitioner or healer and drink with them.
Safety is a subject that comes up around this medicine often. We suggest you consider the following factors.
1) Are you able to communicate in advance with the retreat or ceremony facilitator and did they ask you any questions regarding medical history, medications and your intentions and give you advice on how to prepare or what to expect?
2) Do they have adequate translation support available if there are language barriers between healer and patient?
3) If you are a women will there be female staff present at the ceremony or retreat to support you? In fact
4) Does this retreat or ceremony have any reviews online or do you know anyone who has attended with them before?
5) Have you done your own research around any medical conditions or medications that you are taking to check for contraindications?
6) Will support be available to help you get to and from the ceremony or retreat and is there somewhere safe and comfortable for you to rest after the ceremonies?
Ayahuasca is a sacred medicine that is prepared by cooking together the Ayahuasca Vine and the leaves of the Chacruna plant. We feel it is important that anyone cooking this medicine is taught how to do so by an appropriately initiated healer, therefore we do not provide step-by-step instructions online.
If you are reading this then you probably have for some reason, curiosity about this medicine. Generally speaking Ayahuasca is used for mental, emotional and spiritual healing and detoxification as well as visionary insights. If you are seeking any of these things perhaps Ayahuasca can support your journey. However, it is important you speak with an experienced facilitator or healer about your personal situation so they can help you discern what is the right course of treatment. Sometimes there are additional plants, which would be recommended to a person before they are treated with Ayahuasca in order to address specific healing goals more effectively.
Like all things the cost of Ayahausca retreats vary greatly based on location, facilities, group size and staffing. At the Garden of Peace we tend to fall in the mid-range of Peruvian retreats in terms of both cost and facilities. We have comfortable but basic private accommodation and the property includes running water and electricity as well as flushing toilets. We have trained English speaking staff and master healers that work with us. We are also a legally registered, tax paying entity so our prices reflect these running costs and the services we offer while still trying to remain as accessible as possible. We do on occasion also offer low-income earners discounts for those in need of healing but with limited financial means. Our retreat prices range from $120USD a day to $80USD a day for longer stays.
DMT or Dimethyltriptamine is a compound found in many plants and animals and is naturally produced in the human brain. There are some plant based psychoactive medicines such as Ayahausca, which do contain DMT. Normally the human stomach would break down DMT before it reaches the bloodstream however the combination of plants in the traditional Ayahuasca brew means that the DMT component can pass through the digestive system and be absorbed into the body resulting in part, in the visionary quality of this medicine.
Ayahuasca prepared as ingestible medicine is fully legal in the following countries
Bolivia
Peru
Brazil
Ecuador
Colombia
In other parts of the world such as Australia, the UK and United States it is classified as a schedule 1 drug because it contains a digestible form of DMT which creates hallucinations. Some churches in the Unites States have permission for their members to drink Ayahuasca however this is heavily regulated. There are other countries such as Portugal, India and Spain where the medicine is in a legal grey area that has not clear definition, however prosecution is still highly possible if caught with Ayahuasca especially being sold for the purpose of ceremonies.
There are varying theories about this and many misconceptions, check out this video to learn more about how we view this subject at The Garden of Peace
All medicines can be called drugs, anything that has a profound effect on altering our body’s chemistry for the purpose of healing or recreation can be seen in this way. In terms of viewing psychoactive substances as drugs, we make the differentiation between a substance used for the intention of healing under experienced guidance, within a set of traditions or methods that have been practiced and refined as being a medicinal drug rather than a recreational one. Ayahuasca is not addictive, and the process of ingesting it can often be challenging, resulting in nausea, purging and physical weakness as well as the psychedelic effects, in this way we do not see that it is particularly appealing as a recreational substance nor do we suggest it is used as such.
In Spanish the word Curandero translates to “Healer” or “one who cures” so actually many healers who serve Ayahuasca and work with plants are being referred to as Doctors rather than Shaman. However, the general meaning of the term Shaman that originates in Siberia is relating to a person who travels between spiritual realms in order to seek help, move energies and generate protection for members of their community. This may be done with the assistance of trance inducing music, dance or psychoactive plants such as Peyote, Mushrooms or Ayahuasca. Based on this explanation most Curandero’s in Peru who work with Ayahuasca could also be described as Shamans.
Chiric Sanango is a medium sized medicinal shrub that is found throughout the Amazon of Peru. The roots, leaves and bark can all be used in Master Plant Dieta for deep healing of arthritis, fatigue, spiritual crisis and to gain shamanic teachings.
There are a huge number of medicinal plants that are used throughout the country. Generally Peru can be divided into three regions, Jungle, Coast and Mountains. Each region has distinctly different biozones and therefore different plants. In the jungle where the Garden of Peace is located we use around 15 plants that grow locally to form the central basis of our healing practices. These include, Ayahuasca, Chacruna, Mucura, Ajo Sacha, Chiric Sanango, Uchu Sanango, Bobinsana, Yarwa Piri Piri, Rosa Sisa, Albacha, Sabila, Una de Gato and a number of trees including Chuchuwasi, Ubos, Oje and Cedro.
Check out our post dieta page for some ideas.
There are two ways to look at this. One is from the biochemical perspective the other is from the perspective of the energetic and spiritual reality. In biochemical terms the Ayahuasca brew contains a number of alkaloids including harmines and DMT. These function in the brain and body to increase serotonin uptake and create psychoactive visionary states. Also there are purgative effects such as vomiting and diarrea. On a spiritual level, Ayahuasca works to deeply detoxify the energy system and spirit, to create visionary awareness so the participant can relate to their experience and receive teachings and also create space for other plant medicines, the energy of the healer/shaman and other influences to assist in healing.
This explains things much better than we can:
Drinking Ayahuasca can be different every single time. There are a number of factors that can influence the experience including if the drinker is in a ceremony or not and how that ceremony is being run, the food and general purity of the drinkers system, pre-existing health conditions and the interaction of other plants they may be taking. Generally though one can expect any of the following to occur. Sweating, shaking, nausea, vomiting, diarreah, strong emotions, psychedelic visions, energetic sensations on the body, crying, laughing, tiredness, yawning, blissful feelings, spiritual or personal insight.
There have been reported deaths of people during or soon after drinking ayahuasca. Most of these cases are related to either a pre-existing medical condition, which contraindicated drinking ayahuascsa such as heart conditions or due to an accident, which happened while under the influence of Ayahuasca. The best way to remain safe is to go through adequate screening by an experienced facilitator before drinking and to remain supervised within the structure of a ceremony run by experienced facilitators. This is why we do not suggest people drink alone until they have become adequately trained in a traditional setting.
A chemical substance, typically of plant origin, that is ingested to produce a non-ordinary state of consciousness for religious or spiritual purposes.
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