How to prepare for ayahuasca: a two-week guide

Two weeks before your retreat, preparation becomes real.

None of this is restriction for its own sake. The diet and the habits below help your body through the ceremonies and leave your mind more available for the work. Many people also see it as an exchange: you give something up and put in the effort, and the medicine meets you there.

The guidelines are adaptable, and exceptions happen. Two things are not optional: the medical review and any change to your medications, which must be planned with your doctor. See which medications are unsafe with ayahuasca.

When to start

Two weeks before is ideal. Some people manage with one, but two give your body time to adjust and your mind time to settle.

If a medication has to be tapered, such as an antidepressant, that process comes first and can take several weeks more. Start that conversation with your doctor, and with us, as early as possible.

The diet

Cut out or reduce, two weeks before:

• Red meat and pork. Fish and chicken in moderation are fine.
• Strong spices and a lot of salt, especially hot chili.
• Sugar and processed food: sweets, soda, packaged snacks.
• Alcohol: stop completely.
• Caffeine: cut back a lot, and switch to herbal tea where you can.
• Cannabis and any other recreational drug: stop completely.
• Sex: many traditions ask you to abstain, to keep that energy for the work.

Eat instead:

• Fresh vegetables, especially leafy greens
• Fruit
• Rice, beans and other legumes
• Light soups and broths
• Nuts, seeds and avocado
• Light fish, if you eat fish
• Herbal teas, and plenty of water

At the Finca the food follows the same idea: cooked on site, mostly plant-based, with no alcohol, refined sugar or processed food.

Mental preparation

Write. What do you want from this experience? What are you afraid of? What questions do you carry? The point is not to solve anything, only to make conscious what is not.

Set an intention, a specific one. Not “I want to be healed”, which is too vague. Something like “I want to understand my pattern in relationships”. A clear question helps the medicine find where to work.

Meditate if you already do. If you don’t, this is not the time to start a complex practice. Ten quiet minutes a day is enough.

Read a little, not a lot. Basic understanding helps. Obsessive research builds expectations that get in the way.

Tell your therapist, if you have one, and keep your sessions going.

Watch what you consume. News, social media and stressful content load your nervous system. Turn them down.

Sleep, rest and movement

• Sleep seven to nine hours.
• Settle or postpone what you can: big work deadlines, conflicts, family drama.
• Move gently: walking, yoga, swimming. Leave intense training for after.

Supplements and medications

Avoid starting anything new in these weeks, especially herbal supplements and anything that acts on serotonin. Basic vitamins and minerals are usually fine. Prescribed medicines that are not on the list of interactions stay, but tell us about every one. The full list is on our medical information page.

What not to do in the last two weeks

• Don’t start new medications unless you medically need them.
• Don’t overhaul your diet overnight. Ease into it.
• Don’t start an intense new therapy or personal process.
• Don’t make big life decisions.
• Don’t binge on ayahuasca stories online.

The last three or four days

• Eat even lighter.
• Stop caffeine completely.
• Sleep more and use your phone less.
• Be quiet and look inward.
• Come back to your intention.

What to bring

Essentials: passport or ID, a list of your medications and conditions, your doctor’s contact details, and any prescriptions you still take.

Practical: loose, comfortable clothes for ceremony, layers (days are warm and nights are cool), a swimsuit, a hat and sunscreen, a journal, a sleep mask or earplugs, and walking shoes. Towels and linens are provided.

Leave at home: your laptop and, if you can, your work phone. Part of the retreat is disconnecting.

What to know before you arrive

You will feel vulnerable. The medicine softens your defenses, and that is where it works.

Hard emotions may come up. Fear, grief or anger are not a sign that something is wrong.

You cannot control the experience. It is closer to stepping into a current than steering a car.

Nothing is wasted. Even a night that feels unclear often makes sense later.

You are not alone. Everyone in the room prepared like you, and everyone arrives a little nervous.

Arrival day

Day one is for arriving. You check in, walk the land and meet the group over dinner. The first ceremony is on day two.

The complete checklist, and how to get here from Guadalajara, are on our prepare and travel page. Still deciding on a date? See the retreat calendar.