Preparing For Your Ayahuasca Journey

Preparing for Ayahuasca, which we call Uni, is how we stay safe and show respect for the spirit of the medicine and for ourselves.

Preparation is more than cleansing the body, it is the beginning of a sacred conversation with the spirit. When we prepare with care, we open the way for the medicine to work clearly and deeply, and we arrive in the ceremony space with a body that is clean, a mind that is clear and a heart that is ready to receive.

Whether you are coming to the medicine for the first time or returning to go deeper, understanding how to prepare your body, mind and spirit is the ground on which true healing can grow.

1) Dietary restrictions Please avoid consuming pork, red meat, alcohol, spicy foods, refined sugar, and tyramine-rich foods for at least two weeks before your ceremony.

Ayahuasca contains harmala alkaloids which are MAOIs (monoamine oxidase inhibitors). Foods that are high in tyramine can cause hypertensive crises—dangerously high blood pressure.

High-Tyramine Foods to Avoid Completely

• Aged cheeses: Cheddar, Parmesan, blue cheese, Swiss, Gouda, Brie

• Cured meats: Salami, pepperoni, prosciutto, hot dogs, bacon, sausage

• Fermented foods: Kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, soy sauce, fermented tofu, tempeh

• Pickled foods: Pickles, olives, pickled herring, pickled vegetables

• Aged or smoked fish: Smoked salmon, aged fish, dried fish

• Alcohol: Red wine (especially Chianti), sherry, draft beer, vermouth, whiskey

• Overripe fruits: Overripe bananas, avocados, figs, raisins, plums

• Yeast extracts: Marmite, Vegemite, nutritional yeast in large amounts

• Legumes: Broad beans (fava beans)

• Other: Protein supplements, and leftover or reheated food, as tyramine builds up as food sits

One week before your ceremony, you can also add these restrictions:

• Excess salt (only add minimally if necessary for health)

• Oils and fats (if you must use oil, use olive or coconut oil very sparingly)

• Dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, butter)

• Fermented foods (kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, miso, soy sauce)

• Caffeine (coffee, tea, energy drinks, sodas)

• Carbonated drinks (even diet sodas and seltzer water)

2) Medication restrictions

Some medications, especially those that affect the heart or the brain, can react with Uni in ways that put your health at serious risk. Before coming to ceremony, it is important to know what you are taking, to speak honestly with your doctor, and to share everything with us so we can care for you properly.

Important: Do not stop, reduce or change your medication without seeking advice from your doctor. Stopping medication suddenly can lead to dangerous withdrawal symptoms and symptom relapse.

SSRI's e.g. Prozac, Zoloft, Lexapro, Celexa, Paxil Risk: Serotonin syndrome. Uni and these medicines both raise serotonin in the body, and together they can push it to dangerous levels and can be life-threatening.

SNRIs e.g. Effexor, Cymbalta, Pristiq

Risk: Serotonin syndrome. Like SSRIs, these medicines raise serotonin, and combining them with Uni can lead to the same dangerous reaction.

MAOIs e.g. Nardil, Parnate, Marplan

Risk: Dangerous interaction. This can cause severe spikes in blood pressure and serotonin syndrome.

ADHD medicationse.g. Adderall, Ritalin, Vyvanse

Risk: Strain on the heart.These are stimulants, and with Uni they can raise heart rate and blood pressure to unsafe levels.

Lithium e.g. lithium carbonate Risk: Heart problems and seizures. There are reports of serious reactions, including seizures and irregular heartbeat, when lithium is combined with Uni.

Benzodiazepines e.g. Xanax, Valium, Klonopin

Risk: Dangerous withdrawal. Stopping these medicines suddenly can cause severe anxiety, seizures and other serious effects, so they must be reduced slowly with a doctor's help.

Opioids e.g. all prescription and street opioids

Risk: Slowed or stopped breathing. Combined with Uni, opioids can affect breathing and heart rhythm in ways that may become dangerous.

Parkinson's medications e.g. Sinemet, L-Dopa

Risk: Dangerous interaction with dopamine. Uni's MAO inhibitors can intensify these medicines, leading to sharp rises in blood pressure.

3) Preparing Your Mind & Heart

Uni works deeply with the mind. It can show us memories we have forgotten, feelings we have pushed away and truths we have not been ready to see. When we prepare the mind with care, we are able to meet these teachings with clarity and courage rather than fear.

Take time before your screening questionnaire

Before you complete your screening questionnaire, sit quietly with it. Do not rush. Reflect honestly on your physical health, your mental health, your medicines and your reasons for coming. This is not a test, and there are no wrong answers. Your honesty allows us to care for you properly and to keep the ceremony safe for you and for everyone who sits beside you.

Set your intentions

An intention is the prayer you carry into ceremony. It gives the medicine a direction and helps you find your way when the experience grows deep. A simple way to shape your intention is:

Show me… Teach me… Help me… so that I can…

• Show me what you need to see. Show me what is keeping me from peace.

• Teach me what you need to learn. Teach me how to forgive myself.

• Help me with what you need to heal or release. Help me let go of the grief I am carrying.

• So that I can name how you wish to live afterwards. So that I can be present and loving with my family.
  

Together, it might sound like this: Show me the root of my fear, teach me to trust myself, help me release what no longer serves me, so that I can live with an open heart.

Write your intention down, and return to it each day before ceremony. Keep it simple and sincere. Then hold it gently, because the medicine may answer in a way you did not expect.

✅ Quiet the mind each day

Spend a little time in silence every day, even ten minutes. Meditate, breathe slowly or simply sit and listen. This teaches the mind to become still, which will help you when the ceremony brings strong emotions.

✅ Write and self reflect in a journal

Journaling helps you understand what you are carrying. Write about your life, your relationships, your dreams, what hurts and what you hope for. These pages can also help you later, when you reflect on what the medicine has shown you.

✅ Step away from external noise

In the days before ceremony, spend less time on screens, news and social media. Avoid violent or disturbing films and music. What we take in through the eyes and ears stays with us, and a quieter mind receives the medicine more clearly.

✅ Spend time in nature

Walk among the trees, sit by water, put your bare feet on the earth. Nature is our first teacher, and time with her helps us remember our connection to all living things.

✅ Let go of expectation and comparison

Every ceremony is different. Some are gentle, some are challenging, and some seem quiet but work deeply over time. Try not to compare your experience with other people's stories. Uni gives what we need, which is not always what we want.

✅ Prepare to meet fear, pain and deeper emotions

The medicine may bring up sadness, fear or old pain. This is part of healing. Remind yourself that you are safe, that you are guided and that difficult moments will pass. Breathe, return to your intention and trust the process.

✅ Learn about our tradition

Take time to learn about the Noke Koî people and the sacred place Uni holds in our culture. Understanding where the medicine comes from helps you approach it with respect and humility.

✅ Make time and space for integration

The healing does not end when the ceremony ends. Do not rush to 'get back to life as normal.' Give yourself a few quiet days afterwards where you can, and think about who you can talk to, whether a trusted friend, a therapist or an integration guide. This helps the teachings settle and become part of your life.

✅ Be honest with yourself and with us

If you are going through a very difficult time, or have a history of serious mental health conditions, please share this with us and with your doctor before you come. Sometimes the wisest preparation is to wait until the time is right.

4) Preparing Your Body & Nervous System Uni works through the whole body. It moves energy, releases old tension and can bring strong sensations and emotions to the surface. When your nervous system is calm and settled, the body can let these waves pass through with more ease and less fear.

These practices help you arrive grounded and ready.

✅ Breathe deeply every day. Spend a few minutes each morning and evening breathing deeply into the belly, with the out-breath longer than the in-breath. This calms the nervous system and gives you a great tool to use in ceremony.

✅ Ground yourself in the earth. Stand or walk barefoot on grass, soil or sand. Feeling the earth beneath you helps the body feel safe and connected.

✅ Rest deeply. Protect your sleep, go to bed early and allow yourself quiet moments during the day. A tired nervous system is more easily overwhelmed.

✅ Move gently. Walking, stretching, yoga and swimming release tension held in the body and help energy flow freely.

✅ Notice where you hold tension. Take time to scan the body from head to feet. Soften the jaw, drop the shoulders and relax the belly. The more you know your body, the easier it is to release during ceremony.

✅ Reduce stimulants. Coffee, energy drinks, sugar and tobacco keep the nervous system on alert. Cutting down slowly helps the body find its natural calm.

✅ Limit screens and stressful news. Too much information keeps the mind and body tense. Choose quiet, music, nature and good company instead.

✅ Use sound and song. Humming, chanting or listening to calming music soothes the nervous system. Many guests find it helpful to listen to our traditional songs before arriving.

✅ Be gentle with yourself. Preparation is not about perfection. If you slip, return to your practices with kindness. A body that feels cared for is ready to receive care.

Common Mistakes We See

These are the mistakes we see most often:

❌ Starting the preparation too late. Beginning only a few days before ceremony does not give the body enough time to cleanse and settle.

❌ Stopping medicines suddenly. Coming off any medicine without your doctor's guidance can be dangerous.

❌ Taking supplements without checking. Some natural remedies, such as St John's Wort, 5-HTP and tryptophan, also affect serotonin and are not safe with Uni.

❌ Using alcohol and marijuana and other plant medicines e.g mushrooms. These can react dangerously with the medicine and it is important to respect the spirit of uni and keep your field clear of other plant spirits.

❌ Eating tyramine-rich foods close to ceremony. Aged cheeses, cured meats and fermented foods can cause dangerous rises in blood pressure.

❌ Continuing sexual activity during the dieta. This affects the energy the medicine works with and can weaken its teachings.

❌ Not sharing everything during screening. Leaving out a medicine, a health condition or a mental health history puts you and others at risk.

❌ Coming without clear or deep healing intention. Withou clear intention, it is easy to feel lost.

❌ Treating the medicine as an adventure. Attending for spiritual curiosity or entertainment is not the purpose of this medicine.

❌ Filling your mind with noise. Heavy use of screens, news and social media in the days before ceremony affects your energy body and can cause blockages.

❌ Bringing synthetic toiletries and fragrances. Strong perfumes and chemical products disturb the ceremonial space and the spirits of the forest. Choose natural, unscented products.

❌ Arriving exhausted. Long, tiring travel without rest leaves little strength for ceremony. Give yourself time to arrive fully.

❌ Planning a busy return. Rushing back into intense work or social life leaves no space for the teachings to settle. Allow quiet days for integration.

❌ Having no support at home. Think before you come about who you can talk to afterwards, whether a trusted friend, therapist or integration guide.

Preparing for Uni is a gift you give to yourself. By caring for your body through the dieta, gentle movement and rest, by quieting your mind and setting a clear intention, and by opening your spirit with humility and respect, you create the ground where true healing can grow.

Remember that preparation is not about being perfect. It is about arriving with sincerity, honesty and an open heart. Uni meets each of us where we are, and the care you give now will stay with you long after ceremony ends.

If you have any questions about preparing for ceremony, your health, your medicines or your time with us in the village, please do not hesitate to reach out. We are here to guide you every step of the way.

Email us at variteka@protonmail.com

Vari vari.

With love from the forest,

The Noke Koî of Vari Teka Village