One of the most important aspects of working with ayahuasca is adhering to a honored tradition of following a special Ayahuasca dieta in order to prepare not just the body, but also the mind and soul to incorporate the healing energy of ayahuasca. Following the Ayahuasca dieta also shows the spirit of ayahuasca your intention, and is a test of discipline and commitment.

The central aspects of the Ayahuasca dieta we follow at the Temple are common to the teachings of all ayahuasquero/as across the Peruvian Amazon. In the case of some of the food restrictions, there is also definitive scientific evidence that they are essential for safety. We advise you to begin the Ayahuasca dieta at least two weeks before a retreat and to continue the dieta for at least two weeks after the last ceremony. It is essential to continue the Ayahuasca dieta to ensure the ikaros you have received and any possible plant remedies you are prescribed, are given sufficient time to integrate.

The food prepared at the Temple is prepared by our wonderful cooks who provide you with a well rounded, healthy and plentiful diet throughout your stay whilst adhering to the essential restrictions.

Ayahuasca Dieta - Prepare your body, mind and soul for the healing

Ayahuasca Dieta – Pre-Retreat Required Restrictions

For 2 weeks prior, abstain from:

  • Any natural medicines/psychedelics (including San Pedro, Ayahuasca, mushrooms, LSD, cannabis, kambo, rapé, etc.)
  • All street drugs (cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines, etc.)
  • Sexual activities of any kind, including masturbation
  • Alcohol
  • Pork
  • Spicy foods
  • Ice, ice cream, or ice cold drinks

For 1 week prior, abstain from:

  • Refined sugars
  • Red meat
  • Junk foods
  • Excess salt (only add salt to food if necessary for health reasons and keep it minimal)
  • Sweets or chocolate
  • Oils (if you must use oil, use olive or coconut oil very sparingly)
  • Animal fats (lard, etc.)
  • Carbonated drinks (including diet sodas, energy drinks, non-alcoholic beer, seltzer water, etc.)
  • Dairy products
  • Fermented foods
  • Caffeine & other stimulants

Additional Restrictions:

  • IMPORTANT: Please contact us if you are currently taking any medication or supplements.
  • If you will be menstruating during the retreat, please inform your facilitators when you arrive.
  • Ayahuasca is not compatible with pregnancy.
  • Avoidance of synthetic soaps, perfumes, toiletries, etc.

By eliminating the above from your diet, you will prepare your body physically for the ayahuasca journey, and perhaps also reducing the amount of “purging” needed to clean your physical body. In addition to the physical aspects, by showing your commitment and determination to ayahuasca and the master plants, you are creating the foundations of your relationship with them and offering them the respect which is essential for this work.

Post-Retreat Required Restrictions

For 3 days after:

  • Protect the crown (your head) from sunlight and rain
  • Abstain from Ice, ice cream, or ice cold drinks

For 1 week after, abstain from:

  • Spicy foods
  • Dairy Products
  • Red Meat
  • Light massage (gentle, therapeutic massage)
  • Intense exercise (gym and weights work, hard running, etc.)
  • Doing energy work as a practitioner (and in some cases, best to wait 2 weeks, please consult with the healers during your stay at the Temple)

For 2 weeks after, abstain from:

  • Sexual activities of any kind, including masturbation
  • Alcohol

For 4 weeks after, abstain from:

  • Any plant medicines/psychedelics (including San Pedro, Ayahuasca, mushrooms, LSD, cannabis, kambo, rapé, etc.)
  • All street drugs (cocaine, MDMA, amphetamines, etc.)
  • Pork
  • Deep/energetic massage
  • Other types of energetic work such as Reiki, shamanic energy work, etc.
  • Intense breathwork (such as holotropic, any deep process-inducing breathwork)

Medications: Many medications are pharmacologically and/or energetically contraindicated with ayahuasca both before and after your retreat. Please ensure you have communicated all medications in your application and please email booking@templeofthewayoflight.org regarding any medication use we have not already communicated about during your application process.

The healers recommend following a healthy Ayahuasca dieta for the time after the retreat, and to also be mindful about intake of the following for 2 weeks after your retreat:

  • Refined sugars
  • Red meat
  • Junk foods
  • Salt or pepper
  • Sweets or chocolate
  • Oils
  • Animal fats (lard, etc.)
  • Carbonated drinks (including diet sodas, energy drinks, non-alcoholic beer)
  • Dairy products
  • Fermented foods
  • Caffeine & other stimulants

Critical Note – Due to a very limited number of past guests who have not adhered to dietary restrictions after leaving a workshop, we need to re-emphasize that maintaining the Ayahuasca dieta is an absolutely essential factor in the healing process.  The three most fundamental restrictions after a workshop are street drugs (cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, etc), sexual activity and pork. If a guest decides to not adhere to this critical advice after leaving the Temple, we cannot be held liable for the consequences (which can be severe psychological and energetic damage).

Please consider the work of the healers like a “healing mirror” that is delicately woven onto the system of our guests. In the first two weeks immediately before a retreat, if the three key restrictions are not adhered to, then the mirror can be smashed. To repair the mirror and the potentially fractured psyche is then an extremely difficult process.