Ceremony

This journey is yours

This journey is yours, personal, unpredictable, and never quite like anyone else’s. There’s no right way to experience ayahuasca.

Stay hydrated throughout the ceremony.

When a follow-up dose is offered, listen to your body. Don’t decide based on what others do. Some people need more, others are complete with one cup. Trust your own rhythm.

Bring a notebook. Writing things down can be deeply valuable for integration. Use it for notetaking, simply capturing what arises. Making sense of it (notemaking) can come later, when things have settled. Let the experience unfold first, and give it meaning afterwards.

Also, avoid comparing your process with others. Each person walks their own path. Whether your experience is soft or intense, clear or mysterious, it’s not better or worse. It’s yours.

Mutual clarity

Any responsible retreat centre will include a personal interview beforehand and an explanation of the ‘flight instructions’, the practical and psychological guidelines to help you navigate the ceremony. Be honest when answering their questions, be curious, and don’t hesitate to ask anything you’re unsure about. Respect the safety agreements; they exist to protect the well-being of everyone involved and help create a safe and sacred space for both yourself and others.

Drinking and settling in

The general advice is to drink on an empty stomach, no solid food for 4 to 6 hours before. This helps the body receive the ayahuasca more clearly and can reduce early discomfort. That said, some more experienced participants have found that a small amount of food, some fruit or a light soup, can help them feel more grounded. Listen to what your body needs. If you’re unsure, it’s best to start with an empty stomach. You’ll find your own balance with time.

Drink the ayahuasca consciously, whether you sip slowly or drink it all at once, perhaps with your intention in mind, then let it go. If your stomach feels unsettled just after drinking, try to keep it in for a little while if you can.

After drinking, follow the ceremonial rhythm, or simply make yourself comfortable. Let go of expectations, and don’t try to steer the experience. You’re not here to make something happen. You’re here to allow something to move.

Avoid waiting for the ayahuasca to ‘kick in.’ Ayahuasca works in its own way, on its own timing, and ‘waiting’ often gets in the way. Just breathe, embrace the silence, the nature, or the music, stay connected to your body, and let the process unfold.

To purge or not to purge

Purging is a natural part of the ayahuasca process. It can come as vomiting, yawning, sweating, crying, shaking, diarrhoea, or laughter, often accompanied by a deep emotional and somatic release. It’s the body and psyche letting go of what no longer needs to be held.

You may notice different parts of yourself surfacing, some ready to release, others holding on. There’s no need to fight the purge, suppress it, or try to be stronger than it. Let it move through you. Surrender often brings relief.

Purging can leave you with a sense of clarity, calm, or lightness. It helps clear physical tension, emotional weight, or old patterns stored in the body. Just breathe, stay connected to yourself, and let the process unfold, at its own pace and with its own force.

Navigating visions and inner experience

Ayahuasca often communicates through symbols, images, and sensations rather than words. These visions may appear as vivid visuals, emotional insights, or sensory experiences. Stay receptive and curious rather than trying to control what emerges.

If you wish to engage with the experience more actively, you might:

• Ask simple, open questions in your mind: ‘What do I need to learn?’ or ‘Please help me understand…’
• Listen deeply, allowing responses to emerge naturally through feelings, images, or sudden knowing.
• Express gratitude for any guidance received, whether clear or mysterious.

Whatever arises in your ceremony, whether visions, sensations, or difficult emotions, practise acceptance first. Allow the experience to be exactly as it is, without immediately trying to change or interpret it.

Later, as the journey unfolds, gentle reappraisal may emerge naturally: ‘What might this be showing me?’ or ‘How can I meet this challenge differently?’ This isn’t analysis in the analytical sense, but rather a felt sense of finding new perspectives within the experience itself.

Remember that ayahuasca often works beneath the surface of conscious awareness. If visions don’t arise, or if they seem confusing, trust that the process is working in ways beyond what you can perceive. Sometimes the most profound teachings come through silence, darkness, or subtle shifts in your body and breath.

When things get intense

Even the bravest among you can feel overwhelmed. If strong emotions or sensations rise up, try not to resist. Breathe slowly, through your nose. Let the breath anchor you in your body.

If you need support, reach out, sometimes a hand on your shoulder, a grounding song, or a quiet moment aside is enough to help you find your centre again. This is what the facilitators and the ceremonial container are there for. Asking for support is not weakness; it’s wisdom.

Remember: no feeling lasts forever. Whatever moves through you will also pass. You don’t need to understand it in the moment. Just stay with it, and let it unfold.

Difficult experiences are not failed experiences. Some of the most transformative ceremonies are the ones that felt hardest at the time. What matters is not whether intensity arises, but whether you have the support to move through it, and the integration practices afterwards to make sense of it.