How to Prepare for an Ayahuasca Retreat
Preparation is not optional. How you arrive at ceremony — physically, mentally, emotionally — has a direct effect on your experience and on the depth of what becomes available to you. This guide covers everything we ask participants to do in the weeks and days before their retreat at Alma Healing Center.
Reduce substances gradually (starting 3–4 weeks out)
See our Diet Guidelines page for more on this topic.
Alcohol: reduce and ideally eliminate for the last 2–3 weeks. Alcohol is processed in many of the same pathways as ayahuasca and its residue in the system dulls sensitivity.
Cannabis: reduce and eliminate for the last 2–3 weeks. Cannabis significantly affects the visionary and emotional quality of ceremony.
Recreational drugs of any kind: at least 3–4 weeks abstinence.
Coffee, black tea, yerba mate, energy drinks: reduce in the final week. Stimulants tighten the nervous system in ways that make it harder to relax into the experience.
See our full medication interactions page if you take any prescription medications.
Begin the physical preparation (2 weeks out)
The body is not separate from the ceremony. How you eat, move, and sleep in the weeks before retreat shapes what is available to you in ceremony.
Eat clean, whole food. More vegetables, legumes, and grains. Less meat (especially pork — avoid completely), less dairy, less processed food, less sugar. This is not about perfection — it is about creating a cleaner substrate.
Avoid overeating. The digestive system should be working lightly, not overwhelmed.
Drink water consistently. Hydration matters more than most people realize.
Move your body daily, even briefly. Walk, stretch, swim. The medicine works through the body, and a body that has been moving is more receptive.
Sleep: prioritize it. Sleep deprivation creates a kind of rigidity that works against the medicine.
Mental and emotional preparation (ongoing)
Begin a journaling practice if you don’t have one. Even 10 minutes per day. The act of writing clarifies what’s actually present — anxiety, anticipation, specific fears, questions you’re carrying. This material often surfaces in ceremony.
Spend time in nature if you can. This isn’t metaphorical — the nervous system genuinely regulates differently in natural environments, and beginning to establish that state before the retreat makes the transition to the cloudforest easier.
Reduce your media input. News, social media, and overstimulating content keep the nervous system in a state of low-grade hyperactivation. The weeks before ceremony are a good time to practice reduction.
If you are in therapy, tell your therapist. If possible, schedule a session shortly before and shortly after the retreat.
The final 48–72 hours
This is the most important preparatory window.
Diet: eat very simply. Fruit, vegetables, grains, light protein. No alcohol, no cannabis, no stimulants. No fermented foods (kimchi, kombucha, aged cheese). Minimal salt, sugar, and spices. The body should arrive at ceremony as clean as possible.
Screen time: reduce significantly. If possible, step away from news and social media entirely in the last 48 hours. Your attention is a resource — conserve it.
Physical rest: sleep well. Arrive rested.
Emotional preparation: the night before ceremony is a good time to sit quietly with your intention, write in your journal, and simply acknowledge to yourself that you are stepping into something significant.
What to bring — and what to leave behind
We send a full packing list after booking. The most important things to bring: comfortable layers, closed-toe shoes for the hike, a journal, a bathing suit, and a genuine willingness to be surprised.
The most important thing to leave behind: the agenda of what you expect to happen.
