Plant dieta vs. plant medicine? 🌱
**This newsletter is part of a series sharing my experience of my recent Ayahuasca healing journeys in Peru. To read the April Journey part 1 click here, part 2 click here, part 3 click here, and part 4 click here. To read the August Journey part 2 click here, and part 3 click here. For two important parts about finding love, part 1 click here and part 2 click here.**
As more people become aware of plant medicine journeys and the ancient traditions surrounding them, many are drawn to the transformative power of Ayahuasca, or as we call her - Mother Aya or the Grandmother.
Yet, I’ve found there’s a lot of confusion around what it truly means to prepare for the experience, especially when it comes to understanding the difference between plant dieta and plant medicine, and the role each plays in your spiritual journey.
Ayahuasca isn’t just a series of ceremonies; it’s a deep journey inward to meet your truth that begins long before you take your first sip and continues long after you take your last.
And it’s helpful to understand how the different pieces of the experience work to open you up and how they support you to transform what isn’t working in your life.
So, I wanted to take the opportunity after my most recent journey to Peru in August to share more in-depth about how the preparation, plant dieta, and plant medicine work together…
…to give you a better understanding of the Ayahuasca process, what makes Peru a unique place to do it, and help you decide whether a journey like this is for you.
Preparing For the Journey
Before you are able to communicate and receive wisdom from Mother Aya and the plant guides, you must prepare your body, mind, and spirit.
This is so much more than just a checklist of what to eat or avoid.
It’s about creating a sacred, purified space within yourself—a place where the wisdom of Mother Aya and your plant guide can take root.
The preparation is key to making sure your body is clear of anything that could negatively interact with the plant medicine or dieta, which could lead to stronger, more challenging physical reactions.
To get the best results, I had to prepare my body in the weeks leading up to my journey. I eliminated so much of my usual food from my diet so the medicine would not conflict with anything in my system.
This preparation definitely requires discipline – it’s not easy to avoid all the flavours we are used to such as salt, sugar, oil, alcohol, fermented and processed food, and more. Not to mention avoid sex, self-pleasuring, and even thoughts about both.
Yet, I can’t even describe how emotionally strong I felt when my body was so clean.
Because in the context of Ayahuasca as a medicine, the body is a vessel.
I go so much deeper on journeys when I kept a strict diet before. This was my 13th journey, and nothing compared to what I experienced on this one.
Plant Dieta: Your Spiritual Guide
Plant dieta is a spiritual practice where you engage with a specific plant guide, by drinking a daily glass of a brew prepared by the shamans and made from a certain plant from the Peruvian Amazonas growing in their garden.
And this is not something that can be done just anywhere—It’s a sacred practice rooted deeply in the traditions of the Amazon, and only offered when you are in their natural habitat.
I have done 13 Aya Journeys including the last six ones in Peru , and I hadn’t experienced the plant dieta until I went to Peru (even with maestras from Peru that were offered in Portugal).
By drinking the plant dieta, you’re entering a relationship with the plant spirit, allowing it to work within you, and along with Mother Aya, to heal, guide, and teach you.
Each plant guide is different with special lessons for you. It works more somatically on what you are missing, for example, helping you shift what you need in your body to find love, have abundance, have more emotional resilience, and more.
Because when you work with authentic shamans that have received their wisdom through their lineage, your journey with Ayahuasca and the plant dieta is unique to what you need. You will get to share what you wish to shift and the maestra will intuitively know what you truly need and will assign to you a plant spirit to guide you through the week. And this journey will be profound
Ayahuasca: A Continuous Journey
Many people think of Ayahuasca as something that happens only during the ceremony, but it’s so much more than that.
When you drink the medicine, it doesn’t leave you after the ceremony ends. It stays with you, and continues to work within you, expanding your consciousness and providing you with deep insights for what you wish to shift and learn.
Imagine you can ask all the questions you have about anything in life that you wish to shift or learn and receive the answers.
And when you return, they work, they make the changes you wanted happen. That has been my experience with plant medicine and the plant dieta each time.
You’re constantly in the plant medicine and dieta journey—it’s in your system - and continues on after you return, supporting you as you integrate the wisdom back into your daily life, helping you trust your own voice and intuition. Helping you make the changes you wished to make.
If you are considering embarking on this journey, remember that it’s not just about the ceremonies—it’s about the preparation, the plant dieta, the plant medicine, the integration during, and the continuous integration journey that follows that work together to help you tap into the strength, focus, love, and wisdom within you.
I’m taking 10 people with me on the next exclusive, transformative new Aya Somatic Healing retreat to the healing center in Peru that I went to. It will also include preparation and integration support–before, during, and after the retreat.
If you’re curious about what this journey could look like for you, or if you have questions about preparing for an Ayahuasca retreat, let’s explore this powerful path together.
If this interests you, please send me a message, and I’ll share all the details with you.💗
With love,
Chen