Traditional healers in a few South American nations take tea because of its healing components. It as well plays a vital role in religious ceremonies.
Recent research highlight the potential health benefits of psychoactive tea, like ayahuasca. Because of this, the interest in ayahuasca has increased in western countries. But a lot remains unknown.
What Ayahuasca Is
This is one of the popular drinks made by brewing the leaves of plants from the Amazon rainforest. Some leaves, which are brewed, have the active substance DMT, whereas others slow down the way your body absorbs DMT. Basically, this creates a much better experience and extends the effect you get.
Today, European and American tourists travel to the ayahuasca retreat Los Angeles in order to experience the impacts of the tea firsthand.
Most people also opt to import the tea through religious exemptions and legal loopholes and providing ayahuasca as part of the ceremonies associated with the beliefs of Native Americans.
How It Works
People are not just interested in the myths and stories surrounding ayahuasca leaves. They are also more interested in understanding the way this psychoactive tea works.
It is very imperative to know that the ayahuasca vine doesn’t have psychoactive properties on its own. It has to be combined with the PsychotriaViridis plant so as to make tea with a more psychoactive impact.
Within one hour of consuming this substance, individuals experience something which they regard as a hallucination. Individuals who have used the substance before don’t feel the same way when they consider ayahuasca retreat. But in general, it is described as more spiritual and emotional than recreational.
How Ayahuasca Is Made
This traditional ayahuasca tea is usually prepared from two major ingredients. These include PsychotriaViridis and Banisteriopsiscaapi. Both of them are basically native plants found in South America and might have hallucinogenic properties.
PsychotriaViridis has DMT (N, N-dimethyltryptamine), which is a psychedelic substance that occurs naturally and contains hallucinogenic properties.
For DMT to properly work, Banisteriopsiscaapi containing MAOIs (Mao Inhibitors) is used. When you brew them together, they will have a powerful psychedelic, which has a more lasting effect on the brain’s CNS (central brain system).
Using Ayahuasca
Traditionally, ayahuasca gets brewed into tea, which you can consume orally. You may take the tea as a single dose, although you can split the dose of ayahuasca as you pass a ceremonial cup from one person to another.
Once the ingestion of ayahuasca occurs in your body, it might result in intense hallucinations that are regarded as a spiritual experience. This explains why ayahuasca is called entheogenic.
Most shamans may ask you to clean your body of toxins before using ayahuasca. This might include taking purgatives, fasting, and drinking a lot of water. Other shamans can suggest that you abstain from sex, alcohol, cigarettes, or switch to a vegan or vegetarian diet so as to have your body cleansed from all the toxins.
Because ayahuasca has MAO inhibitors, it will be dangerous if you mix it with drugs or foodstuffs containing thymine, like chocolate, cheese, and red wine. It is advisable to consult a great and experience shaman before you consume ayahuasca so that you may learn all the proper ways of using and avoiding potential dangers.
How to Use Ayahuasca as Medicine
Although ayahuasca is used in indigenous tribes, the interest in this substance as medicine is growing in popularity. That is because of its capability to deal with:
- Depression: Many individuals have confirmed that they can resolve all the underlying problems behind this illness after using ayahuasca.
- Emotions and mood: This substance can improve the control of emotions and mood. It can reduce your stress. In fact, some studies show that ayahuasca has harmine that contributes a lot to neurogenesis.
- Dependence and addiction: The risks of developing addiction or dependence on this substance are low. Some reports show that the use of ayahuasca tea can result in tolerance. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that the use of drugs won’t happen.
- Pain: A certain research analyzed the use of this substance in grief therapy. According to the research, more than 20 people using ayahuasca were compared to another group of 20 individuals who don’t use the substance so as to measure the experiential avoidance and level of pain. The group using the substance demonstrated interpersonal and psychological benefits and a lowered level of distress. Responses from the same group as well included descriptions of the emotional release.
The Bottom Line!
Ayahuasca consists of Banisteriopsiscaapi vine and PsychotriaViridis shrub. This substance also has strong hallucinogenic properties and might cause both negative and positive health effects.
So is important for more research to be carried out so as to determine how the substance should be used as a safe treatment alternative for some health conditions.
If you want to have a great ayahuasca experience, ensure you do more research yourself and consult a doctor when you want to use it for depression, pain, or addiction.
