The Dieta, Simply

The dieta isn't a punishment and it isn't a test. It's how you begin to make room. Part of it is physical safety, and part of it is a quiet signal to yourself that something is coming.

Start caring for your mind, body and soul at least seven days before the retreat. Three days is the minimum. Keep it a day or two after, while your body settles.

Why some of this is safety, not tradition

Yagé works as an MAO inhibitor, which means certain foods that are perfectly fine on any other day can interact with it. That's why aged, fermented, cured and smoked foods come off the list, along with a few specific fruits and vegetables. It's the same reason anyone on an MAOI medication follows a low-tyramine diet.

Please set aside

All alcohol, especially red wine and beer
Red meat and pork
Aged and strong cheeses, and anything unpasteurized
Cured and processed meats: salami, pepperoni, bacon, hot dogs, sausages
Smoked or cured fish
Fermented foods: soy sauce, miso, tempeh, sauerkraut, kimchi, fish sauce, vinegars, pickles
Yeast extracts (Marmite, Vegemite) and some sourdoughs
Garlic, onions, leeks, paprika
Heavy sauces, processed and fried food
Dark drinks: coffee, tea, cola, chocolate
Dairy
Citrus, and overripe fruit (especially bananas, avocado)
Dried fruit: raisins, prunes, figs, dates
Fava beans, broad beans, snow peas
Lots of salt and refined sugar
Protein powders and supplement shakes. Whole food is the safer source this week, since most powders are dairy-based or fermented and often carry aged flavorings or stimulants

Lean toward

Mostly plants, simply prepared
Skinless chicken or turkey breast
Mild white fish: sole, tilapia, trout, halibut, snapper, bass. Boiled, grilled or lightly sautéed
Eggs
Fresh beans, lentils, chickpeas
Plain tofu, not fermented or aged
Raw unsalted almonds, walnuts, chia, flax, hemp seeds
Brown rice, quinoa, oats, millet, whole grains
Most fresh vegetables, steamed or raw
Berries, grapes, apples, pears, peaches, apricots
Plenty of water and herbal tea

Hydrate well all week. Coconut water or a zero-sugar electrolyte drink helps if you need it.

Timing, and a few firm ones

No other hallucinogens for at least 15 days before the retreat.
No sexual activity for at least 3 days before, during, and after the retreat.
Women don't sit during their moon time. Please count your cycle carefully, and don't take anything to shift it around the retreat.
Traditionally, pregnant women don't sit with yagé. If you're pregnant, or your partner is, please tell us.

These last two aren't arbitrary. The ceremonies are held in an ancestral way that keeps them safe and in harmony with everything around us, and we go on caring for those forms.

Prescription medication is different

Never stop anything on your own. Please tell us about any medical condition you have and anything you take, including the dose, well ahead of time. We'll talk it through together and let you know whether it's safe to pause it in the days before ceremony. This one genuinely matters.

The dieta isn't only food

This is the part most people miss, and it may matter more than the food. Everything you take in becomes part of what you carry into ceremony. Not just what you eat, but what you watch, hear, read, scroll and absorb, and who you spend your hours with.

So be mindful of your inputs the way you're mindful of your plate. Heavy or violent shows. Music that agitates instead of settling you. Endless news and scrolling. Conflict, gossip, draining conversations. Even too much of a good thing, if it keeps you from getting quiet.

None of this is about being pure, and it isn't a rule to get right. It's just this: the less noise you carry in, the more clearly you can hear what the medicine has to say.

Living in tranquility. For at least the week before, try to live in tranquility, accept life as it is in this moment, and come into presence once a day. It needn't be sitting still, an active meditation counts. In the mornings, step outside, receive the light of the sun, and be grateful for your life.

Real plates from the retreat kitchen and the dieta at home. Simple doesn't mean sad.

Questions, at any point, about anything.

Miranda, WhatsApp or text +1 231 736 9592 · info@ziruyai.com

You've already said yes.