AYAHUASCA

Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca is a drink- decoction , entheogen and hallucinogen , traditionally made by shamans of the Indian tribes of the Amazon basin and used by local residents for “communication with spirits ” ( maninkari) in order to obtain practical knowledge about the surrounding nature and to achieve healing abilities by the human body. The main component of the drink – vine Banisteriopsis caapi ( Banisteriopsis caapi ).

There is a synthetic analogue, known as farmauaska ( Engl.  Pharmahuasca ), consisting of a respective combination of MAOI’s (monoamine oxidase inhibitor) and DMT (dimethyltryptamine).

Uses

Ayahuasca is used in religious ordinances and is traditionally used as a drink of power to help purify and heal. In the shipibo-konibo tradition, the visions of ayahuasca are motives of folk crafts  – traditional ceramics, embroidery and painting on fabric.

Ayahuasca intensively cleanses the body of worms and other tropical parasites. The worms are killed by alkaloids of the harmala group (if, of course, it was used in the preparation, and not another source of MAOIs ), which are a good anthelmintic.

The acute psychological effect of the substance lasts for about 4 hours and includes intense perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and affective changes. Although nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea are common, accumulated evidence suggests that Ayahuasca is safe for health.

Ayahuasca does not lead to addiction, as well as to psychopathological, personality or cognitive impairment, but only to moderate sympathomimetic effects.

Ayahuasca, as shown in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study in 29 patients with therapeutically resistant depression, has a significant antidepressant effect, demonstrated over a week of observations after the consumption of a single dose (1 ml / kg) of the substance.

Research shows that the consumption of ayahuasca leads to an increase in the capacity for mindfulness.