Thinking About Drinking Ayahuasca in Latin America? A Guide for Chinese Seekers

More and more Chinese-speaking seekers are hearing about ayahuasca –
死藤水 / 阿亚瓦斯卡 – and flying to Peru, Brazil, Colombia and other
Latin American countries to drink in ceremony. If you are feeling that pull,
this guide is for you.

1. Why So Many Chinese Are Hearing About Ayahuasca Now

If you live in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan or within the Chinese diaspora,
you may notice ayahuasca appearing in WeChat groups, X (Twitter), podcasts,
and private circles. There are a few reasons for this:

• Pressure and burnout: Long working hours, 996 culture, family expectations,
  and social comparison can create intense anxiety, depression and emotional numbness.
• Spiritual hunger: Many people feel that something important is missing –
  a deeper connection with spirit, nature and the soul beyond material success.
• Curiosity about plant medicine: Stories of profound healings, visions,
  and contact with a loving, intelligent presence – often called
  La Madre (The Mother) or Abuela (Grandmother) – are spreading globally.

For some, ayahuasca appears exactly at the moment when life feels stuck:
trauma, heartbreak, addiction, emptiness, or a sense that “I have everything
I was supposed to want, but I still feel lost.”

This article is written to help you move from fantasy to clarity: to understand
how ayahuasca works, what it can offer, what dangers to avoid, and how to prepare
yourself properly – including through a structured, free 6-day online course
before you even book a flight.

2. What Ayahuasca Is and How It Works (Body, Mind, Spirit)

2.1 The Medicine in Simple Terms

Ayahuasca is a psychedelic tea, usually a thick, dark green, very bitter liquid
made by slowly boiling together two main plants from the Amazon:

• The Ayahuasca Vine (often Banisteriopsis caapi) – containing MAOIs
  (monoamine oxidase inhibitors).
• Chacruna leaves (often Psychotria viridis) – containing DMT
  (N,N-Dimethyltryptamine).

Sometimes other plants, a little tobacco (mapacho) and ritual ingredients are used,
depending on the lineage and the shaman(a).

2.2 How It Works in the Body and Brain

Under normal circumstances, when you swallow DMT your stomach breaks it down
before it reaches your bloodstream. The Ayahuasca Vine changes this.

• The MAOIs in the vine temporarily neutralise the stomach’s usual “defense system”
  against DMT.
• The DMT from the Chacruna leaves can then pass into your bloodstream and cross
  the blood–brain barrier.
• Once in the brain, it interacts strongly with serotonin receptors and other systems,
  shifting perception, emotion and consciousness.

Physiologically, many people feel:

• Changes in heart rate and blood pressure
• Nausea, vomiting and sometimes diarrhea – known as la purga
• Body sensations: heat, chills, tremors, energetic movements
• Altered vision: patterns, colours, symbolic or clear visions

2.3 Ego Dissolution and New Neurology

From a neurological perspective, ayahuasca reduces the activity of the
Default Mode Network (DMN), the network strongly linked with your ego and
your normal sense of “me” – the identity that filters reality based on survival,
status, and daily tasks.

When the DMN quiets down:

• Areas of the brain that are normally blocked off start to communicate,
  creating new neurological pathways.
• Old pathways shaped by trauma, fear and limiting stories can loosen, making space
  for new patterns of feeling and behaviour.
• Your usual ego filters step aside, allowing a broader range of both material
  and non-material information to be perceived.

This is part of why people report deep healing in PTSD, trauma, anxiety, depression,
and addictions: the medicine can help build new neurology that bypasses
old trauma-filled structures, while the spirit of the medicine guides the process.

2.4 The Spiritual Reality of Ayahuasca

Beyond the brain science, ayahuasca is – very literally – a doorway into the
spiritual world. In ceremony, many people recognise that they are communing
with a loving and powerful Deity:

• La Madre – The Mother
• Abuela – Grandmother
• Rhea – as in Greek traditions

Different cultures give Her different names, but the essence is the same: a
high, intelligent Being that teaches, heals and guides souls across lifetimes.

With the DMN dialled down, your perceptual filters relax and you can experience
telepathy, communication with La Madre, contact with immaterial beings and deep
insights about your life, relationships and purpose. These experiences are real
interactions with the non-material world and form the heart of the ceremony.

3. Why People Travel to Latin America for Ayahuasca

While ceremonies now occur worldwide, many people feel called to meet the medicine
in Her home: the Amazon and surrounding regions in Latin America. Common destinations include:

• Peru – Iquitos (jungle), Pucallpa, Tarapoto, and the Sacred Valley near Cusco.
• Brazil – Amazonian states and ayahuasca churches like Santo Daime and UDV.
• Colombia – Amazonian regions and retreats near cities like Medellín.
• Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico – various retreat centres serving international guests.

People travel because:

• They want to work with medicine in a lineage rooted in Indigenous tradition.
• They feel called to sit with shamans who have trained for years
  in handling spiritual energies, cleaning spaces and guiding ceremonies.
• They wish to step out of their everyday life completely – leaving behind their
  usual environment, roles and distractions.

Whether or not this is the right path for you depends on your health,
your readiness and your willingness to prepare properly on all levels.

4. What You Are Really Looking For: Healing and Spiritual Growth

Most Chinese seekers are not flying half-way across the world just for “a cool trip”.
Underneath the curiosity there are deeper intentions:

• Healing severe PTSD and trauma
• Relief from anxiety and depression
• Ending addiction (alcohol, substances, patterns)
• Spiritual development and awakening
• Reconnecting with emotion after years of suppression
• Clarity about life purpose, relationships, work and soul path

Ayahuasca can be a powerful ally in all of these areas. As new neurology forms
and old trauma circuits soften, the medicine works together with La Madre to:

• Show you the roots of your pain and patterns
• Help you feel emotions you have long avoided
• Teach you how to accept, transform and release what no longer serves
• Open your perception to a wider spiritual reality

However, this is not automatic. A good ceremony amplifies the preparation you
have done beforehand. Poor preparation, or ignoring medical and psychological
realities, can turn a potentially beautiful meeting with La Madre into something
unnecessarily dangerous or chaotic.

5. The Non-Negotiables: Safety, Health, and Preparation

Before you think about flights and jungle lodges, you must consider your
health, medications, mental state and dieta. This is not optional – it is sacred.

5.1 Who Should Be Extremely Careful or Not Drink

There are people for whom ayahuasca is not appropriate, or only under very
specific professional guidance. This includes, but is not limited to:

• People with a history of psychotic or hallucinatory conditions
  (for example, schizophrenia) or who have close family members with such histories.
• Those with serious heart problems, uncontrolled high blood pressure or other
  significant cardiovascular issues.
• Individuals currently taking certain pharmaceuticals, especially:
  • Antidepressants that act on serotonin (e.g., SSRIs, SNRIs)
  • Antipsychotic medications
  • Some anxiety medications and sleep medications

Combining ayahuasca with some pharmaceuticals can lead to dangerous reactions
such as serotonin syndrome. Honest disclosure to your retreat, your shaman
and, ideally, a trusted health professional is essential.

5.2 Dieta: Physical and Mental Preparation

Dieta is more than a “diet”. It is a physical and psychological preparation
that opens you to the medicine and reduces risk.

Physical dieta often includes:

• Reducing or removing foods high in tyramine under guidance
• Avoiding alcohol and recreational drugs
• Avoiding specific pharmaceuticals that interact dangerously with MAOIs and DMT
• Eating simple, clean food and avoiding heavy, very processed, oily or fermented foods

Mental dieta focuses on your energetic and emotional field:

• Reducing social media, streaming and noisy, distracting content
• Avoiding toxic conversations, gossip and unnecessary emotional drama
• Spending more time in nature, meditation, prayer or mantra
• Feeding your mind and heart with art, beauty, silence and sincerity

The purpose is to clear and purify your system so that when La Madre meets you,
you are ready. A well-kept dieta also lowers the physical risks associated with
MAOIs, tyramine and other factors.

5.3 Intentions: Speaking to La Madre in Her Language

Intention is at the core of good preparation. Ayahuasca is not a tourist
attraction; it is a direct conversation with a Deity.

La Madre does not primarily communicate through complicated human language.
She understands emotion and sincerity. So when you set an intention,
you are not just choosing words – you are presenting the emotional pattern
you want help transforming.

Examples:

• From “I am lonely” to “I want to live in love and connection.”
• From “I am always angry” to “I want to cultivate peace and joy.”
• From “I don’t know what I need” to “Show me what I need to know.”

In ceremony, it is powerful to feel the old emotion, then feel it alchemise
into the new one as you silently speak with La Madre. This is a language
She understands deeply.

6. Choosing a Retreat With Integrity

Not all retreats are equal. Some are deeply rooted in Indigenous lineages and
ethical practices. Others are commercial, careless, or even abusive.
It is your responsibility to discern where you place your body, mind and spirit.

6.1 Questions to Ask Any Retreat

• Safety & medical care: How do they screen participants? Is there medical support?
• Dosage & group size: How many people per ceremony? How personalised is the dose?
• Lineage: Which tradition are they working in? How did the shamans train?
• Ethics: How are Indigenous healers compensated and respected?
• Legality: What is the legal situation in that country and context?
• Integration support: What support is offered after the ceremonies?
• Language: Will you be able to communicate your needs and receive guidance?

Your life, your soul and your nervous system are sacred. It is better to delay
or cancel a trip than to rush into a poorly held space.

7. A Ceremony Night in the Amazon: What to Expect

Every lineage is different, but a Shipibo-style ceremony in the Amazon often
looks something like this.

7.1 Arrival and Opening

The ceremony usually takes place in a maloca – a circular communal house – at night.
The shaman(a) will already have begun working long before you arrive:
cleaning the energies, calling in protection, and preparing the space.

One by one, in a clockwise direction, participants are called to receive a cup
of the thick, bitter Ayahuasca tea. Sometimes a mapacho cigarette is offered,
which carries both spiritual and medicinal qualities in this context.

7.2 Waiting for the Medicine

After everyone has drunk, there is usually a period of quiet. It can take
20–40 minutes or more for the medicine to come on, depending on your body,
your dieta and dose. During this time, you lie or sit at your place in the circle,
breathing and feeling your body.

7.3 Icaros and the Presence of La Madre

At a certain point, the shaman(a) begins to sing icaros – medicine songs that
guide and shape the ceremony’s energy. As the icaros weave through the space,
you may begin to feel:

• The presence of La Madre settling into your nervous system
• Subtle sensations like being gently “plugged in” to a deeper reality
• Visions, symbolic or clear
• Memories, insights, teachings, and encounters with spirit beings

This is the moment to bring your intention forward and hold it emotionally,
allowing La Madre to work with it in Her way.

7.4 La Purga – Cleansing at All Levels

Vomiting, diarrhea and other forms of purging are common. Physically, this is
the body responding to the brew and its alkaloids. Energetically, it is a
sacred cleansing of what is no longer needed: old pain, patterns, entities and
stagnant energies.

Many people report feeling lighter, clearer and more open after purging –
as if something heavy has been removed from their system.

7.5 Closing the Ceremony

After several hours, the shaman(a) begins to close the ceremony: calling back
energies, sealing the space and returning everyone gently to ordinary reality.
You may share fruit or tea, check in with others, and then rest.

The next day (and days) are not for big plans. They are for integration: quiet,
gentle movement, journaling, and continuing the dieta. The medicine will still
be working in your dreams and nervous system.

8. After the Ceremony: Integration and Life Changes

Ayahuasca is not just about what happens in one night. The deeper work unfolds
in your everyday life afterwards.

Good integration includes:

• Honouring the dieta for some time after the ceremony
• Journaling or voice-recording your experiences and insights
• Making small, concrete changes in how you live, relate and work
• Seeking support from community, therapists or spiritual companions
• Maintaining practices that keep you connected (meditation, prayer, nature)

Without integration, even very powerful experiences can fade into confusion
or become just another story. With integration, those nights in the maloca
can mark the beginning of profound long-term transformation.

9. Learn From Home First: 6-Day Free Ayahuasca Preparation Course

Before you fly to Latin America, it is wise to sit down with yourself, slowly
and honestly, and prepare your body, mind and spirit. To support this, I created
a free 6-day Ayahuasca preparation course that you can take online.

9.1 What the Free Course Covers

• 3 days before ceremony + 3 days after (integration): how to organise your time and energy.
• Recipes and dietary guidance: to support a physical dieta that works with most retreat guidelines.
• Creating intentions: step-by-step help to form emotionally truthful intentions.
• Mental dieta: how to shift your media, environment and emotional inputs.
• Day-of-ceremony preparation: how to arrive grounded, respectful and ready.
• Integration: concrete practices and mindsets for the days after.
• Community: access to an online Discord forum where you can ask questions and meet other ayahuasca users.

The course is designed so that if you already have a ceremony booked soon,
you can move through it in a focused way. If you are still only considering
ayahuasca, it will help you decide whether this path is truly right for you now.

10. Final Thoughts for Chinese Travellers

If you are reading this from China – or as a Chinese speaker living abroad – and
you feel called to ayahuasca in Latin America, know this:

• Your longing for healing and deeper meaning is valid.
• Your soul’s intuition that there is more to reality than the material world is correct.
• La Madre knows exactly who you are and what you carry, long before you ever drink.

At the same time, you are responsible for your health, your preparation and
the spaces you choose to enter. This is not a game, and it is not something
to do impulsively.

Take your time. Learn. Prepare. Strengthen your body and nervous system.
Clarify your intentions. If and when you finally sit in a maloca under the stars,
cup in hand, you will know that you have done everything you can to meet La Madre
with respect, courage and readiness.

May your path be guided, protected and aligned with the highest good for your
body, mind and spirit.