Begin The Process

The changes often begin the moment we make the commitment to work with this medicine. Up to months in advance most notice that life begins to shift. In order to get the most of your experience we suggest some preparation in advance:

Workbook~ A mandatory Iboga preparation workbook that we send upon booking that is designed to help you uncover some deeper truths. This workbook is for you first and foremost and also will help us guide you even further to achieve lasting results.

Coaching~ We always suggest working with a coach or an energy healer in combination with the Iboga work. This is helpful with Iboga preparation but it is especially paramount in the integration process afterwards. Meeting with someone in advance can help establish a healthy support system for integration. Our Awaken Your Soul staff all use multiple methods of integration support for our own work. Check out some resources that we offer.

The workbook and any coaching prep will help:

• Review aspects of your life/behaviors that you are ready to release
• Clarifying what you are looking to heal
• Create clear intentions about what you wish to discover about your life
• Give directives to cleanse the body & environment around you
• Prepare you to make lasting life changes
• Bring items stored in the subconscious into the conscious to be released
• Help to understand your programming and the subconscious mind

Ultimately you are looking to:

• Surrender, be willing to be open to how the process unfolds
• Understand that whatever we expect will be completely different
• Be open to entering a state of complete vulnerability
• Be willing to look at uncomfortable aspects of your life (this helps them pass and heal)
• Open your heart and your mind
• Understand that trust in the medicine and in us increases the healing process on every level

Committing to ceremony is an opportunity to address everything that has caused us suffering. While the past cannot be changed, the choice to make peace with it remains in our control, the power is not outside of us!

Physical & Emotional Iboga Preparation~

At least one week before your Iboga journey we encourage you to begin your preparation of the body, mind and spirit. The medicine works best with the clearest channel so the more work we do in advance the less “noise” and toxins the medicine needs to cut through. The more time you give yourself the better.

Diet Before & After Iboga~ There is no “Iboga Diet” per-se but the cleaner we eat, the less we need to detox before the medicine can work it’s full magic. There is also a very strong correlation between the body/mind/soul connections. When we are conscious and mindful about what we put in our bodies, we tend to be more mindful about our thoughts, environments and the company we choose to keep.  We find that many people after having a deep internal shift will also implement changes in their diet and vice versa. The more prep we can do in advance to “tune in” and clean up aspects of our lives, the deeper the medicine can go more quickly. 

Eat healthy, vibrant foods~ Iboga is a strong on the physical body so fasting or juicing exclusively is not recommended (though it is great to add juices to your eating schedule). Organic and minimally processed foods are best.

• Pastured & wild meats/seafood (unless already vegetarian or vegan)
• Hearty nourishing plant-based foods
• Lots of fruits and vegetables
• Grounding foods such as root vegetables, bone broth, soups/stews (especially after the retreat)
• Minimal to no sugar
• Remove any alcohol 7-14 days before (unless instructed for longer)
• Reduce caffeine (no more than 1 cup per day so as to avoid caffeine headaches the day of ceremony)
• Eliminate soda and other sugary beverages
• Drink a lot of filtered water (1 gallon per day +)
• Eliminate highly processed foods, especially with preservatives and artificial colors/flavors

Medications & Supplements~ It is recommended to pause most medications when working with Iboga. Either they are contraindicated or will simply be flushed out by the medicine. Speak with us honestly before you book about anything that you are currently taking. This is for your safety, we cannot stress this enough.

Physical Exercise~ If you have a normal routine 3-5 times a week continue this and perhaps add some extra time in nature if your practice is indoors. If you are not particularly active consider adding the following activities:

• Walks in nature, perhaps with a pet
• Gentle yoga, qi gong, tai chi
• Swimming, bike rides

Detox Your Brain~ Reduce/eliminate your television, computer and social media time. We store a lot of programming in our subconscious from these sources and the clearer we are- the less Iboga has to move through before getting to the heart of what we are looking to receive from the medicine.

Connect with your intentions~
Get very clear on what it is you are looking to heal. Doing the workbook and with a preparation coach, therapist or healer can also assist in moving and clarifying a lot to begin to move some of the energy in advance to receive even more from the medicine during the retreat.

When considering Iboga as a teacher, we must take the first step and ask ourselves, ‘Am I ready?’

This means that we are willing to look deep inside our soul, to commit to taking back ownership of our minds and our lives, that we are ready to seek truth and break free from what is holding us back.

Committing to this spiritual journey and setting our intentions is the beginning. But as our journey approaches, the mind, sensing imminent demise of its destructive ways, will play tricks and cause us to doubt.

When these doubtful thoughts come, simply acknowledge them and let them pass. Be aware of the thoughts without reading into them, or attaching to them. It is okay that they exist. Thoughts will always exist, negative and positive. It is up to us to decide how much power to give them.

Deep healing is not comfortable and it is not easy, but it works. Healing at the root happens when we surrender. It happens when we confront our fears. By confronting our shadows, we break through to our greatest possible light!