dr shima espahbodi

Ayahuasca

Ayahuasca, yage, caapi, mother Aya - these are some of the names for a mystical medicinal plant tea used in shamanic rituals of the South America. For centuries, if not millennia, indigenous Amazonian shamans have used ayahuasca to heal the physical, emotional and spiritual ills of their communities. The consumption of the "teacher" plant opens the gateway to the spiritual world and its secrets.

The earliest Europeans to mention Ayahuasca were Jesuits travelling in the Amazon. One of the earliest such reports of this “diabolical potion,” written in 1737, describes it as: “an intoxicating potion ingested for divinatory and other purposes and called ayahuasca, which deprives one of his senses and, at times, of his life.” Yet, a more serious scientific study of ayahuasca began in the 1850s with the field investigations of the English botanist Richard Spruce. In his Notes of a Botanist on the Amazon and Andes, he described its sources, its preparation and its effects upon himself. Notably, the samples of the vine which Spruce sent to England for analysis were still active over a century later, when they were examined in 1966. It is worth mentioning that the credit for the earliest published reports of Ayahuasca usage belongs to the Ecuadorian geographer Manuel Villavicencio, who in 1858 wrote of the use of Ayahuasca in sorcery and divination in the region of the upper Rio Napo.

The use of vines for healing, initiatory and shamanic rites extended from Colombia to the Amazon of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Ayahuasca is an integral part of some tribal societies of the Amazon. In 2008, Peruvian government recognised ayahuasca's status, stating that it is "one of the basic pillars of the identity of the Amazon peoples”, and thus the plant and its uses to be allowed and protected. 

After a series of articles in popular media in late 90’s-00s, the use of this visionary brew become increasingly popular in the West. However, it is still considered illegal in most of the countries due to its psychoactive ingredients. Traditional amazonian medicine is a blend of two plants - the ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and a shrub called chacruna (Psychotria viridis), which contains the hallucinogenic drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Together they constitute the ayahuasca ritual tea. Like many psychedelics, DMT interacts with serotonin receptors in the brain in order to elevate mood and enhance emotional wellbeing: a tool, which, if used properly, can catalyse a therapeutic or personal growth process. Notably, the DMT compound has been successfully used to treat psychological disorders like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), though much more research is needed in order to illuminate the neurobiological mechanisms behind this therapeutic effect.

Ayahuasca sessions are usually done in a group setting, lasting between three and seven hours. They are led by a facilitator, who can be a healer, a shaman, ‘neo-shaman’, or a western therapist. 

The experience constitutes of different stages and often lasts throughout the night. Many consider ayahuasca to be a mirror of the inner self, where, in the same way that internal conflicts may surface, so may surface the wonderful sides. The experience is often accompanied by a deep stress and trauma release, as well as physical purging. The setting provides for a safe and therapeutic environment for that. 

There is a number of scientific institutes currently conducting research on the effects of psychedelics, including ayahuasca, in treating psychological disorders. Most notably, the Beckley Foundation, in Oxford, the Barcelona-based International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research, and Service (ICEERS), and a California-based Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS), which is largely responsible for funding and implementation of MDMA-Assisted Psychotherapy treatments for PTSD (currently awaiting FDA approval in the US).