Preparation & Continuing Care
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Included in your retreat package is a preparation call with one of us. We’ll give you an idea of what to expect, see how you’re doing and help you to prepare questions & set your intention.
Iboga Ceremony Preparation Guide
Iboga doesn’t have a ‘dieta’ or special diet like Ayahuasca does. But to prepare yourself body, mind, and spirit helps the medicine focus on what’s most important. Here are some ways that you can prepare.
Body
You should abstain from alcohol, drugs and most pharmaceutical for a minimum of 2 weeks.
Some drugs/medications demand an abstinence of up to 30 days. No worries, let us know what’s up and we’ll work with you through this process.
Eat as cleanly as possible. Sugars and processed foods are best avoided.
Colon Hydrotherapy allows the medicine to move deeper into your body
Mindset
Set your intention for the retreat, get clear on your goals, and prepare questions to ask the medicine. More information on how to do this below.
Included in your retreat package is a preparation call with one of us. We’ll give you an idea of what to expect, see how you’re doing and help you prepare questions & set your intention.
Booked your retreat? Book your pre-call here.
You’re giving yourself an incredible gift. Consider feeling grateful, excited and empowered. Give yourself a hug right now. Go on, I’ll wait.
Soul
Once you decide to participate in an Iboga ceremony the Spirit of Iboga starts working with you. If you need financial help, ask Iboga for it and Iboga will help you make it happen.
Meditation is a powerful tool to begin to strengthen the muscle that quiets your mind and turns you inward, connecting you with your soul. Doing this ahead of time will prepare you for ceremony when the best thing to do is to quiet your mind and follow the music.
Trust your soul if you feel an intuitive call to the medicine.
Preparing Questions For Iboga
Questions? What?
Yes! During ceremony, once you’ve ingested enough medicine, you can ask Iboga absolutely anything. Iboga connects you with your soul, your truth- where all the answers are.
Once this connection is made, a meditation practice back at home will strengthen both your relationship with Iboga and with your Soul, to support you to be able to regularly hear your intuition, trust yourself, and answer all of your own questions- always.
Step One
Life Overview
When preparing questions, we recommend taking out your notebook and drawing a line down the centre of the page.
On the left side, write down all of the things that you currently don’t like about your life.
On the right side of the line, directly across from each one, write down what you want it to look like.
For example, if there are struggles in your romantic relationship. On the right side write, my partner and I are struggling. Directly across write what you want it to be, for example, my partner and I are in a healthy relationship.
From here, you can create your questions. For example,
How can I have a healthy relationship?
Step Two
Get to The Root
The medicine will help you to access subconscious memories. Everything has a root cause. When we go back to the FIRST time that something happened, we see the truth- that unhealthy, disserving mind programming from childhood. And when you see the truth, you heal it and you set yourself free.
With every issue in your chart, you could ask,
When did it start?
When did the issues with my partner begin?
If you know specific issues, ask specific questions- the more specific the better.
For example, when was the first time I experienced poor communication?
Step Three
Do Things Differently
Now that you’ve healed an old wound, it’s time to create a new habit so that you can begin to generate new results. Ask the medicine how you can do things differently.
How can I change it?
How can I have better communication with my partner?
Like Michael says, become the captain of your own ship! And as per Coby Kozlowski, when you change the course of a ship by one degree, you end up in a completely new destination.
But first you need to realize that you are in control to make new choices- and this is the potential of Iboga.
Attended A Retreat & Looking For Support?
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With each retreat you receive four one-hour one-on-one integration calls with a Bwiti Team member of your choosing. Book them all at once and we’ll call you when it’s time.
Iboga Ceremony
Continuing Care Guide
When reintegrating back into your daily life, you’ll have changed, but nobody else has. Temptations into familiar ways of being will arise. Don’t take the bait! This guide is intended to help to support the new you.
Iboga Stays With You
The medicine (noribogaine) is stored in your liver and fat, and is slowly released for several weeks or more after the retreat. Also, spiritually and energetically, Iboga continues to work with you for up to three months after your retreat. Within that time, Iboga will leave when you stop listening or are disregarding the insights. Essentially, when you stop working with her. Or, when you’re successful on your own and don’t need Iboga anymore.
Keep The Connection Alive
Once the connection is made, you’ll want to nurture it like any relationship. A meditation practice back at home will strengthen both your relationship with Iboga and with your Soul. Meditating at specific times throughout the day is wonderful, but it’s also recommended to practice presence and self awareness all day long. Slowing down, taking a deep breath, relaxing the tension in your body and the muscles in your face, and checking in.
This will increase your intuition and ability to trust yourself. Going forward you wont need Iboga’s help to answer any of your questions, you’ll be able to do it on your own.
Pay Attention to Messages
When practicing presence and self awareness, you’ll more easily notice when events arise that relate to Iboga’s teachings. These may come in the form of - conversations, messages, events, situations, opportunities, etc… Honour yourself and practice speaking your truth. Do your best to manage your reactions and ask yourself what is the lesson here? If something bothers you, ask, why does it bother you? This may help you to better understand and embody the teachings, have insights and make changes in your life. You can even call on the medicine to guide you through this process.
Reprogram Your Mind:
Create New Healthy Habits
Iboga causes a full mind-body reset and neuroplasticity in the brain, so this is a great time to create new and healthy habits while avoiding habits that no longer serve you. What new seeds would you like to plant? What are you ready to let go of? While practicing presence and self awareness, can you observe where your mind goes and take back control? Direct it to where you want it to go instead. You’re in the driver’s seat now and the neuroplastisity of your brain makes this much more accessible.
Morning & Evening Rituals
Morning and evening rituals help to create a healthy foundation for yourself. In the morning, start yourself off on the right foot with a healthy mindset and gratitude in your heart. The only ‘prayer’ that we have in the Bwiti Tradition is, ‘Thank you Creator, I got this.’
When we sleep is when our cells regenerate so we want to be sure to enter the dreamtime in a peaceful state of mind. Cleansing yourself of the day, forgiving yourself, taking a few deep breaths allows for a more restful sleep and an opportunity in the morning to start fresh and begin again.
Stay Hydrated
Hydrate with plenty of water and herbal tea. Especially for the week after retreat, add electrolytes (minerals) to your water daily- such as a pinch of Redmond’s Real Salt, Himalayan pink salt, Pedialyte, Vega electrolytes, Emergen-C, coconut water, shilajit or a trace mineral concentrate.
Support Your Body
Take some time to rest and take it easy. Don’t rush back into your normal life. Although, if you can’t take any down time, you will be just fine to go back to your regular work and responsibilities. Just try to fit in extra time for rest, relaxation, and processing where you can. You may not feel the need for much sleep after the retreat, as Iboga effects your sleep/wake cycle. Listen to your body and honour what it needs. Your appetite and way you relate to food may shift and change after Iboga. People sometimes report an appetite decrease, desire for cleaner foods, less emotional/compulsive eating, and increased awareness as to how certain foods affect the body
Maintain A Clean Diet
To the best of your ability, focus on integrating vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, plant fats (like avocado, nuts, coconut) and quality meats. Do your best to avoid processed/fast foods, dairy, excessive meat and sugar. It’s a rewarding habit that will serve you longterm.
No matter what you choose to eat, eat slowly and mindfully, and chew your food well.
Be Fearless in the Pursuit of what Sets Your Soul on Fire
Healthy Habits to Introduce
Super supportive habits to best help you reintegrate upon arriving home.
Challenge: Pick Two!
Journalling
Record insights, feelings/emotions, daily gratitude list
Sport
Engage in regular exercise to enhance your well-being.
Meditation
Practicing presence and self awareness by slowing down & taking a deep breath.
Music & Dance
Move your body, connect with your soul and shake it off!
Yoga
Stretch it out and tune in. You’ll find the yoga teachings are similar with the Bwiti!
Connection
Connect with yourself & others, laugh and enjoy yourself!
Time in Nature
Did you know the colour of the heart chakra is green?
Coach
Some you feel aligned with can help you process and make changes.
For your reference
Drugs, Alcohol, Pharmaceuticals & Other Plant Medicines
Drugs + Alcohol
When we abuse drugs and alcohol, we disconnect from the Spirit world. After retreat we’re especially sensitive so they’re best avoided as long as possible.
Use may null some of the prolonged benefits of Iboga and the primary metabolite, noribogaine. Some participants have reported headache and hangover effects when drinking a moderate amount of alcohol within the first couple weeks after retreat.
Pharmaceuticals
If you take prescription or non-prescription pharmaceuticals, consult with Bwiti Life before re-introducing your meds. We have an incredible pharmacist that can work with you throughout this process.
Other Plant Medicines
If you want to experiment with other plant medicines after Iboga, it is recommended to wait a minimum of one month, but ideally 3 months.
Give Iboga time to settle in and unravel- mixing it up with different medicines such as ayahuasca, psyllocibin, and so on too soon after the retreat can be overwhelming and confusing for your energetic and physiological systems - as well as not give each plant sufficient opportunity to settle in and do its work.
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