The Shamanic Diet

In some shamanic traditions – as in South America, for example – it is customary to receive the teaching of master plants. This approach has a sacred meaning and is therefore not taken lightly. To be prepared for it, the apprentice must undertake a diet. The diet is also a common practice of the shamanic path and therefore does not apply only to the encounter with plants.
Diet itself is a serious practice and you will be well advised to consult your doctor before starting one. Similarly, if you are dying for the very first time, I strongly recommend that you have on your side someone who has already experienced the process.
The purpose of the diet is to cleanse your whole body in order to rid it of accumulated toxins, it will then act on the physical as well as on the emotional and the mental.
Most practitioners of the shamanic diet spread out the suppression of so-called «exciting» foods over a week. Personally, the very first time I dieted, I gave myself a month, and I confess that it was easy. I took out the food gently, one after the other, and I didn’t have any unpleasant symptoms related to body detoxification. During this period, to support me and give me every chance to succeed, I practiced yoga several times a day, two solitary walks in the nature (1h30 per walk) and shamanic journeys. My diet was followed by a 7-day fast and the food recovery was also spread over a period of one month.
So what are these famous "exciting" or acidifying foods that poison us when we consume them on a daily basis and often more than for good reason? Here is the short list:

• alcohol
• processed sugars and their substitutes (jams, sweets...)
• meat and fish
• all dairy products (butter, milk, cheese, yogurt...)
• everything that contains gluten (bread, pasta, cookies...)
• oils and fats
• citrus fruit and juice (orange, tangerine, clementine...)
• tomatoes
• ripe bananas
• salt and spices
• coffee and teas containing theine (including green tea)

You have understood, so exit the prepared dishes that you heat in the microwave. But then, what is possible to eat? The range is wide: fresh and ripe seasonal fruits (except bananas and citrus), vegetables, rice, rice cakes, "seeds" (nuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, etc.) and oatmeal.
In addition to food that acidifies the body, a diet is also practiced by completely eliminating smoking and all that is smoked, any sexual activity (masturbation included) and any drug use in any form. If you are on medication, consult your doctor who is and remains the only health professional authorized to advise you.
As stated above, the purpose of the diet is to remove from your body everything that stresses it and as any change inevitably leads to stress, it is also recommended to soften this change by practicing light and regular outdoor physical activity such as walking or yoga. The basic mistake would be to believe that because you absorb fewer calories, your body will be weakened. To compensate for the reduction of a dietary energy intake, it is essential that your body remains in motion and "feeds" air and light. Of course, if you can walk in nature rather than in the city or in the metro, you will have understood that it will be highly beneficial for you. On the other hand, since the shamanic diet is essentially spiritual, the practice of altered states of consciousness is therefore welcome: meditation, shamanic journey, visualization, sophrology…
Enjoy your practice!