MASTER PLANT DIETAS
Master plant dietas are not for everyone. If done properly, these are intense and challenging experiences that require a certain level of commitment and devotion.
The term dieta is simply the Spanish word for diet. However, the ideas underneath this word represent a centuries-old indigenous tradition practiced throughout the Amazon. There is much about how dietas work that remains shrouded in mystery, but all authentic master plant dietas are built around a few core fundamentals – fasting, isolation, ayahuasca ceremonies, and consuming a master plant.
Fasting and isolation are powerful tools and teachers all by themselves. Fasting empties out our physical systems and switches on and off key functions of the body. It also restricts our access to a source of constant comfort and distraction in our everyday routines – food! Isolating ourselves from people, phones, and virtually all information input takes us deep into a state of stillness and silence ― a state that many of us have never experienced even for a single day. Many who go into this state for at least a few consecutive days describe it as one of the most challenging and rewarding things they have ever done.
Why put ourselves through such a difficult, boring, "uneventful" experience? Well, because it is an ancient, tried and true method for allowing our bodies and minds to heal and reset, and for opening new doorways of inspiration and clarity. This uninterrupted state of being with ourselves – our bodies, memories, thoughts, and emotions – can lead to profound forms of healing and long lasting feelings of clarity, satisfaction, and self-empowerment.
MASTER PLANTS
Like many indigenous cultures of the Amazon, the Shipibos recognize that every plant has a specific set of characteristics ― in a sense, a personality or identity. Some of these plants are considered to be powerful teachers and healers, which is why they are called masters.
These plants might be huge trees, small shrubs, or anything in between. You might consume a brew made from the bark, the leaves, the roots, or some combination of these. This is an integral part of the Shipibo medicine cabinet. Their understanding of how each plant interacts with dietary factors, the mind, and the body is as complex as it is fascinating.
We consume master plants in a dieta state for the purposes of learning and/or healing. Dietas work holistically across the physical, emotional, and mental realms. By removing systemic stressors, clearing chronic inflammation, and resetting the nervous system, they reinvigorate the body’s innate capacity to heal from deep-seated imbalances, chronic stress, emotional trauma, and related persistent health issues. People on spiritual or shamanic paths can also choose master plant dietas as a means by which to expand and deepen their self-knowledge.
With master plant dietas, it is not always clear at the time what knowledge or tools are being gained or why. It is often an unfelt, unheard process at first, only becoming manifest in the weeks and months that follow. A vital new insight drops in. An old relationship finds closure. Our singing voice suddenly opens. An unexpected opportunity appears. Triggers lose their power. Habits shift. Health becomes effortless.
In hindsight, it almost always feels as though a new chapter very clearly started in the wake of a dieta.
PLANT PROFILES
Amongst the many plants that Richi and Julio work with, these are the ones that we most commonly offer to dieteros:
BOBINSANA
(Calliandra angustifolia)
This is one of our favorite plants to work with. Both of our high jungle locations are in a river valley where this powerful plant grows in wild abundance. Every dietero that comes to work with Bobinsana has the chance to harvest a single, mature branch from one of the trees and prepare their own medicine on site. You can see the plant’s resilient and graceful character in the way it grows from a difficult environment (sandy, rocky soil) to extend out towards the open air and the flowing water – sporadically blossoming with delicate, radiant pink flowers.
Bobinsana is known to have high concentrations of polyphenols, catechins, and anti-inflammatory COX-inhibitor compounds, backing up its traditional use as a remedy for joint pain, uterine conditions, and physical fatigue. In the Shipibo tradition, the plant is known as the "Sirenita" (Mermaid) of the river—a gentle, heart-opening master plant associated with the water element, emotional healing, and deep compassion. It is also known to enhance creativity, opening new pathways with music, writing, and other forms of expression. Dieteros may experience a softening of defense mechanisms, vivid lucidity in their dreams, and relief from past heartbreaks, grief, and emotional numbness.
AJO SACHA
(Mansoa alliacea)
Ajo Sacha is a wild jungle vine and shrub renowned in Amazonian folk medicine for its potent garlic-like aroma, driven by sulfur-containing compounds such as alliin and allyl sulfides. In mainstream pharmacology, research confirms its broad antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties, validating its traditional use for treating arthritis, rheumatism, colds, and physical pain.
There have also been preclinical studies that indicate it may calm overactive immune systems. In the Shipibo tradition, Ajo Sacha is classified as a powerful clearing, purifying, and protecting master plant.
Dieteros may experience intense physical sweat-outs, clear mental focus, an appetite reset, and a distinct feeling of increased inner strength and self-reliance.
MAROSA/MARUSA
(Lippia alba)
Marosa is a small bushy plant with dark green leaves and purple flowers. It is rich in essential oils such as citral, carvone, and linalool, which western science links to calm nervous system regulation, mood elevation, and anti-spasmodic effects. In the Shipibo tradition, Marosa is understood as a deeply feminine, nurturing teacher plant that specializes in personal grace, self-love, and emotional harmonization.
Though it tends to be gentle and subtle during the dieta, it can lead to absolutely profound shifts in one’s life in the weeks and months that follow because of its capacity to reorganize and realign us at our core.
Dieteros may feel an undeniable sense of getting back to their true self, a return from confusion,
or a recalibration of their inner compass.
CHIRIC SANANGO
(Brunfelsia grandiflora)
Chiric Sanango is a small, unassuming tree with dark green leaves and purple flowers. It is recognized in western botany for its tropane alkaloids, coumarins (scopoletin), and the neuro-active compound brunfelsamidine. It is a natural fever reducer, pain reliever, and antirheumatic (reduces swelling, stiffness, and inflammation in the joints).
In the Shipibo tradition, it is considered a formidable master plant, not to be dieted without proper levels of respect and dedication. It is dieted for strengthening and energizing a person’s overall being, reinvigorating the nervous system, and overcoming fundamental fears or blockages. Dieteros almost always experience tingling sensations in the body, physical chills, cold extremities, and/or intense emotional confrontations with buried anxieties or trauma.
Shipibo maestros generally work with one plant as their primary “teacher” and “ally”. Chiric is Julio’s primary plant and very special to the whole Amakaya team.
NOTE: We do not offer this as a first dieta. Dieteros must have completed at least one other authentic Shipibo dieta before working with Chiric at Amakaya.
NOYA RAO
Noya Rao is one of the most mysterious and revered master plants in the Shipibo tradition, often called the "Tree of Light". Surprisingly, Noya Rao remains largely uncatalogued by Western botanists. The physical tree is famous for exhibiting natural bioluminescence, where its fallen leaves and bark glow softly in the dark. The Shipibo view Noya Rao as pure and related to divinity, unconditional love, and clarity. It is associated both with white light and rainbow-like expressions of color, both of which dieteros report seeing in their ayahuasca ceremonies during and after a Noya Rao dieta. We are still collecting data on what dieteros experience during and after their dietas with this plant. Our own personal experiences with it, and the experience of our Shipibo friends and teachers, is that Noya Rao is a plant that must be approached with respect, caution, and strict submission to the rules of the diet.
Shipibo maestros generally work with one plant as their primary “teacher” and “ally”. Noya Rao is Richi’s primary plant and very special to the whole Amakaya team.
NOTE: We do not offer this as a first dieta. Dieteros must have completed at least one other authentic Shipibo dieta before working with Noya Rao at Amakaya.
NEXT STEP
At Amakaya, a minimum of 10 days is required for the ceremonies, fasting, isolation and re-feeding. Depending on the intentions of the dietero (you), a specific schedule and selection of plant(s) will be decided with Maestro Nete Besó, Kajsa, and Jonathan. Some intentions, particularly regarding chronic illnesses and disease, require more than 10 days.
After these initial days of dieta, there are days of dietary restrictions and weeks of devoted self-care that must be respected for the process to bear fruits.
Also, Shipibos understand these dieta experiences to be the core of how someone becomes an ayahuasca maestro, or onaya in their language. You can learn more about these terms and what Shipibo maestros say about master plants in our informational video series.
If you would like more information or feel called to begin planning a master plant dieta for yourself, reach out to us.