Recently, a friend of mine told me she was going to the Amazon Jungle for a 10-day retreat. Initially, that sounded fun and exciting for her. Shortly after, she described to me what she’d be doing in her trip. She was going to participate in an Ayahuasca ceremony every day! If you’re not familiar with what Ayahuasca is or what the ceremonies are about, let me paint a simple picture for you.

In order to participate, you need to prepare a few weeks in advance. First, by cleaning your diet. Basically, you cut out sugar, coffee, alcohol, dairy, meat and gluten. Second, you also prepare your mind. You abstain from sex, violent media (such as negative news, and movies), and all smoking, if you smoke. Third, you meditate daily.

When you arrive in the jungle, you then go on a two-hour boat ride. After, you must walk through deep mud for an hour from the nearest down to arrive at the retreat. Once at the retreat, you will spend your daytime practicing yoga, and learning about plant medicine and meditation. Sounds good so far, right?

In the evening, you will drink Ayahuasca (a blend of local medicinal plants). Ayahuasca’s intended use is to purge the body of negative energy, via vomiting and diarrhea. These ceremonies are held in the evening by Shamans and other well-versed experienced users of Ayahuasca. When you take Ayahuasca, you vomit a LOT. I’ve been told the drink does not taste good at all!) You also have diarrhea, and even experience hallucinations.

COUNT ME OUT!

I absolutely hate to vomit. I don’t like to be nauseated either. But vomiting, oh no, no, no. Just NO!

I understand vomiting is sometimes necessary for the body to purge pathogens, but I just don’t like it at all.

However, her trip gave me the idea to talk about TCM treatment protocols for nausea/vomiting, commonly known by TCM rock stars as ST Qi rebelling 😃

So whether you are a fan of Ayahuasca or you knew nothing about it, and are either intrigued or repulsed, I hope you enjoy my post below!

And as always, let me know what you think 🙂

Clara
TCM Geek

PS: Don’t miss the blog on Stomach HEAT! Have you seen my Chinese Medicine Treatments Made Easy book yet? It covers over 160 syndromes treatments using acupuncture points, herbal formulas, ear points, diet and more!

 

TCM treatment protocols for Nausea/Vomiting

  • Definition: E Xin refers to nausea & Ou Tu refers to vomiting due to ST Qi rebelling.
  • Causes: Emotions, stress, External pathogens invasion (very common in children), diet…
  • Western common disorders: any infection or inflammation, Gastritis, peptic ulcers, trauma, food poisoning, chronic renal failure, cancer, morning sickness, anxiety, Menière’s disease, drugs side effects (chemo…), alcohol.
  • Tx options: Acupressure PC 6 right away for emergency, then when the Stomach settles you may give herbal formulas or do a full Acupuncture treatment. For chronic: Ear (ST, LV, Shen Men, sympathetic).
  • Always look for the root cause and address it 🙂


    Acute Patterns of Diagnosis


    Chronic Patterns of Diagnosis