Ayahuasca and Menstruation: Navigating Traditions and Personal Choices

Different traditions have different approaches to whether women should drink or even be in the Ayahuasca ceremony spaces while they are in their menstruation cycle. Some of these approaches come from the belief that a woman in her period can affect others, and not because she might experience medicine differently in that period. Which eventually can feel exclusionary, leading many women to question the reasoning behind them. 

So, why bleeding women are excluded from the ceremony spaces in some traditions, and not in others? Before I start to write about my personal experiences both in Colombia and Peru, with different traditions and different perspectives on this topic, it is also important to mention briefly that women and their blood have been an issue or taboo in many different cultures and religions.

Artwork: Unknown

Cultural Practices Towards Women 

Anthropologists suggest that early human societies may have viewed menstruation as mysterious or even magical, given its cyclical nature and connection to fertility. But, these beliefs could have led to both reverence and exclusion, with women possibly separated during menstruation out of fear, misunderstanding, or a perception of "sacred danger". In Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and Christianity, or even in Ancient Greek and Roman cultures, it is possible to see examples where menstruation is seen as a state of "impurity". And it is possible to say that as societies became more patriarchal in time, menstruation started to become a reason for controlling women's participation in public and private spheres. So it is not a surprise for us to come across this topic in medicine traditions too.  

Now, let’s look deeper into this debated, and sensitive topic, and try to understand it a bit better while keeping our respect for all traditions.

Physical and Emotional Considerations

First of all, there isn't any contradiction, which means, drinking Ayahuasca during your moon time is not a threat to physical health, unless your doctor says the opposite, depending on your general health. But there might be some details to consider during that time.

We go through different phases every month, and the menstruation period might be the most intense one for some of us. We can go deeper with some difficult emotions, and an experience with Ayahuasca can highlight these. This might be useful to keep in mind. But the beautiful part here is, that even before drinking the medicine, it allows us to connect with our cycle, our intuitions and to understand our emotional fluctuations better. And this is exactly what we need to do during a preparation period. 

It is also known that Ayahuasca connects us deeply to ourselves and to nature. So the experience with the medicine might be even deeper. Some women, who drank the medicine on their moon time reported feeling a deeper connection with mother nature and with their femininity.     

We need to keep in mind the physical aspect also, as Ayahuasca might be an intense physical purge too. If you normally experience too much physical pain and intensity during your menstruation, and especially if you need to take any painkillers, as they might be contradictory with Ayahuasca, you might want to arrange your ceremony day accordingly. You might also want to avoid using tampons during the ceremony, in order not to create any physical and energetic blockage for your flow.

We are all very unique with our cycles and you are the only one who can feel and decide, whether to connect with the medicine in this special time of your month or not. Now we will see what traditions allow or do not allow us to do during this time. And a disclaimer: These are the traditions that I have experienced and there are still many others that I have not and as far as I have seen, there is also a constant change in most of the practices too.   

Colombian Traditions 

In Colombia, many Taitas (which means father and that's what male Shamans are generally called in Colombia) and retreat centres discourage menstruating women from participating in ceremonies. And for some, this belief is rooted in the idea that a woman on her menstruation has the grounding earth energy, whereas with Ayahuasca we want to reach the higher levels, so it creates opposition. Menstruation is seen as a time when a woman is deeply connected to the earth and grounded energy, which can be interpreted as the connection to the physical world. And for some, the intention with Ayahuasca might be accessing "higher levels", in terms of consciousness and spirituality, which might create this opposition.

These traditions might also believe that the energy of the woman on her period is so strong that it might disrupt the others in the ceremony space, others who want to access those "higher levels".  That's why they either discourage you from coming ahead, or allow you to be in the ceremony, but separate from the others. Whereas the others receive their medicine from Taita, you will wait for someone to bring your Ayahuasca cup, Taita will not contact you. So what you can do is, either find a more inclusive ceremony, or wait until your cycle ends.  

Peruvian Traditions

The Shipibo tradition in Peru takes a somehow softer approach. Historically, medicine people living outside the villages avoided contact with menstruating women to preserve their energetic strength during plant diets. Over time, this rule has relaxed. Today, many retreat centres in Peru welcome women during their cycles but ask them to inform facilitators in advance. This awareness helps facilitators prepare for any unique energetic or physical needs during the ceremony.

Artwork: Luis Tamani

What and How Can We Do?

First of all, if you know the exact date of your ceremony or retreat and your menstruation, and if you know for sure that you want to be there, communicate with your facilitators in advance to check their procedure. I have come across retreat centres which do not communicate this to their women participants clearly but then, they do not allow them to join the ceremonies if they are on their cycle. It might happen. So make sure that you are on the same page with them. And after learning that you will be allowed to drink the medicine, you can spend more time connecting with your cycle, during your preparation period. For example, if you know that you crave specific foods during that time and if they are not included in your Ayahuasca diet, you can replace them with diet-friendly alternatives, which still will make your body feel nourished. 

When you are meditating, you can focus more on your womb. Personally, I find it really useful to place my hands on the parts where my ovaries are, while meditating, to have a better connection. And if you observe more intense feelings in this period, that comes up with the medicine, do not hesitate to ask for help from your facilitators. This might even make you choose a ceremony in advance, where women facilitators and helpers are present, if you think you will feel more comfortable with that. 

Closing Personal Thoughts 

I believe that it is really important to listen to our intuition and make the best decision for ourselves. As long as we do our research, understand and honour our bodies, the medicine and the traditions, we will be safe.  

And also remember that, this is not a lifetime choice. You might prefer to drink or not to drink at some point in your life, and then can change your decision. You can see what works for you the best. 

Let's listen to, and love our bodies first.

*

About the Author: Derya is a yoga teacher, massage therapist and plant medicine student. She has been living in Peru and Colombia for the last 3 years, mainly working with Ayahuasca. Since she experienced a deep connection with her feminine lineage with Ayahuasca and witnessed the difficulties women face in psychedelic spaces, she decided to dedicate more time to the topic of women’s safety in these types of environments and help them to integrate their experiences.