Psychedelics, Yoga and the Shamanic Journey Part II – Ayahuasca

Unlike the previous blogpost, the following account is written more like a Ayahuasca case study – with the subject being me. As I had discussed in Part I, about two years ago I had reached a point in my life where I was feeling quite stuck and apathetic towards life. This worried me greatly as twice before I had already experienced this kind of empty heaviness and I knew from experience, it could act as a precursor to a darker hole of depression and suicidal ideation if I did not get out of it soon. The discipline of Yoga is what pulled me out of that darkness years ago. I believe due to its direct work with the vagus nerve as theorized by Dr. Stephen Porges and its relationship to the psycho-biological aspects of trauma, it continued to offer me the energy necessary to continue with daily life, but I knew I needed to go deeper. I could tell that there was something hidden inside of me that was stubbornly there, causing me to doubt my own worth and the beauty life was always offering me. Therefore, due to the years of research and personal stories that I had listened to and read previously on DMT and plant based psychedelic therapy, I decided to take the jump and explore this experience for myself. This is when I was presented with the opportunity to participate in five different ceremonies of Ayahuasca with a Brazilian Shamana from the Santo Daime Tradition and a therapist associated with the research group ICEERS, in Barcelona, Spain. Ayahuasca and the Santo Daime Tradition  Only in the tropical, eclectically spiritual and diverse environment of Brazil could such an interesting mix of ancient tribal traditions, plant medicine and catholic ritual be fused together to create the Santo Daime tradition. Dai-me means “give me” in Portuguese. The Portuguese phrase, Dai-me força, dai-me amor (“give me strength, give me love”), recurs in the doctrine’s hymns. It was founded around the 1930s in Brazil by Raimundo Irineu Serra and incorporates elements of several religious or spiritual traditions including Folk Catholicism, Kardecist Spiritism, African animism and indigenous South American shamanism. Ayahuasca, referred to as Daime, is drunk as part of the ceremony. The combination of both music and silence are integral in the experience of these ceremonies. Ayahuasca itself is a kind of thick tea that is composed of two different plants. The ayahuasca vine (Banisteriopsis caapi) and a shrub called chacruna (Psychotria viridis), which contains the hallucinogenic drug dimethyltryptamine (DMT). These two plants are mixed together because without the ayahuasca vine the hallucinagentic effects of the chacruna will not be experienced.  In other words, without the ayahuasca vine the DMT found in chacruna will not be absorbed by the body and will essentially move through the system without any effect*. It is the the ayahuasca vine that provides the necessary alkaloids which inhibit monoamine oxidase type A, thus enabling the oral absorption of dimethyltryptamine (DMT) found in the chacruna leaves. The historian Grahm Hancock points out that this is pretty amazing since there are more than 150,000 plant species in the Amazon and of these 150,000 species, the healers and Shamans of the Amazon were able to figure out how to marry these two different plants together and boil them in water so that the effects of DMT could actually be experienced. The people of the Amazon do not take credit for this discovery though and rather acknowledge that the spirits taught them the wonders of this botanical miracle.  This mix of chacruna and Ayahuasca ´tea´ is administered by a shaman in quantities dependent upon the experience of the participant and potency of the plant, but in general, each ´toma´, or dose, is around 50 – 70mg.  If you are interested in learning more about the chemical make-up and history of Ayahuasca in greater detail, I suggest visiting the ICEERS website here.  *Diplopterys cabrerana is another common plant that is used instead of P. viridis, depending on availability in the region. The Experience: Objectively, my experiences of Ayuahuasca in the Santo Daime Tradition were all very similar. The same songs, the same eclectic mix of spiritual icons, with the same Shamana and the same Ayuahuasca formula. However, even though there were somatic expressions and images that were experienced repeatedly, the subjective experience of each one of these ceremonies was completely different from the other. Ceremony I One of the somatic expressions that repeated itself in each Ayahuasca session was a physical trembling from my right leg all the way up deep into cavity of my pelvic floor and iliac crest. A similar tremble was felt along my left shoulder. Curiously, these physical tremblings were very similar to what I had experienced in the trainings and workshops of Somatic Experience and are the areas in my Yoga Asana practice where I am most often stuck. Due to my training as a therapist, these tremblings sent my analytic mind off trying to find an explanation. As my mind mulled and ruminated over what these tremblings could possibly mean, I heard something in the distance start laughing. This is when I was introduced to my little friend Ka, a wiggling, sarcastic and humorous snake character that would come into my minds eye and tell me to stop interpreting my experience. It’s exact words that I will forever remember were ´your mind is very poorly educated and rebellious, shut-up and let me do my job´.  With my eyes still closed, laying face up on the floor, I laughed out load at this very sharp and accurately honest commentary. My loud belly laughter then transformed into a quiet and delightful giggle as I watched, in my minds eye, the spinning and joyful dance of this little snake as my body trembled and my right hand spun around and around as if it was dancing sevillanas. At the end of session I experienced an ecstatic joy and sense of clarity that kept me up all night writing down and drawing everything I had experienced as well

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Psychedelics, Yoga and the Shamanic Journey Part I

My passion and perhaps obsession in life has always been trying to figure out the most effective therapies, life choices and social structures that lead to the greatest joy and life satisfaction. This passion has led me to leave behind the religious faith of my fathers, dive into the world of research and academia, globe trot around the four corners of the earth, develop a consistent and therapeutic Yoga practice while filling up my free time up with books, journals, blog posts and lectures that center upon human psychology, the healing of trauma and the transformation of pain into joy. With this passion guiding me, it was only a matter of time before I was led out beyond the materialistic and Cartesianism confines of western psychology, the austere disciplines of Yoga and Yoga Therapy and into the world of plant medicine, psychedelics and shamanism. This journey only happened because others before me had done the rigorous and controversial research that was proving how healing psychedelics and indigenous plant medicines could be. Coming from a family that had been deeply scarred by drug addiction, I viewed most drugs, and those who advocated for them, with severe skepticism. Nonetheless, starting about ten years ago I was guided towards scientific research, peer-reviewed journals and clinical stories of addiction, depression and PTSD recovery that urged me to re-evaluate my previous anti-psychedelic judgements and shamanic suspicions. The Research: LSD, Psilocybin, Ayahuasca and Bufo Alvarius LSD I was first introduced to the benefits of psychedelics during my time as a researcher in Trinity College. A a fellow researcher, a quiet and somewhat shy woman, whom I never would have expected had the least bit of interest in the experience and effects of LSD, recommended to me the work of Czech- born psychiatrist Dr. Stan Grof. I started to delve into his work and was both surprised and fascinated by his case studies and observations. I was astounded by his claim that with just with two to three sessions of an integrated therapy technique that used LSD as a gateway to enter the subconscious, he was able to release the debilitating grip of PTSD on veteran soldiers. This is amazing because, to date, PTSD is still a very difficult psychological disorders to treat and overcome – especially if the only therapy offered is talk therapy. Sadly, the efficacy of this treatment studied and executed by Grof was deterred by politics as the 1970´s rolled in with Richard Nixon categorizing LSD and other psychedelics as illegal and illicit substances. Grof attempted to mimic the effects with a technique he called Holotropic breath work. I myself have explored both the effects of LSD and holotropic breath work, and though the breath work does appear to open doors to some aspects of the psyche, for me, it was nothing in comparison to insights and experience LSD offered. Nonetheless, despite the legal complications, there were still a small group of determined researchers out there who were able to figure out a way to keep investigating the effects of these substances like LSD on trauma, depression, anxiety and other psychological disorders. Thanks to their work, therapies that integrate the healing power of hallucinogenic agents in clinical therapy sessions are now receiving greater interest and acceptance. Psilocybin I have not yet had the opportunity to explore the effects of psilocybin but I wanted to include it here in the review of research because it contains the same active ingredient of DMT as both LSD and Ayahuasca and it has probably been the most widely researched plant medicine in the last three decades. Dr. Roland Griffith has been studying the effects of psilocybin and its effects on mood and depression for over 30 years. Psilocybin is the main hallucinogenic agent in what is popularly known as magic mushrooms. He moved into this research thanks to a transcendental experience he himself had with psilocybin. This experience acted like a doorway that then led him into the practice and discipline of transcendental meditation. In his research of psilocybin and behavioral sciences, he as demonstrated in multiple clinical trials how the consumption of psilocybin taken within a controlled, therapeutic environment results in an over all improvement in mood and outlook towards life in 75% of participants. He has also demonstrated, in a double blind, randomized study, how this integrated approach of psilocybin and therapy produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life-threatening cancer. His research continues to show that the effects of psilocybin result in enduring positive changes in psychological functioning and in trait measures of prosocial attitudes and behaviors, months and even years after the completion of treatment. You can read more about his research here. Ayahuasca My first introduction to the existence of Ayuahuasca was in Spain via a friend who had recently attended a ceremony. He claimed to have experienced a great sense of expansion and connection from the experience and swore that it had helped him to release a lot of the anger and resentment he had held onto towards his parents others. I was suspicious about such quick and miraculous outcomes and held off from exploring this plant medicine for myself for almost 6 years – despite the fact that more and more people kept coming into my life and confirming that indeed, this plant medicine and ceremony was both transformative and healing. I finally decided to explore this experience for myself after listening to various lectures by great doctors and addiction specialists like Gabor Mate as well as anthropological researchers such as Jaime Wheeler, Brian Muraesku and Profesor Carl Ruck, great thinkers like Sam Harris and the rogue historian Graham Hancock. Later on, after experiencing these ceremonies for myself, I was introduced to the work of the Nierka A.C.This is an organization that promotes scientific research on the therapeutic potential of the ritual use of sacred plants in therapeutic contexts and its interdisciplinary and intercultural integration. They have carried out studies that indicate the integration of ayahuasca rituals and ceremonies with different

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Yoga Therapy: The True Self vs. Obedience & Authority

Observing and releasing the binds of the conditioned mind through Yoga Therapy and Meditation. ´Give me child until age seven and I will show you the man´ – Ignatius of Loyola The whole point and purpose of the art and science of Yoga and Yoga Therapy is to help each individual experience for themselves their own limitless access bliss. The very foundation of experiencing bliss exists first and foremost in the voluntary acceptance and responsibility of personal freedom. Nonetheless, the acceptance and utilization of this freedom is often limited by our social-cultural conditioning. It is hypothesized that until age seven we act like sponges to the world around us. We soak up all the information coming in with little to no filter and store what is recorded into our subconscious and unconscious -a place beyond conscious thought and language. This early unfiltered processing of information enables the human child to learn and adapt quickly to their physical and social environment. It is through this social conditioning that a child learns the necessary, highly complicated and subtle social cues that enable it to become accepted within its tribe. Due to the fact that human beings, especially children, are physically quite fragile, learning how to become socially accepted and supported within ones own tribe is fundamental to survival. As illustrated by the quote above, this early childhood programming goes deep and greatly influences our adult life. Yoga Therapy and psychology recognize that most of the time we are not even aware that this childhood programming is running in the background influencing every decision we make and action we take. On the positive side, thanks to this unconscious programming we are able to connect with other human beings with lighting, intuitive speed as our interactions are not weighed down with the slow and cumbersome processes of conscious thought telling us how to move, change our tone of voice or maneuver between various social settings. All these cues happen automatically. However, these same unconscious cues that we use to ameliorate and ease our way through our daily interactions can be can be manipulated to subvert our sovereignty as human beings and cause great harm and destruction. Experiments into the human psyche: How free are we? The world of behavioral psychology has many interesting and disturbing experiments demonstrating just how easily our perceived freedom can be hijacked by the right unconscious cue such as – authority, peer pressure and self-image. These unconscious cues have great power because they tap into the childhood fear of survival and abandonment. The following experiments demonstrate how fear can override logical thought patterns and without conscious awareness, move an individual to perpetuate inhumane, cruel and objectively incorrect behaviors and decisions. The Authority Cue: The Milgram Experiments Shortly after the trials of War II criminal Adolph Eichmann had begun, Stanley Milgram designed an experiment to explore Eichmann´s defense that he was just following orders. Beyond the walls of Yale University, he had an actor don a white lab coat and pretend like he was running an experiment on learning. Various volunteers came in to participate in the experiment with the promise of $4.50 as compensation for just showing up. The man in the white lab coat told the volunteer participants that their task was to shock another participant on the other side of a wall whenever they answered a question incorrectly. Unbeknownst to the volunteer participant giving the shock, the participant receiving the shock was a confederate in the experiment (they knew the true purpose of the experiment, knew what answers to give and faked their reactions to the administered shocks).You can watch videos of the experiment here:   As the volunteer participant administered shocks to the confederate for wrong answers, it seemed innocent enough until the the volts increased bit by bit from 15 volts to 375 volts and the confederate began screaming in pain and protesting and begging for the participant to stop. This would go on until the volunteer participant finished with a shock of 450 volts and was met with silence to his questions – an indication that they had shocked the confederate participant to the point of death. Results: All participants asked the authority figure (the man in the lab coat) if they could stop. There is evidence that many tried to defy the orders in various creative ways. However less than 40% actually stopped before the shocks became fatal and a meta-analysis of the same experiment carried out in the USA and other countries, showed that the majority of participants (61-66%)  continued the shocks to fatality. In some experiments it was as high as 91%. The participants who refused to administer the final shocks did not insist that the experiment be terminated and only went to check on the health of the apparent victim after requesting permission to leave. The Peer Pressure Cue: Asch Conformity Experiments “That intelligent, well-meaning, young people are willing to call white black is a matter of concern.” – Solomon Asch The Asch conformity experiments or the Asch paradigm were a series of studies developed in the 1950s. It consisted of groups of eight male college students where all but one of the participants were actors (or confederates) in the experiment. The actors knew the true aim of the experiment, but were introduced to the subject as other participants. Each student viewed a card with a line on it, followed by another with three lines labeled A, B, and C. One of these lines was the same as that on the first card, and the other two lines were clearly longer or shorter. Each participant was then asked to say aloud which line matched the length of that on the first card. The group was seated such that the real participant always responded last. Subjects completed 18 trials. Results: In the control group, with no pressure to conform to confederate actors, the error rate on the critical stimuli was less than 1%. However, when placed within the group of confederates who gave the

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Hatha Yoga: The Union towards Liberation

All search is in vain until we begin to perceive that knowledge is within ourselves, that no one can help us, that we must help ourselves. – (Patanjali-Vivekananda 2: 27) I started to write this blog a few weeks ago. With the quarantine for COVID-19, I am even more convinced of the wisdom and liberating power of the ancient discipline of Hatha Yoga. With the isolation and solitude of the quarantine, more than ever before, there are pieces of me everyday that I find broken. Wobbly. Stuck. Unhinged. With more time at home and less classes, I practice more. I spend more time observing each detail of each posture. I spend more time receiving classes (albeit online) observing deeply the purpose and efficacy of each Yoga Asana. The more I practice, the more I understand that the work of Yoga Asana has very little to do with Yoga asana. I understand now more than ever that the practice of Hatha Yoga Asana has been developed so that I, and no one else, from the the inside out, can figure out how to mend, strengthen and heal these aforementioned broken pieces. It is my work and my work alone to feel and watch how these pieces manifest in my body, the rhythm of my heart and in the speed of my breath. That is your work. And your work alone. The system and structure of Hatha Yoga provides guides, teachers and books to point the way. It provides these little classrooms called Asana to teach, develop and fine tune the art and skill of observation. Of living presently. Of living freely. And there is no possibility of cheating. The only one who can enter and fully take advantage of each classroom lesson each Asana offers, is you, is me. The real work of Hatha Yoga Asana begins when we stop talking, comparing, judging, interpreting and simply begin listening. What is Hatha Yoga? When your mind has become controlled you will have control over the whole body instead of being a slave to the machine, the machine will be your slave. Instead of this machine (the body) being able to drag the soul down, it will be its greatest helpmate. -Patanjali – Vivekananda  (2: 41) Hatha Yoga is any kind of Yoga that uses the physical body (annamaya kosha) to influence and gain control over the mind (manomaya kosha). In the western world, the mind and body have often been separated. The body has been viewed as the enemy to the logical mind. This perception of disconnection between mind and body started to change with philosophers like Fredrick Nietzsche and psychologists like Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Freud had many faults, but his lifelong work of psychoanalysis recognized that anxiety and stress hidden in the unconscious mind often manifested itself in destructive behaviors and physical ailments. The physical body being influenced by mind stuff is nothing new to Yoga philosophy. A brief study of the Koshas will make that clear. The difference between Freudian psychology and Hatha Yoga is simply the point of entrance. The mind is difficult to control. It is an abstract thing that  even today, no scientist can say with certainty where it exists or where it came from. It is for this reason, instead of using a mental tool like psychoanalysis, the practice of Hatha Yoga uses the physical and very tangible door of the body to change, transform and heal the intangible and unconscious mind. The great system of Hatha Yoga has been developed and taught for over four thousand years to help human beings let go of unconscious stress and trauma hidden in the body. Trauma and stress held in the body can be related directly to our own personal history, or it may have its origin in the genetic and conditioned history of our family and culture. Scientists, psychologists and western medical doctors like Dr. Van der Kolk, Dr. Peter Levine, and Dr. Gabor Maté are now confirming the efficacy of entering the door of the body to heal the trauma that torments the mind. Statistically, studies are now showing that therapeutic body work has been proven to be even more effective than pharmaceuticals or talking therapy alone.  Through physical postures (Asana), breath awareness (Pranayama), ethical practices (Yamas y Niyamas) and the concentrated observation of all of the above (Dharana, Diana and Samahdi), Hatha Yoga provides a system that educates a student how to be FREE. It provides steps and practices for students to gain balance and control over their physical body as well as their nervous system so that they are no longer slaves to negative and destructive unconscious behaviors or thoughts. What does HATHA mean? Hatha literally means Sun (Ha) and Moon (Tha). Yoga means the union between these two. When we reflect over what the Sun and Moon represent in Hindu mythology (and many others) it becomes clear why the union and balance of these two energies grant us liberty. In most world mythologies the symbol of the sun is related with masculine energy while the energy of the moon is related to feminine energy. The concept of energy is not the same as gender or sex. Masculine and feminine energies simply represent different characteristics in the human experience. The two energies exist together in order to create and maintain the delicate balance of life on our Earth. For example, without the sun all of life on earth would die from the cold and lack of nutrition provided by its faraway rays. However, did you realize that without the moon and her gravitational pull, life as we know it would not exist either? Primordial life started in the small tide pools, the small Petri dishes of creation, left behind by the cyclical push and pull of moons gravity on ocean waters. If it were not for the rising and falling tides produced by the moon and its gravitational pull, there would not be the necessary movement within the waters of the ocean to help

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Left vs. Right Brain: Dharana, Dhyana, Samahdi and FLOW

In his book, The Master and his Emmissary, Dr. Ian McGilchrist takes the reader through how the structural differences in attention of the left and right brain affect individual and societal perception and behavior. Illustrating in allegory and story what McGilchrists  research and work of 20 years conveys, the Yoga Sutras describe 3 different perceptual experiences that belong to the 8 branches of Yoga. They are Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. These three forms of perception appear to be describing the same phenomenon of left/right lateralization described by McGilchrist as well as the ego dissolving attention found in the modern definition of Flow. McGilchrist and research on the phenomenon of Flow echos what the Yogic texts have observed and what modern neuroscience proves – that the optimal state of existence is derived from a perception that is both detailed and expansive. A vision that grants the capacity to comprehend and experience total independence as well as all inclusive connection. Left vs. Right Brain Lateralization: Focused (Dharana) vs. Global (Dhyana) attention Dharana develops and sharpens intelligence, dhyana purifies consciousness and samadhi leads consciousness towards the soul. (3.7 Patanjali Sutras B.K.S. Iyengar) It appears that our ability to pay attention to the opposing and complimentary perceptions offered by the meditative practices of Dharana and Dhyana are built right into the asymmetrical structure of our brain. McGilchrist explains that generally speaking the main differences between the two hemispheres of the brain is not what they do, but HOW they do it. Their differences exist in their attention and resulting perception – not tasks or actions. VERY broadly speaking one could say that the left brain attends to details and is drawn to the familiar. It views reality as a composition of separate distinct parts pieced together. In contrast, the right brain is drawn to the unfamiliar and takes on a more global perspective. Rather than putting pieces and parts together, it observes the whole and then figures out how the parts fit into it.  Dhāraṇā धारणा – The Elephant Tail Dharana is often referred to as the initial step of deep concentrative meditation. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , the practice of Dharana implies fixing one’s mind on an object of meditation. It can be translated as single-pointed concentration and focus. In practice the mind thinks about one object and avoids other thoughts. The Indian philosopher and theologian Adi Shankara gives the example that contemplating on the sun’s orbit alone, without being interrupted by its color, brilliance or other related ideas is an example of Dharana. Another more terrestrial example, and one I will refer to throughout this blog,  would be the deep contemplation of the texture, color, form and composition of an elephants tail while disregarding the rest of the elephant completely. Left Brain Attention and Dharana The left brain is what enables us to focus in on the details and mechanics of reality. For instance, a bird who is out searching for food uses the right eye (left hemisphere) to pick out a worm or piece of grain from gravel. The left brain is also what allows us to express and explore our reality through the EXPLICIT tool of spoken and written language. It is associated with the neurotransmitter dopamine and therefore addiction, as well as the drive for security, grasping and consumption. It is strongly associated with the experience of anger and is reduced in its capacity to see peripherally and is generally´blind´to unfamiliar experiences and concepts. This makes it excellent at completing tasks and exploring the detailed mechanics of how something works. However, without the global context offered by the right hemisphere, the selective and detailed attention of the left brain can skew the perception of reality. For example, to make sense of the image of an elephant, the left hemisphere would take bits and pieces of the elephant and quilt them together into something that might look much more like a Picasso abstract painting rather than a living, breathing, elephant. In the practice of Yoga Asana, the detailed activity of the left brain (Dharana) is activated as we explore the mechanical architecture of the asana form. For instance, the detailed attention of the foot and how it is affected by the physical placement of the toes and heel to lift the arch would be an act of Dharana. Taking that mechanical observation into sensory perception and noticing how it affects the placement of the spine and the whole felt experience of the body, breath and mind would be entering into the practice of Dhyana – where greater activation of the right brain begins to takes place. Dhyāna ध्यान – The Whole Elephant Dhyana is associated with the goddess Saraswati, the powers of wisdom, music and poetic eloquence. It is defined as the practice of sustained, non-judgmental, non-presumptuous contemplation of a concept/idea in all its aspects, forms and consequences. It is the ablity to observe the color and brilliance of the sun as well as its orbit. It integrates the focused observation of the Elephants tail (Dharana) into the composition and experience of the entire elephant. Right Brain and Dhyana According to McGilchrist the right brain offers a more global perception and allows us to see reality as a whole rather than in parts. For example, a bird favors its right eye (left hemisphere) to pick out a piece of grain. However, it uses its left eye (right hemisphere) to maintain a awareness of the world around it. This global awareness helps to ensure that the bird is safe from outside threats while maintaining an awareness of a potential mate, as it pecks out food on the ground. The right brain is associated with IMPLICIT communication and comprensión of reality as expressed through body language, music, art, poetry, story and dance. It is associated with the neurotransmitter norpenephrine and is responsible for ´the theory of mind´ – the capacity to ´feel another´s pain ´. This capacity to understand and perceive ´the other´ is developed right along with our capacity for

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