Master Plant Dieta: Uncover the Shocking Benefits and Hidden Risks You Must Know!

Master Plant Dietas are at the heart of the Shipibo healing tradition and are an essential part of many Amazonian Shamanic traditions. These dietas involve forming a spiritual bond with a plant for healing or receiving teachings from the plant spirit. At Rainforest Healing Center, they have been offering Master Plant isolation diets ('dietas' in Spanish) such as Chiric Sanango, Uchu Sanango, Bobinsana, Remo Caspi, Chuchuhuasi, Ayahuma, and Ajo Sacha since 2011, when they first opened their center.

Understanding Master Plant Dietas

A Master Plant Dieta is an ancient Amazonian indigenous tradition that essentially involves the marriage or union of a human spirit with that of a master plant teacher. Master Plants are defined as very wise old plants that also want to work with human consciousness.

During a dieta, one makes a spiritual bond with a plant for the purpose of healing or receiving teachings from the plant spirit. The restrictions allow for a clear connection to be made with the spirit of the plant that is being dieted. Through eliminating foods and substances that have a strong effect on the body and mind, space is made to best receive the medicine of the plant. Isolation or near-isolation and sexual abstinence allow for focus and concentration on the dieta and to prevent the messages of the plant from being clouded by external influences.

Dieta plants are often referred to as 'Master Plant Teachers,' and although they do not usually induce psychedelic experiences or altered states of consciousness, they have the powerful ability to teach and communicate with us in other ways, often through dreams, spontaneous insights, or through the feeling and received understanding of the plant working inside the body.

The process of a plant dieta can be extremely transformative and can bring an understanding of the root of an issue whilst facilitating healing and insight every level. In the Shipibo tradition, plant dietas are a central part of the training and work of the Curandero. Through dieting with powerful plants and trees, deep relationships are formed with their spirits who are then called into the Ayahuasca ceremonies to bring healing to all of the participants.

The Role of Ayahuasca

All of our Master Plant diets require full commitment, dedication, and discipline from beginning to end. The diets begin with and end with one Ayahuasca ceremony, which before and after going into isolation. In an isolated setting, working with Ayahuasca is almost always included in a Bobinsana dieta, but it isn’t at all a requirement. Ayahuasca ceremonies help to amplify the connection and the communications, but a Master Plant Diet is just as effective and magical in a social setting where one does not have access to Mama Medicine. The benefits can be attained either way.

Choosing a Master Plant

It is not uncommon to feel “called” to work with specific plants. Many guests have been very clear, after reading about and connecting with the plants, as to which diet would most benefit them. However, sometimes we are “called” to do an isolation dieta, without knowing which Master Plant to work with. In this case, our staff and shaman will help guide you toward the right Master Plant for your healing. Our staff can help you understand how the plants can help with your healing intentions, and the shaman can perform an energetic reading to select the Master Plant that is best for you at this time.

The Bobinsana Dieta: A Detailed Look

Bobinsana (Calliandra augustifolia) is a potent, gorgeous, powerful Amazonian plant. Sirenita Bobinsana is a watery wonder who grows along the Amazon River, and she gets decimated when the rains come (and they always do). But just days after the storm passes, this pink pom-pom queen rises again, with full celebration and resilient joy. This is her medicine, and this incredible power to trust and weather any storm is one of the main reasons Bobinsana is a true Master Plant teacher. She’s often the first Master Plant people on the shamanic path connect with in a dieta, and for good reason; her other well-known superpower is helping humans to cultivate more self-love. Every part of the Bobinsana tree holds her medicine; her flowers, leaves, bark, and stems are all used in a Bobinsana tea form for all kinds of spiritual medicinal usages. The entire plant of Bobinsana can be a medicinal plant. She’s masterful at helping with digestion, and for lowering inflammation all through the body. Her roots, too, are extremely potent; so much so they even have a stimulating effect, so we tend to work with the roots in the morning, and the flowers and leaves at night.

Essence of Bobinsana

Bobinsana is one of the handful of elite Master Plant teachers that tribes like the Shipibo-Conibo have revered for centuries. She is a decidedly feminine mermaid spirit, with big floofy fuchsia flowers that make her feel like an exuberant cheerleader, which she is on so many levels.

What Does a Bobinsana Dieta Entail?

When we “diet” a plant, we undergo a strict food diet protocol, as well as sacrifice various distractions and creature comforts, and we spend as much time in meditation and communication with our plant as possible. Most Master Plants - Bobinsana included - are consumed via tea form. Plants like Bobinsana can also be dieted in either complete isolation or in what we call a “dieta suave”, or “soft diet”, which is a social experience. In the latter, we still handle our work and relationships as normal, still following the strict guidelines, and making the relationship with our plant the priority as best we can. Bobinsana is supportive on the body and easy to digest so that she can be worked with in either capacity. Regardless of whether one diet is in isolation or in a social setting, having a properly trained guide to open, hold, and close the dieta is essential. The facilitator makes the connection, keeps it strong, passes along messages, protects the dieter, and helps them integrate the lessons in the aftermath.

Potential Benefits of a Bobinsana Dieta

On a physical level, Bobinsana has these healing benefits:

Diuretic
Stimulating (her roots especially)
Anti-inflammatory
Tonic
Anti-cancer
Anti-rheumatic

Some of the emotional and spiritual healing effects of Bobinsana include:

Connecting to lucid dreams
Heart-opening
Heals heartbreak and emotional turmoil
Helps cultivate more self-love
Generates feelings of comfort, empowerment, and joy
Teaches resilience and how to weather the storm

Preparing for the Bobinsana Dieta

Bobinsana is medicine in the indigenous definition, which means she can help us on all levels of our beings. But she doesn’t do the work for us, she helps bring to the surface toxicities and emotional blockages that we can gain more autonomy and sovereignty over, partly through conscious awareness, and partly through embodiment. The indigenous understanding of healing isn’t about a magic pill or herb, it’s about support and information from nature. We must feel to heal, and there are no shortcuts, but plants like Bobinsana are incredible allies in our healing process.

When we enter into a Master Plant Dieta with Bobinsana, it’s crucial to have a couple of core elements in preparation:

A clear and sincere calling to be in partnership with Bobinsana, or whatever plant you are merging with
Strong, heartfelt intentions; a foundation for what you are bringing in a vulnerable way to this powerful plant ally
A willingness and commitment to following the dieta protocol, which involves no salt, sugar, spice, sex, red meat, alcohol, and similar distractions

Before entering into the portal of the dieta, it’s best to taper off salty and spicy foods, alcohol, and even media distractions, so you can ease into the process and be ready to connect with the plant right out of the gate. All Master Plants have some level of precautions and contraindications, so before embarking on a dieta with Bobinsana, make sure you are working with a trained and knowledgeable guide that can ensure your physical, emotional, and mental safety.

Embarking on the Bobinsana Dieta

The logistics of a Bobinsana dieta are not complicated, but they are challenging. There are strict protocols in place for several core reasons:

We eliminate various distractions so that we can fully focus on the connection with the plant whenever we have the time and space to do so (at least twice per day.)
We eliminate foods that are spicy or otherwise flavorful, as a bland diet supports us in connecting more deeply with the plant spirit.
We commit to celibacy to reserve our energies and to be in complete monogamous intimacy with our plant partner.

Opening a Master Plant Dieta is a really magical process. It’s the same whether you are in person with your practitioner / guide, or if its remote. The guide will sing in the spirit of the plant through the power of song and intention, making the strengthening the connection. Once this is complete, the dieter can begin to drink and work with their plant. It’s best to commit at least 1 week in person for a dieta, or 2 weeks if you’re doing this remotely. I personally think 1 month is the perfect time frame for a social dieta, as this gives plenty of time for the plant to root in, and so much communication and insight can come in via that time frame. But in the end, the plants will take whatever we can offer them, and even a 1 week social dieta can be magical if you have dieted previously and know how to drop in quickly. Every plant has different dosage and frequency guidelines, but for Bobinsana, she is what we call an “all you can drink” dieta, in that there are typically no limits to the frequency and dosage we can safely consume. The body loves her as much as the spirit, so she’s not one we have to be careful of in terms of quantity. During the dieta, a proper guide will also schedule regular coaching sessions to help the dieter make sense of the experiences Bobinsana is co-creating. We like to do meetings every other week, as well as a final integration session about 1 week after the dieta is closed. Additionally, the guide should be available anytime for questions and extra support, as the experience is unpredictable and often brings about emotional challenges. So whoever you work with, make sure they are a truly able and available partner, as the process is supposed to be difficult at times; that’s often the core of healing. Finally, the dieter should commit to having as much time in silence as possible. In a traditional isolated diet, silence is often the norm for part or all of the dieta duration. It’s in the silence that we can really hear and feel the plant’s communication. Even in a social dieta, making space for quiet time is essential.

Dieta Bobinsana Guidelines

Here are the foundational elements of the Bobinsana Dieta guidelines; this is not a comprehensive list, as all guides have different protocols, but this is the basic structure that most of us work from:

The list of things to cut out of your diet for maximum connection to Bobinsana:

Salt (ok to have very small amounts if your body needs it)
Sugar
Spice (including things like turmeric and cardamom)
Garlic, onions, leeks
Red meat and pork
Fried foods
Processed foods
Citrus (lemon, lime, orange, etc.)
Vinegar
Aged cheeses (ideally to go dairy free if possible)
Vegetable oils (small amounts of good quality olive oil and coconut oil are ok)

Other things to eliminate from your lifestyle:

No sexual activity whatsoever
Minimal social media (for your work only)
No media (unless it’s directly supportive of the dieta process)
No social outings unless absolutely necessary
No other master plants, unless you need them for your physical well-being
No other psychedelics / mood-altering substances, especially Cannabis. The exception is if you’re going to a sacred Plant Medicine ceremony during the dieta.
For those that work with Rapéh and/or Sacred Tobacco, he is most welcome and very supportive of the dieta process. We just advise you not to work with any that have additional master plants, unless, of course, it’s Bobinsana!

Integrating Your Bobinsana Diet After The Dieta Closes

It doesn’t matter how magical, informative, insightful, and healing the Bobinsana dieta is; if you don’t commit to integrating the lessons, the experience won’t be life-changing. Integrating means wholeness and embodiment, and it requires additional effort and focus in the aftermath so we can make the most of the efforts we put into the dieta itself.

There’s no one way to integrate, as everyone’s results are different, but the core of integration involves the following foundation:

A daily spiritual practice where you connect with yourself, check in with your emotions and have periods of time where you are in a state of being not doing.
Introspection on the insights that the dieta brought in, via journaling and creative expression. It’s wise to make a list of the major aha moments the dieta gave you, and then draft a bulleted list of changes that are required to honor those reflections.
A willingness to make actual changes in your life. Diets always expose the reasons for our suffering and frustrations, and if we aren’t willing to make small and large shifts in our lives, relationships, jobs, and self-care, we will inevitably go back to the same old patterns.

All somatic modalities are helpful in the integration phase; yoga, meditation, prayer, dance, time in nature, journaling, singing - anything that helps you get out of your head and into your heart + body helps to bring the lessons into every cell of your being. We do not think our way to wholeness; it has to be experiential.

It’s also important to ease back into foods and behaviors that are not on diet; we suggest introducing things like sugar, spice, alcohol and red meat one at a time, slowly, over a period of a week or so. This helps to ease back into the contrast of everyday life, and to not jar our systems with overstimulation. Slow and steady is the way to go post-diet to support the integration process.

Other Master Plants

While Bobinsana is a popular and accessible Master Plant, many others are used in traditional Shipibo healing practices. Here's a brief overview of some other Master Plants:

Achiote: The leaves of the Achiote tree are used in Dieta practice. It is a relatively achievable Dieta, and is a good option for a shorter period. Achiote seeds may be used both internally and externally and have many potential health benefits including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties.
Aire Sacha: The macerated leaves of Aire Sacha may be used to make a tea to treat headache, vomiting, and colic gases. A poultice of the leaves can also be applied externally to reduce swelling. Aire sacha is also used in flower baths to elevate general energies. In Dieta practice, the master Shipibo shamans (Onányas) may prescribe Aire Sacha to help heal hearing loss not attributed to physiological causes.
Ajo Sacha: Ajo Sacha purifies the blood, cleans the liver and stomach, and has strong antiviral, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Ajo Sacha is also a beneficial plant medicine for alleviating asthma and respiratory infections and for general physical invigoration. In Dieta practice, Ajo Sacha is thought to help unearth and clean deeply buried grief and can gift greater confidence and clarity in life and in relationships.
Albahaca: Albahaca leaf tea infusions are used to treat stomach pain and other digestive disorders, and to cleanse the digestive system and kidneys. It is also used to treat inflammation and diabetes, and to regulate blood pressure. The juice of albahaca leaves is used externally to treat various skin conditions, clear eye tiredness and open visions during Ayahuasca Ceremony. As a shamanic Dieta, Albahaca is prescribed for its energetic cleansing power and its perfume (Inin), and especially for clearing the energy of death or dead spirits.
Hojas de Algodon: Preparations of the leaves and roots of the cotton tree are used for a variety of herbal benefits including as a diuretic, vulnerary (to treat wounds), anti-hemorrhoidal, as an oxytocic (to promote contractions) and as an antiseptic. It is also used to treat dental abscesses, ear pain, diarrhea, stomach cramps and inflammation of the kidneys. In Shipibo shamanism Hojas de Algodon (leaves of the cotton tree) are used as a herbal tea infusion (“agua de tiempo”) for their calming effect on the nervous system.
Ayapana: Ayapana is also used as a Master Plant in Shipibo Dieta practice to attract beneficial healing “spirits”, and to heal the mind. The leaves and stem can be made into a tea to treat colic, stomach pain, nausea and vomiting and into a poultice to stop bleeding or hemorrhage.
Azucena: An infusion of the Azucena bulb and flowers is used as a purgative (“vomitivo”) to cleanse toxins from the digestive system and blood before Ayahuasca Ceremony or opening a Plant Dieta. It is the more gentle vomitivo choice used at Caya Shobo. Azucena is anti-bacterial, astringent, disinfectant, highly demulcent (relieves irritation), expectorant (clears mucus from airways) and can also be used to regulate menstruation and moisturize the skin.
Boahuasca: Used principally for physical healing purposes, Boahuasca is a strong Master Plant vine helpful in the treatment of a range of known illnesses. It is commonly used to help combat cancer of the stomach, intestines and ovaries, to improve liver function, and to purify the blood, and treat anaemia.
Sacha Canela: Many Shipibo shamans work with Sacha Canela as a herbal tea (agua de tiempo) preparation, mainly to aid in calming the nervous system and to clean energies, especially the energy of mistakes in the Dieta process. Like culinary cinnamon, it contains cinnamaldehyde which has powerful antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. Canela is a traditional remedy used to fight colds, flu, bronchitis, and other infections. It is also used to facilitate digestion and relieve nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as regulate blood sugar and aid in the treatment of obesity and diabetes.
Capinuri: In Shipibo shamanic healing, Capinuri is a powerful Master Plant which may be prescribed as a Dieta to treat cancer and strengthen the physical body. The resin of the Capinuri tree has traditionally been used to treat sexual impotence and internal wounds. It is also used as an anti-inflammatory to treat dislocations and hemorrhoids.
Capirona: Capirona is a strong, hardwood Amazonian tree that grows tall and direct to a height of around 35m. It’s smooth bark carries medicinal antioxidant and antimicrobial medicinal benefits which are traditionally employed to treat the skin, to heal external and internal wounds or as a hemostatic (to stop bleeding). The sap of the Capirona tree may even be applied to reduce wrinkles and heal skin blemishes or scar tissue.

Isolation vs. Social Dieta

Although Dieta was traditionally done in almost complete isolation in the Amazon jungle, in modern times due to increased interest in the practice and the accessibility issues mentioned above, more people are undertaking the Dieta without practicing total isolation. This innovation to the practice has pros and cons. While isolation provides freedom from distractions, making it easier for the dieter to focus on the developing relationship between person and plant, practicing Dieta in our home environments can be deeply elucidating as well, bringing increased awareness to our daily lives, behaviors and relationships. This being said, we always recommend that people on Dieta seek as much time as possible for reflection and meditation with their plant teacher as possible and limit exposure to outside (possibly adverse) energies that can disrupt the Dieta.

Initiating a Master Plant Dieta

If you are interested in undertaking a traditional Master Plant Dieta, it is very important to understand that Dieta is akin to a contract, and the seriousness of the commitment you are making to yourself and the plant you will be working with when following this path and protocol. Breaking the dieta can lead to serious and dangerous consequences for mind and body and put you at risk. This is a path of discipline and sacrifice that can lead to profound personal growth, deep healing, increased connection with Nature and powerful allyship with plant teachers.

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