Three days before we sit together, start eating like a person who’s about to do something important.
What that means in practice:
Cut alcohol. Cut recreational substances of any kind. Cut caffeine if you can — and if you can’t, at least cut back. Reduce sugar. Reduce processed food. Eat more plants, less meat, less dairy. Drink water. Sleep when you’re tired instead of pushing through.
This isn’t a moral cleanse. It’s not about purity. It’s about giving your body and nervous system the calmest possible baseline going into the work. The medicine is intense enough that whatever state you arrive in gets amplified. Arriving exhausted, dehydrated, and overcaffeinated makes the experience harder to settle into and harder to come back from.
On the day of, eat lightly in the morning and stop eating four to six hours before ceremony. Most people do better on an empty stomach. Hydrate steadily — small amounts, regularly, not a liter right before we start.
A few specific things to avoid in the 24 hours before: heavy red meat, anything spicy enough to give you indigestion, alcohol of any kind, energy drinks. Caffeine on the day of is fine if you’re a daily drinker and skipping would cause withdrawal; otherwise skip it.
If you’re on prescribed medications, follow the guidance I sent you about your specific situation. Don’t make changes on your own.
The point of all of this is simple: you want to arrive with a body that’s settled, a stomach that’s quiet, and a mind that hasn’t been running hard all day. The smoother the runway, the smoother the takeoff.
