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We have been hosting ayahuasca retreats since 1996. Our center is based in the midst of the beautiful Atlantic Rainforest along the coast of Bahia in Brazil. We facilitate a safe and comfortable space for you to achieve harmony in your everyday life by aligning your mind, body, and heart with your true self.
Our 9 day and 11 day ayahuasca retreats are designed to give you a balanced experience. We have ayahuasca ceremonies every other night and in between there are activities to integrate your experiences and insights. There is also ample free time to reflect, to enjoy the beauty of the jungle, to visit the gorgeous beaches, and just to relax, let go, and enjoy the pure bliss of the moment.
Calendar and prices on our website
We have extensive experience integrating ayahuasca, psychology, shamanism, self development, modified states of consciousness, and various other modalities. We are present at all times and are dedicated in supporting you with loving care, attention, safety, and respect.The activities include workshops focused on spiritual development. The techniques covered in the workshops can be practiced even after the retreat to continue the journey of personal growth. Some of the topics include inner child integration, life progression, discovering the source of your blockages and the resources to overcome them. Another very important part of the retreat are the Yoga sessions in the morning which greatly enrich the ayahuasca experiences at night.
Spirit Vine & TheVine Center previously known as Ayahuasca-Healing have been created by Silvia Polivoy. She received her license in clinical psychology and had a private practice in Buenos Aires, Argentina for several years until she began to feel the need to make a transition from studying and healing the mind to exploring the worlds of Spirit. This took her away from the busy city streets to the more tranquil life in the jungle, moving to Brazil where in 2004 she co-founded the TheVine Center, a trans-denominational and inter-faith spiritual center located in the state of Bahia.
The nature of our nonprofit center is philosophical, religious, mystical, spiritual, educational, and cultural. All the retreats’ income’ serves to maintain the center grounds, create employment for the local community, and help preserve the jungle, having replanted thousands of native trees over the years to give but one example.
The retreats take place inside of 39 acres of lush preserved area. It is about 7 miles from Itacaré on the coast of Bahia. Our location is only minutes away from beautiful coastal beaches, which back onto the Mata Atlántica, the second largest rainforest in Brazil.
The experience of sacred tea ceremonies can be challenging for some, deeply religious for others, but profound all around. Please note that we have several programs to offer and the plant ceremonies are always optional and not required to partake in during any of our retreats. The plant ceremonies begin in the evening and go through the night. The group dynamic is very important and there will be facilitators to look after participants throughout. There will be plenty of time for group discussions and also time alone to reflect on the experiences elicited by the spirit vine tea for those that wish to partake in the plant ceremonies.
At the retreat center we grow our own ayahuasca vine and chacruna plants organically! We also have an organic garden to source vegetables for the food prepared during the retreat. We have pure spring water for drinking and also coconut water, juices, and a variety of teas.
During all our programs we follow a strict (though delicious) diet. The meals are completely vegan, gluten-free, and nutritionally balanced, prepared by our in-house chef who has specialized in vegan cuisine and has a post-graduation in functional nutrition. They include plenty of fresh vegetables cooked with delicious herbs and spices, luscious fresh tropical fruits, salads, and grains.
A note about sexual abstinence: this varies from culture to culture; some recommending as long as 30-40 days while others as little as one day or none at all like here in Brazil. For energetic purposes we recommend sexual abstinence during the retreat as well as 3 days before it begins and 3 days after the retreat concludes. As well, a drug free and no salt diet with no red meat, pork or heavy alcohol use for the same amount of time is optimal.
We fully expect you have questions about the retreats, programs and the facilities we offer. Please feel free to explore our website or watch our videos and write to us to come to one of our retreats.
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Tori Spirit
March 11, 2015 at 12:00 amI visited this retreat not too long ago and was totally blown away by it. I had my reservations before I left, as I think most people do before trying an experience such as this. The minute I landed in Brazil however, I knew I had made the right decision and when I got to SpiritVine I was totally certain. This place is not just a haven for those of us not wanting to ‘rough it’, it’s a wonderful home from home like you can’t imagine. The ceremonies are safe, facilitated by the amazing Silvia, the surroundings calm and peaceful. The workshops during the day were just as helpful to me as the Ayahuasca and the people I shared my experience with were exactly what I needed. I highly recommend it and cannot wait to return. Soon I hope!
amtheband
March 9, 2015 at 12:00 amI highly recommend going to the Spiritvine center. I went to the 8 day retreat in February and all in our group were new to the ayahuasca experience. Silvia is an excellent facilitator and she helped everyone prepare for their respective journeys inside. After our first ceremony, our small group of strangers from all over the world had become close friends. It was magical, and though I had some visions that were difficult for me to experience, they were very necessary for me to begin my journey of healing. Through group workshops and sharing after each ceremony, Silvia helped us have greater insight into our visions. This is what sets this place apart from the others. By hearing the details of the journeys of others it just amplified everything that I personally went through. Silvia, with her years of personal experience with aya and also facilitating aya ceremonies, was able to answer our questions and help us prepare for each ceremony’s possible visions. The center is absolutely gorgeous and the meals(I was not a vegetarian before I set off for this trip) were delicious. The jungle cannot be beat for it’s raw beauty and a group of us went to the mostly deserted nearby beach nearby on the off days. This place has everything. My personal aya journey of healing has just begun and has opened up a beautiful world that I didn’t think was possible prior to coming here. I will be back. You will have the experience of a lifetime thank yourself for coming here.
Guntars Kukuls
January 15, 2015 at 12:00 amMy wife and me attended the Spirit Vine retreat center at the end of December 2014 and I on behalf of both of us I can say, that it was the most valuable experience in our spiritual quest, witch lasts already more, than 15 years. During these 15 years we are following vedic tradition, practicing yoga, we have traveled all over the world, participated in different mystic ceremonies in India and other places, but, that experience, which we got in Spirit Vine Ayahuasca retreat center under the guidance of Silvia (owner of the retreat center), I can characterize, that it was something about what can dream the follower of any spiritual or religious tradition. During our spiritual journeys we were at “Home” where we were inspired by the experience of unconditional Love and Happiness. All Ayahuasca ceremonies were guided in a very vise way and were in a feeling of Gratitude and Love and at the same time transformed and cleaned our consciousness very deep.
Also the living conditions in the Spirit Vine retreat center, which is like a small Paradises in the jungle and relations, that prevailed there, increased this common feeling of Gratitude, Love, Friendship and Happiness. Silvia and her team truly serve to others and perform the very valuable mission. God bless You, Silvia, Michael and Your team:)
In Gratitude and Love,
Sandra & Guntars
Olivier
December 26, 2014 at 12:00 amAs it was my first ayahuasca retreat, I wanted to make sure I was in a “safe” environment. And I am so glad I’ve followed my instinct : I felt really comfortable and supported along the way. To make a long story short, SpiritVine has been the ideal place for my ayahuasca journeys.
And it has really been life changing.
I have also to mention that Silvia is really super knowledgeable and helpful, she is so humorous as well.
Definetely an excellent place to go…
Dan
November 2, 2014 at 12:00 amI’ve attended the 8-day retreat at Spirit Vine in October 2014, looking for a safe, supportive and instructive environment for my first Ayahuasca experience – and I was not disappointed.
Silvia is an experienced guide, with background not only in the use of Ayahuasca but also in Psychoanalysis and various philosophies of mind. This has enables her to create a program of self-exploration in which consumption of Ayauhasca is but a part, with complementing activities before and after ceremonies. Such activities seem to me essential in order to deal wisely with the experience of Ayahuasca as it occurs, and in order to fully understand it in hindsight. Otherwise, instead of being enlightening, the experience might be merely entertaining, frightening or confusing, or with only vague insights that eventually fade away without a lasting impact.
Yet Silvia is only a facilitator; the main teacher at Spirit Vine is first and foremost the Ayahuasca itself. This is not trivial: at other places you might find yourself at the mercy of the Shaman, with relatively little control or understanding of the situation.
The accommodation is quite luxurious; the surrounding is beautiful and inspiring.
I believe all of this is a recipe for a responsible and enlightening Ayahuasca experience, and indeed my stay at Spirit Vine seems to have had an enormously positive effect on me and my life. It was the most amazing thing I’ve done – the strangest, the most exciting, the most difficult and the most rewarding. I’ve learned a lot, and have realized how much more I have to explore. And I have little doubt that I’m a better person than I was – more helpful and less detrimental to living beings around me, less constrained by imaginary bounds and petty concerns, more in accord with the values I hold to be true, with more faith in myself and in the ultimate benevolence of the cosmos.
Thank you Silvia and Michael and the maids, and thank you my fellow participants.
Love,
Dan