Ayahuasca | Integration $2,250 - $3,150

Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Center

Itacare, BA, Brazil

5.0 (315 reviews)

Room Features

Property Features

Overview
Reviews
Add Review

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.

Learn more about Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreats

Reviews (315)

5.0 out of 5

Overall 5.0

abratchell
June 20, 2022 at 6:03 pm

My Ayahuasca retreat at Spirit Vine was an incredibly powerful experience. Knowing what I know about Ayahuasca now, if I had the choice available, I would only participate in future Ayahuasca ceremonies at Spirit Vine.

The Power of Ayahuasca
If you have not taken Ayahuasca before, you should understand that if it is prepared correctly, Ayahuasca is an extremely powerful plant medicine. Ayahuasca amplifies your thoughts, feelings and personal energies. This amplification process enables you to bring to the surface deeply hidden memories and traumas from the lower levels of the mind.

Likewise, Ayahuasca can show you completely different realities, different planes of existence, help initiate out of body experiences, connect you with spirit guides and so many other things.

Ayahuasca is not just a combination of plants to create a medicine, it is a highly intelligent entity. You can communicate with Ayahuasca.

What is Great about Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Centre
Yes the location is fantastic, yes the vegan food is very good, yes the facilities are excellent. Yes the yoga and massage sessions are fantastic. Whilst these things are great, they are not the most important things.

Most important – Spirit Vine is a safe space. Silvia and Tio have spent years refining the experience through the process of understanding what works and what does not work to create a safe space. Spirit Vine is a place where great healing can take place in a structured way.

As I have said Ayahuasca is extremely powerful, and when you go on a trip, perhaps working through some very deep traumas and emotions, I really appreciated the quiet, peaceful protected safe space.

Looking at how other Ayahuasca retreat centres work, many of them take an extremely high energy, high intensity, loud & noisy approach. Secondly, doses of the medicine are not tailored to the needs of the individual, thereby increasing the risk for some people of over-dosing. Thirdly, many retreat centres have dozens of people participating in the ceremony at once.

Now that I have participated in four Ayahu asca ceremonies, these other types of retreat environment are something that do not resonate with me. It would be too intense. Note: I’m a guy who is comfortable with intense, so I do not say this likely.

As well as creating a great safe environment, another fantastic aspect of Spirit Vine are the tools that we learned such as working with our inner child. This is important because the work is not done just because you have participated in a ceremony. You have to integrate and transform what you have experienced & learned.

Silva and Tio
Silva Polivoy is the co-founder and lead facilitator. What an amazing woman. Silvia is the type of woman who can spends just a few minutes with you and know exactly what makes you ‘tick’.

Silvia personally gave me a lot of incredible support when I was bringing to the surface an incredibly deep trauma. It was the hardest thing I have done in my life.

Silvia is extremely pragmatic. Her mindset is: ‘what is the most effective and efficient way to bring transformative healing to people’. She also has a huge heart and cares passionately about people.

Tio works with Silvia in a support capacity. Tio is incredibly wise for his age. Tio gave me very good advice on so many things. To see Tio at work helping and supporting people during the Ayahuasca ceremony is incredible.

I would strongly recommend Spirit Vine to anybody looking to partake in Ayahuasca ceremonies for the purposes of healing, transformation and personal development. If you are just looking to try out Ayahuasca for no particular reason, Spirit Vine is not for you.

If you look at previous reviews by other people, you will generally see 5 star reviews across the board. This says it all.

As hard as it was, I cherish the time I spent at Spirit Vine. Thank you Silvia and Tio from the bottom of my heart

Andrew
Giles
May 12, 2022 at 5:34 pm

I realised on this retreat that you’re never able to describe an experience as strong as it was felt, so bearing that in mind I’ll try my best to describe my time at Spirit Vine. First of all the retreat is stunning, the way all the buildings are nestled in the jungle makes you feel immersed in nature. When I arrived I was shocked at how beautiful the retreat was, you feel at peace as soon as you get there. It’s an incredibly tranquil place and there feels like a purpose to how everything is.

The food is amazing, I still don’t understand how they made the food they did. Each meal had so much variety, at almost every meal there was something I had never tried before.

The yoga sessions and massages were instrumental in helping you connect with yourself which was one of the many themes throughout the retreat, connecting with yourself. The workshops were so valuable because they provided us with the techniques and cathartic experiences needed for the ceremonies and after the retreat, I’m still using them 3 weeks after the retreat has ended.

Saving the best for last, Silvia and Ti0. They are by far the wisest people I have ever met. They are so pure with their desire to help you and they provide a space for you to open up and be as honest as you can without ever judging you. Before I arrived at Spirit Vine I was struggling with a few things and after just one conversation I was enlightened on the real source of an issue and how to resolve it. Even during casual conversations you’re receiving such valuable insights and wisdom which shows how they are always ready to help you and provide guidance. Before and during the ceremonies you can be quite anxious, especially if it is your first time doing Ayahuasca but they are so supportive and provide such a safe space for everyone. Before, during and after the ceremonies I sought their insight and they helped me further understand my experiences and where I needed to go deeper.

If you’re considering doing Ayahuasca for the 1st or 100th time, or are interested in healing yourself, or would like to receive insights on your life, or would like to better yourself in anyway, or all of the above, I can’t recommend Spirit Vine enough.

I’m incredibly grateful for all the support and advice Silvia and Ti0 provided, I don’t believe it’s a matter of if I will return to Spirit Vine, but when. Thank you Silvia and Ti0 for everything, I look forward to seeing you again.
Liis
May 11, 2022 at 6:08 am

As this was my first experience with Ayahuasca I was a little nervous but from the moment I set foot at Spirit Vine, I felt instantly serene and knew I’d made the right decision. The energy of the jungle is indescribable, teeming with life and breath-taking. It’s hard to convey how special it feels, it was healing just to be there but when combined with Ayahuasca it takes on a supernatural quality. I could sense throughout the retreat that every detail had been carefully considered: the location, workshops, accommodation (stunning), food (incredible) and activities, all of which made me feel like I was in safe and experienced hands, I kept thinking “this is perfection”. Silvia and Ti0 are wise beyond words, they are so committed and attentive. Their expertise proved invaluable time and time again, it’s as if they speak Ayahuasca, helping us translate our experiences (and often causing us to see them in an entirely new light). I lost count of the number of times a conversation over dinner unlocked something that Ayahuasca would later expand on and vice versa. I also found their workshops crucial to the experience, they provided vital resources so going into each ceremony you feel empowered and safe which freed you to focus on exploring rather than worrying. I would recommend anyone researching retreats to strongly consider how much support you will receive before, during and after each ceremony, it makes a world of difference. I feel so fortunate to have navigated my first Ayahuasca experience at Spirit Vine and I know it won’t be my last. I truly feel like I would not have gained this much at other retreats and I could not have wished for better guidance, support or wild beauty. Thank you for a magical adventure <3
erin
May 10, 2022 at 3:42 pm

It’s hard to know where to begin. I think starting with the retreat facilitators, Silvia and Tio is a good place. They are nothing short of incredible. Their directness, kindness and insight to one’s soul is exactly what I needed.
From the moment you arrive at the retreat you get a sense of sheer magic. It’s hard to describe but the grounds of Spirit Vine invoke a sense of calm and tranquility.
The bungalow I stayed in was shared with two other guests. My bed was so comfortable and I actually slept!! Something I struggle with. There is something to be said for falling asleep and waking with the sounds of the jungle all around you.
I have to admit I was nervous prior to my first ceremony of 5. Silvia and Tio do an amazing job at making you feel safe and prepared, something that help solidify my decision to attend Spirit Vine, safety. Being a women myself I was comforted knowing Silvia, a women was leading the ceremony.
My experience with ayahuasca and what I learned in those 5 ceremonies has forever changed my life. It is absolutely true that it’s a life time of therapy jammed into one night. Honestly there’s no way I would ever have unlocked the traumas and insight I have with my therapist.
I will forever be thankful I listened when ayahuasca called and am so grateful that I listened to myself and chose Spirit Vine.
My husband and I plan to return next year together as I did this journey alone this time. He has seen the change in me and is wanting to explore it for himself.

Thank you again Silvia and Tio. I miss our conversations and the feeling of community I felt for those 11 days. Can’t wait to be back again next year.

If you are at all hesitant, don’t be. A wise women told me, fear will hold you back from everything exciting that life has to offer.
tberg21
May 5, 2022 at 11:31 pm

Wow, where to even start as a review for Spirit Vine. I did a TON of research and used the reviews from ayaadvisors to choose Spirit Vine so I figured I should also give guidance for people seeking to absolutely, 100% come to Spirit Vine.

In an overview,
1. The food is exquisite!! It is tasty and beautiful. You do not even realize that you are not consuming salt because every thing you eat has so much flavor. I wish I could hire her to come cook for me every day.
2. The land/housing is beyond beautiful! You are in the beautiful Bahia. Every bungalow is beautifully crafted overlooking acres of gorgeous jungle that Silvia is working to preserve. 3.The workshops are tailored to guide and help you learn tools for both ceremonies and to be used in practice back home.
4. The team especially Silvia and TiO are absolute geniuses with some much knowledge, wisdom, and heart. I felt so safe, seen, and grateful to be able to interact daily with both of them.
5. Everyone participant was absolutely amazing, kind, funny, and had such a story to share and grow from.
6. The massages are OUT OF THIS WORLD.

Let’s just say I almost booked a flight home and I AM SO GLAD I STAYED. My bunkmate, whom Silvia so intuitively pairs you with, convinced me to say. The third night I had 27 years of searching for why come to light. I found so much clarity, understanding, self love, and peace. I wish I could be back now, continuing to learn and grow with the thoughts and guidance from both Silvia and TiO. It is truly a life changing experience. You must go!