Reflections & Experiences

An absolutely amazing retreat , couldn’t have imagined a better and safer place to do aya for the first time. It is a beautiful place with comfortable bungalows, surrounded by jungle and endless empty beaches. Sylvia is such an amazing woman, together with her facilitator Theo, and I was taken aback by their genuine interest in every participant’s problems. I didn’t expect so much of attention as I thought these kind of places run as business. It was definitely not just a business for Sylvia. Moreover, I was very impressed by other participats as I was worried to be surrounded by hippies , lost souls or heavy drug addicts. Nothing like that- all of the participants were amazing , successful and very interesting people! Food was excellent, too! Even though I was worried to take aya for obvious reasons, I felt completely safe doing it in this place. Aya opened doors for me to a a new life which is never going to be the same and I will definitely come back to this place to continue the experience. I just wish the retreat lasted longer 😉 having participated in other retreat afterwards I can reassure that this one is Top one and will definitely recommend it to whoever needs it.

I have just come back from the Spirit Vine Ayahuasca Retreat Centre in Brazil. I highly recommend this place for many reasons:

1. Silvia who is a well-connected with Aya medicine shaman as well as a highly conscious psychotherapist is very capable to guide all the participants to reach their highest healing and soul evolution potential. Those workshops she has developed to help each group to understand their soul journey process are especially valuable which you would not get anywhere else.

2. Throughout the retreat, Silvia and her assistant Tio demonstrate very high degree of presence and awareness. They seem to know where each soul is at on the journey, giving support and guidance accordingly.

3. The comfortable accommodation and the healthy and delicious food are no comparison. The entire facility is more like an enchanted paradise.

Personally, I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to heal, to purify, to awaken under Silvia and TiO’s direct guidance. The journey is totally beyond words, you need to experience directly yourself.

When you arrive at Spirit Vine, you are entering paradise on earth. The grounds are impeccable. As are the bungalows and the ceremony and surrounding buildings. You will receive 5 star vegetarian meals. The maestro of this paradise is ayahuascera Silvia Polivoy, a modern day shaman who embodies having learned from the shamans of South America as well as her own spiritual depth and her knowledge as a psychotherapist. Please trust that every ceremony she presides over you will be protected, opened to sacred knowledge your soul wants you to know, and attended to with the attention you deserve as a seeker of plant wisdom. I cannot recommend Spirit Vine and Silvia and her staff highly enough. Her’s is a divine mission and it shows in everything Spirit Vine offers.

Is it possible to give six stars? 🙂 This retreat was one of the best investments of my life! If you’re not only interested but committed to reaching higher levels of consciousness, Spirit Vine can definitely help your process.

Silvia, Te0 and the whole team were incredible! The workshops, the ceremonies, the playtime at the beach, at the waterfalls or at the pond were amazing.

It was a wonderful experience. It’s hard work but if you’re really committed to your growing process this place is for you! By the way, I will be back in November of 2019. 😉

I’m speechless after this retreat and forever grateful. I’m so glad I decided to have my first journey with ayahuasca at Spirit Vine. This is a hidden paradise in the atlantic jungle – it’s breathtaking how beautiful it is! I felt so safe all the time and I traveled alone all the way from Sweden. Everything is perfectly planned. Yoga, food, rest, massage, painting, workshop, ceremonies, sharing… every single thing meant so much to me. I felt calm and safe all the time and even though the ayahuasca showed me some of my childhood traumas – I was never afraid. Instead I got a whole new perspective, understanding, self love, power and tools for me to start living the life that I truly deserve. All thanks to Spirit Vine – thank you for chancing my life!

It’s just over a month since I attended the Spirit Vine retreat and I am really seeing the benefits in my attitude and life. I arrived with minimal experience with psychedelics. I am also on pretty far on the rational, skeptical, not-so-spiritual end of the spectrum, so, I really didn’t know what to expect and I did have some difficult experiences during the ceremonies. However, the insights I gained have been very powerful. These were not necessarily new realizations, but I felt them in a new, more visceral way. I also really appreciated the structure of the retreat, which is a mix of the ayahuasca traditions and psychotherapy (based on Silvia’s background as a psychotherapist). The experience with the group and hearing everyone’s vulnerabilities and experiences was also very powerful and humbling. The setting and facilitators are really perfect for an introduction to this kind of work. I think this is one step on a journey, but a very powerful and enlightening step.

I came on this retreat with the intention of learning more about myself, my mental obstacles, and my path to greater peace and happiness. I couldn’t imagine a better setting in which to explore such topics of personal growth. Thanks to the guidance of Sylvia and Tio, the entire retreat was perfectly structured to incorporate therapeutic group workshops on topics such as childhood regression, the shadow, and other forms of healing to beautifully compliment the experience of drinking the Ayahuasca tea and help us to derive meaning and gain a deeper understanding of our individual experiences. I came to this retreat alone, but I never felt alone since our intimate and diverse group of 16 people of all ages and from all over the world connected almost instantaneously in this setting and it was beautiful to gain such a supportive and fun group of new friends.

During the day we enjoyed having meals together, but also had the flexibility to go to waterfalls or beaches if we chose to before reconvening for group workshops or the ceremonies. There was also the option to get massages at the retreat center on days of ceremonies to really prepare your body and they felt amazing. The yoga classes were gentle and exactly what my body needed. I also loved the optional art sessions we would have after breakfast on certain days. I hadn’t painted in over 10 years, but it was so fun to get in touch with my creative side and it felt so fun and relaxing.

The retreat center in and of itself is an incredibly healing place to be. The bungalows are beautiful and clean, with amazing rainfall showers, and gorgeous views of the lush surroundings. The dining area is a beautiful veranda with a large dining table for everyone to sit at. The ceremony room is a beautiful circular building enclosed partially by screens so you can hear all the beautiful sounds of the jungle. And the best part of the entire retreat center, in my opinion, is the gorgeous pond where we spent many hours floating around and basking in the beauty of nature.

All in all, I can’t say enough great things about this retreat and I cannot wait to come back. It was extremely hard to leave, but I’m so grateful I stayed in the town of Itacaré a few nights following the retreat as did most of the others. It was a very magical experience and I would recommend it to anyone interested in delving deeper into spirituality and healing your self.

It’s very rare you get an opportunity to make meaningful change in your life. Spirit Vine through it’s beautiful, well manicured grounds and thoughtful host Silva and facilitators Tio and Noor provide you that opportunity.

All that is asked of you is that you come prepared and with a open mindset. If you choose to book your retreat with Spirit Vine you will be completely supported throughout your stay and be able to focus on getting the answers you want. Silva even makes her number available for individual consolation day or night if needed.

Lastly the people that be joining you on your retreat are nothing short of incredible. Professionals from all sorts of walks of life that will become your family for the week. They will provide you another layer of love and support.

I know my life, and the lives of many of those who were with me at the retreat, has been fundamentally altered through my experiences at Spirit Vine. I hope those of you who are interested in Spirit Vine will be able to say the same!

I was privileged to visit Spirit Vine in January 2019 with 15 others seeking answers to why their lives were running loops of annoying, often destructive behaviour. No matter how much work we’d all done on ourselves, some of these loops had become so ingrained they seemed impossible to break. I don’t know of any other medicine or practice that has so completely lifted me out of these grooves and given me the opportunity to look at everything from a fresh perspective. A totally brilliant experience and a feast for the senses from the food, the music, the care and attention from Sylvia, Tio and Noor, the jungle noises, the beautiful clean bungalows, the plants, the pond, the yoga, the massages… it was so rejuvenating in every possible way.

One thing I would like to emphasize is, there is no ego apparent in the leadership here. The group sessions are guided by Sylvia and Tio, but it’s 95% the group and the group energy. There is no fawning over the leaders, or cliques, or favourites as I have witnessed in other groups that meet regularly. Sylvia is only interested in your healing, not in being praised for the incredible retreat she has worked years to create, and maintains with love and consistency. That in itself is extraordinary, as well as her ability to focus on everybody’s share and draw out something relevant and personal for that person. But she really comes into her own during the ceremony nights, sitting in silent witness, but speaking to each of us through her haunting, beautiful, passionate music which forms the architecture of the visions. It is the most exquisite expression of attention and love.

I am so happy to have found this place and cannot stress how important it was for me to have the follow up sessions and the professional care on hand when a buried trauma surfaced 24 hours after the third ayahuasca ceremony. If I had been on a weekend retreat, I would have been in trouble, with unresolved issues hanging. It’s really worth giving yourself the full 9 days with this deeply healing medicine and with people who know and respect it’s power.

With all my heart I recommend!

My first retreat was in 2001, and had an incredibly powerful experience, all in a grand and good way. I am determined to get the visions and imagery that came through, onto canvas someday!

I attended two other times, the last being in 2005, with very fond memories as well, and my fourth journey to Brazil to partake was in December of 2018, just recently.

What is most comforting for me, is knowing where the brew comes from ~ which is from the very forest surrounding the retreat. Our host, a very dear friend now, Silvia Polivoy, PhD, is one of the most knowledgeable, experienced, and trained people in the field of Ayahuasca, as a Shaman, and clinical psychologist.

She combines everything she knows with her compassion, kindness, gentle and calming ways, yet, she is tough, insightful, persistent, an amazing listener, great sense of humor, and knows how to tune into the core of what needs healing with each unique individual, if that is what one is there for. She has a way about her. She is perfect for this position of helping others heal, and offers such a safe, caring, and loving environment.

The grounds, facilities, and housing, are exceptionally clean, very comfortable, elegant, efficient, organized, and maintained with professionalism. And Nature provides the extraordinary beauty … naturally 🙂 The wildlife sings to you like a symphony, so, so lovely.

Highly Recommend!