UNI RETREATS
Matsini Yawanawa and family from Mutum Village
Oct 4th-11th 2024 – first week
Oct 12th-19th 2024 – second week
Next Events
NEW YEAR UNI RETREAT
Ninawa Pai da Mata Huni Kuin and family
Dec 28th-Jan 4th 2025 – first week
Jan 5th-12th 2025 – second week
UNI RETREATS
Nixiwaka & Putanny Yanwanawa and family from Sacred Village
Apr 18th-25th 2025 – first week
Apr 26th-May 3rd 2025 – second week
UNI RETREATS
Yawanawa Mutum Village
Sep 12th-19th 2025 – first week
Sep 20th-28th 2025 – second week
UNI RETREATS & MEDICINE
Isku Kua Yawanawa and family from Nova Esperança Village
Nov 7th-14th 2025 – first week
Nov 15th-22nd 2025 – second week
NEW YEAR UNI RETREATS
Ninawa Pai da Mata and family
Dec 28th-Jan 4th 2026 – first week
About Us
Uni Retreats are monthly 7-night medicine retreats at Akasha Retreat Center in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The retreats are led by medicine women and men from the Amazon, mostly from Yawanawa and Huni Kuin nations, as well as a few special events with the participation of representatives from the Ashaninka and Shipibo traditions.
Our Focus
The focus of the retreats is to provide a deep experience with the medicines of the forest, with three Ayahuasca (Uní in Yawanawa language or Nixi Pae in Huni Kuin) ceremonies during each retreat, rapé and sananga circles, storytelling and teachings on the spirituality of the native nations; all in the beautiful nature of the Itaipava mountains, in upstate Rio de Janeiro where Akasha Retreat Center is located.
Retreats
The retreat is limited to groups of up to 30 people, allowing for closer contact with the spiritual leaders, in the comfort of Akasha Retreat Center, with individual and group bungalows, organic meals, herbal sauna, and natural swimming pools.
Uní - Nixi Pãe - Ayahuasca
Uní – Nixi Pãe – Ayahuasca is an ancient medicine used by many indigenous peoples of South America to connect with the spiritual world through visions, intuitions and expansion of consciousness. This sacred drink is reported by many as “years of therapy in just one night” and a tool that awakens one’s talents. Ayahuasca is a bridge to the sacred, the divine, the world of dreams and mysteries.
Ceremonies
The ceremonies are held throughout the night until dawn, with powerful songs from the native nations, which consist of spiritual codes that call the spirits and entities of the forest. The songs and medicine also help to access channels of spiritual connection within our bodies and superior spiritual realities. The medicine works to release old traumas, re-establishing harmony and alignment of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual bodies.
Awakening ancestral memories
Spending the night around the fire in ceremony with sacred songs allows the return of human ancestral memories, times in which our connection with Nature and its cycles was much deeper. Studies are showing that Ayahuasca stimulates the birth of new neurons, with great healing potential for diseases like depression and drug addiction.
Inipi
The retreats also include the Inipi ceremony, which is one of the oldest rituals of pre-Columbian America. The Inipi (in Lakota tradition) or Temazkal (in Mexika tradition, meaning sweat house) symbolizes the womb of the Earth, where we enter for rebirth. Through contact with the 4 elements, the heat, the steam emanated from the hot stones and sacred songs of the Lakota and Mexika traditions, we connect with the forces of Nature and the spiritual world. It is a ritual of purification, blessing, emotional unlocking, and expanding awareness.
Huni Kuin Guardians
The organizing crew of Uni Retreats is comprised of founding members of the Huni Kuin Guardians, a leading group in Brazil in the organization of indigenous ayahuasca ceremonies outside the Amazon, with 13 years experience and a history of important projects in the villages and around the world.