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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
