From Gaia for You

This was my second stay, and once again it was wonderful. Ilse and Danilo work in their own unique way, and I’m grateful I got to experience it again. I wholeheartedly recommend this retreat to anyone who feels it’s the right fit for them.

Five stars without hesitation.
I came to From Gaia For You knowing what I was there to do. But knowing that intellectually and actually experiencing it are two very different things. Ayahuasca can be incredibly beautiful, but also intense, confronting and genuinely frightening.
If you are ready to do this, I honestly cannot imagine a better setting.

What makes From Gaia For You so special is the family setting. You are welcomed into Danilo and Ilse’s home, with their children and dogs, while normal family life simply continues around you. It feels incredibly human, safe and grounded.
And the whole experience goes far beyond the ceremonies themselves. The preparation, individual one-on-one conversations and integration are all part of the journey. The sharing sessions were especially valuable: even when it was difficult to put an experience into words, you could simply speak your mind and open your heart. Nothing was judged, nothing was considered strange, and you were free to say whatever you needed to say.
Danilo and Ilse know when to step in, when to give you space, and exactly what to say at the right moment to guide you through your process.

I arrived as a very down-to-earth and somewhat sceptical person, and left with some fundamental ideas about myself, consciousness and reality challenged in ways I never expected. And it is awesome!

If you feel you are ready to do this, this is the place to do it. A beautiful cosy setting, guided by music and even live singing, it felt extremely warm and guided. Martin’s 🎶Om Guru🎶 alone is already heaven by itself 🥰

Thank you Danilo, Ilse, Martin, Gaia, Stella, the dogs, and everyone who shared this experience with me. I can wholeheartedly recommend From Gaia For You and I honestly wouldn’t have wanted to do it any other way.

A deep, moving, and healing experience created with the utmost care and mindfulness in an atmosphere of love, acceptance, and support 🫶 I couldn't imagine a more thoughtfully prepared space and atmosphere to look within and face my deepest fears and pain.🫶 I am beyond grateful 🫶

I came to this retreat both as a participant and with a professional background — I work as a therapist and trained in psychedelic-assisted therapy, so I tend to watch the container as closely as I feel it.

What stayed with me most was the quality of the holding. There is a beautiful, steady and grounded energy in this space — warm, attentive, and genuinely loving, without anything performative about it. Danilo and Ilse hold the space with simple authentic presence and skill. That combination is rarer than it should be.

The live music carried much of it: South American and Colombian energies, guitar, flute and voice, supported te processes through the night. It brought te connection to te medicine and allowed to go deep. The connection to the yagé tradition was felt — lived and carried, not borrowed.

Much of it happened in a family space rather than a staged retreat setting: cooking and living together with their two little girls bringing joy and fun, bathing in the cold river, three little dogs playing around the place. Life simply went on alongside the deep work, and that made surrender and opening far easier than in many other spaces I have been in.

Because the container is so solid, deep processes become possible. I experienced and witnessed work that went well beyond a pleasant journey: demanding processes that were met with patience and care rather than managed or cut short. My impression is that there is also real experience with complex trauma here — the pacing, the attunement, and the way people were accompanied through difficult territory all pointed to that.

The medicine itself was of very high quality, clean and clear, with a good and coherent energy.

I recommend this wholeheartedly, from my own experience as a participant and from a professional perspective.

Back home, digesting and processing the insights, experiences and strong emotions that I have lived the past week.
The thorough prep-work guided by Danilo had me in the right mindset before I even got on the plane. Informed and prepared but also at ease as we had some video-calls going through things.
Upon arrival I sensed the harmony of the place, Danilo and Ilse, Gaia and Stella darting around in the back and Porcini, Luna and Ciccia, the cuddly trio that were to escort me on my solo walks during the week.
Because I had prepared so well, the fasting and cleansing and meditative part on day 1 and first half of day 2 felt like a continuation, albeit with the intensity turned up a notch.
The sessions in the dome brought me as much as I had expected, as much struggle, as much joy and as much insight as I had anticipated….
And they will continue to bring me insight and understanding today and in the coming weeks, hopefully months.
I feel cannot fully fathom the value of my visit to this wonderful place. i know it was special and I am feeling much inspired by this lovely family, oasis that is their house and transformative work I got to do under their loving guidance.