About Humans and Dogs
About Humans and Dogs
Nature, holistic healing and animal love
Our unique place enables our guests to benefit from a beautiful environment, holistic healing and animal love. Allow yourself to connect with nature, to unwind, destress and heal.
Nature Retreat with Healing Dogs
The traditional animal human relationship is one where the animal is seen as inferior.
Here at Retreat Bela Natureza Holística we believe that the animals sharing this earth with us are not lesser than, but equal to us. We believe they deserve to be treated with complete respect as autonomous beings and should not serve us or become a means to our ends.
This philosophy allows us to uncover the beautiful truth of a dog’s existence. We have created a setting where they may feel completely safe, secure and loved, where they may not be taken advantage of. In this environment the dogs are able to flourish, growing and developing their personalities and their relationships with each other and with us.
We have learnt so much about their incredibly unique selves, and share this with you in a special exchange: those who stay on the retreat benefit from getting to know the dogs, and the dogs enjoy socializing with visitors and participating in activities that happen here. These activities, such as crystal bowl sessions, yoga and arts, are usually off limits to animals.
The language of the heart
As animal-lovers, we would like to contribute to spread an understanding for respectful and loving interactions with the animal world. Through heartfelt and direct contact with our resident family of healing dogs, we humans can learn a lot from them.
Simple observation isn’t enough for this to happen – the dogs need some interaction in order to naturally accept the guests into their dog family: here, the dogs are hosts too! That’s why we offer our guests the opportunity to spend a few days in our stunning natural surroundings, relaxing, practicing yoga or enjoying creative activities, while our dogs watch them, full of interest, and speak to them with the “language of the heart”.
Touchable Love
Our mission refers to the loving connection between humans and other living beings. It is truly difficult to describe, as it is a phenomenon both subtle and powerful: the language of the heart.
We can connect to one another intuitively with our eyes, our words or our touch. But what is being communicated is always the language of the heart. A universal rhythm shared among all the living beings on our planet.
Touchable love perfectly expresses what we wish to offer you during your stay at Retreat Bela Natureza Holistica, aside from comfort and wellbeing.
Our Story
In 2005, Evelyn combined her love of nature and the desire to share it with others by opening a natural healing center, about a half hour drive away from the international airport of Salvador da Bahia, Brazil. The goal was to create a space where guests could come take a break from the noise of the city and take refuge in nature through natural healing and quiet reflection at the center. “For a long time I had been carrying and sharing the vision of a harmonious natural space that would provide a deep connection between the natural environment and the human being,” Evelyn says. “My dream is that more and more people will become integrated into this powerful unique love for the good of all and our planet.”
In addition to the families of monkeys and birds in the trees, Evelyn kept five dogs at the retreat center where she now lives. She was careful to keep the dogs separate from the guests at the healing center just as she was careful to keep the male dogs separate from the two females while they were in heat.
The small pack of dogs soon increased to a pack of sixteen after one of her gardeners forgot to close the gate which separated the unfixed animals from each other. “I loved these dogs very much and they loved me,” she says, “but it was never my plan to have so many, and I was initially upset with the gardeners for leaving the gates open. I didn’t know how I’d be able to nurture and properly care for more dogs.”
This changed when the two litters were born just two days apart. “I saw each puppy had their own personality as soon as they opened their eyes, and in their eyes I saw a reflection of their soul,” she says. “Today, they have complex relationships with each other and even their own hierarchy. Princesa, the matriarch, educated her puppies so well that our neighbors thought that we had educated them, but the fundamental education came from their mother!”
Before then, Evelyn believed that animals’ personalities were dependent on how they were treated by their owner, though she reassessed this theory as the puppies matured. It was then that she had a revelation — animals are just as complex and distinct from one another as humans.
She realized that people cannot fully understand this notion by sitting in a classroom; instead they must experience it firsthand in nature. This prompted a new idea for an additional retreat option for guests: a restorative space that focused on animal therapy within the context of a lush natural environment.
Retreat Bela Natureza welcomes guests from all over the world who come not only for the holistic therapies and nearby beaches, but to seek companionship with and receive unconditional love from the dogs.
It is Evelyn’s wish that visitors will be able draw comparisons from watching the animals interacting together and apply this wisdom to their own lives.
“I’m glad they’re ours,” she says. “It is our unending love story.”
Dr. Evelyn Hartoch
General coordinator of Retreat Bela Natureza
Landscape architect with Ph.D. in Environmental Structures from FAUUSP, University of São Paulo and in Socio-Environmental Sciences from Kassel University, Germany; BA in Communications and Arts from ECAUSP, University of São Paulo; consultant and holistic therapist in colors (chromotherapy) and complementary therapeutic sounds.
Meet Our Dog Family
Meet our wonderful group of loving, affectionate, healthy and well trained dogs, a real family of twelve healing dogs. The more time you spend with them, the more you will be surprised by their individual personalities and notice all their different characteristics.
You’ll be amazed at how independent and intelligent the dogs are and how, most of the time, they’re busy communicating with each other. Because they are a family and grew up together, they’ve developed a sort of hierarchical behaviour among the group that is quite similar to a wolf pack in nature.
They don’t demand much from us humans, and mainly ask for attention when feeding time begins or when they want some stroking and affection. They also enjoy being nearby to us, without disturbing whatever we are doing, and love to have a nap close to where we are.
A large group of dogs, all completely at ease with one another, is fundamental for the group meditation sessions. Because it is a big family of dogs, there will always be one or two members who enjoy being petted or interacting with the participants. Our family of twelve dogs, trained over years and completely at ease with each other, is the basis of the success of those sessions.
There are six males and six females in total, which gives the pack a great balance. These dogs look out for each other and will eventually look out for you. All of the dogs consistently receive the necessary veterinary care and attention. If you are interested in finding out more about dog health and behavior, you have the opportunity to do that together with us.
Gallery
How To Get Here
Retreat Bela Natureza Brazil is only 28km away from International Airport Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (SSA).
The Retreat is located in nature, close to the charming beach village Arembepe, at the highway Ba-099, “Estrada do Côco”, about a half hour drive away from the International Airport SSA.
Located in a secure condominium in the small rural village of Coqueiro de Arembepe, neighboring the Environmental Preservation Area of the Capivara River, we offer modern infrastructure within a peaceful and welcoming natural environment.
Retreat Bela Natureza is hidden away in nature, easy to reach when you know the way, but you might not find it on your own with just a GPS. Keep us updated on your flight’s arrival time, give us a call /send us a message, in order to get infos about Taxis or Uber, or give us a call if you arrive in Arembepe by bus, and we will be happy to assist you!
Retreat Bela Natureza
Nature Retreat with Healing Dogs
The traditional animal human relationship is one where the animal is seen as inferior.
Here at Retreat Bela Natureza we believe that the animals sharing this earth with us are not lesser than, but equal to us. We believe they deserve to be treated with complete respect as autonomous beings and should not serve us or become a means to our ends.
This philosophy allows us to uncover the beautiful truth of a dog’s existence. We have created a setting where they may feel completely safe, secure and loved, where they may not be taken advantage of. In this environment the dogs are able to flourish, growing and developing their personalities and their relationships with each other and with us.
We have learnt so much about their incredibly unique selves, and share this with you in a special exchange: those who stay on the retreat benefit from getting to know the dogs, and the dogs enjoy socializing with visitors and participating in activities that happen here. These activities, such as crystal bowl sessions, yoga and arts, are usually off limits to animals.
The language of the heart
As animal-lovers, we would like to contribute to spread an understanding for respectful and loving interactions with the animal world. Through heartfelt and direct contact with our resident family of healing dogs, we humans can learn a lot from them.
Simple observation isn’t enough for this to happen – the dogs need some interaction in order to naturally accept the guests into their dog family: here, the dogs are hosts too! That’s why we offer our guests the opportunity to spend a few days in our stunning natural surroundings, relaxing, practicing yoga or enjoying creative activities, while our dogs watch them, full of interest, and speak to them with the “language of the heart”.
Touchable Love
Our mission refers to the loving connection between humans and other living beings. It is truly difficult to describe, as it is a phenomenon both subtle and powerful: the language of the heart.
We can connect to one another intuitively with our eyes, our words or our touch. But what is being communicated is always the language of the heart. A universal rhythm shared among all the living beings on our planet.
Touchable love perfectly expresses what we wish to offer you during your stay at Retreat Bela Natureza Holistica, aside from comfort and wellbeing.
Our Story
In June 2005, Evelyn combined her love of nature and the desire to share it with others by opening a natural healing center, a space where guests could take refuge in nature through natural healing and quiet reflection. “For a long time I had been carrying and sharing the vision of a harmonious natural space that would provide a deep connection between the natural environment and the human being,”
To begin with, Evelyn kept five dogs at the retreat center where she now lives- but the small pack of dogs soon unexpectedly increased to a pack of sixteen! “I loved these dogs very much and they loved me,” she says, “but it was never my plan to have so many; initially, I didn’t know how I’d be able to nurture and properly care for more dogs.”
This soon changed when the two litters were born just two days apart. “I saw each puppy had their own personality as soon as they opened their eyes, and saw a reflection of their soul,” she says. “Today, they have complex relationships with each other, have their own hierarchy and have even trained each other!” Evelyn came to realise that animals are just as complex and individual as humans.
Now, Retreat Bela Natureza welcomes guests from all over the world not only for the holistic therapies and nearby beaches, but to seek companionship and unconditional love from the dogs. It is Evelyn’s wish that visitors will be able draw comparisons from watching the animals interacting together and apply this wisdom to their own lives.
“I’m glad they’re ours,” she says. “It is our unending love story”.
Dr. Evelyn Hartoch
General coordinator of Retreat Bela Natureza
Landscape architect with Ph.D. in Environmental Structures from FAUUSP, University of São Paulo and in Socio-Environmental Sciences from Kassel University, Germany; BA in Communications and Arts from ECAUSP, University of São Paulo; consultant and holistic therapist in colors (chromotherapy) and complementary therapeutic sounds.
Meet Our Dog Family
Meet our wonderful group of affectionate, healthy and well trained dogs; a real family of twelve healing dogs, all with individual personalities and different characteristics. There are six males and six females in total, which gives the pack a great balance. Because they are a family and grew up together, they’ve developed a hierarchical behavior among the group that is quite similar to a wolf pack in nature.
They are incredibly independent, and mainly ask for attention when feeding time begins or when they want some stroking, affection or simply some company. Our big family of twelve dogs have been trained over years and are completely at ease with each other, making meditation sessions and other workshops with dogs so successful. The dogs look out for each other and will eventually look out for you.
All of the dogs consistently receive the necessary veterinary care and attention. If you are interested in finding out more about dog health and behavior, you have the opportunity to do that with us.
Gallery
How To Get Here
Retreat Bela Natureza Brazil is only 28km away from International Airport Salvador da Bahia, Brazil (SSA).
Retreat Bela Natureza
The Retreat is located in nature, close to the charming beach village Arembepe, at the highway Ba-099, “Estrada do Côco”, about a half hour drive away from the International Airport SSA.
Located in a secure condominium in the small rural village of Coqueiro de Arembepe, neighboring the Environmental Preservation Area of the Capivara River, we offer modern infrastructure within a peaceful and welcoming natural environment.
Retreat Bela Natureza is hidden away in nature, easy to reach when you know the way, but you might not find it on your own with just a GPS. Keep us updated on your flight’s arrival time, give us a call /send us a message, in order to get infos about Taxis or Uber, or give us a call if you arrive in Arembepe by bus, and we will be happy to assist you!
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Arembepe, Bahia (Brazil)
+55 (71) 988 17 27 11
info@retreatbelanatureza.com
© 2005- Retreat Bela Natureza
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© 2005- Retreat Bela Natureza | Todos os direitos reservados
