About Us

Meet the Devoted Team Behind Our Transformational Retreats.

RETREATS + FACILITATORS FEATURED IN

“We are all just walking each other home”

-Ram Dass

About

At The Nature Within, you’ll find a community dedicated to supporting one another in living authentically and reconnecting with our ancestral roots.

We believe true healing happens in a safe space where everything is welcome. Here, we come together to pray, meditate, laugh, dance, or cry.

These moments of full acceptance create a bright spark in the universe, offering hope for the renewal of a community we are proud to be a part of.

From deep indigenous roots to modern practices, our journey is one of genuine commitment to spiritual healing and growth.

Eli & Sathya

Welcome to

Our Family

Meet our team

Indigenous Healer & Botanist

Taita Carlos

Medicine-man, Taita and Botanist.
Taita Carlos is a medicine man, botanist, and healer from the Ingano Indigenous tribe of Putumayo, Colombia. From a young age, Carlos has been devoted to the art of healing, studying Yage plant medicine. He has learned from many grandparents and elders of the Yage tradition, with the jungle itself being his main teacher. Taita Carlos has spent extensive time traversing the jungles of Putumayo, absorbing its deep inner wisdom.
Taita Carlos offers genuine wisdom teachings. Despite his profound knowledge, he can easily transform into a friend or even a playful child, laughing at life. He is one of the most remarkable healers I have ever worked with, helping many to heal from what once seemed impossible. Taita Carlos is a true gift to the world.

Founder & Medicine-Man

Eli Rechtschaffen

Eli is a dedicated student to the path of truth, looking to uncover the true nature of the heart. He is a long-time meditation practitioner and has spent intensive time in silent retreats, he has also studied the shamanic traditions deeply and has lived in the Amazon jungle. For over a decade, he has been supporting the tribes to share their healing work. Eli is the founder of The Nature Within which offers week-long Ancestral medicine retreats in Blue Spirit, Costa Rica with the Ingano lineage of Taitas whom he has worked for the past ten years. His life intention is to bring these sacred healing tools to all beings in order to support the collective awakening of human beings.

Nature Mystic & Ritualist

Sathyanarayani

Born in Puttaparthi, India, within the ashram of Sai Baba, Sathya was raised in a spiritual family immersed in devotional practice.

Trained in breathwork facilitation, she has been leading group sessions for the past four years while serving in sacred ceremonies alongside her teachers. As a nature mystic, she guides through ritual and offerings to Mother Earth, with the intention of restoring sacred reciprocity and deepening our connection with Pachamama.

Her work weaves together breathwork, meditation, tea ceremonies, and spiritual offerings, creating moments of remembrance of our inherent connection to the Earth. Beyond facilitation, Sathya is a lover of poetry, art, and food, dedicated to infusing presence and reverence into all that she does.

Medicine Woman, Intuitive Guide & Energy Alchemist

Mishy Matthews

Mishy Matthews is a medicine woman, yoga guide, sound healer, and integration specialist devoted to supporting deep transformation. With nearly two decades of experience in energy work, plant medicine, and intuitive healing, she guides yoga and sound journeys and offers trauma-informed integration to help participants reconnect with their inner truth. Known for her intuitive depth and grounding presence, Mishy weaves movement, sound, and integrative practices that invite release, realignment, and embodiment of the soul’s true essence.

EQ Mastery Coach, Life / Business Strategist

Rick Williams

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Medicine-Man

JohnFreddy Cepeda

Juan David is a remarkable medicine musician with a deep mastery of various instruments, including guitar, flutes, charango, tambor, and his own powerful voice. With over 20 years of experience, he not only performs but also composes his own music. As the lead musician in our extensive community of medicine healers, Juan David plays a pivotal role in our ayahuasca ceremonies. His music is a profound expression of his heart, guiding and enhancing the spiritual journey for all who partake in our ceremonies. Through his soulful melodies and skilled performances, Juan David weaves a tapestry of sound that deeply connects with the essence of our healing practices.

Medicine Musician

Nicolás Garreta

Our teacher

Elder Isaias

MA, SEP

Pilar Brooks

The Inga Tribe

The Inga people are an indigenous group with roots in the Quechua culture, tracing back to the pre-Hispanic era of the Americas.

While archaeological evidence suggests that the Inga culture originated in Quito, Ecuador, their largest community today is found in the Putumayo department of Colombia.

The Inga developed one of the most sophisticated agricultural systems of the Paleo-Indian period and were also known for their skills in ranching and poultry farming, particularly in turkey breeding.

Renowned for their medicinal practices, the Inga are recognized as shamans in both Ecuador and Colombia. Many historians and researchers believe that the Inga have ties to the great Inca Empire and are considered one of the most resilient and warrior-like cultures of the pre-Hispanic era. They are thought to have been primary caretakers of the Inca Empire.

The Inga shamans, known as “sinchi,” were deeply connected to the sacred plant yagé (Ayahuasca), which they used for healing and as a means of communicating with their gods and ancestors. For the Inga, yagé was not only a powerful cure for diseases but also a spiritual tool that connected them to the divine.

The numbers

Souls Connected Worldwide

+ 30 years

Dedicated experience with traditional Ayahuasca

+ 5,000

Hearts touched around the world

Listen to Eli’s Interview on Four Visions Podcast

Connect With Us And Start Your Journey

Curious about how we can support you? Schedule a free discovery call and let’s explore the possibilities together.