TEMAZCAL

Have you ever sat in the dirt, in complete black darkness, in a small igloo made of clay/rock, so small you can’t stand up, being bathed in steam from rocks cooked in a bonfire for hours under temperatures of 100F+ with a group of practical strangers? Welcome to the Mexican Temazcal experience.

So, why would anyone CHOOSE to do this?!

The name Temazcal comes from the Aztec or Nahuatl language meaning literally “bath house”. More research is providing evidence of the benefits of regular use of thermal therapies or repeated exposure to high heat, including:

• Improvements in the body’s ability to remove/reduce heavy metals

• Clear the respiratory system

• Relieve symptoms of the common cold

• Reduce incidence of colds

• Help reduce symptoms of mid depression, insomnia, appetite loss and anxiety

• Increase blood circulation

• Improved athletic endurance and recovery

• Reduced chronic fatigue, pain and sleep disturbance

• Reduced arthritis pain

• Increase in norepinephrine

• Promotion of Brain-Derived-Neurotropic-Factor (BDNF) = growth of new brain cells

• Lowered risk for Alzheimer’s disease/dementia

• Reduced anxiety and increased stress resilience

• Nervous system regulation training - the sympathetic nervous system (fight/flight response) is activated by heat exposure. We can use this as an opportunity to up-train the parasympathetic response.

Inside the temazcal hut temperatures can reach over 100 degrees F (38 Celsius) as the guide/ritual leader ladles water infused with a variety of healing herbs and plants onto an increasing number of stones heated in a ceremonial fire for hours. The size, temperature and complete darkness inside the hut are used as a representation of the womb of mother earth.

The ceremony is used to purify the body, mind and spirit of any impurities of energy or body, thus the participant leaves the ceremony feeling “reborn” back into the world. Emotions and energies can rise to increasing levels throughout the ceremony so guests are invited to release and express as necessary. Sometimes this release can appear as a scream, laugh, a call or most typically heavy sighs as participants let go of whatever tensions or energies they may be ready to release.

The ceremony is typically divided into four rounds or “puertas” (doors), at the end of each session the door to the hut is opened and some of the steam/heat let out for a short break in between each round. Rounds can vary in length depending on the leader and the desires of the group going in, but are typically around 20-30mins for beginner groups. Each round is representative of the four elements (earth, fire, wind and water). During each round the leader of the ceremony will guide participants with either song, spoken word, prayer or some combination of them all.

As is recommended, we enter the temazcal with a clear intention, a reason for our rebirth, a purpose for why we go through this rite of passage. Knowing what it is we wish to release and transmute, to burn in the heat and the steam, is essential for coming back out at the end feeling purified and new. It is an honor to take part in this ancient ritual, full of meaning and sacred significance so that we may release the old and make room for the new within us.