Stacy and I had the opportunity to attend a Temazcal on Tuesday. It is essentially a steam bath with a certain resemblance to the sauna, but with a solid spiritual background and a great healing purpose. A temazcal is an ancient ritual that has been part of Mexican and South American culture for around 1,000 years. The word itself originates from a Nahuatl word Temāzcalli, which translates to “house of heat.”
The cleansing ritual often took place before and after battles and was also thought to have strong healing powers. Thanks to people who still have a strong bond with their roots and with the earth, we can still experience it today, and I’m very glad we did.
We were a bit nervous in the beginning as we didn’t know what to expect! Were we going to be way too hot? Would we have to exit early? Will we be able to breath? We weren’t alone in our uneasiness, as the 5 other people joining us also had their own reservations. However, this was an experience we yearned for, and we all became resigned to the conclusion to let our anxieties melt away inside.
The temazcal is purposefully shaped in a dome-like manner to represent a woman’s womb. Specifically, Mother Nature. And when a person steps out of a temazcal experience, they are essentially reborn. The symbolism was something that excited me. I wanted to feel different afterwards. I wanted to feel reborn…. spiritually and emotionally. This excitement eased my anxieties slightly.
The whole ceremony revolves around the individual spirituality of each participant, always guided and cared for by the temazcalero - the guide who, after years of training and connection, has the honor to make this ritual possible and direct each person to their own spiritual healing. Our guide spoke only Spanish, and although I could understand almost all of it on the most basic level, I am glad there was a translator to uncover some of the deeper wisdoms I may have missed.
Before entering the temazcal, the guide performed an energy cleansing on each of us with an aromatic smoke called copal, a natural tree sap resin that helps purify the body, the aura and the essence of people. This way, all of us entered the temazcal with neutral energy, ready to begin the ritual in total harmony.
You must enter the temazcal from left to right, as that is the way energy flows through our bodies and through mother earth. Before you step into the dome you say a small prayer: Mitakuya oyasin y por todas mis relaciones. The phrase translates in English as "all my relatives," "we are all related," or "all my relations." It is a prayer of oneness and harmony with all forms of life: other people, animals, birds, insects, trees and plants, and even rocks, rivers, mountains and valleys. It prepares you to spiritually connect with yourself and everything around you.
Once inside, I felt a little bit claustrophobic. It was already hot and steamy, and the enclosed hut created an ominous darkness. It was a tight space and not much room to stretch your legs or sit comfortably. The hut itself was made of concrete and the floor was tiled. There was a small circular fire pit in the middle where the hot stones were going to be placed. I was already sweating profusely but I focused my breath and my awareness, ready to begin what was to come.
The way the temazcal gets so hot is the guide pours water with aromatic herbs (chamomile, lavender, rosemary) on to red hot volcanic stones. The steam emanates off the rocks flows into the space and permeates every millimeter of your body. The hint of chamomile the rocks used during the ceremony were heated just outside the structure in an outdoor brick wood fire. As the ceremony went on, more hot rocks were brought into the dome, at intervals, to keep the space hot. The guide uses deer antlers to move and place the rocks into position. There were a few times glowing red hot rocks almost tumbled off the top, but he controlled them well.
Traditional temazcales are done in four stages, known as doors. During each separate stage, or door, more hot stones are added and the door to the temazcal is shut, leaving you in complete darkness with you, your thoughts and intense steam. Each door is shorter, but more intense, with higher heat and steam. In each stage, songs and prayers also increase in intensity. This made us all feel a bit more comfortable knowing that there would be breaks in between the intense heat and that the door would be opened.
Each door represents a part of our self and a connection with the earth and ourselves. The first door was wisdom, the second was conscious, the third was healing and the fourth was free spirit. Each of these four sacred elements are the ones that form human beings and give us the power of self-healing. Something that was said throughout the ceremony that really resonated with me was that it is important to understand that the guide is not the one who heals people; he only accompanies us to meet with ourselves and reveal the special and unique medicine that everyone has inside. That was inspiring because often times I don’t feel powerful enough or think I don’t have what it takes to feel better emotionally, spiritually, and physically. But I am powerful enough. I do have what it takes. We all are, and we all do!!
Soon after entering, rocks were added, and the first door was shut. The first door, wisdom, lasted for maybe 10-15min. It intended to connect us with our ancestors to ask for health, well-being and good things. It was a time for us to be with ourselves. To get to know ourselves, both from an ancestral point of view and transformative aspect. Without knowing ourselves, how can we be with or know others? How can we move forward and better ourselves if we don’t understand our feelings and how to be with ourselves? The heat and steam were strong, and I felt myself panic for a few moments in the beginning but once again I found my breath and was fine. At the end, the door opened, and we got a burst of fresh air and light flooded in again. We made it through the first door.
We spend about 5-10min chatting about how we felt, how intense the heat was and then the guide prepared us for the next door. The door of our conscious. The part of ourselves that is deep down inside, that most of the time we never want to feel or acknowledge. The part of our soul that harbors things we may never want to tell people about ourselves. In this door we were to enter into a battle with ourselves. Battle with the thoughts that consume your darkest self and leave the parts that you no longer need in the fire. Seeing the light is great, but facing your deepest, darkest self, the part you don’t share because you’re afraid of what you see…. that’s powerful, that’s where real healing begins. Soon, more rocks were added, the door closed, and we entered into the second door. This was straight up emotional from the get-go. The guide talked about so many things that invoked a very personal response. Looking into your soul to find things you don’t like, things that you want to change. Letting go of the past. Reconnecting with yourself. All things I have been going through the past few weeks. He guided me into a deep meeting with myself. I cried. I didn’t like what I saw, what I thought about myself, how I have treated people close to me in my life. I saw someone I didn’t want to be. I saw someone I was ashamed of, and it made me sad. I saw someone who was afraid to change and has been telling myself lies about my true feelings. I saw all of that within me. Before I knew it, the door opened, and I opened my eyes. It had been a very intense 10min!! I felt drained. Emotionally. I really had an emotional experience, but it was good. It was great. I felt like I was truly honest with myself for the first time in a long time. The crazy part about it was during that time I was so entranced with my breath and visions that I honestly didn’t even feel the heat. Even though every millimeter of my body was dripping with sweat. At this point everyone was super fucking hot and sweat was pooled onto the floor. Stacy relaxed in child’s pose for a while and then asked for some water, which prompted all of us to ask for some water. They brought us a nice cold glass of chlorophyll water which was exactly what we needed at our halfway point.
It was time for the third door. The door of medication and healing. At this point I was ready for the heat and knew what to expect, but after having such a crazy experience in the last door I was a little nervous of what was to come. In this door we shed the parts of ourselves we want to change of get rid of. Today is a good day to die. Today is a good day to let those parts of me die. Today is a good day to change. We need to find the things that bring us joy and happiness in our life. Hobbies, passions. These are the things that can help us heal. When was the last time you dance? When was the last time you sang? When was the last time you’ve done something good for your soul? If you can’t remember, then somewhere you have gotten off your path. I’m on the right path again and am finding my way. I know I can do this. I want to do this. When the door opened, I felt energized.
We didn’t waste much time getting to the last door. The doors had progressively gotten shorter and with the fourth door ahead of us we all felt a sense of completion coming close. The final door was the door to free spirt. The door shut and we were in our last few minutes. Be yourself. Be the person you want to be. Explore. Live the life you want to live. All these things resonated so much with me. As the door opened for the last time, I felt a great sense of accomplishment. I felt hopeful, energetic, happy.
As we slowly crawled out of the temazcal, being reborn into the world, I felt connected to the earth but most importantly I felt connected to myself. I am truly grateful for such an experience and loved being able to share it with Stacy. We were able to have some great conversations and connection over our experiences. Overall, I would recommend this experience to everyone, and I will eventually do it again.
Comments
Post a Comment