How a Temazcal Ceremony work
Some Basics about a Temazcal Ceremony
Basically, Temazcal is a small dome that serves as a Sauna (also known as sweat lodge orsteambath). It is one of the Mayan Ceremonies
Temazcal in Mexico. A sauna inside a stome dome is created with hot stones which are moved from a fireplace to the center of the dome. A shaman, with some help from the person who is delivering the stones from the outside fireplace, puts some water on the hot stones to produce more and more steam. Shaman, some chanting and with some herbs (to give scent) are involved in the process. Supposedly you just come to sweat and enjoy, nothing more deceptive (in a good way).
Temazcal is strong purification process, I didn’t know how strong it could be, as I always heard that it’s just chilling in ahot steamy Sauna.
Now I understand that every ceremony, like Ayahuasca, Peyote, even something easy like Temazcal, is to break some limits, make you freer, purify and get out of the box to make you even stronger.
Where to find a Temazcal Ceremony
So one night I went to visit a village in the jungle (mostly to meet nice people living there), very close to Playa Del Carmen (Temazcal Riviera Maya in Mexico). I was told that they would also do a Ceremony of Cacao, which I thought would be just drinking cacao, chanting, chillin’. Later, I realized that we were also going to do Temazcal as part of a connection process with earth and purification. I was glad to try both.
As cocoa itself has no particular effect as a substance (I’ve been told), Temazcal surprised me pretty well.
Me, for example, I can stay in sauna for maybe 10-15 minutes (after a few weeks, months of training). The whole ceremony lasted at least an hour, and after the first 20 minutes, I already had enough of sweating; it was hard to stand so much heat.
Anxiety, tiredness, and a fear of death emerged. I felt like I was in an Ayahuasca Ceremony again. It wasn’t nice, but I knew that it was a great process that I had to overcome if I wanted to get more advanced in my shamanism training and generally as a human being.
Process, Issues during Ceremony
As I can normally see most of my superficial issues in life, during the ceremony, tou can see how most deeper problems emerge. As a white man-boy, I noticed how much control of life, control of my body I am carrying with me. I just couldn’t let go of steering the process. In my case, not for a first time, my assignment was to release myself from self control and fear of ‘something wrong happening with my body’. It’s a preparation to let go of the fear of death itself, one of the big tasks I’m working on these days.
During the ceremony, after about 30 minutes of staying in the sauna, I was so tired, so threatened by my mind, that I had no other option but just let go and let it all die (the fear, the threat, the pain, the heat, the thirst). I just didn’t have the strength to fight anymore with it. I did something I couldn’t manage during an Ayahuasca retreat – I stopped, I lay down and let go for a moment. It was a big success and preparation for future stronger ceremonies.
How other people responded to the Ceremony
Bottom line, everyone was going through the purification process during Temazcal, but it for sure wasn’t chilling. People came with some thoughts, troubles to release, wishes. To see your body suffer and overcome it – it’s already releasing your mind and feeling easier in your soul. That’s why it’s definitely worth doing it. After all is done, you see people coming out from the dome fresh, happy and light. They hug, express love, thank each other. You see love and nature, if the ceremony was well done.
After the Ceremony
Overall I came out from the Temazcal dome very happy and feeling a lightness in me. I was sitting and laughing for 20 minutes with a guy I just met outside (Francisco). Other people came out with really open hearts, or just happy like me, or just quiet after re-working their issues.
Who to Recommend
Also, from my perspective, Temazcal is recommended to people who are starting their adventures with ceremonies. It might be for people who haven’t done deep trips into their being yet. Temazcal is one of the easiest trips you can do, also it has no substances, but it is good enough to give you a strong experience and prepare for more intense ceremonies 🙂
