North America Chevron. Mexico Chevron. Tulum Chevron. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission. A spiritual cleanse is always personal and private, lending a natural layer of mystery: Like childbirth or ayahuasca, nothing can fully prepare you for a temazcal—although that didn't stop me from trying. Sweat lodging is also a North American Native American purification custom of the Lakota tribe, known as inipi.
The physical extremes of the temazcal are not for everyone; possibly, in particular, me. A diagnosis of severe bradycardia landed me in the hospital often enough to require a pacemaker at the medically insubordinate age of In my case, twice so far. Of course not. So, why take the risk of participating in a sweat ceremony? The thinking goes that spiritual growth requires confronting and processing your deepest fears to unlock emotional release and access soul healing.
Participants crouch through an entrance to enter then gather around a fire pit where flames steam wet volcanic stones—called abuelitas—that represent ancestral knowledge. The lava rocks are doused with medicinal, herb-laced water—rosemary, basil, rue, lemongrass, chamomile—and the steam and structure prevent your own sweat from evaporating.
The ceremony can last around two hours, most of which takes place in pitch black. Hausvater notes that, even while research on mainstream treatments with similar effects on the body like saunas and steam rooms shows cardiovascular and stress-reducing benefits, isolating positive effects of a temazcal is challenging.
In Tulum, the handful of women I traveled with for the experience shared varying fears about dizziness, fainting, or even asthma complications. Others were simply afraid of stepping into something entirely outside their experience, and the emotional toll of processing their pain. Nearly every one of us had some form of chronic anxiety, depression, or emotional blockages to address.
