InTheTemazcal

In short, I don't know how often one should participate in temazcal ceremonies. I go about once a week when I'm in a city where I know the temazcaleros . But, how often should I go? How often should you go? I don't know. My First Thought on Temazcal Ceremony Frequency If I think about it ... which I did today ... it depends. I was talking about it with my sister, Margarita, today. Margarita's a fellow temazcalero from moons ago. I met her in the Temazcal de los Osos of Durango, Dgo., Mexico , where I, myself, joined the  temazcalero family. Although I have thought about the question before, when we asked each other the question, neither of us knew the answer. She said that she would ask a friend. I decided to think about it. When we spoke, my reflexive response ... not always my best answer, but not bad this time, ... was, "Well, I think that I should go about once every moon phase." I explained, "That's seven days. It's a natural per...

Maybe you have not had the  temazcal  experience yet. Perhaps you have been thinking about kicking off your sandals to step inside the circle. Have you heard a co-worker talking about a Mayan steam bath at work and want to know what it's all about?   Whatever your situation, welcome, tenderfoot  temazcalero ! Below you will find a few links from first time  "caminantes " to give you an idea of what went through their heads when they entered the  temazcal  for their first or second try! I hope you enjoy them, and, as always, let me know what you think! There's a comment box at the bottom of the post. Spiritual Sundays:  Temazcal Meet You at the Bridge  does a nice job of describing a  temazcal  experience in terms that folks can relate to. They wrote, " Temazcal  is about opening up to receive an ancient spiritual healing, to bring problems to the surface and offering them up to the universe for...

The medicine wheel in my back yard. Having missed yesterday, due to illness, writing a post dedicated to Jordan's mission in Manaus Brazil, I decided that it was time to visit a medicine wheel that I had made and frequented near my home. The Oso Mario, in Durango, Mexico, had introduced me to the medicine wheel, and I read about it in John G. Neihardt's book, Black Elk Speaks .  During the waxing moon of mid-June, when I returned to Durango, the Oso Hector asked me, in the temazcal, to share with the fellow caminantes how I dealt with the four years away from the temazcal while in the U.S. Hector knew that I had moved from Durango to a small village just below the Mescalero Apache Reservation in the foothills of the Sacramento Mountains, in southeastern New Mexico. There, the Apaches, my brother, Kelton told me, do not traditionally practice temazcal , or sweat lodges, as they're known in most of the United States. Because I had no nearby caminantes with who...

The "Temāzcalli," known commonly today as, "temazcal," refers to the Aztec steam bath, similar to the sweat lodges, kivas , and inipis of other North American natives. Source: University of California-Berkeley. 1903. It has been four years since I last crawled over the earth, through the doorway of the temazcal . In four years I have not planted my forehead on the earthen floor of the lodge entrance to speak the words "con todas mis relaciones" ("with all my relationships"). " Temazcal , also known as temazcalli , is a traditional native Mexican American purification ceremony. It's similar to the sweat lodge, or inipi , of the Lakotas, or kiva of the pueblo dwellers in the western United States." (Bacon 1996-2016)  Victoria de Durango, Durango, Mexico, where I first participated in a temazcal . Source: Wikihistoria. 2013. Four years seems appropriate as I prepare this post. Four years seems appropriate as I recon...