I first learned of a temazcal while I was traveling through San Jose del Pacifico, Mexico. The guy who owned the very small hotel I was staying at offered me the opportunity to participate in one, and honestly it stands as one of my favorites to this day. I loved the concept so much that from there onwards every place I went to in Mexico I participated in these ceremonies. While I did enjoy all of my temazcal experiences, I noticed how the teacher administering them as well as those who are participating color the experience, and in particular, the more “spa-like” the experience, the less of a ceremony it tends to be. 

Historically, it is hard to pinpoint exactly when the term temazcal was first used but we can surmise it has been a part of the ancient world for a long time: in fact, “according to Italian historian Vincenza Lillo Macina, the temazcalli carried the spiritual symbolism of a cave, a place of connection between the gods and men which represented our very origin. It is also possible that the temazcal symbolized going back to the womb of Tonantzin, the mother of the gods, in order to be re-born.” From my own meandering through Mexican shamanism, I learned this to be true, and that is why you’ll often see a mix of humans and animals in art, design, architecture, etc. when traveling throughout the country.

From my experiences, essentially a temazcal is a sweat lodge that is pretty simple to construct; some people have their own they make out of clay, others create a dome covered in blankets, etc. It is usually a ritual done to rid the body of its toxins and the mind of its chatter by immersing oneself in a hot room (i.e., steam room) to the point that the mind has paused and re-connected with the body. It can cleanse toxins both physically and spiritually, and specifically, it seems to be within this state of mind when our mind is altered that we are open to beyond physical realm, according to some shamans that I practiced with. 

I find elements of the ritual to be so beautiful and part of what truly makes it a ritual rather than a steam. For instance, there are typically four ‘doors’ that one goes through during the ceremony of cleansing, each intensifying its heat as more water is added to the hot stones. The doors mark periods of time for people to take a break, grab some water, fruit, or leave the sweat lodge altogether if they choose. I’ve heard some analogies for the ‘doors’ being compared to parts of the journey of life cycles: the first door representing childhood, the second adolescence, the third adulthood, and the final fourth door representing that moribund state until going back to the earth. 

I also learned that the temazcal ceremony also does not seem to follow any particular set of rules, aside from the fact that it is designed to be a sweat lodge, where you… ya know… sweat. I’ve experienced a few different methods of practice: one in the desert (in Todos Santos, BCS) which made me nervous to lose so much water but was accompanied by beautiful tribal music afterwards. Another was in the mountains of Chiapas sharing the space with about 20 other people (pretty much all of them were hippies) where I learned how to focus inward on my breath more than ever before since it really got intense in that one. I don’t have the best lung capacity so it really made go inward when they shut each door and I learned to calm down and trust my lungs could do it. 

Another tip I picked up from that one was to put your head to the ground to cool yourself if you can’t take the heat. If you want more heat, stand up. I began thinking of this as a spiritual grounding of sorts; if you feel your survival-mode kicking in, best to calm yourself down and go back to the Mother Earth for solace. If you want even more of a light-headed, spiritual experience where you’ll be tested physically, stand up and go higher — just know it’ll be a lot hotter and harder to stand the heat. Again, I felt that through the ritualistic experience of this, you’re able to grasp so much more spiritually and truly be able to connect with the Earth. 

I think with all healing rituals, it’s important to do it in a quiet, calm, and if possible, beautiful place. Most of my temazcal experiences took place in nature, and it seems to me that there’s something about the mountains that draws the spirit to going inward. There can also be chanting throughout the ceremony to tap into that spiritual essence, which can be described as “the huichol mara’akame’s practice [that] involves establishing successful relationships with the beings that exist in the world… [who] creates and invents the world of the gods through his chanting and visions.” Who knows if it’s from lack of oxygen or what — but I do know the more spiritual elements added to the ceremony not only makes it truly more like a ceremony, but also makes the experience much more rich and profound. I tended to walk away from these engaged experiences a lot more introspective than had I done a more spa-like treatment. 

That’s not to say that having a spa-like experience is wrong however — but it’s all about intention. I remember one temazcal I went to where we were provided with aloe slices throughout for cooling as well as a salt scrub and clay mask to wear and then wash off between doors. Your skin not only feels softer afterwards but again you get that reconnection to the Earth! There must be something in materials straight from the ground as well that promote a calming, healing effect. There’s a sense of reciprocity as well when you are singing, chanting, sweating, and wearing the Earth, and you take a sip of water that is so refreshing and eat fruit afterwards to replenish your electrolytes that you remember to give thanks to nature and all the ways it provides: spiritually, emotionally, and physically.