A sacred practice perfected over thousands of years, this powerful herbal steam bath takes you on a journey that mediates through the body, gently moves the mind, and frees the spirit. Escape to a colorful world of energy and vigor.
A rich reward for each of the senses, this practice (found among the Riviera Maya’s select spas and oases) preserves the ancient traditions of Mayan healers: rejuvenating visitors through a harmony of mind, body, and spirit. It is here, in secluded resorts bathed in soothing Caribbean breezes, that guests can enjoy traditional healing massages and remedies and the restorative powers of the temazcal.
Temazcal
Standing within a circle of sand, just outside the entrance to a small rounded shrine-like structure covered with blankets or intricate patterns, you will hear a conch horn blast through the air to signal the start of the ritual.
You’ll then discreetly purify yourself in a puff of smoke as you’re led inside a dwelling where the light dims and temperatures hover in the low triple digits (for those familiar with Fahrenheit). The driveway is low and small, and through it you enter a small, dark, warm and humid space. In this way you are recreating the womb; disconnect from the outside world and allow the opportunity to look within and discover yourself anew.
Therapeutics of the room of the uterus
The contemporary use of the Temazcal has carried with it almost all the conceptions, beliefs and practices that make it almost impossible to talk about the Temazcal or understand how it works without invoking these ancient concepts. In the native tradition, the heat and darkness are intended to simulate a return to the womb. And in a rhythmic pattern, approximately every 20 minutes, a bowl of herbal-infused water is poured onto hot volcanic rock, creating a soothing cloud of steam and a burst of negative ions. It is and was, as far as it can be traced, a therapeutic instrument, an arm of medical practices developed in what we anthropologists like to call Mesoamerica, that vast area that now includes Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. Best recognized, in its ancient forms, through the Aztecs, and Temazcal (as it is still called in contemporary Mexico) is a Nahuatl word, borrowed from their language.
Interconnection: the maternal compassion of Teteoinan and Kwan Yin
In the Nahuatl culture of central Mexico, the goddess of the steam bath was Temazcalteci, “the grandmother of the baths.” She was one of the manifestations of the goddess Teteoinan, “the mother of the gods”, or, as she is also called, “our grandmother”, the main goddess among the superior deities of Nahuatl. In truth this goddess was the goddess of medicine and medicinal herbs; adored by doctors and surgeons, bleeders and also by midwives. Teteoinan evokes the name “Kwan Yin” as a derivation of a Chinese name for the goddess who is this energy of maternal compassion. So it should come as no surprise to discover an interconnection with how healing bathing fits the terms ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ used by traditional healers around the world. These principles are understood in the same way and for the same purposes in traditional Chinese medicine. And in her subtle presence, Kwan Yin seems to be one of those very rare deities who silently imbues multiple manifestations at once.
Better than an incubator
By extension, it is easily understood that the Temazcal is usually led by a specially trained healer, most often a woman (called in Mexico, the Temazcalera). She examines the patient, makes her diagnosis, chooses the right herbs, decides the levels of heat and humidity to use, prepares the Temazcal, and then enters the chamber with the patient to supervise and manage the course of the bath.
Many mothers instinctively know that their bodies can control a baby’s temperature within a very narrow range. This is accomplished by a “maternal source” core temperature that can go up to two degrees Celsius if the baby is cold and drop one degree if the baby is hot. As clinically proven, it is a procedure that is now practiced worldwide and has been adopted, by Colombian midwives, called the Kangaroo Mother Method (KMC). Skin-to-skin contact (SSC), as it is more generally recognized, is better than an incubator for rewarming hypothermic babies. NICUs routinely employ SSC to regulate body temperature and manage aspects of the “infant despair response.”
An ingenious temazcalera takes advantage of this maternal intuition
She can increase or decrease the intensity of the heat during the bath by ventilating the chamber through the entrance or through the vent on the roof of the Temazcal, or by fanning with a fan made of branches of a suitable herb that she herself chooses. Surprisingly skilled in handling her herbal fan; he can draw the heat down from the upper to the lower parts of the chamber at will and, if he wishes, direct currents of heat to any part of the body desiring special consideration. Extra heat can be put on one leg, for example, to treat sciatica, or on the back to relieve back pain. She will use her fan to gently tap any part of the body to increase circulation to that spot, if necessary.
Often a Temazcalera is trained to give massages using a variety of traditional techniques, in the Temazcal, for any condition that requires such treatment. For example, a bodywork technique that addresses the position and health of the pelvis and abdominal organs called Arvigo is often performed. This ancient women’s tradition is said to improve blood flow to the pelvic organs and improve the lining of the uterus.
Sometimes herbal tea emollients are used to wash the affected area before or during a massage. Cold water can be used on the body, including the head, while inside the Temazcal. This can be done therapeutically to cool the outside of the body, by contracting the superficial blood vessels to exercise them and allowing them to swell again in the heat. It is often recommended that this be done just before leaving an extremely hot Temazcal.
A tea is prepared with which to make the steam. Herbs that can be used for this purpose include eucalyptus, rosemary, mugwart, or other warming or stimulating herbs, and the bucket of tea is placed, still hot, inside the temazcal along with a cup to dunk it. A couple of buckets of cold water are also placed inside at the last moment, along with a plate with which to drench it and pour it over the bathers to lower body heat and allow for several sweat cycles.
The time spent inside the Temazcal varies greatly, depending on the heat of the bath, the constitution of the individual, and the condition to be treated. Overall, many delights await you as you begin a nearly two-hour journey towards purification and self-discovery. However, when you feel compelled to leave, it’s best not to delay. Usually an herbal tea is prepared to drink afterwards. This can be a tea chosen for a specific condition, or it can be a general tea for everyone, such as chamomile, sassafras, horehound, or yarrow.