#Travel guide : sweat it out in a Mayan Temazcal ceremony @Mexico

To round off our perfect Mexican trip, we did a Temazcal, a surprising experience, that was both intense and authentic that I absolutely wanted to tell you all about 😉

A spiritual bathing & healing ritual..

A Temazcal is basically a sort of sweat lodge .. This traditional Mayan ceremony has been used for centuries as a cleansing of mind, body and spirit. A shaman is guiding this healing ritual, chanting sacred chants, using volcanic stones to warm the sweating hut, all the while showing respect for the nature, ancestors, and the 4 elements: water, fire, air and especially mother Earth, called “Abuela Tierra”… The dome shape/ stone igloo that welcomes us during the ritual symbolizes Mother Earth’s womb while the fire represents the Father (Abuelo Fuego).. it also has a very important role during this ceremony..

>>The Temazcal allows a true cleansing of both the body and mind, it is a moment of intense purification, meditation and reconnection with ourselves and the Earth…

What exactly happens during a Temazcal?

>>Before entering the Temazcal /

There is a whole ritual of purification and preparation.. Wearing nothing but a bikini or a sarong, we form a circle around the altar and the Shaman cleans each of us with the incense.. All together, holding each other’s hands, we ask for the authorization of the elements, water, air, Abuela Tierra, Abuelo Fuego, of the 4 cardinal points and of the spirits of nature to make this Temescal.. It all has to be made in agreement and in respect for the great All.

This moment is rather catchy because we repeat all together the incantations / sacred songs after the Mayan Shaman.. I really loved this sublime, magical, surreal ceremony, in the middle of the jungle.. And the small altar on which there is the goddess of fertility as well as stones, and incense was really beautiful and crammed full of beautiful energy. After this preparation ritual, we are ready to enter the dome and therefore, the stomach of Mother Nature….

>> 4 Temazcal highlights :

Volcanic stones and heat… The shaman uses incandescent volcanic stones which he places in a pit in the center of the dome. He gently throws water over the hot stones to warm the dome, like in a sauna to release pungent vapors to rid the body of hatred, toxines and bad vibes.. During the ritual we are going to cross 4 energetic “doors”, 4 landings… The closer we get to the fourth landing, the more the shaman adds stones and the more the heat and the energy become intensified…

Darkness: The passage of the 1st “door” is made in the light of a candle but the 3 following ones are in complete darkness. (For those of you who are claustrophobic, don’t panic: the dome has small holes which we can open or close to let in the air if we need to, and the shaman opens the dome between every landing to make the air and energy circulate for a few minutes before continuing, which also means that you can step outside if it becomes to tough for you…)

Shaman, Drums and sacred chants.. We follow the directions and the incantations of the Shaman who guides us, reassures us and soothes us throughout the ceremony.. Ours was really brilliant, reassuring, quiet and strong.. He sprayed us regularly with some water whilst singing, as if to heal and to cleanse us (and with the extreme heat that does a world of good!).. The mixture of the singing and chanting in the Mayan language combined with the drum and the rosemary, basil, peppermint and other scents waft is rather exhilarating and pleasant ; it creates a kind of “trance” or in any case an indescribable state which catches us up and becomes intensified as the heat increases.. And being enveloped in the darkness helps us to focus and concentrate on ourselves, like during meditation.. we forget other people’s opinion and we really focus on ourselves and on the sensations and feelings which we feel at that particular moment… It is a very interesting experience…

A bouquet of plants.. The Shaman gives us these plants at the beginning of the ritual. We use them for “purfiying” and to remove the negative energy from our bodies.. Upon our exit of the Temazcal, we throw directly our bouquet into the fire and all of our negativity and problems will burn with it… The shaman also uses a mix of essential herbs in the dome .. (no worries about Hallucinogenic drugs by the way, tourists are unlikely to be offered any and the plants used are only aromatics)

>> Into the Temazcal.. A ritual for the body and soul…

Door 1 : (The body )/ We enter one by one into the hut (clockwise), and we take a seat where we like, on the floor, a mat, bench if there is one… We begin by the passage that we call the first door, using only candlelight and softly, to get us used to the heat… So far, so good 😉

Door 2: (The mind)/ After a small break, an opening of the door, breathing etc, we cross to the 2nd door, in the pitch black this time and welcoming more incandescent stones to intensify the heat a little.. For me at this point, Iam still feeling perfectly fine, but some people start feeling not too great already.. The fact of being in complete darkness with the heat, chants, the vapor created by the mix of essential herbs and the drum can make you feel strange and intense sensations.. Some experience joy, happiness, laughter, and others can have the unpleasant feelings like fear or panic.. We pass by various states because we are faced with ourselves and our own feelings and therefore certain feelings or hidden blockings can resurface (according to the shaman, it is normal and ok and we should just realease them and express ourselves, and he actually encourages us to say how we feel , express our emotions and shout, cry, laugh, sing if we need to.Who cares in the dark…) We had already lost a few people after the second door.. 2 or 3 participants had to leave to calm down, breath and come to terms with their feelings. You are allowed to go out after each interval when the shaman opens the hutt and one can return if he wants (or not).

Door 3. : (The emotions )/ In my case the third door was the most oppressing and difficult compared to the others, but I got through it… and it helped me enormously to leave certain stresses and to be more aware of them 😉

Door 4: (The spirit/ The shaman still adds stones to cross this last door.. The heat becomes more intense but altogether I found it to be very bearable (even if I was feeling slightly apprehensive before to be completely honest).. We sing and let out our last feelings and bad vibes .. After the fourth door we are exhausted, empty, but happy and we feel strangely at peace and really quite well .. The shaman opens the door one last time and we leave the Temazcal one by one, clockwise. This stage is really important because it is symbolic of (re)birth, we come out of Mother Earths womb with a clear body and mind, the body is cleaned of its toxins by the vapor and heat, our old energies or blockings are washed away and we are “quite new”. So we calmly leave Mother Earths womb, and throw our bouquet of plants with which we cleaned ourselves, and throw them onto the fire…

>>And afterwards ?

While we are still quite warm after the ceremony, the shaman takes us to rinse off in a cénote .. And there we find absolute happiness.. we swim in this beautiful natural swimming pool under the perfect starry sky.. (total bliss).. and whether or not it is mystical or therapeutic, the Temazcal creates sensations of incredible well being and peace.. even skeptics will come out from their two-hour sweating session feeling really zen, relaxed and amazingly well afterwards. And as the ceremony opens our appetite, we end this magic evening all together at the house of one of the inhabitants in the village, who had prepared us a good meal ..

I recommend this surprising, authentic and magical experience.. live it at least once if you ever go to Mexico, we really loved it.. and aside from the spiritual and entertaining aspect, the physical benefits are many…

Where to go for a Temazcal ?

Many hotels and lodges in Playa del Carmen, Cancùn and Tulum offer this kind of experience, but it is very very expensive, and most of the time it is only a joke, a tourist attraction, completely stripped of any real authenticity.. It is better to avoid these ultra touristic places which offer a pale copy of a “Temazcal” for 150 or 250 dollars per person.. For the real deal, you have to go off beat places ,meet the locals or the Mayan communities which do not do it for the money, but who are eager to pass on their traditions and their respect for the nature..

During our search regarding accommodation, excursions and Temazcal, we favored this authentic and traditional side, far from the crowd, even if it means going away from Tùlum for a few days.. And, we were lucky enough to stumble upon a great guest house, la Posada del agūa y fuego, located in the jungle, in the cute village of Chemuyil, just 20 min from Tulùm and run by Géraldine and Jean Luc, an adorable French couple, who have worked for years with a local Mayan community. Thanks to them, we were able to experience an incredible Temazcal in the jungle with a local shaman.

Note :

The guesthouse : do not hesitate to stop in this adorable guest house, a real home away from home 😉 and Géraldine and Jean Luc received us with so much love and generosity that we felt as though we were staying with friends, and needless to say we did not want to leave.. We were supposed to stay for just 2 days and ended up staying for way longer. Rooms are cute, breakfast is fabulous, home-made and changes every day, and all of that for very reasonable price (80 euros/night, breakfast, included ) especially compared with the prices in Tulùm where you won’t get such a good breakfast anyway ;).. This spot is also great for staying in the outskirts or for exploring Yucatán. There is also a pretty wild beach only 5 minutes away..
Car rental is advised.. we rented from France as it was cheaper and we picked up our car at the Cancun airport..
To do a Temazcal : ask Geraldine & JL to organise it for you ( Jean Luc : JL+52 1 984 145 8410 / Géraldine +52 1 984 188 4656 or directly on the website , instagramo or their Fb page ..) The experience is typically carried out for small groups by a shaman and last minimum 2 hours.. It is well worth the detour.. Prices will depend how many people will do it.. we did it with a small group and gave what we wanted after the ceremony to help the Mayan community..

Ps: As usual do not hesitate to ask questions or leave a comment or pm!!!