Spa Places in the News
Indigenous Sweat Lodge Ceremony
Round Out Menu of Traditional Holistic Treatments at Tulum's Maya Spa
TULUM,
Mexico (March 2, 2005) - Imagine emerging from a steamy cavern filled
with healing and revitalizing heat and the resonating sounds of a Mayan
shaman chanting a haunting song.
This experience is part of Maya
Spa's signature treatment, a traditional ceremony called a temazcal,
which has been used for hundreds of years by Mexico's indigenous people
as a method of cleaning out the body's toxins and aligning a person
spiritually and physically for healing.
"The history of temazcal reaches back to pre-Hispanic
times," says spa manager Lucrecia Bloomquist, "Our therapists
have recovered a ritual ceremony that was celebrated among indigenous
cultures as a therapeutic cleansing. This steam bath has been taken
up with the intention of experiencing a magical connection that has
been forgotten and that exists in the Earth and in all parts of our
being. "
Maya Spa's intriguing temazcal ceremony is a two-hour
long sweat bath purification ritual that takes place at dusk, and cleanses
and detoxifies the organs and body through hot steam generated by herb-infused
water poured over fire-heated boulders.
In remaining faithful to the ancient Mayan tradition,
properties of fire and water are combined to purify the mind, body,
and soul. Volcanic rock is heated until red-hot and is placed in the
center of an igloo-type construction deep in the jungle, where the group
reunites. After the initial ceremony, the conch shell is sounded, signaling
the beginning of the temazcal bath. The group gets comfortable inside
the temazcal and the stones are called for. The door is closed, sealing
off all light and sealing in the heat. Herbal water is thrown on the
stones to create a curative vapor, heating the temazcal to even higher
temperatures. The body may reach a temperature of 104°F or 40°
C during the temazcal.
Maya Spa Temazcal is led by a local shaman who takes participants
to the inner depths of their soul by opening "four doors"
or levels (each session of the temazcal is called a 'puerta' or door)
with chants, songs and drum music. At the conclusion, the group exits
the temazcal hut and cools off under a shower before dressing and reuniting
to discuss their experiences with soothing herbal tea before eating
a light meal for supper.
Most EcoTulum Resort packages include a temazcal experience
or can be added onto any existing reservation or pre-booked without
a package. Check individual hotel websites for more information. Private
temazcales that are ideal for weddings and honeymoons can be arranged
with a couple and temazcal leader.
Zahra (www.zahra.com.mx)
offers 22 remodeled rooms and cabañas with seven completely new
cabins nestled between two private beaches. Electricity is provided
from sunset until 11pm. Azulik (www.azulik.com),
a 15-villa retreat next door carries the concept of rustic luxury to
the max with lounge beds and hand carved wooden soaking tubs. Cabañas
Copal (www.cabanascopal.com)
features 47 rustic cabañas hidden among the jungle on the pristine
white powder shores of Tulum in Mexico's Mayan Riviera. The eco-hotel
has candle lit cabañas, encourages total wellness, and celebrates
spirituality with a clothing-optional dress code. At night under a canopy
of celestial stars, hundreds of candles light sandy laneways at all
properties.
Maya Spa
Tulum, Mayan Riviera
www.maya-spa.com
info@maya-spa.com
More Spa Places in the News
