The way that temazcal sweat lodge ceremonies work, in terms of your nervous system, is that the humid air and darkness of an igloo-shaped sauna, or temazcalera, simulates a mother’s womb. Participants crouch through an entrance to enter then gather around a fire pit where flames steam wet volcanic stones—called abuelitas—that represent ancestral knowledge. The lava rocks are doused with medicinal, herb-laced water—rosemary, basil, rue, lemongrass, chamomile—and the steam and structure prevent your own sweat from evaporating. Temperatures climb to around 105 degrees, and the lymphatic system is stimulated, turning your body into one big “detox” machine. The ceremony can last around two hours, most of which takes place in pitch black. If the heat doesn’t bring you to your knees, the darkness might, as a temazcalera guides you through the ritual of instruments, words of meditation, and songs in Spanish, Náhuatl, and Lakota. For the purest, most focused experience, participants are not supposed to bring in any drinking water; this is to encourage a physical, spiritual, and mental harmony—the mystical “rebirth.”
NYU Langone Heart specialist, Dr. Anais Hausvater says that quantifying the health benefits and risks of heat-related wellness practices can be tricky, although there’s been a definitive uptick in patient curiosity in recent years. “These treatments essentially simulate exercise: the high temperature causes blood vessels to dilate, blood pressure lowers, and heart rate increases,” she says. Dehydration and electrolyte loss concern her when it comes to the practice, especially in my case: “Even as a healthy person, it’s unsafe to [experience] significant sweating without proper hydration, especially in the heat,” she says. “If you can replenish fluids, it’s much safer.” Dr. Hausvater notes that, even while research on mainstream treatments with similar effects on the body (like saunas and steam rooms) shows cardiovascular and stress-reducing benefits, isolating positive effects of a temazcal is challenging.
In Tulum, the handful of women I traveled with for the experience shared varying fears about dizziness, fainting, or even asthma complications. Others were simply afraid of stepping into something entirely outside their experience, and the emotional toll of processing their pain. Nearly every one of us had some form of chronic anxiety, depression, or emotional blockages to address. “If one of the biggest benefits is stress reduction, and you’re telling me the experience is causing the opposite effect for you, that’s a red flag to me to avoid it,” Hausvater says.
Anxiety disorders affect 1 in 5 adults—the most common mental illness in America—and women are twice as likely to be affected as men, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America (ADAA). The International Indigenous Policy Journal has published studies showing that traditional healing practices blended with Western recovery therapies improved treatment in rehab centers for Indigenous people dealing with PTSD, substance use disorder, and intergenerational trauma; sweat lodges were a key component, and people directly connected emotional and spiritual improvement to their experiences in the sweats.
At Tulum wellness destinations like Nômade and the nearby Casa Violeta, with its highly regarded programming from hotelier Karla Gutierrez, it’s tempting to jam in as much as possible. But barraging your psyche with treatments won’t guarantee progress; in fact, it may just overload your system—especially since there’s no way of knowing what reaction you will have to any experience. After my consultation with Pablo, the Head Journey Designer at Nômade, I had two more days to prepare for the temazcal, and already my perspective had begun to shift: “Give yourself time to rest,” he cautioned me. “I don’t advise [experiencing] very intense things on the last day of a stay.” My first morning, I received a sobada maya, sometimes referred to as a womb massage—a somatic therapy often performed pre- or postnatal to realign internal organs. It encourages the release of stored trauma through the physical body, and can be a powerful experience—but in my case, it ended up being more than I bargained for.
