Re-birth in Oaxaca - The Temazcal Bath

For me, the temazcal was very much a re-birthing experience. I've done sweats in many different kinds of hot little rooms, but I chose to greet this experience with a degree of reverence, humility, and openness.

About the same time Rome was building their empire, the Mayans were building theirs here in ancient Mesoamerica. Both cultures had advanced arts and sciences, had writing and numbering systems, and both were great astronomers. They both also loved steam baths.

The only descriptions of the Maya sweat houses come from the 1500's when the Spaniards were kicking around here. The actual word temazcal comes from the Aztec word teme (to bathe) and calli (house). While they love their Mezcal beverage here, it has nothing to do with the bath. We do know the temazcal was used as part of a curative ceremony thought to purify the body after exertion. That made it a perfect remedy for Gwen and me after our first five days of walking around the town.

  

The temazcal setting was in a beautiful garden space full of flowers. The bath itself consisted of a collection of three small rooms. The middle room was for changing and it also had a Catholic shrine. The place had the fragrance of copal, the ceremonial incense of the Mayans.

The temazcal was located in the most inner space and consisted of a very small oven for humans. You had to crawl in, and once inside, there was a small stove overlaid with iron and room for two people to recline on the floor. There was also room for the Temazcalara, Cecilia, who was the woman who managed the experience. There was an outer, third room, for resting after the bath I'll tell you about in a moment.

After getting into our towels, we entered the bath. There were a few major differences from other hot baths I've had. First, it was really small and fairly dark. Not uncomfortable, but not a lot of space to move around. There was one pail of warm water and another of cold water. Another difference was the use of many herbs and plants in the process. The final difference was for most of the time, the Temazcalara was in the bath with Gwen and I. In short order, I came to find out just how much she was going to add to the experience.

". . . for most of the time the Temazcalara
was in the bath with Gwen and I."

As the forty minute sweat unfolded, we first had a little time to ourselves to get used to the space. When we were both in an early sweat, Cecilia returned. She put some flower petals in the warm water, and flung a little splash at each of us as (I think) a kind of welcoming blessing. She then took a bundle of tied fragrant plants, dipped them in the water and laid them on the hot metal. That added a completely new and very fragrant dimension to the place. After a short while, additional flower petals were gently tossed on us, and more plants were soaked and added to the top of the stove. Cecilia was always asking how we were doing and which way to adjust the temperature. A couple times during the sweat, she would take another bundle of different plants and not quite gently, hit our bodies in a way that strangely felt really good. It went on like this for most of the 40 or so minutes, except for one other thing.

". . . I had a distinct womb-like sensation. "

Our Temazcalara came and went a couple times during the experience. While she was in the bath with us, and in the quiet times between "treatments," she would hum prayers over us. In that dark, warm, and quiet place, I had a distinct womb-like sensation. It felt as though I was being lovingly attended to in a maternal kind of way and that the experience was a form of re-birthing for me. In the long quiet moments between treatments, I "listened" for guidance from Spirit as I'm now crossing into my post 70-year zone. It's enough to say it was a rich and deeply personal experience for me. Yet there was another hour of unexpected joy to come!

After being well roasted and then gently doused with the remaining flower-petal water, we left our towels, crawled out, and were immediately swathed in fresh white sheets. We were guided to the resting area where we reclined on thin foam mattresses on the floor. My eyes were covered with a cool cloth and we were left to rest for what I think was about ten minutes, with soft flute music playing in the distance. Our Temazcalara returned with another woman, and we each had about a forty minute massage. (I can only guess at the timing of all this). They used some of the most fragrant and unusual oils I've ever had in a massage, and were very thorough in working over our now-softened muscles. Most delicious of all is, after the massage, we were left to sleep for what I'm told was another forty minutes.


Talk about restorative! If you EVER get a chance to do this, don't miss it. I won't say life-changing but, in addition to being a restful and total sensual treat, IF I can hang on the meaning of the experience for me, it was a life re-directing event.

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Love from the slightly new and softer Earl (and Gwen).