Experience a 3000-year-old temazcal ceremony

A temazcal is a Mayan-Zapotec ceremony that harnesses 3000 years of indigenous cultural knowledge as healing. A shaman leads you through a ritual within a dome as you sit in a circle, providing you with a life-changing experience. The shaman tosses a herbal concoction sizzling on the pit of hot rocks in the center of the semi-darkness. The shaman and other participants begin the discourse by praising the ground and acknowledging our connection to animal settlements and nature. The guide occasionally speaks in the indigenous Nahuatl language.

This is not a sentimental session. Warriors went through this practice before combat to fortify themselves. After 90 minutes of strengthening resilience and expelling toxins, both physical and mental, you emerge and cleanse yourself in cool pools. Follow spirituality seekers to Tepotzlán for a true temazcal experience (not just a sauna) or get the whole picture on the Zapotec culture in Oaxaca. Thought to have derived from the Pre-Hispanic indigenous people of Mesoamerica, the cleansing ritual took place before and after battles and sports tournaments. It was also thought to have healing powers and was a place to give birth.