I was sitting in a pitch-dark space when I noticed the heat was starting to boil my skin, and the follicles on my head felt like they would catch fire any second. That inevitable thought of "Shit, why am I here? I could have been at home watching basketball on my couch" came up.
I was part of a Mexican prehispanic sweat lodge ritual called Temazcal, about 40 minutes outside of the hustle and bustle of Mexico City, where a shaman guides a group of typically 8-12 people into a 2-hour journey of heat and sweat. This is different from your typical sauna experience because the lodge where we sat is a small, beautifully made clay structure instead of being in a standard building with wooden steam rooms. Once we cramp into it, the shaman's apprentice puts a group of hot lava rocks in the middle of the lodge and covers the door until it's pitch dark. The only thing we can barely see are large hot orange rocks in the center since they were heated by a nearby camping fire for about 30 minutes prior and, therefore, quickly heated the lodge to high temperatures.
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I would have quit this heat exposure experience 20 minutes ago if it was just me. But something about going through the journey with others helped us push each other through the entire voyage as the shaman was singing age-old chants while beating the drums.
To answer my earlier doubtful thoughts of why I was taking part in this ritual, I know exactly why I was there. For some reason, humans like doing challenging and exploratory things in nature. It must have been programmed into us back in the caveman and gatherer days. Hunting for food was more out of necessity in the past, but now, in the developed world, the suffering is more often voluntary. For some, it's running and hikes; for others, it's saunas or surfing. Whatever the reason is, it makes me feel more human, connected to myself, my tribe, and nature.
In addition, this Mexican sauna experience takes me back to when I was 7 years old in Ukraine. I would tag along with my father to Eastern European-style saunas where we would sit in hot wooden rooms until we couldn't anymore and then do cold plunges. My dad and his friends would then drink vodka with stereotypical Eastern appetizers like pickles, caviar sandwiches, and smoked fish as I would listen to their conversation to understand how the world works.
In my 20s, I would continue the sauna tradition in New York, where there are several excellent options like Russian & Turkish Bath and Wall Street Bath & Spa 88 due to the historically strong immigration from Eastern European regions in the last two centuries.
The Mexican temazcal is quite a different experience for an Eastern European sauna. The former is more a spiritual and solitary experience in small dark clay lodges of the great ancestors of the Mexican lands. The latter is a social experience where one can bond with friends over shared warmth and shivers of heat and cold exposure.
Living in Mexico City for over 2 years, I will take what I can get. These typically monthly experiences for me help me unplug from invasive phones, stay present within my body, and sweat, whether it's with a spiritual shaman singing age-old songs in Mexico or a buddy in New York shooting the shit.
Thanks for reading & I hope y'all have a great rest of the week!
Cheer! Andriy