My time in Peru has been full of new experiences and this morning was certainly no exception! I participated in a small Kambô frog medicine ceremony to cleanse my body and nervous system. Taking frog medicine is a little like a long detox squished into just one small hour so you can just imagine how intense my experience was.
The process of the medicine is intense in itself, and I can guarantee that you’re going to think I’m crazy when I tell you what this process actually involves. So let me first tell you how I feel now, just hours after the medicine.
I feel a little bit like a superhero. Not so much in strength but more in clarity, awareness and strength of my “outer body” or energy field. It is recommended that after the medicine has passed that you have a shower to continue the cleansing process. Late this morning as I was standing in the shower shortly after the medicine has passed, I was taking note of how amazing I felt. In fact I’d go as far as saying that I felt better than I have ever had in my entire life. That is a big call.
What the medicine does to cleanse the body and system is a little too complicated for me to try and describe it in this article, so I’m going to refer you to a great article by Marcelo Bolshaw Gomes at Ayahuasca.com. It’s definitely worth a read to find out more about this detoxing medicine – Kambô, The Spirit Of The Shaman
As I said earlier in this article, the application and process of the medicine itself is quite intense and it was something that I was very nervous about leading up to the ceremony. The practitioner begins by burning points in the very top layer of your skin, usually with an incense stick. For my first time I received four points or burns to the skin. I was actually very worried about this process but now that I’ve been through it, I can safely tell you that this burning of the skin hurts less than getting an injection or needle. And I received my burns on my leg which is supposed to be one of the more painful areas.
After the burning, the practitioner then applies the medicine to each burnt point on your skin. The medicine can then come on very quickly, however for me it took longer than what is usual. The first thing you experience is a “fight or flight” response, which manifests as a quickening of the heart rate and a feeling of nervousness. After this feeling has passed, your body then drops into a beautiful relaxed state. During this entire time however, you experience intense nausea and usually a purging period of vomiting and/or diarrhea. This purging can be so deep that you can actually vomit up gallbladder and liver stones.
The process of feeling unwell lasts an absolute maximum of half an hour. For my first time I didn’t actually purge but I did feel a lot of strong nausea and some stomach cramps for the duration of the medicine.
Intense huh! It’s also important to acknowledge that the practitioner is best trained in proper ceremony of the medicine to give it full respect. My friend who administered the medicine began the ceremony with a prayer, and closed it off by blowing jungle tobacco over us (very traditional for South American medicine ceremonies) and with another long prayer and thanks. He was also very present during the ceremony and I could feel his support and assistant both energetically and physically which was a huge comfort during a very difficult experience.
Am I crazy for going through this detox? I’m sure you think I am and I remember when I heard about it for the first time I thought people were crazy for doing it too. But from how amazing and beautiful I’m feeling now, the experience is more than worth it and I would recommend it to everyone for healing both the physical and emotional body.
Kambô frog ceremonies are common and originated in Brazil, but are becoming available all over the world. I’ve personally heard of frog ceremonies being done in Peru, Bali and Australia, and I’m sure they’re now in the US and the UK too.
If you love to detox and can handle the intensity, I highly recommend the Kambô frog medicine. Traditionally the medicine is done three times in a full moon cycle so I’m booking in for two more ceremonies over the next 30 days!
Fran
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WoW! You are definitly brave to go and experience something new like that, I think it would totally freak me out. It is definitly something I found very intresting to read tho.
Thanks for the share Fran!
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Thanks for sharing this Fran!
Is there a special licsence I should look out for in order to make sure that the person knows and respects what they are doing?
How did you find out about yours?
As always, thank you for your help.
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Thats interesting! I wouldnt mind trying that in future however as Emi said who do you look out for and trust to perform this sort of thing on you? Like you’d really need to trust they were specialised for someone to start burning your skin..:P
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Very interesting stuff Fran… I would definitely be into trying this. The burning sounds a little scary, but I understand that intense detoxification is worth it for that high afterward! Good for you :)
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The only thing from Amazon forests I have tried is phyllanthus niruri. The herb is also called chanca piedra or stone breaker. It’s the best herb to break stones in the kidneys,
gallbladder or liver.
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You sound like you’re being too hard on yourself by saying we must think you’re crazy! Do you know what I think is crazy? Eating nutritionless processed foods and relying on popping pills with a ton of negative side effects like the majority of people do now a day! This sounds a bit extreme but certainly not crazy. I’m glad you had a positive experience with it and I’m glad you were able to share the details with us… although I might not be trying it any time soon ;)
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wow that is super interesting! good to hear that it has been such a good experience for you!
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Emi & Jess- My friend does it here in Pisac. You don’t need a license but you DO want someone who treats the medicine with much respect and puts a lot of prayer and tradition into it. The burning is not bad at all, it’s just the very top layer of your skin. But it’s good to have someone that can hold a very strong presence and support for you.
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Found it on the internet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=kKH1O7y8WXA
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Does regular exfoliation with baking soda cause your skin to be dependent on the baking soda? I’ve heard that if you stop exfoliating with it you could get acne right away again.
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Eryn- no true!
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How is it different from drinking ayahuasca?
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YIKES ! OK not sure that this is for me … i can’t deal with puke it makes me very tearful … the other end is ok so i’ll stick with my flushes !!!
Lol you are one brave lady !
xxx
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Hello!
I ‘m traveling across Peru and I’ll be in Cuzco tomorrow. I’m very interested in the medicine of Kambo.
If you can tell me where I found the people indicated to apply this medicine I’ll be very grateful.
Of course I appreciate any response.
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Purging is very important. If you resist vomiting the awaikened toxins rise up in your system but you don’t let them go. It can be dangerous. Purging is essential to any successful Kambo treatment.
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I am going to Pisac this summer for Ayahuasca ceremonies, but this sounds very interesting also. Does your friend do ceremonies? If so, I would be very grateful, if you would email me his contact info :-)
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Fran Reply:
May 29th, 2013 at 5:34 pm
Hi Nicolas, Pisac is a very small town.. you’ll see me there and just ask anyone when you arrive and they’ll put you in touch with Adrian for the kambo ceremonies. Bless..
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