The Time We Decided to Do Kambo
The first time I heard about Kambo was from a good friend who messaged from Costa Rica saying he partook in an intense detoxification ritual that involved substance from a tree frog... My initial response was: so did you trip? The answer? No. No you do not trip since Kambo is not psychoactive and is not something you do for hallucinatory gains. So what is Kambo and why do people do it? Great question since tomorrow I will be part-taking in my very first ceremony.
Kambo is a traditional healing ritual that’s been used for centuries by Amazonian shamans to restore balance to the mind, body and soul. It calls on the medicine of a giant monkey tree frog, phyllomedusa bicolor, to bring about a deep physical, emotional and spiritual cleansing process. The end-game is to return you to a balanced equilibrium by detoxifying and rebooting the immune system, releasing stagnant emotions and eradicating negative energy held within your body. Kambo is known in Portuguese as the “vaccine of the forest” and has been used in Western cultures as a treatment for chronic pain and drug dependence.
From the 1990s onward, the practice of Kambo has slowly been migrating from the forest to the cities, where its healing properties have been gaining momentum on a global scale as more and more people seek alternative paths to medicine. Whether you’re looking to heal addiction, physical disease, mental illness or past emotional wounds, Kambo might be something for you to consider. A follow-up post dedicated to the science behind the sacred medicine of the forest and how my life has been post-Kambo will follow in the next coming weeks, as for now, let’s focus on the experience itself.
I wasn’t looking for Kambo specifically, but life led me to him and I’m eternally grateful that it did. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect since five days prior to the ceremony, I was suddenly afflicted with hives which covered me from my ankles to occasionally my face. So I was excited, albeit nervous, to try Kambo and witness the miraculous results firsthand.
If you know me, you’re probably aware that I’m the youngest of four and that I’m extremely close with my family, especially my mom. So of course I let them know that I found a ceremony within an hour’s drive away and that I would be parttaking in a few days time. Come morning of the ceremony, my mom tells me she wants to take me and not to worry, she’s already packed her audiobook/snacks and is ready to go. We walked in with no judgements or expectations, just a nervous curiosity and an open mind. We entered a beautiful home where there were tapestries decorating the living room floor and soon began meeting the wonderful individuals who also found themselves in that same space that day. For most, it wasn’t their first rodeo - out of the eight, only two of us were virgins.
Clueless, I followed Bree’s lead (who was there for her second time) and found a vacant space that was by the wall so I could lean back the times that I wasn’t leaning forward over a bucket - if you’re not aware, a lot of throwing up is involved. Eventually when we had all settled into our spot and made our water and tissues easily accessible, Anabel, our beautiful practitioner for the day told us briefly what to expect during the ceremony as well as where she was taught and given blessing to share the sacred medicines of the forest. We went around in a circle introducing ourselves and what our intentions were. Come go time, the medicine was administered by first burning the top few layers of skin with a burning stick. The amount of burns you receive depends on the practitioner’s intuition and your body’s natural reaction to the medicine. As for myself, I received six.
It is common for women who receive Kambo for the first time to receive on their right ankle and for men, on the left. Those who have already experienced Kambo can choose to get the medicine in different areas of their body, some cover chakras that they feel need aligning, others choose to get them in a design of their liking. I stuck to tradition and had mine on my right ankle. If you’re going to ask if the burns hurt, the answer is: no shit Sherlock, you’re being burned. But it’s not intense - a little pain for immense gain - and yes, it’s worth it. Simone, who was helping Anabel that day, came over and cleaned the burns which was then ready for applying Kambo.
As it was my first time, only one dot was covered to see how I would react. After a minute or two, I felt a buzzing in my body and shortly after I felt cold, occasionally getting body tremors. I remember most notably that at one point both of my hands seemed to be vibrating on their own frequency. Anabel came back and checked in on me within a few minutes of the initial application and then continued to apply Kambo on the remaining five dots. By this point, everyone was retching, replenishing themselves with water, and retching some more; I tuned inwards and focused on my breathing. After a while I could feel heat gathering throughout my body, which slowly moved to my face and to the tip of my ears. The heat felt like it was pulsating and had a life of its own, which then slowly honed in on my cheeks.
During the process I lost all concept of time so I have no idea when I started throwing up. However, at one point I did hike up my loose jumpsuit to check in on my hives and was shocked to see my legs completely covered in a dark red pattern, almost like it was a map of some unknown world. I rolled back my sweater to check my arms (which were getting itchy) and they were immersed in small bumps. I won’t lie, for a split second I freaked out inside since this was the worst I had seen my hives, but having faith in Kambo, I let the initial shock flow through me and refocused my attention to my breathing and allowing the medicine to heal. After doing more research post-Kambo, I found out that the worsening of my symptoms was my body going through something called a healing crisis (or healing reaction) which is the process of eliminating toxins.
When the regurgitation finally subsided, we emptied our half-full buckets to the trees in the garden, giving back to Mother Nature as Anabel described it, and then took a quick breather in the sun. I noticed my face in a window’s reflection looking alarmingly swollen and was told that some people call the effect Kambotox since the process can cause swelling of the face. Some say it’s attributed to leaning forward over the bucket throwing up, if it’s the truth, who knows. All I do know is that I seemed to be the only person rocking major frog face, but I let go of my vanity and focused on my gratitude as it was then that I checked on my hives and, to my surprise, no remnants remained. My skin returned to its normal hue with not a sign to be seen of the most recent trauma and if anything, it seemed to have a glow to it. I gave a mental thanks to Kambo and a hopeful prayer that the results were permanent.
After the exhaustion from throwing up dissipated, I felt a renewed energy and excitement from experiencing firsthand the miracle of Kambo. I stopped taking Benadryl that day and left Anabel and the group with what seemed to be permanent rose-colored vision. I ran out to meet my adorable mom, eager to share my experience during our drive back home through sunset.
Conclusion? I’ve drunk the Kambo koolaid and am eternally grateful that I did. Thank you Anabel to the medicine that keeps on giving. PS the hives? Gone and dusted.
For more research and info on Kambo, check out Sacred Heart Kambo.
Until next time,
The Haute Yogi
““The medicine of science is inseparable from the medicine of the soul.” (LIMA & LABATE, 2007).
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