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History
Sweating as a form
of purification has been practiced by nearly every culture in the world at
some time. It is older than recorded history. Hippocrates stated, “Give me
the power to create a fever and I shall cure every illness.” The Romans
had baths to unwind and relax. The Russians have bania, a combination of
hot air and steam to create a healing environment. In Turkey, the Islamic
hamman with its steam room known as harara, is actively used today. The
Japanese use a hot-water soak bath for mental regeneration, relaxation,
and socialization.
Ancient Maya ruins, over 1200 years old,
reveal sweat-houses in Piedras Negras, Chichen Itza, and El Paraiso. In
actuality, most indigenous people of North and Central America have
probably been sweating in ceremony for more than 13,000 years. Sweats were
used to purify the body, mind, and spirit before going into battle or
hunting, as a marriage rite, or to cure illness.
Lakota Elder Wallace Black Elk, who crossed over
in December of 2003, states, “The sweat lodge utilizes all powers of the
universe: earth, and things that grow from the earth, water, fire, and
air.”
The sweat lodge symbolizes the womb of
Grandmother Earth. The heated stones, which are brought in to help create
the cleansing steam, represent the masculine seed and impregnate the lodge
to bring it to its full potential. As participants leave the lodge they
are reborn into the dreams they have manifested in the lodge.
Every tribal group has its own traditions.
Overall, there is no right or wrong way to engage in a sweat lodge
ceremony. Enter the lodge with an open mind and prepare for cleansing of
negative emotions, healing of physical ailments, clearing of mental
concerns, and releasing of spiritual blocks. Intent within integrity is
the key to the positive outcome of the ceremony.
What can I
expect in a Dancing on the Edge Lodge?
After an opening pipe ceremony and
discussion with regard to the intent of the ceremony, participants gather
outside the lodge in silence. One by one the DanceChief blesses the
participants to the lodge. The participant honors “all their relations” as
they enter. There are generally four rounds in a community sweat. They
are:
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First Round – The first round is
Prayers For Self. The DanceChief will call
for hot stone children to be brought into the lodge. There is usually
chanting of Native American songs during this time and between rounds.
The DanceChief asks for the door to be closed and begins the ceremony by
pouring water on the stones and calling in the powers of the Universe.
Then each participant says prayers for themselves. Prayers may be said
aloud or silently. Usually this is done individually going around the
circle sun-wise, but may be done collectively, or in unison at the
DanceChief’s discretion.
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Second Round – Prayers for Others. Between rounds the door
is open and more stones are brought in by the fire crew. In the second
round, the door is closed and participants begin prayers for others. In
praying for others it is important to not “cross their Children’s fire.”
What this means is that only they know what they have written in their
Book of Life. Asking for someone’s illness to be cured, may not be what
they need to learn the lessons they have come to learn. A more
appropriate prayer might be to pray that the individual is open to what
they need to learn and that if it is in the highest good, that the
illness is cured.
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Third Round – This is a two-part round
Give-Away round. In the first part participants give away any obstacle
that would keep them from manifesting what they have just prayed for.
This could be procrastination, fear, or even the pain in their back.
With this darkness gone from the body, we immediately fill the space
with light. This is a give-away of the participant’s beauty. It is given
away so that it may spiral back down ten-fold. Examples might be love, a
smile, the ability to listen, or the ability to manage a huge
corporation.
- Fourth Round
– The fourth round is the Thank You round. As the DanceChief thanks the
powers of the Universe, the participants go into the dream or visualize
everything they have prayed for as if it had already happened.
A person may always leave the lodge, if
necessary, except during specific times, which will be explained by the
DanceChief at the ceremony. When the four rounds are complete, the
participants leave the lodge to ground themselves. A discussion follows in
which each participant has the opportunity to express the insights gained
from the ceremony. The sacred Medicine Pipe is closed and the group then
enjoys a social gathering and sharing of food and drink. With open
heart-to-heart communication as the intent, the evening is concluded in
beauty.
A
first sweat is often a challenge for a person. After a Summer Solstice
sweat a fellow DanceChief received an e-mail from one of her first-time
participants. In powerful and heartfelt words, he expressed his personal
sacred journey. Click here to read what he wrote.
There is no
charge for ceremony and no one will ever be turned away for lack of funds.
There are expenses for running SweatLodge ceremonies and you will be asked
to contribute $5-10 for upkeep of the lodge. If special teachings are
given as part of the ceremony, there will be a charge and this will be
noted in the information provided for the event. If you do not have money,
an energy exchange is appropriate and often very welcome. This might be
working on the lodge or helping to clean the facilities
before or after the event, etc.
Traditionally,
participants bring medicine gifts for those who facilitate a ceremony. A
medicine gift is some kind of tobacco and a small gift. The tobacco seals
the intent of the ceremony. The gift should be something to help the
person with their medicine. Examples of medicine gifts are sweetgrass
braids, white sage, dragon’s blood, candles, incense, crystals, etc. For
the caretaker of the land and lodge, you might even consider toilet paper,
coffee, tea, and other very practical items. If you sweat with a
particular group often, it is nice to find out the preferences of those
who facilitate ceremony for you. If you do not have a medicine gift find a
stick and break it in half. Give half to the person and retain half to
remind yourself to act on the intent at a later date.
How long does a lodge
take?
Many people ask how long a lodge is going to take. Here is the best answer
I can give you. You are welcome to come as early as 4:00 as that is the
time the Fire Crew will be gathering for their ceremony outside the lodge
(this assumes we will be lifting the pipe at 7:00). Many people enjoy
coming early and being part of the fire crew, helping to put the blankets
on the lodge, doing other things that need to be done, or just hanging
out.
If you are a first-time sweater, then I would like to have you here at
6:30 for some instructions. We will lift the pipe at 7:00 and hope to go
into the lodge around 7:30-7:45. On some occasions we will do some
drumming on the grandmother drum and sing a few chants and this would put
us in the lodge a little later.
With only a few people in the lodge it, the actual ceremony may take about
an hour. I am just the facilitator and although my job is to keep the
energy flowing in the lodge, I have no control over how long people pray
or what they say.
Every lodge brings its own energy. Each person in the lodge gets a chance
to pray or say whatever they want in each round.
They come to do their own work and I allow the ceremony to take its own
course. With 10-12 people or more in the lodge doing a leisurely
sweat, it could last two hours. The door is opened between rounds. When we
come out of the lodge, we have a short debriefing and then we close the
pipe, which can be done very quickly or more slowly and depends on the
energy of the participants.
Then we join in a potluck feast of what everyone has brought. Normally, I
would say we would be done by 10:00-10:30, but some people like to hang
around and talk enjoying the energy and sacred space for a while longer.
I have been to many sweats where I didn't leave till midnight.
Health Issues
During the sweating process the body is
cleansed of undesirable toxins. Bacteria and viruses cannot survive at
temperatures much higher than 98.6 degrees. The rise in temperature also
stimulates the endocrine glands and facilitates the release of negative
ions into the air, inducing relaxation, alertness, and for many visions.
NOTE: If you have any health issue, it
needs to be brought to the attention of the DanceChief prior to going into
the sweat. Sweating can be very beneficial to the body, but there are
certain precautions that may need to be taken or you may need to sit in a
certain place in the lodge. If you have high blood pressure and/or are
taking any medication for this condition, it may not be appropriate for
you to participate inside the lodge (you may do the ceremony outside the
lodge). Many medications prevent the body from sweating and thus the body
will overheat with no way of natural cooling. This can be very dangerous.
Tribal customs
vary in regard to admitting women on their moon (menstruation cycle) into
the sweat lodge. Many Native American tribes will not allow a woman to
enter the lodge during this time and others have no such restriction.
Dancing on the Edge welcomes women at any time. It has been found that the sweat
addresses special concerns of women before and during their moon cycles,
including alleviation of some of the cramping pain during menstruation and
removal of excessive water caused by retention of sodium. Following
childbirth, the sweat relieves aching muscles and cleanses the body.
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