Kambo

• Kambo Ceremony

  The Kambo practitioner will open the ceremony. Your gates will be burned and then opened. The gates are the places on the body where the Kambo medicine will be applied. The location of the gates will be decided between you and the practitioner beforehand. They are burned with a  small incense stick and are about 4-5 mm, or 1/3rd the size of a pea. Only the top layer of skin gets burned and the pain is very minimal. After this, water with a cloth or paper towel is used to clear the area so the medicine may enter in through the lymphatic system. 

  You will then drink between 1.25 and 1.5 liters of water which is what will help with the removal of physical toxins in the body. After your water has been drunk your medicine will be applied to the gates. If this is your first time working with Kambo we will apply just one point of medicine. (When the Kambo is prepared it is referred to as points or dots) This first point will be an assessment point. We will watch your reaction to the medicine as we observe your heart rate, breathing, if there's any swelling, or skin reaction. Once we observe that your test point has reacted well we will place the rest of the points on their gates. 

  Once the medicine is in place the effects are usually felt very quickly. You may feel a pounding sensation in the heart or head, increased heart rate, flushing of the skin and/or swelling in the face, tingling or numbness, inflammation in the throat, increased blood pressure or lowered blood pressure, nausea, or stomach discomfort. The effects of Kambo are usually only felt between 20-40 minutes and the most difficult part of it is usually just around 10 or 15 minutes. It is very common to purge during this time as the body is cleared of toxins, mucous, and bile. 

  After about 20 minutes if you have purged and the effects are subsiding we will then remove the medicine. and apply Dragon's Blood to the burns. Dragon's Blood (Sangre de Drago) is an antiseptic and analgesic liquid that aids in the healing of the burn points and reduces scarring. (Burn points usually are not visible after a few months) 

  After the Dragon's Blood is applied you will just rest and have some time to be with yourself. This is a time when quite often one experiences a heightened sense of clarity, memory, and peace. Often very important information and understandings come to us during this time and it is my favorite part of the process. For some people the sense of clarity comes later, or over the next few days.  After you've rested for 30 minutes or so you may be feeling hungry. Food is good for Kambo afterwards and you are encouraged to eat something, which will also help your body restore electrolytes. 

  Many people report incredible benefits when receiving Kambo 3 days in a row or 3 sessions within a 28 day moon cycle. When treatments are received in a close time frame it allows for the medicine to work in an accumulative way. Most of our Kambo ceremonies are held in a group setting with multiple participants, but we do offer individual sessions as well. See the Book A Session section for more info about group and individual Kambo circles.

• Preparation for Kambo 

A 10-12 hour fast is required before taking Kambo. This is a food and water fast. Small sips of water can be taken during the 12 hour fast, but absolutely nothing 2 hours prior. If you are receiving a treatment in the later afternoon or evening then you can have a smoothy for breakfast as long as it is a minimum of 8 hours prior to treatment, and you may also sip tea with honey throughout the day to maintain your energy levels, but nothing 2 hours prior.  Abstain from supplements the day of treatment as well as any medications you may take that you have and your practitioner have discussed. See the Contraindications section for more details.

You can not receive Kambo if anything on this list applies to you

*Serious heart conditions (previous heart attack, enlarged heart, inflammation of pericardium, pacemakers, heart surgery,

bypasses, valve replacements, transplants)

*Stroke (current or past).

*On medication for Low Blood Pressure (please let us know if you have LBP but are not medicated for it).

*Brain Hemorrhage (current or past).

*Aneurysm /Blood Clots (current or past).

*Serious Mental Health Conditions— excluding depression/anxiety— (on psychiatric meds for psychosis, schizophrenia,

bipolar disorder, etc…).

*Chemotherapy or radiotherapy (within 4-6 weeks).

*Taking Immune Suppressants for organ transplant.

*Pregnant or may be so .

*Breast-feeding a child under 6 months (specific protocol for under 6 months possible, discuss with practitioner).

*Addison’s Disease

*Ehlers Danlos Syndrome

*Epilepsy (current or past).

*Recovering from major surgery

*Ever had esophageal bleeding or rupture

*Under 18 years of age   

Matt is an advanced practitioner and has received training that would allow him to treat some of the cases listed above, so please still reach out if you are interested and we can discuss options. 

CAUTIONS

The following are not excluded from taking Kambô, but please let us know if any of the following applies to you so that we can assess and be clear if it is an appropriate fit and make necessary adjustments.

*Taking Immune Suppressants for auto immune disorders.

*Taking Sleeping supplements (melatonin, ambian, trtyptophan).

*Taking Diet supplements (anything containing 5HTP, diet herbs/teas).

*Taking Mood Enhancing Supplements (seratonin, melatonin, kava, folic acid).

*Active drug and/or alcohol addiction.

*Long term food/water fasting for 7 days before or after Kambô (other than the required fasting for ceremony).

*Colonics, enemas, liver flushes or any water-based detox within 3 days before and after taking Kambô.

*Hot yoga/sauna/ sweat lodge 3 days before and after taking Kambô.

*Please inform us of ANY substance (controlled or not) that you’ve taken in the last month.

Due to the large intake of water consumed during a Kambo treatment, the body’s electrolyte balance can be disturbed. It is of utmost IMPORTANCE that clients communicate clearly any/all of the above that applies. After ceremony, it is important to rest, eat and drink, in order to bring the body back into balance and allow for restoration and homeostasis 

• Kambo Safety

Kambo is completely safe when all the guidelines have been followed and you work with a well qualified practitioner. We are seeing more and more people these days awakening to the medicine path and turning to natural ways of healing. Sometimes in other medicine circles there are people who feel they have been called to serve medicine before they have gained adequate experience with those Master Plants. In some cases if that happens participants are still generally safe on a physical level. Kambo is not one of those medicines where it is still safe when being administered by an unqualified person because of the strict water consumption guidelines that must be followed and other potential contraindications. Make sure you are working with a competent and experienced practitioner. If our practitioners are not in your area or can't travel to your region you can find a list of qualified practitioners at www.kambointernational.com