The Curandera’s Toolkit Class in Oakland
6 Mondays, 2/13-3/26, 10 am to 12:30
Cost: $250 (includes materials fee)
Location: 3798 Grand Ave, Oakland, CA
Ancient cultural healing systems like curanderismo have much wisdom to offer us on our healing paths. In this class, you will learn the basics of holistic healing from the perspective of Mexican curanderismo.
We will explore the basic concepts of health and illness and how it impacts our body, mind & spirit. We will work with the healing energy of the sacred elements, with an emphasis on herbal medicine.
Class time includes a local herb walk so you can get to know how to recognize and use our local medicinal plants. In class you will also have a chance to make and take home many different herbal medicine preparations.
Class will be taught by Atava and a few special guest teachers. No class will be held on March 12th.
$100 deposit required to save your space in the class. The balance is due at the time of the first class.
For the latest updates, find this class on Facebook.
August Newsletter
Image from Aztec Codice Badiano. Written in 1592 by Aztec herbalist Martin de la Cruz. Stolen by the Catholic Church but returned by the Vatican in 1990.
Happy August!
Click here for a full color copy of my August Newsletter. I report back on the curanderismo class I attended at the University of New Mexico this past July. I have become very interested in the Codex Badiano, which is the oldest written record of medicine from Meso-America. I’m also inspired to learn more about the lives and history of the great curanderos of Mexico and the American Southwest. I am starting by reading The Hummingbird’s Daughter, a book on the life of great curandera Teresita Urrea.
You can subscribe here to receive this monthly newsletter.
Summer Blessings,
Atava
Tags: Newsletter
UNM Curanderismo Conference and August Classes
Image from Codex Badiano, 1592 Aztec herbal manuscript
Greetings!
As we greet the month of August (and the month of my birthday), I am feeling very blessed and grateful. I recently returned from my annual trip to a ceremony in New Mexico. Afterward, I attended a few days of the University of New Mexico’s incredible two week class entitled Traditional Medicine without Borders, Curanderismo in the Southwest and Mexico.
I arrived in time to receive teachings and healings from a group curanderos from Mexico. My heart is still full from this experience. It was a gift to be in the presence of such high caliber healers with strong roots in the ancient healing wisdom of Meso America.
Curanderismo has so much to offer modern people of all cultures and walks of life. One of the most important aspects of curanderismo is the attention it gives to the tonal, or human spirit. So many people today are suffering from soul sickness or soul loss. This can manifest in many ways- as depression, anxiety, insomia, apathy, addiction, violence, emotional numbness as well as many forms of physical and mental illness.
One of the most effective treatments for the spirit is a traditional cleansing ceremony called the limpia. In the limpia ceremony, the curandero prays over the clients as she or he works with the elements of nature- fresh aromatic herbs, flowers, candles, incense, water, along with songs, drums, & rattles- to cleanse the person of unwanted or imbalanced energies or emotions.
With an expert curandera, a limpia ceremony can be very long and intense. However, most people can learn how to perform a simple limpia on themselves and their loved ones. It is a great skill to have in these times when most people are in deep need of spiritual cleansing.
In honor of this great tradition, I’ll be teaching the basic elements of the limpia in both of my upcoming classes, The Healer’s Toolkit and Herbs as Spiritual Allies.
The Healer’s Toolkit begins Tuesday August 3rd and will be held for five Tuesday evenings in August. In this class we will cultivate skills and knowledge to treat basic health concerns with acupressure and herbal medicine.
Herbs as Spiritual Allies will focus on connecting with the spiritual energies of plants and working with them to balance and heal ourselves. This class will be held mostly outdoors so we can open to the healing power of the plants, the earth and the elements.
Finally, I’m happy to announce that this month that Floracopeia is launching a brand-new website called Medicine Crow. Medicine Crow is dedicated to all aspects of the plant-based, grass roots health care revolution. It is exciting to be a part of a global community of healers, herbalists, gardeners, & environmentalists dedicated to preserving and continuing the wisdom of medicinal plants. Watch the inspiring video by founder David Crow and join us!
Have a blessed month,
Atava
A day of limpias
A few weeks ago, I hosted a day of limpias with Mexican curandera Estela Roman. A limpia is a spiritual cleansing that is based in the philosophy and practice of traditional Mexican healing, or curanderismo. To perform a limpia, the curandera uses herbs, flowers, prayers and songs to help purify the client’s mind, body and spirit.
One essential tool of the limpia is the egg, el huevo, which is held and passed over the person’s body to absorb any negative energy. Sometimes the egg picks up so much energy and heat that it will be partially cooked. Some curanderas will, after the limpia, crack open the egg into a glass of water and “read” the egg. This egg reading is a way of both divination and diagnosis to give more insight into what is going on for the person receiving the limpia.
Another essential element of the limpia is the smoke of the copal, which is also used for cleansing and protection. Copal is a tree sap that is used in many different Mexica ceremonies.
During the day of limpias at my house, Estela saw people in a back room of my house. I was in the kitchen preparing food and tea. After their limpias, people were given a hot cup of herbal tea and lots of yummy food to eat. A few women who also practice curanderismo came over to assist. After receiving their limpia, each person was taken care of by other expert healers. While limpias were going on in the back, many of us sat around the table eating, drinking tea and laughing all day long. There was a really good feeling that day.
Later, I realized that this is exactly the kind of HEALTH CARE that I would like to envision. Health care based in ancient healing traditions; health care that is really about CARING for the human being; health care that builds community; health care that honors and works with the healing power of Mother Earth.
I will continue to hold this vision and prayer in my heart.
Tags: Curanderismo, limpia
Curanderismo classes with Dona Estela Ramon
Doña Estela Roman, Curandera from Cuernavaca
Director of International Center for Cultural and Language Studies Cuernavaca, Morelos Mexico
Estela Roman has actively been involved in the promotion and preservation of traditional medicine/ancestral practices in her community Temixco, Morelos Mexico. When she was nineteen she helped organize women’s groups for community training on basic health care. She came from a traditional family of 12 children and her grandmother and other relatives were well known for practicing traditional methods of healing using techniques of massage, herbal medicine, spiritual purification or limpias. She carries on a passion to serve the community and has pursued investigation of best practices and modalities to work in her community and other places where
she has been invited. She majored in Sociology at the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and earned her degree at the age of 30. Estela believes in formal education and hands on experience. She has dedicated to work full time as a social worker and activist in the region where she lives. She has a Master’s degree in International Peace Studies from the International Institute for Peace Studies at the University of Norte Dame. She was granted a full time scholarship as a peace scholar due to her work in the community and outstanding academic achievement.
Estela will facilitate three “platicas” conversations at The Birthing Project, 1900 T Street, Sacramento. You are invited to join us.
April 20, Sunday 2-6 pm Aires de los cosmos
(cosmic energies/entities; non-organic to the human body)
$50/person
April 21, Monday 7-9pm The Sacred Four Directions and Prayer
$30/person
April 22 – Tuesday 6-8pm Aires de la Tierra (earth energies/entities)
$30/person
Space limited to 20 people per platica. To register contact Carmen Hernandez at Carmen.hernandez@comcast.net or (916) 730-1623.
And, Sponsored by the UC Davis Chicana/Latina Research Center
Thursday April 24 5-7pm, Free
Indigenous Sexuality, Our Medicine and The Care of
Restoration of our Bodies using Ancient Techniques
(Food will be provided) HIA Conference Room – SSH 5214
Social Science and Humanities Building, on the 5th floor, UC Davis Campus
Ohlone Healing Center, Berkeley
Curanderismo Lecture: Friday April 18th from 7:30-9:30 PM $20
Workshop on Los Aires; Saturday April 19th from 1:00-5:00 PM; $60
SPACE LIMITED: RSVP & deposit to save a space. 510-540-8010
If you would like a personal appt with Estela contact Liz Swan at 916/479-5386.
Contact Trudy 323-3089 if you have any questions or would like to schedule a platica.
