Healing Benefits of Sweat Lodge Ceremonies

The sweat lodge is a Native American tradition where individuals enter a dome-shaped dwelling to experience a sauna-like environment. The lodge itself is typically a wooden-framed structure made from tree branches. Hot rocks are placed inside an earthen-dug pit located in the center of this man-made enclosure. Water is periodically poured over the heated rocks to create a hot and steamy room. The sweat ceremony is intended as a spiritual reunion with the creator and a respectful connection to the earth itself as much as it is meant for purging toxins out of the physical body.

• Mental Healing - The sweat lodge ceremony gives its participants the opportunity to free their minds of distractions, offering clarity.

• Spiritual Healing - The sweat lodge ceremony offers a place for introspection and connection to the planet and the spirit world.

• Physical Healing - The sweat lodge ceremony gives anti-bacterial and wound-healing benefits. A full Medical Review (pdf) of the health benefits and risks of Native American sweat lodges were published by the Indian Health Service in 1998.

_{sweat lodge frame photo © buyenlarge / Getty Images}

Learn more about Native American healing traditions

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