The heat of letting go

How the heat burns your ego away

Water and Fire - the purifying elements at work

In the summer, when it gets really hot, I tend to tense up. Its difficult for me to keep a cool head, enjoy the sweat on my skin (and on others) and get along the party mood people are usually in. I am a summer kid, born in August, with Leo as my star sign. Yes, the sun mostly shines bright inside me! But with heat I really have my difficulties.

Confronting myself with it in a sweat lodge gave me space and relief and reminded me, that in every situation there is the possibility to relax…

I am sitting in the middle of a little hut, built of wooden poles that are covered with a lot of blankets. It’s completely dark. Just in the middle of the hut there are some glowing rocks, lying in a pit in the ground. Their reddish glow and the words of the ceremony master “welcome ancestors”, ignite the idea that those rocks are not just rocks. They are the pure gold that serves us with their heat, solid power and wisdom. Yes, solid and fearless... I can feel those qualities inside me, gradually switching to being nervous and doubtful about my ability to stand the heat. But before I could let myself been drifted away by those doubts, I hear our guide talking…

“Keep on breathing”

Sweat lodges come from the Native American culture – a form of purifying yourself, facing the dark, but also symbolizing the process of birth/re-birth. The sweat hut represents the womb of the mother (our own, or Mother Earth). This ceremony is all about connecting with your ancestors, the elements/nature and the strength within. When the master of ceremony pours water over the hot stones and the steam is rising, making every inhale an experience of having a thousand needles in your nose, there is nothing for you to do – just sit and keep on breathing. Through the exhale we can let go whatever blocks us in that moment. Mostly it’s thoughts that tell us that we are in danger, we can’t handle the situation or we need to do anything (in order to feel better). The simple choice of just surrendering is surprisingly difficult for most of us humans.

How the heat serves as fuel for empowerment…

The deal in the sweat hut is – comparable with most situations in our lives – that we have to go through it on our own. Supported by the ground, the pure earth we are sitting on (naked), the hot stones, the voice and guidance of the facilitator, shamanic drums and the presence of the rest of the group, you indulge in the lesson of surrendering. There are four rounds – every round is dedicated to a cardinal direction and a season, starting with spring, the moment of awakening and arising (like the sun). The ceremony ends with winter, the North and the idea of dying/letting go… before you rise again. You can imagine that this can be quite an emotional rollercoaster for some people. Every stage, every round addresses different feelings, memories, fears, images.

At the end remains one feeling: I made it!

I walk out of the hut, the dark, the mother’s womb as a different person. Fresh, proud, more connected, pure and solid as before. I honor myself, nature, the elements, the community. My conclusion: sweat lodges are enhancing the birth of a functioning society, where all that is not needed falls off, is transported through your pores – in form of sweat – out of the system, it’s not needed anymore. We are enough how we are, naked, on the ground, around a warming heart (represented for me by the hot rocks) . And through that nakedness and pureness we can connect much deeper – where the ego normally stands in our way, we just surrender and embrace what is (in that damn heat we can’t think any further than the next breath… and the next… and the next).

So, what does this mean for my practice?

Relaxation, surrendering, breathing are focus points of all my practices. The ultimate state of it is reached in a massage. Letting go (of thoughts, pain, tension), surrendering (to not doing anything and letting yourself been treated by the therapist/masseur), releasing through your breath and through deep relaxation, coming into a dream-like state where suddenly things can be worked out for you (instead of you actively working out things). In a dance therapy coaching I experience something similar with my clients. Moments of challenges or blockages in the movement create often the feeling as if there is no way out – frustration of course doesn't help, the only way out is acceptance. Breathing, letting go… and suddenly the movement flows from itself (into the desired direction).

The sweat hut helped me to bring my practice to a deeper level – it’s like being in a pressure cooker: everything gets condensed, there is no way to hide, to hold back… you are cooking, releasing, softening, until you transform everything to a fresh, healthy dish. And for the next summer… maybe I can embrace the heat this time more. At the same time accepting that I will always be a lover of the North, Scandinavia, the fresh air. Having enough passion and warmth, burning desires inside me to heat me up from the inside. At the end I stay a summer kid, just from the inside out.