Tuesday 2 August 2016

My experience with kambo

My experience with kambo


First time i met kambo in November 2014 right after my first Ayahuasca ceremony. Before that i never even heard of kambo. It was a strong experience but quite interesting, i wanted to learn more about the medicine. In the fall of 2015 i  heard news about Kambo practitioner training in Portugal in May 2016 and i decided i will surrender to the frog and learn what he has to teach me. Also i felt that i would like to help this medicine spread around the world. It was around that time i started to apply kambo to myself. So from 29th of May until 12th of June i went to Portugal to train with an organisation called IAKP (international association of kambo practitioners) and there i met 16 other soon-to-be practitioners, all of whom are really good people. In about 5 years i´ve given kambo to probably around 100 people. Hopefully more people will become interested and i can help the green light to spread to all those who need healing. Also kambo is for the healing of the planet. Viva kambo!

more information about kambo

Benefits of Kambo

Scientific studies show that Phyllomedusa bicolor poison is made up of many peptides that are beneficial to the human body. Some of these peptides traverse the blood-brain barrier and stimulate the endocrine glands of the brain, resulting in an immune effect and a deep cleanse of the body. Kambo has antibiotic properties and strengthens the immune system while physically destroying pathogenic microorganisms. Kambo is traditionally known to be anti inflammatory, to heal eyesight, and to cure pain. Sapo peptides and their effects are reported cover a wide range of potential medical uses: treatment of brain diseases such as Alzheimer and Parkinson, depression, migraines, blood circulation problems, vascular insufficiency, organ diseases, cancer, fertility problems in women, AIDS, hepatitis and more.

 

Pain Killing Peptides 400 Times Stronger than Morphine

Scientific research has identified the peptides dermorphin and deltorphin in kambo as potent opioid peptides. Opioids are pain killers and opioid peptides bind to receptors on human cells which trigger a pain masking response. Dermorphin and deltorphin are amazingly 400 times stronger than morphine and 40 times stronger than b-endorphins which is the body’s natural pain killer.

 

When to use Kambo

“The amazonian tribes believe that we as living humans are constantly surrounded by a dense cloud that prevents us from seeing clearly. This cloud is called “panema” by the Katukina people. ‘Panema’ could be translated with an expression such as ‘negative energy’, bad luck’, depression’ or ‘laziness’. By receiving Kambo treatments on a regular basis we have the chance to get rid of this greyish cloud of negative energy, to live a healthy life and to fulfil our physical potentialities.” – Master Kambo Practitioner, Giovanni Lattanzi
As well as this energetic clearing effect, Kambo has potent physical benefits as well. Kambo is traditionally used to gain strength, maintain or regain health, and to provide immunity. The poison is applied often times before hunting parties depart in order to increase strength, improve vision and lend the hunters a ‘magical’ ability to locate prey. Kambo is also traditionally used to cleanse the body of just about any illness including Rainforest specials like malaria and spider bite etc. Kambo can be used to help heal many diseases like infections, high blood pressure, liver imbalances, migraines, physical pain, depression, Alzheimer, Parkinson, hepatitis, cancer, fertility problems in women, HIV and more. It is a strong purifier, it boosts the immune system, lifts the spirit and your physical energy.


Kambo’s Peptide Cocktail

When scientists analyzed the chemical makeup of the Phyllomedusa bicolor’s venom, they found that it contained new peptides with exciting beneficial effects on the human body. The top 8 are:
  • Dermorphin — a potent mu-opioid receptor agonist.
  • Deltorphin — a very potent delta-opioid receptor agonist. (Dermorphin and Deltorphin are 4000 times stronger than morphine and 40 times stronger than endogenic b-endorphines. (1).
  • Phyllomedusin — a tachykinin which affects the salivary glands, tear ducts, intestines, and bowels; it contracts the smooth muscles, and contributes to violent purging.
  • Phyllokinin (and phyllomedusin) — potent blood vessel dilators that also increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier.
  • Phyllocaerulein — which stimulates the adrenal cortex and the pituitary gland, causes a fall in blood pressure, causes tachycardia, and has a potent action on the gastrointestinal smooth muscle, and stimulates gastric, biliary and pancreatic secretions.
  • Sauvagine — which stimulates the adrenal cortex, causes a long lasting fall in blood pressure, and causes intense tachycardia.
  • Adenoregulin — acts on the adenosine receptors.
  • Dermaseptin — a potent antimicrobial for both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, and antiviral for herpes simplex virus.Sapo venom has been analyzed by scientists and is shown to contain many peptides that are beneficial to the body.

Frogs Are Not Harmed in Kambo Collection

The frog is not harmed during the harvesting of Kambo. It is considered bad luck to do so. In order to harvest the poison from the frog, they must be collected very early in the morning often after a good rain. The shaman will often be the one that goes on the frog hunt. He calls out the Phyllomedusa mimicking it’s natural song. When the frog calls back, thinking he is talking to a mate, the shaman knows where they are located. The frog is often found in a tree and sometimes, after a rain, they will be on the rainforest floor. The frog is gently collected and brought back to the village where the poison is harvested in a couple of ways. One way is that the frog is stretched by all four legs, his big toe massaged and then he secretes his poison. The poison is then collected and put onto a stick. The poison dries on the stick and then it can be saved for later use. The frog is then released unharmed. I have also heard that the Yawanawa tribe collects the frog venom by simply collecting the frog who naturally secretes his poisonous sweat from the excitement of being captured. The sticks must be kept dry and free of mold by keeping them over a fire. It is important that the kambo sticks come from reputable sources in good condition.


Kambo is Non-Hallucinogenic

Kambo is a very physical experience which involves a feeling of heat in the body usually followed by vomiting and sometimes evacuating from the intestines as the body purges toxins from the various organs. The mind is often made quite clear and focused and some say they receive specific messages. Kambo works mostly to purge the body of toxins and what is called “panema” or a heaviness, dullness of body and spirit. The experience with Kambo is very much like getting sick and the energetic and health benefits that many report usually come in the days and weeks that follow.

 

Kambo is Legal

We are happy that this traditional shamanic practice is legal in the United States and most every other country. It is only illegal  in one of it’s native countries, Brazil, for what seems to be political reasons around monetary rights.

 

Duration of the Kambo Experience

A typical Kambo ceremony lasts about one hour. The time spent in the peak of the cleansing and purgative process can be as short as 10 minutes and as long as a couple of hours.

 

Preparing for Your Kambo Cleanse

The Days Before: Eat as wholesome as possible in the days leading up to your Kambo ceremony. Diminish or eliminate fried food, over processed food and alcohol. Drink plenty of water so that your tissues are hydrated. Adding electrolytes (non-sugar) and liquid minerals to your water will help prepare your body.
Do not eat at least 10 hours before ceremony.
Day Of: The day of the ceremony you will fast from food. You should not have eaten for 10 hours prior. You are allowed to drink water. It’s essential to make a specific prayer, intention, so the frog can assist you in making your wishes come true. Please consider why are you about to connect with this medicine? What do you need? Where do you feel stuck? Whatever your questions, feel the ones that are the most alive and present for you.
During: Meditating with the breath is the best preparation for a Kambo ceremony. Breathe and invite the spirit of the medicine into you, exhale and surrender your ego, your weight, your toxicity. Breathe in and soften to the medicine, breathe out and let go.
What to Bring
*A Notebook and pen
*A Blanket and pillow
*Layered clothing for hot or cold temperatures (you may want to bring a change of clothing) Prepare your intentions by writing them down
*Change of clothes in case of heavy purging, after Kambo it is important to take a shower to cleanse the body and integrate the healing

 

How is Kambo Administered?

Kambo is also applied to superficial burns on the skin. A small stick is made red hot and just the top layer of the skin is burned. Kambo is then applied onto the burn and thus absorbed into the body.

 

What to Expect During Your Kambo Experience

Kambo is considered an ‘ordeal’ medicine. This means that your experience within the Kambo Cleanse will most likely be a purification and may not be easy. Kambo has a cleansing and purgative effect and you can expect to feel nauseous, to vomit and evacuate for a few hours as your body and spirit are being cleansed. Once the Kambo is applied to the skin, a feeling of warmth immediately follows. The face, skin and core of the body will feel a heat within. The heart will beat slightly faster and ‘bigger’ as I say. Blood pressure will fall slightly. Relax into the experience. It is helpful to work with the breath: Inhale and receive the medicine with love and trust, exhale and surrender. It is a common experience that the throat will gently swell. This is normal. It will not swell shut. The face may also swell.  Simply relax into the sensations and allow the ally of the Kambo spirit to purify and fortify you. After a few minutes or more, you may feel like you have to purge. You will have a bucket handy and you will purge into the bucket. You may also need to go to the bathroom. You will be assisted to do so. After your purge, the Kambo dots will be removed from your body and the major part of your cleanse is over. Many people reporting feeling very peaceful immediately after the treatment and often the next day one feels amazing.

What is Kambo?

What is Kambo? 

Kambo is “one of the strongest natural antibiotics and anesthetics found in the world and one of the strongest, natural ways to empower our immune system.”

Kambo is a secretion from one of the largest Hylid frogs known as the Giant Green Monkey Tree Frog. Its scientific name is Phyllomedusa Bicolor. The frog is nocturnal and arboreal and due to the fact that it has no natural predators is found in abundance across the Upper Amazon rainforest areas of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, French Guiana, Suriname and Venezuela.  

They are large frogs, the male bodies being between 9-10 cm and the females 11-12cm. The dorsum is a vibrant green and the belly a creamy white. They have dark spots on the chest, flank and legs. Reproduction occurs throughout the year, peaking between November and May. They construct hanging nests from folded leaves 1-3metres above ponds and streams. The females deposit a gelatinous mass containing their eggs into these nests. Theirs is the largest spawn found amongst arboreal frogs of the Amazon. A single spawn contains on average 1000 eggs from which tadpoles emerge within 11-14 days. The IUCN database lists them in the ‘Least Concern’ category in view of their wide distribution and large population. The only known threats to this species of frog at the moment are spawn predation and the potential destruction of their habitat.



An Italian scientist, Vittorio Erspamer of the University of Rome was the first person to analyse Kambo in a laboratory. In 1986, he wrote that it contains a ‘fantastic chemical cocktail with potential medical applications, unequalled by any other amphibian’. The chemicals that he referred to were Peptides. The peptides studied by Erspamer have become essential to characterize the functional role of opioid receptors. He was twice nominated for a Nobel Prize and was also the person who first discovered Serotonin. Several peptides have since been isolated from the secretion and several have been synthesised. Currently there are over 70 Kambo patents lodged, mainly in the USA.

Now, the popularity and use of Kambo as a natural medicine is spreading worldwide.  As the scientific and medical research into the secretion of the Phyllomedusa Bicolor grows, skilled practitioners are also developing new ways to work with this powerful substance from the Amazonian Rain Forest which allows it to be accessible to almost everyone in a safe and manageable way. Not only do we now have a number of different traditional ways to take Kambo but we can also work with the Meridians, the Chakras, Nadis and Marma Points and even the ears – Auricular Kambo. Added to this, there are also techniques to allow people to take Kambo in a way that is gentler on their system but still allows them to enjoy the maximum benefits.

Contraindications

Kambo is totally safe when given by a properly trained practitioner however there are some conditions for which Kambo is contraindicated, including:

* aneurism
* blood clots
* brain hemorrhage
* recent users of diuretics
* persons under the age of 18;
* pregnant or breastfeeding women with babies under 1 year old;
* stroke
* those with serious heart problems or heart transplant 
* people taking medication for very low blood pressure;
* serious wounds externally or internally that have not yet healed such as a very recent surgery;
* persons with severe cognitive disorders who are unable to understand the physical processes involved;
* persons taking immune system suppressants;
* if you had organ transplant
* have current and severe epilepsy
* if you are undergoing chemo- and radiotherapy, including those planning to start treatment within 4 weeks
* chemotherapy or radiation treatments of less than 4 weeks prior
* animals
* serious mental health conditions, except depression. 

For  women during their menstruation Kambo is not traditionally recommended because it can increase the blood flow and weaken the body. Also it is more likely for women to faint if they take Kambo during their period. However in some situations i have given Kambo also during the menstruation and i usually leave the choice up to the individual. 

The legend of kambo

The legend of kambo

Each tribe has its own legend or story about how they came to use Kambo. The most prevalent legend regarding the origins of Kambo comes from Brazil. This Kaxinawá legend tells that the Indians of the tribe were very ill and their medicine man (Pajé in Brazil) had done everything that was possible to cure them. All medicinal herbs known were used, but none helped. Under the effect of sacred plant medicines, he entered the forest and whilst there received a visit from a female spirit of the forest She brought in her hands a frog, from which she took a white secretion, and taught the Pajé how to apply it. Returning to the tribe and following the guidelines that he had received the Pajé was able to cure his brothers and sisters. From then on he was known as Pajé Kampu or Kampum. After his death, his spirit lived on in the frog where it continued its mission to protect the health of those who defend the forest. The secretion became known as Kambo but in some tribes it is called Sapo, Dow-Kiet, Kampu or Vacina da Floresta. Its usage spread and for thousands of years, Kambo has been used as medicine by the Kaxinawá people, and by many other indigenous groups including the Amahuaca, Katukina, Kulina, Yawanawá, Matses, Marubo and Mayoruna. it is still used widely amongst indigenous people in the Amazon to this day although the rituals vary from tribe to tribe.