2 Deaths and 19 others sickened while inside sweat lodge

By Phylameana lila Desy,
About.com Guide to Holistic Healing since 1997

2 Deaths and 19 others sickened while inside sweat lodge

Friday October 9, 2009

Twenty-one sweat lodge participants became sickened and were transported to hospitals by ambulances and helicopters today. As reported in the ABQJournal News two middle-aged people (a man and a woman) have died and five others were hospitalized, three of the five are in critical condition. The sweat lodge is a part of the Angel Valley Retreat Center near Sedona, Arizona. The cause of the deaths and illnesses is currently being investigated by the authorities in Yavapai County. The sweat lodge ceremony participants, numbering more than sixty individuals, were attending James Arthur Ray's Spiritual Warrior Retreat.

A 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.

What went wrong? -

We will have to wait until the official report comes back. But, what has happened is truly a sad affair whatever the cause. The purpose of a sweat is purification and yes, it can be physically uncomfortable. I've not participated in a large sweat such as the one at Angel Valley that houses so many people under one roof. My experience with sweats has been inside smaller privately owned lodges with room for fewer than a dozen individuals. It is important to know your limits and get out of the lodge if you are feeling ill. I remember a friend of mine feeling overwhelmed during one of the sweats I participated in. Because the lodge was so small three of us had to crawl out of the lodge ahead of her so she could make her exit. Then we crawled back inside. We knew this could happen before the sweat began. Our leader told us beforehand not to feel obligated to stay in the lodge merely out of convenience for the others... self-care was stressed. He also would not allow anyone to participate who had any type of heart condition. In the larger commercial lodges, my assumption is that people can make their way out of the lodge without disrupting other participants if they feel the need to leave, but I cannot say for sure. Either way, I would hope that instruction or warning was given to the participants beforehand about tending their personal needs and well-being. I'm so saddened.