Kambo Ceremony offers a powerful opportunity to purify the body, heart and spirit.
This sacred medicine is applied to the body in the context of a shamanic ceremony with special healing songs to vibrationally activate its gifts. The process induces detoxification along the body's natural purification pathways, primarily emetic (vomiting), and takes approximately one hour. There is no visionary component involved (no "tripping"), but rather a potent cleanse.
The medicine is carefully and intentionally gathered from the skin of the wild Amazon tree frog. The frogs are set free afterwards and are not harmed in this process.
Kambo is a medicinal substance produced by the skin of the wild Amazonian tree frog as a defense against predators, primarily aboreal snakes.
For humans, however, kambo has a vast array of potent medicinal properties from detoxification to relieving inflammation. It kills viruses, bacteria, and pathogenic fungi, and it is also sought after as a natural treatment for many chronic conditions including:
- Lyme disease
- PTSD, anxiety and depression
- Mold, candida overgrowth, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
- Addictions of all kinds, including drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, sugar and junk food
The kambo frog secretion is powerfully anti-inflammatory and filled with natural compounds that are fungicidal, antiviral, antibacterial and immune boosting. It contains seven bioactive peptides, including:
* Caeruelin — analgesic (painkilling) properties
* Sauvagine — acts on the pituitary and adrenal glands
* Phyllomedusin and phyllokinin—dilate blood vessels and increase permeability of the blood-brain barrier
* Dermorphin and deltorphin—non-addictive opioids that are up to thirty-nine times more potent than morphine and nearly identical to the human body’s natural painkillers, beta-endorphins
Emotionally, kambo is a cathartic healing medicine that helps us release stuck emotional pain, grief, anger, and related baggage from the past.
Metaphysically, kambo removes negative energy, heavy/funky vibes, negative karma, and can heal past life or ancestral patterns too.
Kambo raises your vibration and makes it easier to trust life, have faith, sense into your intuition, attract miracles and blessings, and open the door to new opportunities.
The result of the cleanse is the amplification of psychic gifts, a feeling of greater soul alignment, and improved wellness on all levels of being. It also tends to make us magnetic to blessings.
The Origin of Kambo
The legend is that a shaman named Kampu was looking for a cure for his people in the Kaxinawa tribe in the Amazon jungle. His village was full of lethargy, depression and sickness. He drank ayahuasca, a sacred plant medicine used for divination, and he learned in his vision that the kambo “frog sweat” could heal his people.
Today, kambo is used by many tribes in many countries for physical healing of sickness, to clear “panema” (funky energy), for warrior initiations, for spiritual activations, and to cleanse the body of human odors and heighten intuitive senses before hunting trips.
About the Medicine
Kambo medicine comes from wild frogs in the Amazon rainforest. Typically, the frogs are briefly tied up as the secretions are gathered from their skin with a stick. They are then released back to the jungle unharmed. However, I am blessed to have a medicine source in Peru that does not tie up the frogs, and gathers medicine from them much more gently. I feel that this extra kindness makes better medicine.
During ceremony, the frog medicine is applied through superficial burns in the skin that put it directly into your lymphatic system, and then it travels throughout the body, propelled by the movement of the cardiovascular system. Typically it does produce a purge in the form of cathartic vomiting.
It takes about one hour for the treatment. Our ceremony may last 90 minutes, however, with intention setting.
Usually you will want to have an hour or two of downtime after your treatment to rest and recover. But some people find they need to take the whole rest of the day off and others, meanwhile, spring up immediately after the purge and feel ready to return to life as usual. It is a unique thing.
Safety
Kambo is generally very safe.
Contraindications include esophageal rupture, pregnancy (can cause abortion), heart conditions, epilepsy, stroke, blood clots, brain aneuryism, recent surgeries, chemotherapy, bipolar disorder. (Kambo can be stimulating and so can possibly set off a manic episode for people with bipolar disorder).
If you have any medical concerns, please disclose these to your practitioner as well as any medications you take so we can make sure this is a safe option for you. Allergic reactions are possible but very rare, and we will do a low dose test point before a full treatment to see how your system responds
Does it hurt?
Yes, typically, kambo makes you feel like you have the flu and is very uncomfortable. The face and hands do swell during the treatment and nausea can be very intense.
However, there are exceptions. I have actually experienced bliss states while receiving kambo! And I have had clients who sang songs and laughed during their treatments! So do not fear! The process of getting burns on your skin and drinking 2 liters of water quickly is often the most uncomfortable part. Feeling nauseous isn’t very fun, either. However I do my best to make these treatments as gentle as they can be. They may feel intense but most people I treat are surprised that it was not as “bad" or hard as they expected.
When it comes to dosing, intuition leads the way. My approach is for us both to meditate and ask Spirit to tell us what amount of points you need. Typically we will both silently receive the same answer, which we confirm upon discussion. Using intuition to follow divine guidance allows you to get the minimum dose your system needs to get the purge or desired transformation.
Often I will begin with a “layered” approach as well, starting you with a small number and adding more medicine once you feel ready. Your consent is paramount. I prefer to let you begin with a gentle experience and amp it up if you need more rather than overloading you at the beginning, so that it can be as comfortable as possible.
Is it for you?
Ask for signs. You will receive confirmation through uncanny frog related synchronicities. One time, when I was asking the Universe for confirmation, someone handed me a pre-roll cannabis joint with a label that said it was grown by “Tree Frog” farm. Other times, I have seen frogs on license plate holders, frog ornaments in house plants, saw a giant frog mural, heard frogs croaking when I was indoors and could not pinpoint a sound (clairaudience), pulled frog in an animal oracle card deck…you name it. It can happen in all kind of surprising ways!
And in your heart and gut you will feel a knowing that it is meant for you. Some apprehension about the physical process is very normal. Remember that courage is not the absence of fear, it is feeling the fear and doing it anyway.
My Kambo Story
In 2016, frog omens and synchronicities began appearing in my life at the same time as a new healer colleague suddenly appeared in my social circle in Portland, Oregon— and she was a trained kambo practitioner. She felt certain kambo was the perfect medicine to help me resolve lingering PTSD, depression and anxiety.
Indeed, kambo changed my life! I felt much lighter and happier and more in tune with my Higher Self after each ceremony. I kept coming back. Over the course of 18 months, I was guided to receive 33 kambo treatments.
The kambo purification heightened my intuition and cleansed my emotional, physical and spiritual bodies. Kambo not only cleansed away my childhood suffering, it also healed past lives, ancestral trauma, and cleared my own karma. It was a game-changer for candida overgrowth in my body as well. And it was a powerful spiritual activator for me, bringing prophetic dreams and psychic abilities.
Eventually, I started to wonder if I was meant to share this medicine with others. I was already a Reiki master teacher, herbalist and shamanic healer, so I felt I had the foundation to facilitate spiritual healing ceremonies. However, I felt it was most respectful to wait to feel spiritually called, not to pursue training, and to see if a teacher appeared in my life — because when that happened, that would be the Universe taking the lead.
At the end of 2018, she did. I met a knowledgeable and inspiring mentor who taught me how to give kambo medicine to others, Kari Champoux. Kari is a kambo practitioner who studied directly with the Huni Kuin tribe of Brazil, in addition to having attended IAKP certification program. She synthesized her knowledge from these different sources, and her experience sharing the medicine as a practitioner and encouraged me to step forward and help others. (In my memoir, I gave Kari a psuedonym).
Today I have been a kambo practitioner for six years, and I have also received well over 100 treatments myself as a client. I am very experienced with this medicine and very connected to the frog spirit. I am grateful to say that I have watched it bring many miracles for my clients, whom I feel honored to assist.
My approach is to tune into my intuition about dosing, to create a compassionate container in which you feel safe and respected, and to have complete faith and trust in the frog spirit as the healer.
For the detailed story of how kambo came into my life, the magic it brought forth and how I became a practitioner, see my new book, TRUST THE FLOW: Awakening with Kambo, Cannabis and Ayahuasca.
In addition to working with kambo, I’m also a health coach, Reiki master teacher, intuitive healer, spiritual counselor and mentor for lightworkers. (To learn more about me please navigate to the home page)
Below is a video of myself receiving a kambo treatment in 2017.
"Tara provided an excellent, safe and effective experience with kambo healing over the course of 3 days in the woods near Flagstaff, AZ. She met with me first by phone, and helped me to set intentions for the healing.
I felt trapped in sadness and confusion and wanted to be emotionally set free from a prior, painful relationship. Tara was patient, and helped me to discern the best way to phrase my intentions, and to prepare.
During the ceremonies, we explored the childhood roots of my relational patterns in a way that felt supportive and safe. I felt seen and understood.
After the ceremonies, she met with me by phone to help me to process the experience. The healing has been gradual and liberating, and I am very grateful for this opportunity. I feel more spaciousness inside, freedom from pain and regret, and more hopeful about my future.
I recommend this form of healing with Tara to anyone who feels stuck in old, painful patterns."
- Diane R., psychologist, age 55
Private Kambo Treatments
My sweet medicine dog, Daisy, loves to keep us company and help hold space, bringing her peaceful, calm, sweet vibes to the mix!
Kambo cleanse ceremonies are conducted in nature and are available for individuals, couples and groups.
I am based near Wickenburg, AZ, within an hour drive of the Phoenix airport.
My intention is always for you to receive the maximum positive benefit from your cleanse ceremonies, and to receive them in a sacred way with gentleness, respect and warmth. Ceremonies are blessed and protected with prayer and Reiki, conducted in nature, and may include medicine songs.
I offer compassionate support for preparation, intention setting, processing and integration. This includes holding space for you and honoring your words as well as providing insight, perspectives and intuitive guidance, always with the intention of empowering you. I bring great care to our time together. If needed, I will be happy to advise you on herbs and nutrition to enhance your results, as well!
How many treatments will you need?
Three ceremonies is usually what is recommended for a big transformation, but the right amount for you ultimately depends on the reasons you want to work with this medicine and the specific concerns you want to use it to address.
For instance, those seeking kambo for Lyme will benefit from 5 ceremonies, each one week apart. Someone seeking kambo for emotional healing would typically do three ceremonies in a row, one per day.
I will be happy to help you determine the best course of kambo work for your unique goals when we connect, drawing upon both my experience and intuition.
From start to finish, a 1:1 private ceremony will typically take 90 minutes, including 60 for the kambo treatment itself and an additional 30 or so for intention setting prior to the treatment and integration as we close the ceremony.
My rate for facilitating kambo typically begins at $250/ceremony per person but if we are doing additional spiritual counseling and processing, we may need additional time and services incorporated into your transformational experience and fees will reflect this.