LOVE, SWEAT andTEARS
Ann Marie Clock in front of her Sweat Lodge. Inset: Inside the sweat lodge by Jon D’Auria
In this edition of Arizona Extreme, we experience the healing and restorative benefi ts of Spirit Gather- ings’ Native American Sweat Lodge with Ann Marie Clock.
rriving at Spirit Gathering Sweat Lodge’s beautiful prop- erty I stopped in my tracks at the sight of the small adobe structure nestled in the desert. It was not the circular clay brick walls or the short, 2-3 foot entrance that led to the chamber that made me pause; rather, it was the small, intimate size of the lodge itself that caught me off-guard.
A 14 Tucson
Spending over two hours in absolute darkness with a group of strangers in this tiny structure would undoubtedly be an intense, but hopefully edifying, experience.
Sweat lodges have been used by
Native American tribes for purifi cation ceremonies, healings, spiritual jour- neys and unifying celebrations since the fi fth century BC, and perhaps even earlier. Evidence of such lodges have been found all over the world. In these adobe, stick, or dirt structures, a pit in the center fi lled with scalding stones is heated by a long-burning fi re, and is then doused with water to create heat and steam. This causes the participants to work up a healthy sweat, leading them to a meditative state of relaxation. The sweat is also a natural healing mechanism. Ann Marie Clock, owner of Spirit Gathering Sweat
Lodge, believes that the benefi ts of sweat lodges enhance the mind, body, soul and beyond.
“Sweat Lodges are very healing.
First of all, it takes about 10 years off your face,” explains Clock. “People hold a lot of stress in their face and the sweat lodge gets rid of all of it. It’s great for arthritis and it’s great if you’re sick. The reason we get fevers is to sweat out bad bugs, so when people come in here feeling ill, they sweat it out and often feel immediately better when they leave. No matter what your condition is, you will feel better once you step out of the lodge.” Clock has been hosting and
attending sweat lodges for over 20 years. Her love of sweat lodges began with her experiences in the healing arts. Her teachers, Native Americans from Apache, Hopi and Mojave tribes,
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