This past Saturday I was lucky enough to participate in an American Indian sweat lodge’s Winter Solstice. A sweat lodge is a ceremonial sauna and is an important event in some North American First Nations or Native American cultures. While the structures of sweat lodges vary, stones are typically heated in an exterior fire and then placed in a central pit in the ground inside the structure. Water is then poured on the stones, causing very hot steam to fill the room. At my sweat lodge experience, a total of six of us met at 10am to begin our day. We then did a “dry ” lodge from about 1:30 to 4pm after deciding that the hot rocks were too much for us to try. Even though we didn’t get the full experience, the “dry” lodge was still a very interesting event. We then went for a dip in the host’s outdoor swimming pool–sorry to those of you reading this in freezing temperatures, but here in Central California it was 80 degrees, perfect weather for a swim. Winter Solstice is a great time for us to go back into 0ur caves and take a break from the long year we just completed, and get ready for the Spring! It’s also a wonderful time of year reflect and ponder on our past issues and digest all of these past experiences so we can come out the other side aware of ourselves and our life decisions! Great Health is our Wealth ~ Namaste Anthony Morrocco
