10 years of living in different tropical climates and rainforests has influence. Or perhaps it was just fate that took me down this path.
Regardless, since a young age, I’ve had a very deep passion for discovering earth medicines and traditional healing modalities from nature.
This natural medicine in particular, has touched my family’s life in profound ways. And ever since, I have been working with it and its sacred plant allies.
I am so incredibly honoured and excited to announce that I am diving deeper into sacred earth medicines and herbalism, and will be bringing all sorts of ancient medicines to my tool belt as a holistic practitioner. The medicine we are exploring in this post is KAMBO.
Kambo is the venomous secretion of the giant monkey frog (Phyllomedusa bicolor), a tree frog native to the Amazon basin. It can be found in the rainforest regions of northern Brazil, eastern Peru, southeastern Colombia, Bolivia, Guianas, and parts of Venezuela, where I began my travels 10 years ago, and met my husband.
It is a powerful medicine. Despite Kambo’s reputation of being an experience of extreme discomfort and intensity, many swear by its incredible benefits – physically, emotionally, mentally, energetically and even spiritually. ✨
Across the globe, people have reported that Kambo has helped treat their anxiety, depression, PTSD, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, HIV, arthritis, diabetes, candida, herpes, high blood pressure, cancer, fertility issues, recurrent infections and much, much more.
Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing more about medicines I al learning about, how they have and still continue to help my family and how they can help you. The medicine of the frog has truly humbled and allowed me to surrender to its healing.
Born again a medicine woman, I am truly honoured to hold space for you.
The Uses of Kambo
Kambo’s main indigenous uses revolve around lifting ‘Panema’ – a tribal name for dark or negative energy and for Hunting Magic – they believe it increases their speed and energy during hunting. They use it medicinally too, including: malaria, snake bites, fevers, infections, fertility problems, detoxing and to strengthen the mind and body, to increase energy and stamina and to reduce pain.
Outside of the forest, Kambo has been the subject of nearly three decades of medical research. Researchers believe that Kambo will open up a new world of treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Pain, Cancer, HIV, Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s, Depression, Vascular problems, Hepatitis, Diabetes, Rheumatism, Arthritis, Addictions and much, much more.
Their work consists of attempting to identify, isolate and reproduce the incredible and unique chemical cocktail that Kambo is. It contains dozens of Peptides, some of them bioactive which means they have an affinity and selectivity for binding with receptor sites in humans.
Recent studies have shown that Kambo contains multiple antimicrobial peptides effective against drug resistant strains of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites and virus, providing opportunities for the development of new and more efficient nanotechnological-based therapies for treating infectious diseases.
Ongoing research by the University of Paris has shown Kambo to be super effective at killing cancer cells and Queens University in Belfast recently won a prestigious award for their ground breaking work with cancer and frog secretions.
Kambo is one of the strongest natural anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antimicrobial and anaesthetic substances found in the world and one of the strongest, natural ways to strengthen the immune system. It also detoxes the liver and the intestines.
The Effects of Kambo
So why would someone choose to put themselves through this rather unpleasant medicine? As a holistic practitioner and nutritionist, this is the part that truly FASCINATES me! And ultimately the reason I’ve embarked on the medicine path.
Immediate and short term effects of kambo frog medicine include enhanced mood, alertness, clarity, focus, energy and increased resistance to stress, tiredness, hunger and thirst.
The mind becomes still, you feel lighter and everything becomes easier to manage.
In the longer term, Kambo empowers the immune system, rousing the body’s defence systems to their natural functions so that existing health problems are improved or resolved and future ones are less likely to occur.
In spiritual terms, Kambo works in a mystical fashion as a light that opens the way, helping us to overcome obstacles and release blockages on an emotional level.
It clears our energy field and realigns the chakras enabling us to break negative habits and live and think more naturally.
Despite the billions of pounds/euros and dollars being poured into researching and developing mainstream synthetic medication from Phyllomedusa Bicolour frog secretions, no one has yet managed to reproduce the original!
Kambo in its original, natural form is a holistic treatment that works on the mind, body, energy and spirit at all levels in ways that we don’t completely understand yet.
The native peoples of the Amazon are quite right to use the word ‘magic’ when describing this substance.
Is Kambo Frog Medicine Humane and Ethical?
Many of you have been asking. How is the kambo medicine extracted? Does the frog get hurt in the process? Is it humane and ecologically safe/sustainable for the frog species? 🐸
Thanks for your questions. This was the first thing I researched when considering being a kambo practitioner. The frog is not harmed in the process. It is completely humane and ecologically safe/sustainable for the kambo frog.
Kambo frogs are found high in trees near the Igarapes (rainforest waterways) where they gather to sing and announce the rain. They are generally harvested at dawn by the tribes who also sing and imitate the frogs’ song.
The frogs are very passive and do not react negatively when picked up, possibly because they have no predators. The frogs are carefully tied by each leg with straw string into an X shape. Sometimes the shaman will massage the toes to encourage the secretion which is then carefully scraped off and dried on small sticks.
After it is released, the frog returns to its habitat. The strings leave a tiny white line on each leg which stops anyone from harvesting the frog again until it has faded, which takes about 2-3 months.
The frog is never harmed but rather sacred and treated with utmost care and respect as the people believe that to harm the frog will anger the animal spirits that they live so close with. Kambo collected this way is considered 100% ethically harvested.
Kambo frogs that are held in laboratory environments, squeezed or harmed in any way during the harvesting process are not considered to be ethically harvested, nor are they considered to be as medicinal and healing. Be sure you are acquiring your kambo medicine from a practitioner who sources from an ethical and sustainable source, such as the IAKP, who works directly with The Tribes.
My Kambo Intensive
Great challenges can help us grow. Just recently, I did a ‘Kambo intensive’. It was challenging on all levels. As the name suggests, a ‘Kambo intensive’ involves doing several treatments in a short space of time. This is usually to help clear difficult emotional blockages/challenges or as part of a focused protocol for a specific health issue.
I did three consecutive days of Kambo frog medicine. My first three treatments done earlier on in the year were three weeks apart, but this series was three DAYS apart. As many difficult experiences do, I was forced to look deeper into aspects of my life. This sacred Amazonian medicine is considered an ‘ordeal medicine’, as it has a cleansing and purgative effect which includes nausea, vomiting, defecation (for some) and emotional releases such as crying/sounding as your body and spirit are being cleansed.
I began by drinking 2 litres of water. The water acts as the vessel to carry the toxins out of the body during the purge.
Small superficial burns (more shallow than a blister) were applied to my skin and the very top layer was gently and carefully wiped off. The secretion was applied directly onto this 'gate' and entered into my lymphatic system.
A feeling of warmth immediately followed. My face, skin and the core of my body started to flush and my heart was beating slightly faster. My blood pressure fell a bit. These are all normal reactions to the medicine.
It is helpful to work with the breath and surrender into the experience with love and trust. It is common to experience gentle swelling of the throat and face, as I did, for two out of my three sessions. I simply relaxed into the cleansing sensations and allowed the Spirit of the Frog to purify and fortify me.
After a few minutes I felt my stomach contract and had a powerful urge to purge. Again this is normal.
In the West we are used to calling purging ‘being sick'. In other areas of the world, purging is what our bodies do intuitively when we are sick, to remove the toxins and the 'sickness' from our bodies.
I had a bucket in front of me, and purged into it. I don’t normally need to use the washroom during my treatments, but some do. After the purge, the Kambo dots were removed from my body and the major part of my cleanse was over. I spent some time resting and integrating before sipping some herbal tea and eating a light snack.
My body needed to rest and recover for the duration of the three treatments, and the following few days, but now I am feeling strong and revitalized. Many people report feeling very peaceful immediately after the treatment and often enjoy these effects for the next 2-6 weeks. Everyone’s experience is unique.
Stay tuned for medicine posts! And please don't hesitate to share your questions.
Looking to source quality foods, supplements, and nontoxic home products? This vetted list put together by Beyond Vitality can help!
See List
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
I would love the chance to support you further and connect with you on a deeper and more personal level.
I’ll share new offerings, recipes, updated health solutions, and behind-the-scenes snippets…
We hate SPAM. We will never sell your information, for any reason.
