Curanderismo: Healing Traditions of Mexico & South America

Learn the healing ways of Mexico and South America through four doors: touch, plants, spirit and food.

Dates coming
Each session2 hr 30 min to 3 hr a session
How oftenOnce a week
Cohort10–15 per group
SeasonYear-round · join any week

What you leave with

Your own family medicine kit, with recipe cards, and a closing ceremony with a shared regional meal

Curanderismo is the healing tradition many of us grew up around without ever being taught it. Each session opens one of its four doors. Touch: sobada, rebozo wraps and gentle head and neck work. Plants: ruda, romero, manzanilla, estafiate and the teas, baths and salves made from them. Spirit: limpias, protection from mal de ojo, and the ancestors. Food: corn, beans, squash, chiles and cacao.

Dr. Jet, a licensed pharmacist and herbalist, leads the plant work and vets every visiting healer. You practice on yourself and, if you choose, with a partner. Every session ends with a taste of the region's food and a closing circle.

What makes this one worth it

  • Touch, plants, spirit and food in every rotation
  • Visiting limpia and bodywork specialists, each vetted
  • A farm visit to cook atole and caldos
  • Build a family remedy kit to keep

What is included

  • All herbs, oils and materials
  • A taste of regional food every session
  • Take-home herb bundles, salves and recipe cards

What to bring

  • Comfortable clothes for mat work
  • A family remedy story, if you have one

How it runs

Once a week · 2 hr 45 min a session

Frequency
1x / week — Saturday 4:00 – 7:00 PM
Session length
2 hr 45 min
Each month
4 sessions, about 11 hours
Cohort size
8 – 15 participants
Where
Hygieia Wellness upstairs studio, San Diego, plus a visit to a partner farm
Level
All levels welcome
Commitment
Monthly — stay as long as it is worth it

What you cover, in rotation

The group works through these in order and then begins again on fresh ground. Join at whatever stage it is on — nothing here assumes you were there for the last one, and nothing runs out — or drop in for a single session if that is all you can manage.

  1. Stage 1Opening circle: roots of curanderismo
    • History and lineages of Mexican and South American healing.
    • The four pillars: touch, plant, spirit and food.
    • Share a family remedy over café de olla.
  2. Stage 2The curandera's garden
    • Meet core plants: ruda, romero, manzanilla, hierba buena, estafiate, pirul, motherwort.
    • Smell, touch and taste the teas.
    • Safety and sourcing with Dr. Jet.
  3. Stage 3Healing foods at a partner farm
    • Corn, beans, squash, chiles and cacao and how they were used.
    • Cook atole and caldo together.
    • Take home a harvest.
  4. Stage 4The limpia
    • A visiting specialist shows egg, herb-bundle and smoke limpias.
    • Practice a simple self-limpia.
    • Take home an herb bundle.
  5. Stage 5Sobada and holistic bodywork
    • A demonstration of traditional sobada.
    • Consent-based partner practice on shoulders and back with herbal oil.
  6. Stage 6Teas, baños, tinctures and salves
    • Make a tea, a bath blend, a tincture and a salve.
    • When each form is traditionally used.
  7. Stage 7Mal de ojo and protection
    • Evil-eye traditions in Mexico, South America and China.
    • Make a protection amulet and motherwort tea.
  8. Stage 8Rebozo, cranial care and plática
    • Rebozo wraps and gentle head and neck techniques.
    • The healing conversation and how to hold space.
  9. Stage 9Ancestors and Día de los Muertos
    • Build a group ofrenda.
    • Write a letter to an ancestor.
  10. Stage 10A visiting healer
    • A vetted guest shares their own region's medicine.
    • Questions and answers.
  11. Stage 11Your family medicine kit
    • Assemble a home remedy kit and write recipe cards.
    • Teach one remedy to a partner.
    • When to send someone to a doctor.
  12. Stage 12Closing ceremony
    • Closing circle and group limpia.
    • A shared regional meal.
    • A look at the next region: Traditional Chinese Medicine.

12 sessions in the cycle, then it begins again on new ground.

Who leads it, and what is provided

Led by Dr. Jet of Hygieia Wellness: licensed pharmacist, herbalist and massage-school student, with vetted visiting healers for limpias, sobada and rebozo.

Plant safety and sourcing, vetting every visiting practitioner, and leading the plant sessions.

On the table when you arrive

  • Fresh and dried herbs
  • Mats, sheets and herbal oils
  • Copal, candles and an altar cloth
  • Rebozos
  • Kitchen tools for atole and caldos

Before you book

Know before you go

  • Everyone signs a waiver and a consent form before their first session.
  • Touch is always your choice. You can watch, practice on yourself, or work with a partner.
  • Tell us about allergies, pregnancy, injuries and medications when you sign up.
  • Psychedelic plants are mentioned for their history only and are never used.
  • Teas, potions and balms are small-batch, made for you, and described by their traditional use. They have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not meant to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Not recommended for

  • Anyone looking for medical diagnosis or treatment. See your own doctor for that.

Cancellations and refunds follow our cancellation policy, which is the same for every activity on this site.

Questions about this trip

Do I need Mexican or South American roots?

No. Many people come to reconnect with family traditions, and many come because they are curious. Everyone is welcome.

Is there a certificate?

A practitioner certificate track is being built with Dr. Jet. It is not open yet; members will hear first.

Can I join part way through?

Yes. Each session stands on its own and the rotation comes round again.

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