Mesoamerican rituals, yoga and peyote. Other than beaches: now Mexico is the # 1 destination for those who want to heal the soul

A mix of Mesoamerican traditions, oriental wisdom and new age spiritual fusion. With its mix of traditional rituals, restorative yoga and psychedelic experiences, Mexico, however among the most visited countries in the world (32 million international guests last year) even for those looking for mainstream holidays and experiences, is becoming one of the destinations most sought after among those travelers in search of spirituality and in any case of a total removal from the anxieties of the “civil” world.

And if the average tourist reaches Maya land in search of beaches or pre-Columbian sites, there is a relatively large group of international guests who come to this area of ​​Latin America to savor and – literally – photograph the aura of sites like the village of Tepoztlan – just an hour’s drive from the capital, a real Eden for artists and intellectuals.

Not a few of the current inhabitants are people who came to this site with the idea of ​​spending a short period of vacation-relaxation, and who then decided to stop. “I love the atmosphere here – Anna Bitiuskaia, a 31-year-old Russian who lives at the foot of Mount Tepozteco, the legendary birthplace of the snake god Quetzalcoatl, one of the most powerful deities of ancient Mesoamerica, tells the France Presse news agency.” persopne are more relaxed, spiritual “, he adds, browsing among the stalls of an organic market where the sounds of a drum and a folk guitar echo.” I don’t hear and watch a lot of news, I almost live in the mountains “, adds the woman, specifying that he prefers to know as little as possible about the war in Ukraine.

Vibrations that come with a price: With rates on the order of $ 50-60 a night, hotels in Tepoztlan are more expensive than in many other parts of Mexico. Among the peculiarities of the site, that of being able to stay in “holistic” centers that also offer yoga and meditation “.” Since the days of the pandemic, many have come to live here, foreigners but also former residents of Mexico City, people who have understood that their energy would be blocked there “, says Ailzbeth Camacho, owner of one of these centers, the Luz Azul (Blue Light), where guests are offered the option of” photographing their aura “, to visualize energy, karma and chakras.

The phenomenon of new age tourism is not new in Mexico, but it has its origins in the seventies of the last century, when the anthropologist Carlos Castaneda sold millions of copies of books centered on the teachings of an indigenous shaman of Yaqui origin. Another very successful book, “The Four Agreements, a practical guide to personal freedom”, a self-help manual published in 1997 by Miguel Ruiz, draws inspiration from pre-Hispanic traditions.

Then there is another peculiarity of the local tradition that inexorably adds attractiveness, at least for a certain type of clientele. For many, a trip to the far northern country of Latin America would be meaningless without being complete without another kind of trip, that of the hallucinogenic experience. In this field, the path was drawn since the 1950s, when Robert Gordon Wasson – American banker and ethnomycologist whose studies on LSD and its use as an instrument of torture were – without his knowledge – financed and used by the CIA, Swabian secrets of a traditional local curator, Maria Sabina.

Healing therapy, Tepoztlan (afp)

The taste of peyote, the hallucinogenic substance extracted from the cactus plant of the same name, is still possible today in some indigenous communities, such as the Wixarika group, which still use the drug cpace to alter the mental state in its religious rituals. And in the mountains of Oaxaca, some guides offer the chance to try “magic mushrooms” at over 2,500 meters of altitude. “It will be a journey inside yourself – Pedro Ramirez, a local guide, tells a group of Mexicans and foreigners, before an excursion, in the village of San José del Pacifico – You may feel scared at first, but after 10- 15 minutes you will find yourself laughing, and maybe crying a little “.

One of the tourists says that she began to try psychoactive mushrooms after the death of her husband, a doctor killed by Covid in 2020. “I’m looking for answers, for acceptance – Araceli Perez tells AFP -. I want to live, not just survive. , as I think it has been happening to me so far. “

Another great attraction in the panorama of Mexican new age tourism is the temazcal, a sort of ceremonial sauna with Mesoamerican roots, which, according to Nicolas Lopez, the guide who proposes it, is able to “awaken our spirit, our soul “. Near the pyramids of Palenque in the southern state of Chiapas, visitors enter the heated “chamber” soaked in incense vapors and dance to the rhythm of a drummer. “It’s something sacred, pure – explains a Mexican tourist after experiencing the purification ceremony with her husband and teenage daughter – it’s a way to get everything out, illnesses, negativity, and keep only the best” .

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aditions méso-américaines, sagesses orientales, fusions spirituelles new age: pays parmi les plus visités au monde, le Mexique fascine un genre special de touristes, des voyageurs en quête d’eux-mêmes à l’écart d’un monde en crise. Première étape: Tepoztlan. A une heure de Mexico, ce beau village au pied d’une montagne attire des visiteurs d’un weekend, des artistes et des intellectuels. The douceur de vivre of “Tepoz” et du bourg d’Amatlan magnétise aussi des Mexicains et des étrangers à la recherche de “bonnes ondes”, loin des villes et des vaccins anti-Covid qùils rejettent en bloc. “Ici j’adore les vibrations”, raconte Ania, a Russian resident of 31 ans installée au pied de la cordillère du Tepozteco, berceau légendaire du dieu aztèque Quetzalcoatl. “Je ne vois pas beaucoup les informations. Je vis presque la-bas dans la montagne”, ajoute la jeune femme, qui préfère en savoir le moins possible sur la guerre en Ukraine. “Ici, les gens sont plus détendus, plus spirituels. Ils vivent en célébrant le jour d’aujourd’hui”, concluded Ania dans l’ambiance bon enfant d’un bio marché, au son d’une guitare folk et d’un tam-tam. La zénitude de “Tepoz” at a prix. Les hôtels sont plus chers qùailleurs (à partir de 50-60 dollars la nuit). It is also possible to sleep in the “centers holistiques mystiques”, the lieux of retraite spirituelle for practicing yoga and meditation. “Depuis la pandémie, beaucoup de gens sont venus vivre à Tepoztlan”, assure Alizbeth Camacho, du center holistique “Luz azul” (“Lumière bleue”). “Des étrangers et des gens de la ville (Mexico) qui se sont rendus compte que leur énergie allait se bloquer en ville”. Mme Camacho proposed à ses hôtes des “photos of the aura” for visualisers leur énergie, leur karma et leurs chakras (environ 16 dollars). En plein regain, le tourisme new age date des années 70, when the anthropologist Carlos Castaneda vendait des millions de livres racontant l’enseignement d’un chaman yaqui, Don Juan Matus, dans le désert de Sonora (north). Les traditions pré-hispaniques ont also inspired a best-seller du développement personnel, “Les quatre accords toltèques” by Miguel Ruiz. Les champignons hallucinogènes attirent aussi ces touristes. Un Américain, Robert Gordon Wasson, a ouvert la voie dans les années 50 en révélant les secrets d’une guérisseuse traditionnelle, Maria Sabina. Fifty ans après les hippies, the consommation du “peyotl” se négocie encore avec des communautés comme les Wixareka. L’accès aux paradis artificiels est encore plus simple in San José del Pacifico in the mountains of Oaxaca (south), the Etat de Maria Sabina. The suffit de trouver a “guide” for a “trip” à plus de 2,500 meters of altitude, like Pedro Ramirez, here accompanies dans la montagne quatre Mexicains et trois jeunes étrangers. “Cela va être un voyage intérieur”, prévient-il en présentant les champignons. “Vous allez peut-être avoir peur au début, mais au bout de 10 à 15 minutes, vous allez rire, et peut-être pleurer un peu”. “Je cherche des réponses et acceptance après la mort de mon époux”, explique avant le “voyage” Araceli Perez, dont le mari médecin est mort du Covid en mai 2020. “Je veux vivre et ne plus survivre comme je crois que j’étais en train de le faire “, ajoute-t-elle, une semaine après l’expérience hallucinogène, radieuse de se sentir” bien mieux “. Autre legs pré-hispanique, le temazcal, sorte de hammam méso-américain, fait aussi partie des incontournables du tourisme spirituel. Nicolas Lopez perpétue ce rite de purification non loin des pyramides Maya de Palenque, au pied des montagnes du Chiapas. The visits enter in a chambre de sudation chauffée par des pierres brûlantes et dansent dans des vapeurs de “copal” (encens) au son d’un tambourin. “Cela signifie quelque chose de sacré, de pur”, explique Valeria Landero, qui sort de l’étuve toute Essoufflée. “Cela signifie laisser tout sortir, les maladies, tout le mal, et faire come a moi de pure choses positives”, ajoute la trentenaire venue avec son mari et sa fille de 14 ans. Le temazcal veut “réveiller notre esprit, notre âme”, résume le maître de cérémonie, Nicolas, guettant l’arrivée d’autres touristes mexicains, américains et italiens, pour une prestation allant de 16 à 20 dollars par personne. L’année dernière, près de 32 millions de touristes sont venus au Mexique. Une partie pour apprendre au contact des Mexicains le sens du verbe “sanar” (soigner, guérir). st / lab / dth

AFP 20220826T044513Z

Mesoamerican rituals, yoga and peyote. Other than beaches: now Mexico is the # 1 destination for those who want to heal the soul