Kambô | Sapo | Acaté

‘Kambo’ is the name given to a frog secretion, traditionally used by many of the tribes of the Amazon Rainforest, particularly in Peru and Brazil.

It is natively called ‘Sapo’ as well as ‘Acaté’ in the language of my teachers.

This secretion is used to strengthen and heal the mind, body, and spirit.

I have been lucky enough to receive the blessings and training from the Indigenous Matses tribe of Peru to serve what they call ‘medicine’** of the forest, and maintain a relationship of mutual trust and integrity with my indigenous teachers.

Legend 2:

The Matses tribe say they discovered Kambo by “trial and error.” They ‘somehow’ knew there was a frog that would be beneficial to them, and they used the secretions of different frogs until they found the right one. In their trials, they said some of their tribe members died, and then they found Phyllomedusa Bicolor, and none of their people died, but they felt better, so they kept using it.

Recently Kambo has become popular and more well-known in North America, Europe, and Australia as an option for those exploring holistic/alternative methods of healing and for assisting in the rebalancing of physical ailments, emotional stagnancies, or blockages, and those who are experiencing the need for a positive existential shift.

**DISCLAIMER: Please note that none of the ceremony offerings on this website constitute any form of medical practice.

**Kambo is not a ‘medicine’ as defined by western standards or recognition. Kambo Facilitators/Practitioners are not doctors nor any other form of medical practitioners and do not have any western medical education or degree.

I, as a facilitator, do not diagnose disease, treat physical or mental health issues, prescribe medications, or claim to ‘cure’ any disease or sickness, mental, emotional, physical, or otherwise. I do not have any western medical education or degree.

Kambo is a long-standing indigenous tradition and ritual from the Amazon Rainforest – it is not a medical treatment.

Participants who are interested in sitting in this ritual are advised to do further research as to the potential benefits of Kambo to determine if this could be an effective and appropriate approach for your desired shift.**

PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF KAMBO

Kambo is one of the strongest, most natural ways to reset the body’s ability to heal itself. It is one of nature's most powerful ways to kick immunity, metabolism, energy, focus, and clarity into high gear.

So far the following ingredients have been demonstrated by science:

The two vascular dilators, phyllokinin and phyllomedusin, affect the blood/brain barrier. This allows other peptides, which are contained in the secretion, to reach their site of action more quickly.

Caerulein and Sauvagin. These lower blood pressure and have a sensory and performance-enhancing effect.

Dermorphine and Deltorphine. These strengthen the immune system and destroy pathogenic agents. This is an analgesic active ingredient that has a 4000-fold stronger effect than morphine and 40 times stronger than endogenous b-endorphins.

Adenoregulin. We also find this peptide as the main component of the human cell. It could help in diseases like depression, Alzheimer's, or stroke.

The secretion also has anti-microbial, antibiotic, anti-viral, and anti-fungal properties, which is what it serves as naturally for the frog.

Upon contact with open skin, it stimulates the lymphatic system, where the “cocktail” of peptides activate and begin boosting the immune system to produce antibodies, increasing the production of platelets and erythrocytes (red blood cells) and lymphocytes (white blood cells), which fight infection.

The effect of the peptides on the gastro-intestinal organs also helps to clear and rebuild the foundation of the gut system (by cleansing out bile), where up to 90% of a person’s serotonin* is made. (The chemist who has provided most of the information we know about the secretion is the same chemist who identified serotonin.)

Kambo may also support the recalibration of the nervous system and rewiring neurotransmitters that may have lost connection.

For further information on the bioactive peptides, pharmacology, and further research, please follow the link below:

Pharmacology + Research

OTHER POTENTIAL PHYSICAL BENEFITS:

• Remove toxins within the body from additives, preservatives, hormones, and chemicals

• Clear long-term accumulations of heavy metals

• Repair gut imbalances

• Clear out parasites

• Clean out excess yeast and sugar

• Improve digestion

• Clear skin disorders/diseases

• Improve physical energy

• Improve the quality of sleep

SPIRITUAL, EMOTIONAL, AND MENTAL BENEFITS OF KAMBO

In congruence with many physical benefits, Kambo Medicine may offer spiritual, emotional and mental benefits.

The secretion works deep within our organs and tissues, and (I believe) much like Chinese Medicine Theory, connects certain emotions to organs where they are stored within the body.

For example, emotions like fear, grief, guilt, sadness, and shame (among many others) are detected, brought to the surface, and cleared from the bladder, kidneys, liver, spleen, or gallbladder. The source of behaviors such as self-judgment, self-sabotage, lack of self-love, negative self-talk, etc may also surface in relation to suppressed memories, early childhood trauma, or significant life events that could have caused these patterns. The medicine** works to locate, honor, and move through these blockages by purging them in order to clear a path for personal strength and clarity.

It can be very healing and empowering for those who commit to the journey.

Contraindications of working with Kambo

HOW THE MEDICINE IS COLLECTED (PLEASE READ FULLY)

The secretion is taken from the frogs late at night or early in the morning when the frogs are most awake and can be tracked through call and response. The person collecting will often mimic the bark of the Kambo frogs and await their response to accurately locate them. Most often they are found high up in the trees, sometimes up to 15 or 20 meters, and can be retrieved by climbing the tree and offering a large brand or stick for the frog to climb onto.

The frogs are then tied by their hands and feet to four posts as they’re stretched out and put under stress in order to secrete the medicine. They remain very docile during this process, without squirming or making any sound, simply secreting the ‘medicine.’

During the harvesting process, the person collecting may sing to them or massage their hands to encourage the secretion to come. Sometimes they may even put small blades of grass or twigs up the frog’s nose. (This is not a pleasant process to watch, and I can’t imagine it’s pleasant to endure.) The medicine comes off thick and creamy and is placed on a stick to dry. The frog’s arms and legs are untied and he is put back in the jungle. He may not be harvested for another three months until he rebuilds his reserve of medicine.

Those collecting the medicine are able to tell when the frog has an adequate supply of medicine to be harvested again.

MANY COLLECTORS IGNORE THIS, PLEASE ASK YOUR PRACTITIONER WHERE YOUR MEDICINE COMES FROM!!

***It is extremely important to know who and how the medicine you are sitting with was collected. Many people who serve have never been to the jungle or witnessed this process. Personally, I found this was the most important understanding/observing/witnessing/feeling for my relationship in service of Kambo.

MY JOURNEY WITH KAMBO

I began working with frog medicine in the mountains of Peru in 2016. It was offered in addition to the plant medicine ceremonies for further and deeper cleansing of the physical, mental, emotional bodies. I sat three times that week with the combination of Ayahuasca, Kambo, and Huachuma and left the mountains feeling more connected to my body and spirit than ever before. I was in awe of what our physical vessels can handle and so grateful to the frog spirit for connecting me to the voice of my body, which I had really never been able to hear before that. I felt like I had shed years of skins of societally imposed stories about myself, and I was finally able to feel comfortable in my own skin, to treat my body and my mind as a temple and with my razor sharp intuition as my guide, I was ready to follow their instruction and actually begin creating more fulfilling life.

Since my first series of three sessions, I maintained a deep relationship with the medicine in the Peruvian territories of the Amazon Rainforest and the Andes Mountains. Each ceremony connects me deeper with the sanctity of my intuition, balances my physical and mental health, realigns me on the path of my Highest Self and the daily choices I make on how I exist in this world, and encourages me to consciously navigate what does or doesn’t serve my highest evolution, and what healthy or unhealthy choices I make on all levels: spiritual, personal, and physical.

Kambo has helped me to clean and reset my diet and digestive system, strengthen my immune system (I haven’t once been sick since I first sat with Kambo!) and balance my nervous system so I know to consciously usher myself into calm and tranquility instead of immediately reacting out of fear or ego dictation/defense. Kambo also helped me seal the deal on giving up alcohol and consciously declining lower vibrational patterns and habits and long-held-onto stories. Most importantly, Kambo connected me with my Soul. I was numb and asleep before I began working with Kambo. I have awakened on all levels and continue to step further into my self-knowing with every session.

In April 2018, the Spirit of Kambo came to me through Ayahuasca, giving me his blessing to begin serving the medicine. He continued to persistently show up for me, confirming that his permission was real and true. Since receiving and honoring the call, I participated in multiple facilitator trainings and intensives in the United States and under the knowledge and experience of the indigenous stewards of the medicine in Peruvian Amazon.

In September 2018 I took on a Kambo “dieta” while fasting at the Root Chakra of the Earth, Mount Shasta, intaking nothing aside from water and Kambo for five days. It was here that where I merged spirit with the Frog, opening the gate for direct communication as I became a humble servant of his medicine.

My deepest initiation with frog medicine was in January 2019. One of the members of the Matses tribe in the Peruvian Amazon invited a few of us out for a night hunt, where he imitated the call of Kambo and upon hearing the response, climbed 10 meters up a tree to collect the female frog. In the morning he extracted the secretion from the frog and put it straight from her back directly on my arm, still wet, with no pallet in between. I entered a very intense four-hour process and was fully initiated by a large, beautiful, healthy, vibrant, never-before milked female frog.

Since my first experience with frog medicine in 2016, I am honored and humbled the spirit of Kambo chose me to serve. Kambo has become one of my greatest guides, directing me towards the way of truth and using me as a conduit for his medicine in guiding the collective on the path towards their highest capacity of physical and mental health. I continue to work alongside and grow with the medicine, as he shows up in Spirit, guiding my path as one of my greatest allies.

Click here or the button below to learn about how and why I serve the medicine, and whether or not I’m the right practitioner for you.