Most people when they first hear about Kambo respond with, "Hell no! Why would I want to poison myself with frog venom and puke a bunch." Well, let's talk about... why would someone want to do something so viscerally uncomfortable as Kambo? To willing allow themselves to be burnt with a stick and then have frog secretion put on them. To truly appreciate Kambo as an ally in your journey to healing and wholeness, we have to address a few myths and misunderstandings that often deter people from sitting with this profound medicine.
MYTH 1: Kambo is a "Poison"
Although it’s often referred to as a poison, it's not poisonous or damaging to the human body. Actually, the opposite is true. Kambo offers numerous life affirming medicinal properties due it’s unique peptides that help to restore wellness and vitality in the body. We'll dive deeper into peptide science below.
MYTH 2: You have to puke for Kambo to "work"
The same Kambo peptides that help to regulate your nervous system and support your immune system also have purgative qualities to them. While the process might look like sickness—purging, sweating, or feeling discomfort—it’s actually a profound detoxification and resetting process that is occuring.
Kambo works not by harming but by harmonizing, bringing the body back to its natural state of homeostasis. Let's take a closer look at what's happening beneath the surface.
The Alchemy of Peptides: Nature’s Instruction Manual
To better understand Kambo we have to understand peptides. Peptides are like little messengers that give instruction to the body, how to function and what to do. Your body makes peptides, insulin for example helps to regulate your blood sugar, while endorphins, (also peptides), have natural euphoric pain killer effects.
Kambo contains about 40 different kinds of peptides, many of which are still to be fully isolated or studied. Current studies have shown that many of these peptides act as nervous system and immune system modulators. Basically they have the ability to speak to your body reminding it how to function more optimally and help you chill the out.
Unprocessed emotions, accumulated trauma, and stresses of our modern-day living can leave us stuck in chronic states of fight, flight, or freeze.
Fight or Flight can feel like anxiety, racing thoughts, hyper-vigilance, excessive worry, and digestive issues.
Freeze can feel like numbness, disconnection, apathy, chronic fatigue, or depression
We are stuck in our stress and we don't know how to get out! We need help to reset to feel at ease and connected to ourselves, and each other in a way that feels calm, grounded and safe.So here comes Kambo and it's peptides.
Sauvagine, Adenoregulin, and Deltorphin lower stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline while balancing serotonin and dopamine. This creates a lasting experience of clarity, calm, and connection.
Deltorphin is 40 times stronger than morphine, offers pain relief without addictive qualities like prescription opiates do.
Dermaseptin: is an immune system modulator enhancing the body's response to infection from harmful bacteria, mold, fungi, and viruses. This makes Kambo an excellent ally for overcoming Lyme Disease, mold, candida, and autoimmune conditions.
The peptides in Kambo also have a remarkable detox effect on the body, helping to flush out accumulated toxins and even pharmaceuticals.
Due to this flushing effect, I've been able to help a number of people safely get off SSRI's and opiates like Dilaudid with little to no discomfort or withdrawal symptoms.
So you see, Kambo doesn't simply mask symptoms; it speaks to the deep intelligence of your body, guiding it back into harmonious function. Think of it as nature’s ancient coding system, upgrading your internal software for vitality, strength, and peace.
The Conscious Purge
Many of the peptides in Kambo offer profound life-affirming benefits... but the catch is that they also make us feel sick at the same time.
It's as if Kambo is rewarding us for leaning into discomfort to heal, grow and transform. Helping us to recognize our own strength and resiliency, and asking us to be an active participant in creating well-being in our life.
Phyllocaerulien, is largely responsible for the purge– the nausea, vomiting, sweating… but it also communicates with your nervous system to down regulate pain and increase strength and stamina. It can reset your nervous system’s response to painful stimuli.
I have people walking in with shoulder or lower back pain. They sit with kambo, and walk out pain free a few hours later.
Phyllomedusin, stimulates the release of gastric juices to contribute to the purge, and it also regulates functions of dopamine and serotonin causing a powerful mood regulating after effect.
Often people walk into a session feeling anxious, disassociated, or depressed, and walk out smiling, feeling calm and connected.
Yes, many of these peptides cause short term discomfort of about 15-20 minutes, but on the other side is a fresh start. It’s like a storm clearing the skies—intense in the moment, but leaving behind clarity, levity, and renewal.
The wonderful part is that you receive the physical benefits of Kambo regardless if you puke. You'd be surprised how many people don't puke. The key thing to remember here is that the physical purge is but one function of many that the peptides stimulate.
That being said, there is an inner alchemy occurring with the purge, it is an act of liberation, releasing physical toxins and energetic stagnation. It’s a symbolic shedding, a reminder that healing sometimes requires us to confront what no longer serves.
Kambo: The Medicine of Renewal
At its essence, Kambo is a teacher. It teaches us that healing isn’t about suppression but about expression—about allowing what’s buried to surface, be released, and transformed. Like a snake shedding its skin, it invites us to shed old dusty layers, revealing the divine luminous being that you are underneath it all. Giving a deep heart-felt thanks to our indigenous wisdom keeps of the Amazon for sharing this medicine with us in the Western world. I work with Kambo that is ethically sourced in a fair trade agreement with the Matses tribe.
If you feel called to work with Kambo, reach out. I'm available for private session, I offer groups regularly, and self application training a few times a year. You can check our calendar for upcoming sessions. Blessings, Aga
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