My name is Kat and my journey with Kambo began long before I sat with it. However, I was not ready at the time for many reasons.
During the early months of the pandemic, I injured my back while lifting a box. Suddenly, I couldn’t sit, stand, walk, or lie down for any length of time without pain. With most western treatment places limited in seeing patients. Kambo came to mind. I knew how helpful it could be for inflammation. I had been invited to sit with it several times before, but truthfully, I had been nervous—maybe even a little afraid—to work with this medicine.

As fate would have it, a trusted friend and practitioner happened to be in town and agreed to support me. That first experience was profound: not only did I experience physical relief from my back pain, but also deep healing of my spiritual body. One way, was I was able to release wells of grief that had long been held in my body—grief I hadn’t been able to reach until then.

In winter of 2020, I trained under Omar Gomez and CKPI. Since then, I’ve continued to apprentice and deepen my studies with this medicine. As my relationship with Kambo—and with the Spirit of Mapacho—continues to evolve, I remain in deep gratitude to have these medicines walk with me in this life thus far. Kambo has opened my heart immensely, strengthened my courage, and grounded me in the present.

Thank you to Omar Gomez and the Matses people for sharing their knowledge, and my other teachers: Jenn Jenson,  Ximena Garcia and Kathleen House and of course, the Amazon and these beautiful frogs.