In this episode, Crystal Dorado, owner of Verde Holistic Wellness Studio, discusses her mission to reclaim and share ancestral medicine, specifically pre-Hispanic womb healing. Raised in a lineage of traditional healers, Crystal delves into the importance of developing a relationship with the womb and how this ancient practice can support modern motherhood. She provides insights on the benefits of womb massage, traditional healing rituals, and how these practices tie into cultural identity, femininity, and spirituality.
Crystal also highlights the significance of supporting BIPOC healers and sustaining these traditions for future generations. Additionally, she shares personal testimonials and explores the holistic services offered at her wellness studio.
In This Episode, You’ll Hear:
- The benefits of womb healing.
- How this practice supports women's reproductive health and well-being.
- How the pre-Hispanic womb massage can connect to larger themes of femininity, spirituality, and cultural identity.
Follow Verde Holistic Wellness Studio!
- Website: www.verdehws.com
- Instagram: @verdehws
- Facebook: @VerdeHWS
- Crystal’s Personal IG Account:@crystal_dorado
Resources Mentioned:
- Travel Opportunity: October 2024 Retreat
- Dr. Rosita Arvigo’s book: Sastun
For full show notes, visit vivalamami.com/episode78
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Oh, no, no.
In today's episode, we'rehonored to have crystal.
Dorado who will be teaching usabout ancestral medicine,
specifically pre Hispanic wombhealing.
Now.
I've never heard of this untilrecently, but then I connected
(00:20):
the dots and I remember my momalways telling me.
About and how she did so badassand that way she can conceive.
And then here I go.
She got pregnant of me aftersuffering through a miscarriage
prior to her getting pregnant ofme.
(00:41):
And I didn't realize that my momwent through this until.
Recently, when she told me abouther experience.
When I became a mom.
And so now that I was able toconnect with Greystar, like
everything made so much sense.
And how are That can leverage.
(01:02):
Are.
To bring back ancestral healingand ancestral medicine to ensure
that our bodies are okay ratherthan just solely looking at
westernized medicine.
And so I'm very excited to haveKrista.
because she is a traditionalhealer and she is also the owner
(01:26):
of the holistic wellness studioin Chicago Pilsen neighborhood.
And crystal carries.
On her family's legacy of mesoAmerican healing arts, where she
was taught by her grandparents.
And later on, she mastered.
Traditional Sovos.
Plant medicine and spiritualhealing arts.
(01:49):
She's also studied Reiki and isa meditation teacher and
intuitive who has explored theaKA chic records.
Her mission is to reclaim andshare her ancestral knowledge,
empowering others throughholistic wellness.
And our conversation.
Dives into the significance ofpre Hispanic womb healing.
(02:13):
Which is so important inreconnecting with our bodies and
ancestral practices and howancient medicine can empower and
transform our health and overallwellbeing.
You're going to learn about theimpact of traditional healing
methods.
The value of supportingculturally rooted practitioners
(02:34):
and the necessity of reclaimingand honoring our cultural
heritage.
Can we status insights remindsus that modern wellness can
greatly benefit from embracingthe wisdom of our ancestors.
I hope you enjoy this interviewas much as I did.
So here is my conversation withFrom the holistic wellness
(02:56):
studio.
Welcome to the podcast.
I am your host, Jessica Cuevas.
I am a mother of two on amission to help redefine the
meaning of motherhood as amodern Latina mom.
Motherhood can be a complexjourney interwoven in two
identities that often make usfeel ni de aqui, ni de alla.
(03:19):
Viva La Mami is committed toproviding you with knowledge,
tools, and support to navigatethe challenges and triumphs of
motherhood.
As Latina moms on the show,we'll be discussing culturally
relevant topics that will helpinform and empower you in
whichever season you are in onyour motherhood journey.
(03:39):
We'll be joined by Latina moms,experts and professionals who
can offer advice, practicaltips, relatable stories, and
honest conversations.
So bring your cafecito as Iinvite you to be a part of this
space As we create Comunidadabout the exciting and
challenging parts of being amami.
(04:00):
Ahora, vámonos.
Jessica (04:04):
Hola.
Hola, Cristal.
How are you?
Crystal (04:07):
Hi.
Hola.
Como estas?
Jessica (04:09):
The end, thank you so much for being here I've heard
of your practice for a very longtime, but I've met you in
Oaxaca.
Yes.
Of all places.
Yes.
How wonderful is that?
Isn't it that we're allreturning back to the motherland
and, you know, from the samecommunities and neighborhoods
and bumping into each other andrealizing how, Small
Crystal (04:31):
the world is.
Jessica (04:32):
Yes.
Yes.
And so there's so much about themotherland that we want to
connect and One thing that Ireally want to just be
intentional on this platform ishow can we reclaim?
our cultura and Mixing it withmodern parenting, right?
(04:53):
And how we can kind of bridgethese 2 into redefining our
version of motherhood.
And 1 of the things that youoften share on your platform is
just how you can reconnect withyour ancestors through.
pre Hispanic womb healing.
And so I'm very curious to learna little bit more about that and
to share it with our listeners.
(05:14):
But before we delve into theconversation, can you tell our
listeners a little bit moreabout yourself?
Crystal (05:20):
So my name is Cristal Dorado.
I am the owner of Verde HolisticWellness Studio, which is
located in the Pilsen community.
I was born and raised in thePilsen community alongside
Laveita.
Um, I'm a mother of three adultchildren, and I, my grandparents
were both traditional healers.
(05:40):
So my grandfather and mygrandmother were curanderos.
My grandfather was a salvadorihuesero, and my grandmother era
llevera.
So I was born with this kind ofancestral medicine at a very
young age.
And so this is one of thereasons why I went into massage
therapy because it runs in mylineage and runs in my family.
I was raised with it, so it'svery familiar with to me.
(06:02):
And then from there, I startedexpanding and reclaiming
ancestral medicine.
And one of the ancestralmedicines that I was very
inspired to reclaim was thetraditional womb massage and how
essential it is to the health ofwomen and women in our culture
and women within our community.
Jessica (06:22):
Yeah.
And so can you tell us what thisreally is in a quick SparkNotes
version?
I'll do my
Crystal (06:32):
best.
So I think the quickest way Ican say this is that in one form
or another, we've allexperienced some of it.
We all heard our grandmothersay, don't walk around
barefooted.
You know, it can, you know, thatit can make you sick.
Um, we've heard of the Faja.
So women having to wear a Fajaafter pregnancy, or there's a
(06:54):
certain amount of time thatwomen are not allowed to get up
out of bed after pregnancy.
And there's just certain thingsthat we have heard as rumors or
experience through ourgrandmothers, mothers and, and
tias, right?
So traditional womb healing isan essential part of pre
Hispanic, medicine and ancestralmedicine is because they had an
(07:18):
ancient long knowledge about thewomb.
The womb is sacred.
Everyone comes from a womb, nomatter who you are.
And they believe that earthmedicine, natural medicine,
right?
A woman knew how to give birthand other women surrounded her
and supported her and givingbirth.
Um, there's a wonderful,wonderful shaman, uh, from
(07:40):
Belize.
He has now passed.
He is their most popular andmost well known He Man, which is
a traditional, um, healer fromthe Mayan culture.
His name is Don Eligio Panti.
And he said, if the woman's wombis not in the right place.
If her womb is not centered,nothing in her universe is.
Jessica (08:03):
Wow.
That is deep.
That is deep.
And it gives perspective.
All of us were born out of awomb and how can we treat it
well?
And how can we consider it as asacred organ, as a sacred place,
you know, where we literallywere developed and, And there's
(08:26):
so many layers to this, verdad?
Porque part of us, it's like,well, we have that leverage in
reclaiming our own cultura, butif we do not know, about, the
pre Hispanic womb healing, um,specifically what you, uh,
(08:46):
practice.
And if we're just listening tothe medicalized version about,
you know, yeah, you're apostpartum 6 weeks and after 6
weeks, they're good to go sortof thing.
Right?
Like, how can you kind of listenor even balance between these 2
different worlds?
Between what our ancestors did.
(09:10):
And what our current society istelling us, like, how can we
find, a better understanding ofhow we can treat our own wombs,
in this healing process.
Crystal (09:22):
So it's really about developing a relationship.
We don't have a relationshipwith our womb.
We don't have a relationship
Jessica (09:29):
with
Crystal (09:29):
our bodies at all as women.
We're taught to disassociate,and we're taught at a very young
age to give our sexuality overto young men.
Most of us had lost ourvirginity somewhere in our late,
our teens, or possibly in ouryoung adult, and we handed that
over to a young male or partner,expecting them to guide us
(09:54):
because we have no relationshipwith our womb.
And so our Indigenous ancestorsknew that the sacredness of Life
and the sacredness of woman camefrom her womb.
We actually have the gift ofcreation.
What is the purpose of a seed ifyou don't have earth to plant it
(10:15):
in?
What is the purpose of a seed ifyou do not have a womb?
So women are naturally born tobe intuitive beings because we
have the power of the creatorthat sits within us.
And if we're raised with thatknowledge and those ideas, we
would treat ourselves very muchdifferently than we do now and
(10:35):
we would demand society to treatus a lot more differently than
they do now.
These healings are essentialbecause women were revered and
held sacred.
We were the healers.
We are the healers.
When we come together, we healcommunities, we heal our
families, and we are thefoundation of society.
(10:56):
And so when reclaiming ancestralmedicine is essential so we can
give it to the next generationso the next generation knows who
they are, where they come from,and they can hold that power
because colonization took thatsense of identity and power from
us.
And how we can advocate forourselves differently when it
(11:20):
comes to our birth and givingbirth.
We can look for practitionerslike myself who work more in a
holistic way for pregnancy, pre,post, and pregnancy itself.
Jessica (11:34):
Mm.
Mm hmm.
Crystal (11:37):
And then we can reclaim our voices, and not only our
voices, but our children'svoices, because science is now
starting to tell us that thepsychology of a woman's
environment during her pregnancyhas an effect on the psyche of
the child, and even before that,because, right, we exist in the
ovaries of our mother while shelays in her mother's womb.
Jessica (12:00):
So we
Crystal (12:00):
are absorbing generations of thousands behind
us.
So if we empower ourselves, thenour children will be empowered
beads and they will no longerlive in a society that makes
them feel like second handcitizens.
Jessica (12:17):
Hmm.
Thank you for sharing that.
I think that's very important,to give us some kind of
foundation and understandingmore so the, the historical
context of it, right?
And so when we're talking aboutpre Hispanic womb healing, what
are the benefits of this?
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that?
Crystal (12:38):
Yeah.
So what we're, what I've learnedis that the uterus and ovaries
sits within a bundle of So it'sjust ligaments that hold the
uterus in place.
And these, and when we do thesepre Hispanic massages, we learn
how to support the uterus andhow to keep her healthy so she
(13:04):
can do her job, which is bringforward life.
So when our grandmothers toldus, don't step on the floor
without your socks.
And cold floors.
It's because we have the kidneymeridians, which Chinese
medicine tells us located on thebottom of our feet.
They end on the bottom of ourfeet.
So when that runs up.
(13:24):
Through that energy line, itcontracts the uterus.
The uterus is like a littlevampire.
She needs warmth to be able tohave healthy circulation and
flow.
And when she's menstruating, shebecomes heavier and she sits on,
in these, in the sling.
(13:44):
Of ligaments only that's what'skeeping her up and supporting
her elevating her and so when wewould, you know, I remember my
grandmother, I would be on mymenstrual cycle and I would be
working out and she would tellme no, put a pocket on don't do
that.
That's because what happens isthat our, our, our uterus can
(14:05):
come out of alignment.
She can tail forward, backwards,left or right.
And so we find when she tiltsback, women tend to get
constipated and they receivelower back pain.
So when we do these ancestralmassages, we strengthen the
uterus.
We help prepare her, supporther, and nurture her to bring
(14:28):
forward life.
When she has all this constantstress on her, It's a struggle
for her to bring forward life
Jessica (14:38):
and
Crystal (14:39):
we live in a high stress society, right?
And now we live in a societywhere women are getting pregnant
older.
Women are having to go throughIVF and that's, that's
counterintuitive to bringforward life because the IVF
process itself is so stressful.
It's so clinical that there isno emotional support for the
woman.
It's just in and out preparingfor injections and the whole
(15:03):
thing becomes this whole processof no longer nourishing the
wound, but let's get it done andhurry up because the time is
clicking.
Jessica (15:13):
And
Crystal (15:13):
so our grandmothers were trying to tell us something
that they have known forgenerations and generations and
generations and generations tocome.
This is ancient medicine that wehave to reclaim to empower
ourselves, because when we dothese practices, what we do is
strengthen and empower theuterus in the womb, and she is
(15:36):
connected to our heart, to ouremotions.
There is a medial line of energyto run from our heart to our
uterus and to our mouth.
Our mouth represents the samething as the cervix.
Jessica (15:48):
Once
Crystal (15:48):
we start to understand all these things, like when
we're on our menstrual cycles,we should not be eating cold
things.
Why?
Because that constricts bloodflow to the uterus.
We should be bringing herwarmth.
And I've learned that thingslike the flor de jamaica are
highly nourishing to the uterus.
(16:10):
Rose, rose can stop hemorrhagingwhen it's boiled and made into a
tea.
And so at one point, they toldus that the knowledge of our
ancestors was witchcraft, whichwas a cult, was woo woo.
They told us it had no place inmodern medicine, but it has
(16:32):
always had a place because ourancestors knew something that
they did not, that we are peoplefrom the earth and we need earth
medicine.
And the first healers of earthare plants.
So I spend a lot of timereclaiming this medicine in the
Yucatan and Belizean jungles.
(16:53):
And one of the shamans there,one of the elders, I told him,
you know, I'm really strugglingand very stressed.
I take on so much from othersconstantly because I am in the
act of service of healing.
And he gave me a separateblessing from everyone, and he
told me, I need you to rememberthat you are only the conduit
(17:13):
and the four healers are theearth, the air, the water, and
the sun.
And that's what our ancestorsare trying to remind us.
They're here all around usconstantly because we are the
dreams that they dreamt of whenthey thought of the future.
Jessica (17:31):
I just love that you are so connected, verdad, con la
cultura, with, uh, yourancestors and how you are
literally in a line of all ofthese curanderos, herberos
también, you know, and what wereyour, what would be your
(17:52):
recommendations for someone likeme, for example, that I do not
have a lineage of, you know,Hipoke curaba or anything.
I remember my grandpa me rezabacon un huevo and I can swear by
that thing.
Like that thing works.
Crystal (18:07):
I'm actually, this week and every, for the last three
Sundays, I've been teaching thepractice of limpia.
So that could be a wholedifferent conversation and we're
doing the huevo.
Jessica (18:18):
But that's a
Crystal (18:18):
whole different conversation because that's
another art form that needs tobe reclaimed.
Jessica (18:23):
Yes.
Yes.
But yeah, like, what would youtell people who are not so
connected, verdad?
And, but yes, that want toreclaim, but they don't know
where to go, you know, um, whatwould your recommendations be,
specifically to like this preHispanic womb healing?
Crystal (18:43):
Well, I think more than anything, you must support
people of color because themedicine that we are trying to
be clean, all of these practiceslike yoga, right?
Acupuncture, these all come frompeople of color.
And when we, unfortunately, inthis realm, what's happening is
(19:04):
that it's over saturatedwhitewashed and they're saying
that our culture is the trend.
It's not a trend.
Thank you.
Our ancestors have been usingthese ancient medicines for
years.
So you have to findpractitioners of color to
support them.
Within your community orextended a little bit outside of
your extended community, butsupport them, give them the
(19:25):
voice, bring people to them likemyself so we can continue these
practices and we're not seeingthese Eurocentric mindsets and
then reclaiming our ancestralknowledge.
Now, yes, I have it in mylineage.
And yes, I have it in my family.
But my grandfather on Saturdays,he would have a line of people
(19:48):
outside the church.
Latinos, Mexicanos, outsidewaiting for him to get his
healing session.
And my grandmother would makeointments and oils.
And even if it was just a littlehandful of herbs, you always
send somebody home withsomething to give them hope
because they didn't believe injust addressing the physical,
but also the spiritual.
(20:09):
And when I would ask mygrandfather, well, why did you
do that to that man, you know?
Or why were you telling him whenyou were adjusting his hand to
let it go?
Que lo suelta, que suelta esemiedo, que suelta ese susto, que
suelta ese coraje.
And my grandfather was justbecause, porque, you know,
that's what the heart is tellingme to do.
But what he was really saying isthat we address the spirit, not
(20:32):
only the physical.
So, and then, it's not aboutthat you have to have it in your
lineage.
It's that our people had theirtraditional healers.
That was the first medicine, andwe've all experienced it in some
level one way or another throughan egg cleanse when we were
younger, going to go getmassaged, right, by a solador.
(20:57):
Um, so we've all had this aroundus, and what's important is that
our community has its healers.
But it's okay for us to reclaimand learn and support.
And so supporting Indigenouspeople of Mexico is one of the
most essential things becausethey are the ones that still
(21:18):
have the connection.
They are the ones that have,after slavery, colonization,
rape, persecution that havesaved this medicine.
So actually, when I was inOaxaca, we did an embroidery
class and what I learned wasthat the indigenous people,
their embroidery is symbolic.
And it spoke a code language toone another and said, this is my
(21:41):
tribe, this is my people, thisis what we believe in.
And so that's the same thing.
So it's very essential asMexicanos that we don't forget,
or Latinos, Mexicanos, SouthAmericans, that we don't forget
that we still carry Indigenousblood in us.
I always joke, I'm literally ahalf and half.
I'm half Indigenous and halfSpanish.
(22:03):
The wonderful thing about mygrandmother was that she kept
this knowledge alive for us.
And she told us, you know,you're Indigenous.
Our people were enslaved.
Our men were taken to work themines and our women were taken
to strengthen the lines ofSpanish.
of the Spanish men.
So it's supporting those peoplein your community.
(22:25):
Unfortunately, what happenedwith a lot of the traditional
healers in the Chicagoland areaand in our communities when
COVID hit, it hit our communityhard and our elders, that
medicine died with them.
So it's important to teach yourchildren the traditional
knowledge and practice of ourpeople.
And one of the simplest and mostbeautiful things about our
(22:47):
culture is they say, Respectyour elders.
Teach your children to respectyour elders and listen to them
because they are the ones thathold the knowledge.
Jessica (22:59):
That is so beautiful.
And, think that there is thisbeauty, right?
And like I said, we, we canleverage and utilize our cultura
as a way to better ourselves, tobetter our bodies and to
reconsider other practices andother methods.
Then we thought of then what isrecommended, right?
(23:22):
Um, with the medicalization ofour bodies, really, you know, I
often think about birth controlthem be in and, and how there is
other methods than just birthcontrol, right?
Crystal (23:34):
Birth control comes from this plant.
It's called the yam.
It's considered, um, God, I wishI remembered the name, but it's
like a yam.
It's a big yam that grows in thejungle.
I got to see it in Belizethrough my teacher out there,
and it has like vines that comeout and have spikes.
So an anthropologist went out,of course, trying to, you know,
(23:58):
track plants and things likethis, and he found the group of
women from this indigenous tribein the Amazon jungle, and he
would see that the women wouldrun out in groups and hush hush,
and they would go get, dig outthis huge looking yam.
Well, that was the naturalcontraceptive, and that is where
(24:18):
modern contraceptives has comefrom.
It's a synthetic now, but itcame from indigenous women of
the Amazon through this yam thatis found in the jungle.
Wow.
And that's what we're allreceiving now.
Jessica (24:35):
Yeah.
Crystal (24:35):
Yeah.
Jessica (24:36):
Yeah,
Crystal (24:36):
And that's the doctor's answers for everything.
Let's put them on, um, let's putthem on birth control and their,
uh, their, um, their cycle isgoing to even out and their, you
know, their, it'll stop theuterus from bleeding.
But that is allcounterintuitive.
Jessica (24:58):
Mm hmm.
Crystal (25:00):
And, you know, they tell us that these medicines are
a luxury, but they're not aluxury.
They've never been a luxury inour culture.
Everyone in the indigenousculture had access to this
medicine and had access to themedicine people.
Jessica (25:14):
When we
Crystal (25:15):
hear the stories of the Aztecs or the Mexica, right?
There are the people, theMexica, they had free education.
They had clean streets.
They, they had had freehealthcare.
They were highly, highlyeducated.
Intelligent mathematicians,astronomers, scientists, they
created the number zero.
And these are the things theylead us to forget.
(25:36):
So we don't know who we are, butthese services have never been a
luxury in our culture.
They've always been our firstresponse to medicine, massage,
Las Soladas de Empacho, LasSoladas de Matrix.
You know, did you, and nobodyeven knows this, you know, we're
hot stones, this whole, you goto the spa and you get a hot
(25:57):
stone massage, right?
Do you know where thatoriginated from?
It comes, it's a ball stickstone that comes from the
riverbeds of Mexico.
It's a dark stone.
The Aztec used to prepare theirmuscles and warm it before they
went into war to make them moreagile and flexible to bring in
blood flow.
We don't even know that ourmedicine is being told that it's
(26:20):
a luxury so it cannot beaccessible to us because if it's
accessible to us, then they knowthat it will empower us.
It will give us strength andknowledge again.
And it's time for us to reclaimall of those things.
Jessica (26:34):
It
Crystal (26:34):
is time for us to teach our children.
When I went to go open mybusiness in Pilsen, and I was
inspired to do this by myfather, I was told, why are you
going to open it in yourcommunity?
This is a luxury service.
And I was like, this is aservice for white collared
people.
And I said, no, it's not.
It's a service for my peoplebecause it comes from my people.
(26:56):
It is my medicine.
When I went to massage school, Iwas a natural in it.
Why?
Because that knowledge sat in mybones in my blood and in my
flesh It is not luxury.
It is our first medicine ofhealing and most of the time
when we go to the doctors Theone thing they forget to address
(27:18):
is the spiritual because in ourculture Our indigenous ancestors
did not believe in mental healthissues.
They believed that we hadspiritual ailments affecting us,
which was coraje, susto,tristeza, pensamiento, y mal
Jessica (27:37):
ojo.
Crystal (27:38):
And those were the things that they would treat.
I'm sure
Jessica (27:41):
I've heard
Crystal (27:42):
of this.
I'm sure you maybe have heard ofthis.
Ay, si, el pobre niño le diosusto.
Debes de sobarlo.
Exactly.
Jessica (27:57):
Yeah.
Crystal (27:58):
And the sad thing is that we have women like Bethany,
Ashley, Now, do not get mewrong.
I do not have anything againstour counterparts, our sisters
and our brothers, but theyshould empower us.
They shouldn't support us.
(28:19):
They should support theirteachers that are indigenous
people.
They should tell us who theyare.
How do they give back to them?
And as they claim this medicineof their own.
You know, we have all thesecacao ceremonies, but what
about, our ancestors wereprosecuted for using cacao.
(28:40):
And this was medicine, and wewalk around allowing these
insults to continue becausewe're not aware.
We're simply not aware.
And then they say, This is aluxury.
You can't afford it,
Jessica (28:54):
but
Crystal (28:55):
it happened in our communities.
My grandfather used to havelines of people
Jessica (29:01):
waiting without any Instagram.
Crystal (29:04):
Exactly.
Cause it was word of mouth inthe community.
I am Salvador.
I own this.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jessica (29:11):
My mom, my mom grew up in the North side.
Y cuando necesitaba una solvada,they go, like, they go.
Took the bus down to like, andso, yeah, I can't imagine how
many people would literallycommute to around that area.
Porque that's where you heard,you know, and you would go down
(29:32):
south to Pilsen.
And so, yeah, it's all throughword of mouth.
And, and that's something that,you know, our ancestors were
good at.
Verdad?
And.
And it's just the power ofconnecting back with the people
that, you know, or hear of the,the legitimate people, right?
Like the OGs who, have beendoing this practice for many
(29:56):
years or who come in a line of,you know, so by that also, or
it, you know, and, and yeah,and, and oftentimes when I think
about someone getting a massage,you know, you.
Think, yeah, it is a luxury.
It is almost like a privilegeof, of having that, but as a
consumer myself, like I alsowant to be intentional and
(30:18):
supporting.
BIPOC owned businessesspecifically, you know, in the
Latina community, because that'show I identify.
And, and when I heard of you andwhat you offer, I'm like, Oh my
gosh, this woman speaks likewhat I am looking for.
And, and what I need really whatmy body needs.
And there's just so muchintentionality, Cristal, that
(30:38):
you have in your business that,you know, I'm sure.
Yes, like you are so successful,but I think that the fact that
you get to connect with yourculture and with your ancestors,
like that speaks a lot, youknow, and so can you share,
like, any kind of personalexperiences or testimonials
(31:01):
about the benefits of preHispanic womb massage?
And.
And yeah, like what, what hasbeen one of your top stories
from that?
Crystal (31:12):
Um, you know, I've have had several, um, I have had 70
percent success rate with thewomb massage with women going
through IEF.
Um, If I don't have success witha movement, I like to refer her
to other practitioners.
So I'll refer her to anutritionist and specifically
work with women, um, and theiruterine health.
(31:35):
I will even refer them to aChinese medicine doctor.
Um, but one of my favoriteexperiences was through my
cousin.
Um, she kept struggling andstruggling and I was there to
support her and one of her, um,miscarriages.
And I kept telling her, you knowYou know, maybe we should look
(31:56):
for someone else for you, anaturopath, someone else,
because there's somethingmissing.
So, later on, we ended upfinding out the issue was that
she had, she was anemic.
Now, when you do traditionalblood tests, there is a certain
range, even though you areanemic, doctors won't treat you
for it.
And once she started seeing thisnaturopath, because I couldn't
(32:17):
get her through the other space,the naturopath was able to
support her, and she had herfirst pregnancy within, uh, 12
months.
I had a client who had wentthrough IVF, um, and she was
successful with her firstpregnancy, but in her second
pregnancy, she had amiscarriage.
(32:38):
And so she was going back to NewYork to go and try IVF again.
So we did the womb massage forthree months.
We prepared her womb.
We strengthened her womb.
Um, we also did energy healingon her for her and setting the
attention, the intention.
And she got pregnant and now shehas had her second baby.
(33:02):
I mean, these are just a few toname.
There's so many wonderful,wonderful stories that I have
like this.
Um, what I'm going to be doingthis summer is I'm going to be
studying.
Uh, one of my teachers is RositaArvigo.
She's a Chicagoan also.
Um, and she has a wonderful bookif you want to know more about
(33:23):
her, more about Spoon, but I'mgoing to be studying with her
this summer to learn aboutpregnancy massage.
I just recently had a clientcall me, she was in her third
trimester, she was already due,and her baby was breached.
And she was asking me if I couldmassage her to adjust the baby.
(33:43):
And so I reached out to myteacher, uh, Dr.
Uh, Arvigo.
And she told me, yes, I havehelped a lot of women unreach
their baby.
Jessica (33:54):
And
Crystal (33:54):
she told me it's really about strengthening the womb and
allowing the womb to do ititself, but unfortunately you're
still not trained in this.
And so this is one of the thingsthat I'm going to go learn this
summer.
Um, when I was in Oaxaca, I wentto go get the traditional sobada
de regozo, and what I've beenlearning also is serrando los
(34:15):
huesos.
I have had a client who hadgiven birth, and a lot of women,
she has suffering through pelvicfloor issues, and we are
working, um, With the woolmassage and helping strengthen
her pelvic floor because that'sanother thing.
A lot of women have so manypelvic floor issues after giving
birth, their hips hurt, theirlower back hurts and so learning
(34:41):
how to Cerrar los huesos and toclose the hips is really an
important essential practice ofpostpartum work in our culture.
And so I've just, and it's, it'sa simple, simple massage.
It's not something that'sextremely complicated.
(35:02):
It's working with yourintuition.
They're very simple techniques.
It's a gentle massage.
Also, But we've worked, I'veworked with women.
I had one client, her cyst wasabout, I think, like 1.
5, uh, inches or something likethat, and we were able to get
her cyst, her fibro cyst tolower.
(35:23):
Wow.
And so, these are the kinds ofthings that our ancestors knew.
They knew they knew this naturalhealing.
Um, right now I am taking women.
I do retreats into Mexico and Ido them into the Yucatan and we
connect with the indigenousMayan because I believe in
conscious traveling.
(35:44):
That's a whole differentconversation.
Conscious traveling.
So I'm taking women this forMother's Day.
I'm already sold out.
Um, To go do a test, my God, andwe're going to be working on the
womb and connecting together aswomen, but I just learned that
in our culture, women wereencouraged during pregnancy from
(36:06):
1st trimester circuit trimesterthrough turn trimester to do
this make up because theybelieve that it strengthened the
body and it helped.
Open up the hips so women couldgive birth easier.
And so I have a client who is inher first trimester that they
are encouraging her toparticipate in the Tazmakal.
(36:27):
And women used to traditionallygive birth in Tazmakals because
this was a way of celebrating.
The Tazmakal represents the wombof the mother.
And so when we arise out of it,We are reborn.
Everything to our ancestors wasso symbolic from the food we ate
to the intentions and ceremoniesand rituals that we did and how
(36:49):
we worship, how we worship thesun, how we worship the moon,
how we worship God.
We had these ancient methods ofhealing and they worked, they
worked.
Jessica (37:03):
So many good nuggets here and yes.
And I often think about.
You know, just like throughassimilation, right?
Like I, I feel like maybe mygrandparents, my great
grandparents had this wealth ofknowledge and connection, but
that with like herbal medicineand things.
And, and even though I do hear alittle bit from like my mom, you
(37:26):
know, and for me, yeah.
And for me, I'm now, like, kindof switch the mindset.
Right.
But for someone that is 1st, 2ndgen, I'm like, 1 and a half.
I consider myself that way, but,uh, you often hear the, the
(37:47):
evidence based information from,all of these, like, boards of,
you medical organizations, butthen you hear, como, por
ejemplo, las, las, um, la hierbabuena or whatever from your
family.
And it's, it's hard, right.
To believe that.
Which direction to go to and andi'm guilty, you know, I used
(38:10):
when my mom was like no Butthere is a significance and
those like naysayers or those?
You know there is um truth toancestral medicine.
So like, I don't know if youhave any, tips or suggestions
(38:33):
for, for those that areskeptical, if you will,
Crystal (38:36):
you know, I love skeptical people.
I say, okay, come in, beskeptical, question me all you
want and doubt me.
And those are my favoritesbecause.
Those are the people who end upcoming to being the biggest
believers, but I have to remindyou, this is generations and
generations and generationsbehind this of trial and error,
right?
(38:57):
At some point, they had to getit right.
You know, there was that trialand error period where they were
learning and they were pickingup.
And so when we say or think thatthis is all new age, this isn't.
Even like sound healing, they'resaying the sound healing is the
new modern medicine, right?
There, there was a recentarticle that they're breaking
(39:20):
down tumors with sound.
But this is not new medicine.
This is all ancient medicine.
And again, Educate yourself,read, expand your horizons, and
it's okay to question, but theseare not things that are new.
These are things that areancient, that have been given
down to you by generations andgenerations.
(39:42):
And not everything is for you,and not every practitioner is
for you, so find your rightperson.
And it's okay to be skeptical,but know that because you are
skeptical, it's veryintentional.
It's a mind of colonization.
And it still happens in myfamily.
Even with all the knowledge thatwe grew up with, all the
experience that we had, there'sstill those that are skeptical.
(40:06):
Now, this is ancient medicine.
Ancient medicine is medicine ofpreservation.
To present illness.
To avoid it from arriving.
for listening.
Western medicine has its purposealso, and it's wonderful for
acute.
Issue like if you need, you havea trauma or severe car accidents
(40:30):
and, you know, you might have asevered finger and you need to
get your fingers sewed back onor, you know, the medical
emergencies.
That is the purpose of Westernmedicine.
It is fantastic for acuteissues, but indigenous medicine,
ancient medicine, medicine ofpeople of color is medicine of
(40:50):
preservation.
And how to keep your lifehealthy.
I'm sure everybody's beenwatching the whole blue zones,
right?
How these people are living tobe a hundred and something.
And look what's surroundingthem.
They have a lot of exposure tolight.
A lot of exposure to the earth,they're connected with the
earth, they have exposure toclean water, you know, and they
(41:16):
have fire, the fire element,it's the sun, they have exposure
to large amounts of sun.
And so, when you are skeptical,it's okay, but really educate
yourself.
Listen, read.
Ask why so you can get thoseanswers.
And remember, this is medicinethat has been around for
(41:39):
generations.
It's all trial and error.
Jessica (41:42):
Thanks for sharing that.
I think there's definitely aneducational piece, we don't
really, expand our knowledgenecessarily, in learning more
about our ancestors and otherpractices that are used in a
more natural way.
And when you have talked about,you know, like, uh, with your.
(42:03):
Personal experiences ortestimonials, you know, it's
just very interesting.
And I know so many people whohave struggled with IVF or who
have miscarried and, you know,had they known, verdad, or had I
wish I knew, now I know.
And so it's all about spreadingthat word and creating awareness
también, on top of being openminded and, and educating
(42:27):
yourself more.
So, I think it's all a process,and reconnecting and reclaiming
your ancestors.
And so how does a pre Hispanicwomb massage connect to larger
themes really of femininity,spirituality, and cultural
identity, on top of this sort ofhealing process?
Crystal (42:49):
One of the things the womb does is when you look at
the body, the diaphragm up here,it looks like an umbrella.
And then when you look at thepelvic floor, it looks like a,
like a bowl.
What happens is that the uterusis a place that holds all of our
more emotions It's like it poursdown and it goes into the uterus
(43:11):
because she asks us you give meyour pain and I will hold it So
when you receive a warm massageWe have a lot of emotional pain
that sits there specifically aswomen we have trauma From our
feminine line, our mother line,we have trauma from our sexual
experiences.
(43:33):
We have trauma through givingbirth, you know, one of my
favorite examples of that waswhen my sister, my sister was in
her second pregnancy, she had a.
She ended up having to have aDMC and we did a ritual for her
to let go of the baby, name thebaby, and we did a massage and a
(43:55):
bath for her, a spiritual bath,and, um, her second pregnancy,
she got pregnant, maybe 12 to 12months later, but again, it was
strengthening her uterus.
And that's what this does.
This allows us to have arelationship with our womb.
To reconnect with it.
And when we reconnect with it,we are reconnecting with the
(44:19):
ancestors, our and ourgrandmothers, our great
grandmothers, our mothers, thewomen in our lineage.
We are allowing the body to dowhat she, it was naturally
designed to do.
And we strengthen our intuitionbecause we can hear that voice
because we're constantly toldnot to trust our intuition by
(44:41):
Western medicine.
Right.
So many of us get, um, Csections and it's really not
that we need them.
It's because it's a conveniencefor the doctor.
Jessica (44:51):
They can
Crystal (44:51):
schedule that in.
Jessica (44:53):
And
Crystal (44:53):
so when we learn, and when you come in with me, I also
teach you how to massage yourown room.
And this is another form ofreconnection with you.
And it's very simple techniques.
that you do to massage your ownwomb.
I also do castor oil packs.
Castor oil packs are fantasticfor detoxing, and this is all
(45:16):
information that you get to takehome with you.
We also talk about, uh, Yonisteaming.
Yoni steaming is fantastic forthe pelvic floor because we
don't even know that we canaddress the uterus through
herbs, just steaming andstanding over them.
And again, this is a practicethat I experienced when I was a
child.
(45:36):
This is fantastic for cramping,for um, when the uterus feels
very restricted, discomfort andpain.
When we reconnect with ouruterus, we reconnect with our
essence, who we are as women,and who we were designed to be.
Jessica (45:57):
Yeah, so much symbolism there and yeah, and connection
that we get to claim Nadia Mas,like just us.
And, and there's so much beautybehind it.
And really with the, um, the preHispanic wool massage, um, Ay,
(46:19):
que te voy a preguntar.
Shoot.
Te voy a preguntar Okay.
Yes.
So with the pre Hispanic woolmassage, in terms of when you
can take this, is it, I knowthat it can be while you're
(46:40):
trying to conceive perhaps,maybe after you have a child
fiddle.
What if it's been years, um,after you had a child, like can
anyone take this really?
Crystal (46:52):
Yeah.
You know, you could do itduring, you could do it anywhere
between pre post.
You can do it anywhere betweenpre pregnancy and post, and you
can also do it in all stages ofyour life.
You can also do this whileyou're going through menopause.
This helps the wound become,helps the wound regulate all the
(47:14):
hormonal aspects of it.
It brings it a lot more ease andgrace into that shift.
I just had another great andbeautiful example.
I just did a womb massage for aclient of mine who is in
menopause.
So we did the womb massage andthen we did a meditation with it
and we gave her womb gratitude.
(47:36):
Thank you for everything thatyou gave me.
Thank you for all that you hadcreated.
She had two healthy pregnanciesand now it was her time to give
her one gratitude.
Thank you and surrender her fromthat stage of being pregnant.
and reproduction.
So it really is wonderful forall stages of life from the
(48:01):
moment, you know, if yourdaughter has a teen has very
heavy bleeding, this is going tohelp see, we see if the woman is
out of alignment.
First of all, if she, if she isout of alignment, then we help
align her.
And then we do the massage tomake her bleeding more easier.
Anyone that's going throughfiber, uh, fibroid issues or
(48:23):
cysts again.
This is a fantastic massage.
If you're thinking of gettingpregnant or going through IVF,
this is a fantastic massage.
We pre work during pregnancy.
We can literally adjust thebaby.
Post pregnancy, we can close thehips so you have a healthy
pelvic floor.
(48:43):
While menopause, it's time togive your womb the ceremony that
she deserves.
The gratitude that she deservesfor all those years is Um, uh,
being in reproduction
Jessica (48:57):
and bringing
Crystal (48:57):
forward life.
So it's really wonderful for allstages and our ancestors had
rituals for, and ceremony forall these stages of a woman's
life.
One of the beautiful thingsabout in the books as students,
because Dona Ligio Panti reallyfocused on woman's health and
uterine health.
(49:18):
And he told my teacher, Dr.
Rosita Arvigo, it's so wonderfulthat you are here with me
because the medicine is going toshow itself now and they were in
the jungle more than everbecause medicine is presented in
the jungle for all cycles of thewoman's life.
So the goddess is going to beexcited and she's going to come
(49:39):
forward and lead us and show usthe medicine.
The plants are going to be happybecause the woman, your woman is
here with me.
Jessica (49:45):
Wow.
That is so beautiful.
This is when women weren'ttreated as second class
citizens.
So to that, like there was somuch intention, so much
attention really to a woman'sbody and, and how, yeah.
And, and it's important that wereclaim that, and that way we
have that connection.
(50:06):
Yeah, yeah, yes.
And
Crystal (50:08):
it's important and it's important that we honor all
cycles of life because womenwhen so this is another because
I've spent so many times so manyyears going back into the my
with the mind community.
So I went to go see an elderspeak.
And he said, there's threestages of life.
(50:29):
The first stage is birth to your52.
And in that stage of life, youare the student of life.
When you turn 52, they go into atest for three days, and when
they go into the test for threedays, they fast, and they
forgive themselves for all thechoices and decisions that they
made as a student of life.
(50:50):
And then when they come up,they're reborn as the teacher,
the grandparent, and the elder.
And then the last cycle of lifeis returning back to the source.
The goddess Ixchel is thetraditional goddess, Mayan
goddess of healing.
She has three cycles.
She has this, the three phasesof herself.
(51:11):
She is the maiden and when sheis the maiden, she has the snake
and the bun, and, uh, she hasthe snake and she has the, I
think it's like a harra and it'sfacing down that represents like
the waters of life.
The second one is, she becomesthe mother.
So now she's sitting in themoon.
And her back is facing toeverybody and she's holding a
(51:31):
bunny because she's fertile, butshe's too busy being a mother
that she's not a healer.
So she doesn't have the snake onher.
She's too busy taking care ofher community, her elders, and
being a mother.
And then her last stage is thecrone.
In the crone, we see that thesnake returns and now she's
holding a loom.
So all of these stages of awoman's life should be honored
(51:54):
because we all have our purpose.
We have women now that aretrying not to be the elders and
the teachers.
They're trying to be stillyoung.
That is no longer their cycle oflife.
You have to honor each cycle oflife because it's necessary.
It's natural.
Jessica (52:13):
Right.
Crystal (52:14):
I am now at the stage where I'm becoming the elder.
I'm no longer in that stage thatI was before, and I should
celebrate this stage of my life,and I should be celebrated as
all women.
So this is again, and I really,really encourage the women that
listen to this, Do a meditation.
(52:35):
Simply close your eyes, take adeep breath and put your hands
over your womb and talk to her.
And you don't have tonecessarily be a mother.
We all are women and our wholepurpose is to bring creation
forth.
And if we choose not to, itdoesn't make us less of a woman.
We still have a womb.
We still have the power ofcreation.
Connect with her and talk to herand see what she wants to tell
(52:57):
you.
How many of us even talk to her?
We avoid her like the plague.
We don't even like looking ather.
Jessica (53:04):
Nope.
Nope.
I mean, I can tell you fromexperience every 28th, you know,
every 28 days I'm like, no,don't come period.
Don't come.
But I mean, that in itself isanother topic, right?
But it's yeah, the wholemenstrual.
Crystal (53:23):
That in itself is a beautiful topic because You
know, our ancestors knew thevalue of the period and of the
blood, and they would use theblood in ceremonial purposes to
bless holy places.
and temples because the energyof a woman when she is on her
menstrual cycle, she is the mostpowerful that she's ever been.
(53:47):
And, but now we're, we hide fromit.
We hate it.
We run from it.
We don't want anything to dowith it.
And no, and it's also a time ofinter reflection and rest.
Women used to go together andhuts.
While they will be menstruatingto hold space for each other to
be with each other to celebrateeach other Imagine if we did
(54:08):
that now There's no reason why agroup of women synchronize right
when they're on their menstrualcycle because that is all
intentional And it's a moment ofreflection of going with it.
It's not a moment to be indisgust.
It's a beautiful process ofwomanhood.
Jessica (54:25):
Wow, there's just so much symbolism and you gotta
like any references that youhave, like, please feel free to
share that.
I can definitely share that inthe show notes, um, because,
yeah, I think it all comes witheducation awareness, you know,
reclaiming our culture andconnecting with with our
(54:45):
ancestors, really.
And.
Yeah, there's just a lot ofbeauty within this.
So tell us a little bit moreabout Verde Holistic Wellness
Studio.
I know that you kind of gave usan intro about it, but Tell us
what you do, what you offer inaddition to the pre Hispanic
womb massage.
Crystal (55:03):
So Mezda Holistic Wellness Studio has now been 13
years operating in the Pilsencommunity, which I was born and
raised.
It was inspired by my father.
My father used to have a reallyfunny quote.
He always wanted to be anentrepreneur, never had the
opportunity to, but he wouldalways say to me and my
siblings, and of course to me,baby, we live in the best
(55:26):
neighborhood.
We're in the, uh, middle of theheart.
We are literally the heart ofChicago.
We have the 55, the two 90, andthe 90 94.
We have, um, two bus lines and atrain line that runs in.
At that time, it was a blueline, um, and so he encouraged
me to open my business andPilsen I had became his
(55:49):
caretaker and unfortunate.
Where I was working at the time,they didn't want to, I didn't
know about FMLA, you know, wedon't know.
Unfortunately, um, and so Ibecame his caretaker at the end
of his life and I needed to stepaway from work and my work said,
well, it's your father, yourjob.
And I said, it's my father.
(56:10):
And I opened my business inPilsen, and so my whole purpose
to it was, and my father hadanother quote, was that we as
minorities do not need saviors.
We can change our owncommunities and make them better
by, once we get culture andeducated, return.
to inspire others, open abusiness, volunteer or mentor.
(56:35):
So he always believed in that.
And that was another thing hehad instilled in me.
And that was very intentionalwhen I came back to Verde
because my experience workingoutside in big spas and even
like resorts was that whenpeople like me, people, Latinas,
Mexicanos, would come into thesespaces where I was working at
(56:55):
where we're higher and, youknow, they were so intimidated.
They didn't feel like theybelonged.
I remember I worked on Wabashand 11th, and this girl brought
her mom in, and I rememberhearing her in the lobby like,
Having a discussion with hermom, like, mom, no, I wanna give
this to you.
You deserve this.
And her mother asking her andshe was like, I wanna give you
(57:22):
this as a gift.
And I'm sure many of us are veryfamiliar with that story, right?
Yeah.
And so I was kind of gigglingand I came out and I was her
massage therapist and I said,and then her mom lit up.
It was completely different.
Her mother surrendered to me andshe had the best experience of
(57:42):
her life.
And so I wanted to bring thatback to my community and I have
done that in the last 13 yearsand I really wanted to reclaim
ancestral medicine.
So what we are, what I am doingnow as we have workshops,
classes, We have services, um,we have online classes also with
(58:04):
me and now I am doing conscioustraveling into Mexico to reclaim
these experiences.
My next retreat is in October.
It's called and we will bejoining the mind community out
there, which I have verybeautiful and lovely friends to
(58:24):
experience a ceremony for theother, which they call
nonfiction.
Hanak Nishan is considered foodof the soul.
So they do this beautifulceremony and a dry cenote in La
Cueva.
And they call in the ancestors,and we all call in the
ancestors, chant, open thesacred directions, and we do it
(58:44):
in candlelight.
In the jungle, and then we getto experience a gastronomic
experience where we cook andthen we eat the food afterwards
and they do a folklore.
The children do a folkloreperformance.
All of the, uh.
All of the cost of the travel godirectly to this community
again, when are the foundationright of our community?
(59:05):
So they believe.
That they support the women sothey don't have to travel
outside of their communities toget work, but they bring work to
them so children can have thestrength of the mother near
them.
And now they've been able tosend with their own travel
company that's run completely byfive mining communities and the
Yucatan right outside of Tulum.
(59:26):
They've been able to send 15students to college to
university with the scholarshipsthey developed.
And so this is what our moneydoes.
Jessica (59:35):
So these
Crystal (59:36):
are just some of the programs that I do there.
Tratamiento de copal.
I make my own body care productsSo like copal, I infuse it in
oil and I make, um, Uh, lotionout of it.
It's very wonderful forcomplexion for acne and eczema.
So those are one of the reasonswhy I make body care products
because I suffered from eczemamany years and my grandmother
(59:59):
taught me how to treat itholistically.
Jessica (01:00:02):
Love that all you offer and even virtual opportunities
and travel opportunities.
Yeah.
You know, this is not yourtypical massage parlor, right?
Like there's again, a lot ofintention and I love it.
Crystal (01:00:16):
Yeah, it's it's called the wellness studio and it was
very intentional and creating awellness studio.
I wanted to create a center andso like the virtual classes, I
do a virtual member class everymonth where I teach you
different mindful practicestechniques and rituals and
ceremonies so you can create onyour own.
(01:00:38):
So the next one is going to beactually this May, May the 5th
and this will be with one of mystudents.
And it's called the magic of thewomb.
So you'll be learninginformation about the womb, how
to serve your own room, thecycles of the moon, and how they
affect your room next month inJune.
We'll be doing fire ritual.
(01:01:00):
I also have my teacher, Dr.
Rosita, she's a herbalist.
And she's going to be inChicago, um, in June, and we're
going to be doing an herb walkwith her on June the 9th in
Tilsen.
So again, this is my way ofsharing the knowledge, um,
educating people, and so we canreclaim this ancestral healing.
(01:01:22):
Um, people don't know that theMidwest is filled.
With it was a place ofabundance, and it is filled with
natural medicine that people whoare interested in foraging, they
can literally go outside intheir neighborhood and forage.
Jessica (01:01:39):
Wow.
Yes.
Well, thank you so much forsharing all of this.
And, one last question I ask myguests here on the podcast, how
are you redefining motherhood?
Crystal (01:01:51):
By trying to really, you know, Show my children and
remind my children who they areand what their culture is by
reclaiming it.
So I can leave them a legacy.
So if they choose to pick upthis, uh, traditional healing,
they always have it accessibleto them.
(01:02:12):
So my grandchildren can receiveit.
And my great grandchildren canreceive it.
Jessica (01:02:18):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
Like you're doing an amazingjob.
You're, You're just phenomenaland thank you.
Um, I think these practicesshouldn't get lost, you know,
and they shouldn't get likewhitewashed really.
I think that what you're doingis something that I've never
heard of to be honest.
Um, I've definitely heard ofsobaderos, cerveros, you know,
(01:02:41):
but like.
There's just so much intentionthat you have in your business
and I wish you all of thesuccess, you know, clearly you
have this track record for 16years.
And yes, what you're doing forthe community.
And where can people connectwith you for those that haven't
heard of you?
Crystal (01:03:02):
So you can go to my insta handle at verdehws.
You can go to my websiteverdehws.
com or you can even follow me onmy insta handle at Cristal
Dorado.
Jessica (01:03:15):
Great.
Great.
I'll make sure to share that inthe show notes and any resources
that you're able to share.
Um, because yeah, it's abouttime that we educate ourselves
and Reconnect with our ancestorsthat that is something very
important.
So, uh, thank you so much forbeing here.
I really, really appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
(01:03:35):
I appreciate you too.
Mujer, thank you so much fortaking the time out of your busy
schedule to listen to the VivaLa Mami podcast.
If you enjoyed today's episode,will you do me a favor and
follow the podcast and leave arating and review?
Hitting that follow button andreviewing my show will allow
other mamis like you find thispodcast.
(01:03:58):
Your review will also tell me ifyou enjoy the show, so I would
truly appreciate your thoughts.
Don't forget, please share thispodcast con tus amigas.
Also, make sure to follow me atViva La Mami on Instagram or
visit VivaLaMami.
com.
Please note the informationshared in this podcast is for
educational purposes only andshould not be taken as
(01:04:20):
professional advice.
Okay, mujer, thank you forjoining y nos vemos in the next
episode.
Oh, no, no.
In today's episode, we'rehonored to have crystal.
Dorado who will be teaching usabout ancestral medicine,
specifically pre Hispanic wombhealing.
Now.
I've never heard of this untilrecently, but then I connected
(00:20):
the dots and I remember my momalways telling me.
About and how she did so badassand that way she can conceive.
And then here I go.
She got pregnant of me aftersuffering through a miscarriage
prior to her getting pregnant ofme.
(00:41):
And I didn't realize that my momwent through this until.
Recently, when she told me abouther experience.
When I became a mom.
And so now that I was able toconnect with Greystar, like
everything made so much sense.
And how are That can leverage.
(01:02):
Are.
To bring back ancestral healingand ancestral medicine to ensure
that our bodies are okay ratherthan just solely looking at
westernized medicine.
And so I'm very excited to haveKrista.
because she is a traditionalhealer and she is also the owner
(01:26):
of the holistic wellness studioin Chicago Pilsen neighborhood.
And crystal carries.
On her family's legacy of mesoAmerican healing arts, where she
was taught by her grandparents.
And later on, she mastered.
Traditional Sovos.
Plant medicine and spiritualhealing arts.
(01:49):
She's also studied Reiki and isa meditation teacher and
intuitive who has explored theaKA chic records.
Her mission is to reclaim andshare her ancestral knowledge,
empowering others throughholistic wellness.
And our conversation.
Dives into the significance ofpre Hispanic womb healing.
(02:13):
Which is so important inreconnecting with our bodies and
ancestral practices and howancient medicine can empower and
transform our health and overallwellbeing.
You're going to learn about theimpact of traditional healing
methods.
The value of supportingculturally rooted practitioners
(02:34):
and the necessity of reclaimingand honoring our cultural
heritage.
Can we status insights remindsus that modern wellness can
greatly benefit from embracingthe wisdom of our ancestors.
I hope you enjoy this interviewas much as I did.
So here is my conversation withFrom the holistic wellness
(02:56):
studio.
Welcome to the podcast.
I am your host, Jessica Cuevas.
I am a mother of two on amission to help redefine the
meaning of motherhood as amodern Latina mom.
Motherhood can be a complexjourney interwoven in two
identities that often make usfeel ni de aqui, ni de alla.
(03:19):
Viva La Mami is committed toproviding you with knowledge,
tools, and support to navigatethe challenges and triumphs of
motherhood.
As Latina moms on the show,we'll be discussing culturally
relevant topics that will helpinform and empower you in
whichever season you are in onyour motherhood journey.
(03:39):
We'll be joined by Latina moms,experts and professionals who
can offer advice, practicaltips, relatable stories, and
honest conversations.
So bring your cafecito as Iinvite you to be a part of this
space As we create Comunidadabout the exciting and
challenging parts of being amami.
(04:00):
Ahora, vámonos.
Jessica (04:04):
Hola.
Hola, Cristal.
How are you?
Crystal (04:07):
Hi.
Hola.
Como estas?
Jessica (04:09):
The end, thank you so much for being here I've heard
of your practice for a very longtime, but I've met you in
Oaxaca.
Yes.
Of all places.
Yes.
How wonderful is that?
Isn't it that we're allreturning back to the motherland
and, you know, from the samecommunities and neighborhoods
and bumping into each other andrealizing how, Small
Crystal (04:31):
the world is.
Jessica (04:32):
Yes.
Yes.
And so there's so much about themotherland that we want to
connect and One thing that Ireally want to just be
intentional on this platform ishow can we reclaim?
our cultura and Mixing it withmodern parenting, right?
(04:53):
And how we can kind of bridgethese 2 into redefining our
version of motherhood.
And 1 of the things that youoften share on your platform is
just how you can reconnect withyour ancestors through.
pre Hispanic womb healing.
And so I'm very curious to learna little bit more about that and
to share it with our listeners.
(05:14):
But before we delve into theconversation, can you tell our
listeners a little bit moreabout yourself?
Crystal (05:20):
So my name is Cristal Dorado.
I am the owner of Verde HolisticWellness Studio, which is
located in the Pilsen community.
I was born and raised in thePilsen community alongside
Laveita.
Um, I'm a mother of three adultchildren, and I, my grandparents
were both traditional healers.
(05:40):
So my grandfather and mygrandmother were curanderos.
My grandfather was a salvadorihuesero, and my grandmother era
llevera.
So I was born with this kind ofancestral medicine at a very
young age.
And so this is one of thereasons why I went into massage
therapy because it runs in mylineage and runs in my family.
I was raised with it, so it'svery familiar with to me.
(06:02):
And then from there, I startedexpanding and reclaiming
ancestral medicine.
And one of the ancestralmedicines that I was very
inspired to reclaim was thetraditional womb massage and how
essential it is to the health ofwomen and women in our culture
and women within our community.
Jessica (06:22):
Yeah.
And so can you tell us what thisreally is in a quick SparkNotes
version?
I'll do my
Crystal (06:32):
best.
So I think the quickest way Ican say this is that in one form
or another, we've allexperienced some of it.
We all heard our grandmothersay, don't walk around
barefooted.
You know, it can, you know, thatit can make you sick.
Um, we've heard of the Faja.
So women having to wear a Fajaafter pregnancy, or there's a
(06:54):
certain amount of time thatwomen are not allowed to get up
out of bed after pregnancy.
And there's just certain thingsthat we have heard as rumors or
experience through ourgrandmothers, mothers and, and
tias, right?
So traditional womb healing isan essential part of pre
Hispanic, medicine and ancestralmedicine is because they had an
(07:18):
ancient long knowledge about thewomb.
The womb is sacred.
Everyone comes from a womb, nomatter who you are.
And they believe that earthmedicine, natural medicine,
right?
A woman knew how to give birthand other women surrounded her
and supported her and givingbirth.
Um, there's a wonderful,wonderful shaman, uh, from
(07:40):
Belize.
He has now passed.
He is their most popular andmost well known He Man, which is
a traditional, um, healer fromthe Mayan culture.
His name is Don Eligio Panti.
And he said, if the woman's wombis not in the right place.
If her womb is not centered,nothing in her universe is.
Jessica (08:03):
Wow.
That is deep.
That is deep.
And it gives perspective.
All of us were born out of awomb and how can we treat it
well?
And how can we consider it as asacred organ, as a sacred place,
you know, where we literallywere developed and, And there's
(08:26):
so many layers to this, verdad?
Porque part of us, it's like,well, we have that leverage in
reclaiming our own cultura, butif we do not know, about, the
pre Hispanic womb healing, um,specifically what you, uh,
(08:46):
practice.
And if we're just listening tothe medicalized version about,
you know, yeah, you're apostpartum 6 weeks and after 6
weeks, they're good to go sortof thing.
Right?
Like, how can you kind of listenor even balance between these 2
different worlds?
Between what our ancestors did.
(09:10):
And what our current society istelling us, like, how can we
find, a better understanding ofhow we can treat our own wombs,
in this healing process.
Crystal (09:22):
So it's really about developing a relationship.
We don't have a relationshipwith our womb.
We don't have a relationship
Jessica (09:29):
with
Crystal (09:29):
our bodies at all as women.
We're taught to disassociate,and we're taught at a very young
age to give our sexuality overto young men.
Most of us had lost ourvirginity somewhere in our late,
our teens, or possibly in ouryoung adult, and we handed that
over to a young male or partner,expecting them to guide us
(09:54):
because we have no relationshipwith our womb.
And so our Indigenous ancestorsknew that the sacredness of Life
and the sacredness of woman camefrom her womb.
We actually have the gift ofcreation.
What is the purpose of a seed ifyou don't have earth to plant it
(10:15):
in?
What is the purpose of a seed ifyou do not have a womb?
So women are naturally born tobe intuitive beings because we
have the power of the creatorthat sits within us.
And if we're raised with thatknowledge and those ideas, we
would treat ourselves very muchdifferently than we do now and
(10:35):
we would demand society to treatus a lot more differently than
they do now.
These healings are essentialbecause women were revered and
held sacred.
We were the healers.
We are the healers.
When we come together, we healcommunities, we heal our
families, and we are thefoundation of society.
(10:56):
And so when reclaiming ancestralmedicine is essential so we can
give it to the next generationso the next generation knows who
they are, where they come from,and they can hold that power
because colonization took thatsense of identity and power from
us.
And how we can advocate forourselves differently when it
(11:20):
comes to our birth and givingbirth.
We can look for practitionerslike myself who work more in a
holistic way for pregnancy, pre,post, and pregnancy itself.
Jessica (11:34):
Mm.
Mm hmm.
Crystal (11:37):
And then we can reclaim our voices, and not only our
voices, but our children'svoices, because science is now
starting to tell us that thepsychology of a woman's
environment during her pregnancyhas an effect on the psyche of
the child, and even before that,because, right, we exist in the
ovaries of our mother while shelays in her mother's womb.
Jessica (12:00):
So we
Crystal (12:00):
are absorbing generations of thousands behind
us.
So if we empower ourselves, thenour children will be empowered
beads and they will no longerlive in a society that makes
them feel like second handcitizens.
Jessica (12:17):
Hmm.
Thank you for sharing that.
I think that's very important,to give us some kind of
foundation and understandingmore so the, the historical
context of it, right?
And so when we're talking aboutpre Hispanic womb healing, what
are the benefits of this?
Can you tell us a little bitmore about that?
Crystal (12:38):
Yeah.
So what we're, what I've learnedis that the uterus and ovaries
sits within a bundle of So it'sjust ligaments that hold the
uterus in place.
And these, and when we do thesepre Hispanic massages, we learn
how to support the uterus andhow to keep her healthy so she
(13:04):
can do her job, which is bringforward life.
So when our grandmothers toldus, don't step on the floor
without your socks.
And cold floors.
It's because we have the kidneymeridians, which Chinese
medicine tells us located on thebottom of our feet.
They end on the bottom of ourfeet.
So when that runs up.
(13:24):
Through that energy line, itcontracts the uterus.
The uterus is like a littlevampire.
She needs warmth to be able tohave healthy circulation and
flow.
And when she's menstruating, shebecomes heavier and she sits on,
in these, in the sling.
(13:44):
Of ligaments only that's what'skeeping her up and supporting
her elevating her and so when wewould, you know, I remember my
grandmother, I would be on mymenstrual cycle and I would be
working out and she would tellme no, put a pocket on don't do
that.
That's because what happens isthat our, our, our uterus can
(14:05):
come out of alignment.
She can tail forward, backwards,left or right.
And so we find when she tiltsback, women tend to get
constipated and they receivelower back pain.
So when we do these ancestralmassages, we strengthen the
uterus.
We help prepare her, supporther, and nurture her to bring
(14:28):
forward life.
When she has all this constantstress on her, It's a struggle
for her to bring forward life
Jessica (14:38):
and
Crystal (14:39):
we live in a high stress society, right?
And now we live in a societywhere women are getting pregnant
older.
Women are having to go throughIVF and that's, that's
counterintuitive to bringforward life because the IVF
process itself is so stressful.
It's so clinical that there isno emotional support for the
woman.
It's just in and out preparingfor injections and the whole
(15:03):
thing becomes this whole processof no longer nourishing the
wound, but let's get it done andhurry up because the time is
clicking.
Jessica (15:13):
And
Crystal (15:13):
so our grandmothers were trying to tell us something
that they have known forgenerations and generations and
generations and generations tocome.
This is ancient medicine that wehave to reclaim to empower
ourselves, because when we dothese practices, what we do is
strengthen and empower theuterus in the womb, and she is
(15:36):
connected to our heart, to ouremotions.
There is a medial line of energyto run from our heart to our
uterus and to our mouth.
Our mouth represents the samething as the cervix.
Jessica (15:48):
Once
Crystal (15:48):
we start to understand all these things, like when
we're on our menstrual cycles,we should not be eating cold
things.
Why?
Because that constricts bloodflow to the uterus.
We should be bringing herwarmth.
And I've learned that thingslike the flor de jamaica are
highly nourishing to the uterus.
(16:10):
Rose, rose can stop hemorrhagingwhen it's boiled and made into a
tea.
And so at one point, they toldus that the knowledge of our
ancestors was witchcraft, whichwas a cult, was woo woo.
They told us it had no place inmodern medicine, but it has
(16:32):
always had a place because ourancestors knew something that
they did not, that we are peoplefrom the earth and we need earth
medicine.
And the first healers of earthare plants.
So I spend a lot of timereclaiming this medicine in the
Yucatan and Belizean jungles.
(16:53):
And one of the shamans there,one of the elders, I told him,
you know, I'm really strugglingand very stressed.
I take on so much from othersconstantly because I am in the
act of service of healing.
And he gave me a separateblessing from everyone, and he
told me, I need you to rememberthat you are only the conduit
(17:13):
and the four healers are theearth, the air, the water, and
the sun.
And that's what our ancestorsare trying to remind us.
They're here all around usconstantly because we are the
dreams that they dreamt of whenthey thought of the future.
Jessica (17:31):
I just love that you are so connected, verdad, con la
cultura, with, uh, yourancestors and how you are
literally in a line of all ofthese curanderos, herberos
también, you know, and what wereyour, what would be your
(17:52):
recommendations for someone likeme, for example, that I do not
have a lineage of, you know,Hipoke curaba or anything.
I remember my grandpa me rezabacon un huevo and I can swear by
that thing.
Like that thing works.
Crystal (18:07):
I'm actually, this week and every, for the last three
Sundays, I've been teaching thepractice of limpia.
So that could be a wholedifferent conversation and we're
doing the huevo.
Jessica (18:18):
But that's a
Crystal (18:18):
whole different conversation because that's
another art form that needs tobe reclaimed.
Jessica (18:23):
Yes.
Yes.
But yeah, like, what would youtell people who are not so
connected, verdad?
And, but yes, that want toreclaim, but they don't know
where to go, you know, um, whatwould your recommendations be,
specifically to like this preHispanic womb healing?
Crystal (18:43):
Well, I think more than anything, you must support
people of color because themedicine that we are trying to
be clean, all of these practiceslike yoga, right?
Acupuncture, these all come frompeople of color.
And when we, unfortunately, inthis realm, what's happening is
(19:04):
that it's over saturatedwhitewashed and they're saying
that our culture is the trend.
It's not a trend.
Thank you.
Our ancestors have been usingthese ancient medicines for
years.
So you have to findpractitioners of color to
support them.
Within your community orextended a little bit outside of
your extended community, butsupport them, give them the
(19:25):
voice, bring people to them likemyself so we can continue these
practices and we're not seeingthese Eurocentric mindsets and
then reclaiming our ancestralknowledge.
Now, yes, I have it in mylineage.
And yes, I have it in my family.
But my grandfather on Saturdays,he would have a line of people
(19:48):
outside the church.
Latinos, Mexicanos, outsidewaiting for him to get his
healing session.
And my grandmother would makeointments and oils.
And even if it was just a littlehandful of herbs, you always
send somebody home withsomething to give them hope
because they didn't believe injust addressing the physical,
but also the spiritual.
(20:09):
And when I would ask mygrandfather, well, why did you
do that to that man, you know?
Or why were you telling him whenyou were adjusting his hand to
let it go?
Que lo suelta, que suelta esemiedo, que suelta ese susto, que
suelta ese coraje.
And my grandfather was justbecause, porque, you know,
that's what the heart is tellingme to do.
But what he was really saying isthat we address the spirit, not
(20:32):
only the physical.
So, and then, it's not aboutthat you have to have it in your
lineage.
It's that our people had theirtraditional healers.
That was the first medicine, andwe've all experienced it in some
level one way or another throughan egg cleanse when we were
younger, going to go getmassaged, right, by a solador.
(20:57):
Um, so we've all had this aroundus, and what's important is that
our community has its healers.
But it's okay for us to reclaimand learn and support.
And so supporting Indigenouspeople of Mexico is one of the
most essential things becausethey are the ones that still
(21:18):
have the connection.
They are the ones that have,after slavery, colonization,
rape, persecution that havesaved this medicine.
So actually, when I was inOaxaca, we did an embroidery
class and what I learned wasthat the indigenous people,
their embroidery is symbolic.
And it spoke a code language toone another and said, this is my
(21:41):
tribe, this is my people, thisis what we believe in.
And so that's the same thing.
So it's very essential asMexicanos that we don't forget,
or Latinos, Mexicanos, SouthAmericans, that we don't forget
that we still carry Indigenousblood in us.
I always joke, I'm literally ahalf and half.
I'm half Indigenous and halfSpanish.
(22:03):
The wonderful thing about mygrandmother was that she kept
this knowledge alive for us.
And she told us, you know,you're Indigenous.
Our people were enslaved.
Our men were taken to work themines and our women were taken
to strengthen the lines ofSpanish.
of the Spanish men.
So it's supporting those peoplein your community.
(22:25):
Unfortunately, what happenedwith a lot of the traditional
healers in the Chicagoland areaand in our communities when
COVID hit, it hit our communityhard and our elders, that
medicine died with them.
So it's important to teach yourchildren the traditional
knowledge and practice of ourpeople.
And one of the simplest and mostbeautiful things about our
(22:47):
culture is they say, Respectyour elders.
Teach your children to respectyour elders and listen to them
because they are the ones thathold the knowledge.
Jessica (22:59):
That is so beautiful.
And, think that there is thisbeauty, right?
And like I said, we, we canleverage and utilize our cultura
as a way to better ourselves, tobetter our bodies and to
reconsider other practices andother methods.
Then we thought of then what isrecommended, right?
(23:22):
Um, with the medicalization ofour bodies, really, you know, I
often think about birth controlthem be in and, and how there is
other methods than just birthcontrol, right?
Crystal (23:34):
Birth control comes from this plant.
It's called the yam.
It's considered, um, God, I wishI remembered the name, but it's
like a yam.
It's a big yam that grows in thejungle.
I got to see it in Belizethrough my teacher out there,
and it has like vines that comeout and have spikes.
So an anthropologist went out,of course, trying to, you know,
(23:58):
track plants and things likethis, and he found the group of
women from this indigenous tribein the Amazon jungle, and he
would see that the women wouldrun out in groups and hush hush,
and they would go get, dig outthis huge looking yam.
Well, that was the naturalcontraceptive, and that is where
(24:18):
modern contraceptives has comefrom.
It's a synthetic now, but itcame from indigenous women of
the Amazon through this yam thatis found in the jungle.
Wow.
And that's what we're allreceiving now.
Jessica (24:35):
Yeah.
Crystal (24:35):
Yeah.
Jessica (24:36):
Yeah,
Crystal (24:36):
And that's the doctor's answers for everything.
Let's put them on, um, let's putthem on birth control and their,
uh, their, um, their cycle isgoing to even out and their, you
know, their, it'll stop theuterus from bleeding.
But that is allcounterintuitive.
Jessica (24:58):
Mm hmm.
Crystal (25:00):
And, you know, they tell us that these medicines are
a luxury, but they're not aluxury.
They've never been a luxury inour culture.
Everyone in the indigenousculture had access to this
medicine and had access to themedicine people.
Jessica (25:14):
When we
Crystal (25:15):
hear the stories of the Aztecs or the Mexica, right?
There are the people, theMexica, they had free education.
They had clean streets.
They, they had had freehealthcare.
They were highly, highlyeducated.
Intelligent mathematicians,astronomers, scientists, they
created the number zero.
And these are the things theylead us to forget.
(25:36):
So we don't know who we are, butthese services have never been a
luxury in our culture.
They've always been our firstresponse to medicine, massage,
Las Soladas de Empacho, LasSoladas de Matrix.
You know, did you, and nobodyeven knows this, you know, we're
hot stones, this whole, you goto the spa and you get a hot
(25:57):
stone massage, right?
Do you know where thatoriginated from?
It comes, it's a ball stickstone that comes from the
riverbeds of Mexico.
It's a dark stone.
The Aztec used to prepare theirmuscles and warm it before they
went into war to make them moreagile and flexible to bring in
blood flow.
We don't even know that ourmedicine is being told that it's
(26:20):
a luxury so it cannot beaccessible to us because if it's
accessible to us, then they knowthat it will empower us.
It will give us strength andknowledge again.
And it's time for us to reclaimall of those things.
Jessica (26:34):
It
Crystal (26:34):
is time for us to teach our children.
When I went to go open mybusiness in Pilsen, and I was
inspired to do this by myfather, I was told, why are you
going to open it in yourcommunity?
This is a luxury service.
And I was like, this is aservice for white collared
people.
And I said, no, it's not.
It's a service for my peoplebecause it comes from my people.
(26:56):
It is my medicine.
When I went to massage school, Iwas a natural in it.
Why?
Because that knowledge sat in mybones in my blood and in my
flesh It is not luxury.
It is our first medicine ofhealing and most of the time
when we go to the doctors Theone thing they forget to address
(27:18):
is the spiritual because in ourculture Our indigenous ancestors
did not believe in mental healthissues.
They believed that we hadspiritual ailments affecting us,
which was coraje, susto,tristeza, pensamiento, y mal
Jessica (27:37):
ojo.
Crystal (27:38):
And those were the things that they would treat.
I'm sure
Jessica (27:41):
I've heard
Crystal (27:42):
of this.
I'm sure you maybe have heard ofthis.
Ay, si, el pobre niño le diosusto.
Debes de sobarlo.
Exactly.
Jessica (27:57):
Yeah.
Crystal (27:58):
And the sad thing is that we have women like Bethany,
Ashley, Now, do not get mewrong.
I do not have anything againstour counterparts, our sisters
and our brothers, but theyshould empower us.
They shouldn't support us.
(28:19):
They should support theirteachers that are indigenous
people.
They should tell us who theyare.
How do they give back to them?
And as they claim this medicineof their own.
You know, we have all thesecacao ceremonies, but what
about, our ancestors wereprosecuted for using cacao.
(28:40):
And this was medicine, and wewalk around allowing these
insults to continue becausewe're not aware.
We're simply not aware.
And then they say, This is aluxury.
You can't afford it,
Jessica (28:54):
but
Crystal (28:55):
it happened in our communities.
My grandfather used to havelines of people
Jessica (29:01):
waiting without any Instagram.
Crystal (29:04):
Exactly.
Cause it was word of mouth inthe community.
I am Salvador.
I own this.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jessica (29:11):
My mom, my mom grew up in the North side.
Y cuando necesitaba una solvada,they go, like, they go.
Took the bus down to like, andso, yeah, I can't imagine how
many people would literallycommute to around that area.
Porque that's where you heard,you know, and you would go down
(29:32):
south to Pilsen.
And so, yeah, it's all throughword of mouth.
And, and that's something that,you know, our ancestors were
good at.
Verdad?
And.
And it's just the power ofconnecting back with the people
that, you know, or hear of the,the legitimate people, right?
Like the OGs who, have beendoing this practice for many
(29:56):
years or who come in a line of,you know, so by that also, or
it, you know, and, and yeah,and, and oftentimes when I think
about someone getting a massage,you know, you.
Think, yeah, it is a luxury.
It is almost like a privilegeof, of having that, but as a
consumer myself, like I alsowant to be intentional and
(30:18):
supporting.
BIPOC owned businessesspecifically, you know, in the
Latina community, because that'show I identify.
And, and when I heard of you andwhat you offer, I'm like, Oh my
gosh, this woman speaks likewhat I am looking for.
And, and what I need really whatmy body needs.
And there's just so muchintentionality, Cristal, that
(30:38):
you have in your business that,you know, I'm sure.
Yes, like you are so successful,but I think that the fact that
you get to connect with yourculture and with your ancestors,
like that speaks a lot, youknow, and so can you share,
like, any kind of personalexperiences or testimonials
(31:01):
about the benefits of preHispanic womb massage?
And.
And yeah, like what, what hasbeen one of your top stories
from that?
Crystal (31:12):
Um, you know, I've have had several, um, I have had 70
percent success rate with thewomb massage with women going
through IEF.
Um, If I don't have success witha movement, I like to refer her
to other practitioners.
So I'll refer her to anutritionist and specifically
work with women, um, and theiruterine health.
(31:35):
I will even refer them to aChinese medicine doctor.
Um, but one of my favoriteexperiences was through my
cousin.
Um, she kept struggling andstruggling and I was there to
support her and one of her, um,miscarriages.
And I kept telling her, you knowYou know, maybe we should look
(31:56):
for someone else for you, anaturopath, someone else,
because there's somethingmissing.
So, later on, we ended upfinding out the issue was that
she had, she was anemic.
Now, when you do traditionalblood tests, there is a certain
range, even though you areanemic, doctors won't treat you
for it.
And once she started seeing thisnaturopath, because I couldn't
(32:17):
get her through the other space,the naturopath was able to
support her, and she had herfirst pregnancy within, uh, 12
months.
I had a client who had wentthrough IVF, um, and she was
successful with her firstpregnancy, but in her second
pregnancy, she had amiscarriage.
(32:38):
And so she was going back to NewYork to go and try IVF again.
So we did the womb massage forthree months.
We prepared her womb.
We strengthened her womb.
Um, we also did energy healingon her for her and setting the
attention, the intention.
And she got pregnant and now shehas had her second baby.
(33:02):
I mean, these are just a few toname.
There's so many wonderful,wonderful stories that I have
like this.
Um, what I'm going to be doingthis summer is I'm going to be
studying.
Uh, one of my teachers is RositaArvigo.
She's a Chicagoan also.
Um, and she has a wonderful bookif you want to know more about
(33:23):
her, more about Spoon, but I'mgoing to be studying with her
this summer to learn aboutpregnancy massage.
I just recently had a clientcall me, she was in her third
trimester, she was already due,and her baby was breached.
And she was asking me if I couldmassage her to adjust the baby.
(33:43):
And so I reached out to myteacher, uh, Dr.
Uh, Arvigo.
And she told me, yes, I havehelped a lot of women unreach
their baby.
Jessica (33:54):
And
Crystal (33:54):
she told me it's really about strengthening the womb and
allowing the womb to do ititself, but unfortunately you're
still not trained in this.
And so this is one of the thingsthat I'm going to go learn this
summer.
Um, when I was in Oaxaca, I wentto go get the traditional sobada
de regozo, and what I've beenlearning also is serrando los
(34:15):
huesos.
I have had a client who hadgiven birth, and a lot of women,
she has suffering through pelvicfloor issues, and we are
working, um, With the woolmassage and helping strengthen
her pelvic floor because that'sanother thing.
A lot of women have so manypelvic floor issues after giving
birth, their hips hurt, theirlower back hurts and so learning
(34:41):
how to Cerrar los huesos and toclose the hips is really an
important essential practice ofpostpartum work in our culture.
And so I've just, and it's, it'sa simple, simple massage.
It's not something that'sextremely complicated.
(35:02):
It's working with yourintuition.
They're very simple techniques.
It's a gentle massage.
Also, But we've worked, I'veworked with women.
I had one client, her cyst wasabout, I think, like 1.
5, uh, inches or something likethat, and we were able to get
her cyst, her fibro cyst tolower.
(35:23):
Wow.
And so, these are the kinds ofthings that our ancestors knew.
They knew they knew this naturalhealing.
Um, right now I am taking women.
I do retreats into Mexico and Ido them into the Yucatan and we
connect with the indigenousMayan because I believe in
conscious traveling.
(35:44):
That's a whole differentconversation.
Conscious traveling.
So I'm taking women this forMother's Day.
I'm already sold out.
Um, To go do a test, my God, andwe're going to be working on the
womb and connecting together aswomen, but I just learned that
in our culture, women wereencouraged during pregnancy from
(36:06):
1st trimester circuit trimesterthrough turn trimester to do
this make up because theybelieve that it strengthened the
body and it helped.
Open up the hips so women couldgive birth easier.
And so I have a client who is inher first trimester that they
are encouraging her toparticipate in the Tazmakal.
(36:27):
And women used to traditionallygive birth in Tazmakals because
this was a way of celebrating.
The Tazmakal represents the wombof the mother.
And so when we arise out of it,We are reborn.
Everything to our ancestors wasso symbolic from the food we ate
to the intentions and ceremoniesand rituals that we did and how
(36:49):
we worship, how we worship thesun, how we worship the moon,
how we worship God.
We had these ancient methods ofhealing and they worked, they
worked.
Jessica (37:03):
So many good nuggets here and yes.
And I often think about.
You know, just like throughassimilation, right?
Like I, I feel like maybe mygrandparents, my great
grandparents had this wealth ofknowledge and connection, but
that with like herbal medicineand things.
And, and even though I do hear alittle bit from like my mom, you
(37:26):
know, and for me, yeah.
And for me, I'm now, like, kindof switch the mindset.
Right.
But for someone that is 1st, 2ndgen, I'm like, 1 and a half.
I consider myself that way, but,uh, you often hear the, the
(37:47):
evidence based information from,all of these, like, boards of,
you medical organizations, butthen you hear, como, por
ejemplo, las, las, um, la hierbabuena or whatever from your
family.
And it's, it's hard, right.
To believe that.
Which direction to go to and andi'm guilty, you know, I used
(38:10):
when my mom was like no Butthere is a significance and
those like naysayers or those?
You know there is um truth toancestral medicine.
So like, I don't know if youhave any, tips or suggestions
(38:33):
for, for those that areskeptical, if you will,
Crystal (38:36):
you know, I love skeptical people.
I say, okay, come in, beskeptical, question me all you
want and doubt me.
And those are my favoritesbecause.
Those are the people who end upcoming to being the biggest
believers, but I have to remindyou, this is generations and
generations and generationsbehind this of trial and error,
right?
(38:57):
At some point, they had to getit right.
You know, there was that trialand error period where they were
learning and they were pickingup.
And so when we say or think thatthis is all new age, this isn't.
Even like sound healing, they'resaying the sound healing is the
new modern medicine, right?
There, there was a recentarticle that they're breaking
(39:20):
down tumors with sound.
But this is not new medicine.
This is all ancient medicine.
And again, Educate yourself,read, expand your horizons, and
it's okay to question, but theseare not things that are new.
These are things that areancient, that have been given
down to you by generations andgenerations.
(39:42):
And not everything is for you,and not every practitioner is
for you, so find your rightperson.
And it's okay to be skeptical,but know that because you are
skeptical, it's veryintentional.
It's a mind of colonization.
And it still happens in myfamily.
Even with all the knowledge thatwe grew up with, all the
experience that we had, there'sstill those that are skeptical.
(40:06):
Now, this is ancient medicine.
Ancient medicine is medicine ofpreservation.
To present illness.
To avoid it from arriving.
for listening.
Western medicine has its purposealso, and it's wonderful for
acute.
Issue like if you need, you havea trauma or severe car accidents
(40:30):
and, you know, you might have asevered finger and you need to
get your fingers sewed back onor, you know, the medical
emergencies.
That is the purpose of Westernmedicine.
It is fantastic for acuteissues, but indigenous medicine,
ancient medicine, medicine ofpeople of color is medicine of
(40:50):
preservation.
And how to keep your lifehealthy.
I'm sure everybody's beenwatching the whole blue zones,
right?
How these people are living tobe a hundred and something.
And look what's surroundingthem.
They have a lot of exposure tolight.
A lot of exposure to the earth,they're connected with the
earth, they have exposure toclean water, you know, and they
(41:16):
have fire, the fire element,it's the sun, they have exposure
to large amounts of sun.
And so, when you are skeptical,it's okay, but really educate
yourself.
Listen, read.
Ask why so you can get thoseanswers.
And remember, this is medicinethat has been around for
(41:39):
generations.
It's all trial and error.
Jessica (41:42):
Thanks for sharing that.
I think there's definitely aneducational piece, we don't
really, expand our knowledgenecessarily, in learning more
about our ancestors and otherpractices that are used in a
more natural way.
And when you have talked about,you know, like, uh, with your.
(42:03):
Personal experiences ortestimonials, you know, it's
just very interesting.
And I know so many people whohave struggled with IVF or who
have miscarried and, you know,had they known, verdad, or had I
wish I knew, now I know.
And so it's all about spreadingthat word and creating awareness
también, on top of being openminded and, and educating
(42:27):
yourself more.
So, I think it's all a process,and reconnecting and reclaiming
your ancestors.
And so how does a pre Hispanicwomb massage connect to larger
themes really of femininity,spirituality, and cultural
identity, on top of this sort ofhealing process?
Crystal (42:49):
One of the things the womb does is when you look at
the body, the diaphragm up here,it looks like an umbrella.
And then when you look at thepelvic floor, it looks like a,
like a bowl.
What happens is that the uterusis a place that holds all of our
more emotions It's like it poursdown and it goes into the uterus
(43:11):
because she asks us you give meyour pain and I will hold it So
when you receive a warm massageWe have a lot of emotional pain
that sits there specifically aswomen we have trauma From our
feminine line, our mother line,we have trauma from our sexual
experiences.
(43:33):
We have trauma through givingbirth, you know, one of my
favorite examples of that waswhen my sister, my sister was in
her second pregnancy, she had a.
She ended up having to have aDMC and we did a ritual for her
to let go of the baby, name thebaby, and we did a massage and a
(43:55):
bath for her, a spiritual bath,and, um, her second pregnancy,
she got pregnant, maybe 12 to 12months later, but again, it was
strengthening her uterus.
And that's what this does.
This allows us to have arelationship with our womb.
To reconnect with it.
And when we reconnect with it,we are reconnecting with the
(44:19):
ancestors, our and ourgrandmothers, our great
grandmothers, our mothers, thewomen in our lineage.
We are allowing the body to dowhat she, it was naturally
designed to do.
And we strengthen our intuitionbecause we can hear that voice
because we're constantly toldnot to trust our intuition by
(44:41):
Western medicine.
Right.
So many of us get, um, Csections and it's really not
that we need them.
It's because it's a conveniencefor the doctor.
Jessica (44:51):
They can
Crystal (44:51):
schedule that in.
Jessica (44:53):
And
Crystal (44:53):
so when we learn, and when you come in with me, I also
teach you how to massage yourown room.
And this is another form ofreconnection with you.
And it's very simple techniques.
that you do to massage your ownwomb.
I also do castor oil packs.
Castor oil packs are fantasticfor detoxing, and this is all
(45:16):
information that you get to takehome with you.
We also talk about, uh, Yonisteaming.
Yoni steaming is fantastic forthe pelvic floor because we
don't even know that we canaddress the uterus through
herbs, just steaming andstanding over them.
And again, this is a practicethat I experienced when I was a
child.
(45:36):
This is fantastic for cramping,for um, when the uterus feels
very restricted, discomfort andpain.
When we reconnect with ouruterus, we reconnect with our
essence, who we are as women,and who we were designed to be.
Jessica (45:57):
Yeah, so much symbolism there and yeah, and connection
that we get to claim Nadia Mas,like just us.
And, and there's so much beautybehind it.
And really with the, um, the preHispanic wool massage, um, Ay,
(46:19):
que te voy a preguntar.
Shoot.
Te voy a preguntar Okay.
Yes.
So with the pre Hispanic woolmassage, in terms of when you
can take this, is it, I knowthat it can be while you're
(46:40):
trying to conceive perhaps,maybe after you have a child
fiddle.
What if it's been years, um,after you had a child, like can
anyone take this really?
Crystal (46:52):
Yeah.
You know, you could do itduring, you could do it anywhere
between pre post.
You can do it anywhere betweenpre pregnancy and post, and you
can also do it in all stages ofyour life.
You can also do this whileyou're going through menopause.
This helps the wound become,helps the wound regulate all the
(47:14):
hormonal aspects of it.
It brings it a lot more ease andgrace into that shift.
I just had another great andbeautiful example.
I just did a womb massage for aclient of mine who is in
menopause.
So we did the womb massage andthen we did a meditation with it
and we gave her womb gratitude.
(47:36):
Thank you for everything thatyou gave me.
Thank you for all that you hadcreated.
She had two healthy pregnanciesand now it was her time to give
her one gratitude.
Thank you and surrender her fromthat stage of being pregnant.
and reproduction.
So it really is wonderful forall stages of life from the
(48:01):
moment, you know, if yourdaughter has a teen has very
heavy bleeding, this is going tohelp see, we see if the woman is
out of alignment.
First of all, if she, if she isout of alignment, then we help
align her.
And then we do the massage tomake her bleeding more easier.
Anyone that's going throughfiber, uh, fibroid issues or
(48:23):
cysts again.
This is a fantastic massage.
If you're thinking of gettingpregnant or going through IVF,
this is a fantastic massage.
We pre work during pregnancy.
We can literally adjust thebaby.
Post pregnancy, we can close thehips so you have a healthy
pelvic floor.
(48:43):
While menopause, it's time togive your womb the ceremony that
she deserves.
The gratitude that she deservesfor all those years is Um, uh,
being in reproduction
Jessica (48:57):
and bringing
Crystal (48:57):
forward life.
So it's really wonderful for allstages and our ancestors had
rituals for, and ceremony forall these stages of a woman's
life.
One of the beautiful thingsabout in the books as students,
because Dona Ligio Panti reallyfocused on woman's health and
uterine health.
(49:18):
And he told my teacher, Dr.
Rosita Arvigo, it's so wonderfulthat you are here with me
because the medicine is going toshow itself now and they were in
the jungle more than everbecause medicine is presented in
the jungle for all cycles of thewoman's life.
So the goddess is going to beexcited and she's going to come
(49:39):
forward and lead us and show usthe medicine.
The plants are going to be happybecause the woman, your woman is
here with me.
Jessica (49:45):
Wow.
That is so beautiful.
This is when women weren'ttreated as second class
citizens.
So to that, like there was somuch intention, so much
attention really to a woman'sbody and, and how, yeah.
And, and it's important that wereclaim that, and that way we
have that connection.
(50:06):
Yeah, yeah, yes.
And
Crystal (50:08):
it's important and it's important that we honor all
cycles of life because womenwhen so this is another because
I've spent so many times so manyyears going back into the my
with the mind community.
So I went to go see an elderspeak.
And he said, there's threestages of life.
(50:29):
The first stage is birth to your52.
And in that stage of life, youare the student of life.
When you turn 52, they go into atest for three days, and when
they go into the test for threedays, they fast, and they
forgive themselves for all thechoices and decisions that they
made as a student of life.
(50:50):
And then when they come up,they're reborn as the teacher,
the grandparent, and the elder.
And then the last cycle of lifeis returning back to the source.
The goddess Ixchel is thetraditional goddess, Mayan
goddess of healing.
She has three cycles.
She has this, the three phasesof herself.
(51:11):
She is the maiden and when sheis the maiden, she has the snake
and the bun, and, uh, she hasthe snake and she has the, I
think it's like a harra and it'sfacing down that represents like
the waters of life.
The second one is, she becomesthe mother.
So now she's sitting in themoon.
And her back is facing toeverybody and she's holding a
(51:31):
bunny because she's fertile, butshe's too busy being a mother
that she's not a healer.
So she doesn't have the snake onher.
She's too busy taking care ofher community, her elders, and
being a mother.
And then her last stage is thecrone.
In the crone, we see that thesnake returns and now she's
holding a loom.
So all of these stages of awoman's life should be honored
(51:54):
because we all have our purpose.
We have women now that aretrying not to be the elders and
the teachers.
They're trying to be stillyoung.
That is no longer their cycle oflife.
You have to honor each cycle oflife because it's necessary.
It's natural.
Jessica (52:13):
Right.
Crystal (52:14):
I am now at the stage where I'm becoming the elder.
I'm no longer in that stage thatI was before, and I should
celebrate this stage of my life,and I should be celebrated as
all women.
So this is again, and I really,really encourage the women that
listen to this, Do a meditation.
(52:35):
Simply close your eyes, take adeep breath and put your hands
over your womb and talk to her.
And you don't have tonecessarily be a mother.
We all are women and our wholepurpose is to bring creation
forth.
And if we choose not to, itdoesn't make us less of a woman.
We still have a womb.
We still have the power ofcreation.
Connect with her and talk to herand see what she wants to tell
(52:57):
you.
How many of us even talk to her?
We avoid her like the plague.
We don't even like looking ather.
Jessica (53:04):
Nope.
Nope.
I mean, I can tell you fromexperience every 28th, you know,
every 28 days I'm like, no,don't come period.
Don't come.
But I mean, that in itself isanother topic, right?
But it's yeah, the wholemenstrual.
Crystal (53:23):
That in itself is a beautiful topic because You
know, our ancestors knew thevalue of the period and of the
blood, and they would use theblood in ceremonial purposes to
bless holy places.
and temples because the energyof a woman when she is on her
menstrual cycle, she is the mostpowerful that she's ever been.
(53:47):
And, but now we're, we hide fromit.
We hate it.
We run from it.
We don't want anything to dowith it.
And no, and it's also a time ofinter reflection and rest.
Women used to go together andhuts.
While they will be menstruatingto hold space for each other to
be with each other to celebrateeach other Imagine if we did
(54:08):
that now There's no reason why agroup of women synchronize right
when they're on their menstrualcycle because that is all
intentional And it's a moment ofreflection of going with it.
It's not a moment to be indisgust.
It's a beautiful process ofwomanhood.
Jessica (54:25):
Wow, there's just so much symbolism and you gotta
like any references that youhave, like, please feel free to
share that.
I can definitely share that inthe show notes, um, because,
yeah, I think it all comes witheducation awareness, you know,
reclaiming our culture andconnecting with with our
(54:45):
ancestors, really.
And.
Yeah, there's just a lot ofbeauty within this.
So tell us a little bit moreabout Verde Holistic Wellness
Studio.
I know that you kind of gave usan intro about it, but Tell us
what you do, what you offer inaddition to the pre Hispanic
womb massage.
Crystal (55:03):
So Mezda Holistic Wellness Studio has now been 13
years operating in the Pilsencommunity, which I was born and
raised.
It was inspired by my father.
My father used to have a reallyfunny quote.
He always wanted to be anentrepreneur, never had the
opportunity to, but he wouldalways say to me and my
siblings, and of course to me,baby, we live in the best
(55:26):
neighborhood.
We're in the, uh, middle of theheart.
We are literally the heart ofChicago.
We have the 55, the two 90, andthe 90 94.
We have, um, two bus lines and atrain line that runs in.
At that time, it was a blueline, um, and so he encouraged
me to open my business andPilsen I had became his
(55:49):
caretaker and unfortunate.
Where I was working at the time,they didn't want to, I didn't
know about FMLA, you know, wedon't know.
Unfortunately, um, and so Ibecame his caretaker at the end
of his life and I needed to stepaway from work and my work said,
well, it's your father, yourjob.
And I said, it's my father.
(56:10):
And I opened my business inPilsen, and so my whole purpose
to it was, and my father hadanother quote, was that we as
minorities do not need saviors.
We can change our owncommunities and make them better
by, once we get culture andeducated, return.
to inspire others, open abusiness, volunteer or mentor.
(56:35):
So he always believed in that.
And that was another thing hehad instilled in me.
And that was very intentionalwhen I came back to Verde
because my experience workingoutside in big spas and even
like resorts was that whenpeople like me, people, Latinas,
Mexicanos, would come into thesespaces where I was working at
(56:55):
where we're higher and, youknow, they were so intimidated.
They didn't feel like theybelonged.
I remember I worked on Wabashand 11th, and this girl brought
her mom in, and I rememberhearing her in the lobby like,
Having a discussion with hermom, like, mom, no, I wanna give
this to you.
You deserve this.
And her mother asking her andshe was like, I wanna give you
(57:22):
this as a gift.
And I'm sure many of us are veryfamiliar with that story, right?
Yeah.
And so I was kind of gigglingand I came out and I was her
massage therapist and I said,and then her mom lit up.
It was completely different.
Her mother surrendered to me andshe had the best experience of
(57:42):
her life.
And so I wanted to bring thatback to my community and I have
done that in the last 13 yearsand I really wanted to reclaim
ancestral medicine.
So what we are, what I am doingnow as we have workshops,
classes, We have services, um,we have online classes also with
(58:04):
me and now I am doing conscioustraveling into Mexico to reclaim
these experiences.
My next retreat is in October.
It's called and we will bejoining the mind community out
there, which I have verybeautiful and lovely friends to
(58:24):
experience a ceremony for theother, which they call
nonfiction.
Hanak Nishan is considered foodof the soul.
So they do this beautifulceremony and a dry cenote in La
Cueva.
And they call in the ancestors,and we all call in the
ancestors, chant, open thesacred directions, and we do it
(58:44):
in candlelight.
In the jungle, and then we getto experience a gastronomic
experience where we cook andthen we eat the food afterwards
and they do a folklore.
The children do a folkloreperformance.
All of the, uh.
All of the cost of the travel godirectly to this community
again, when are the foundationright of our community?
(59:05):
So they believe.
That they support the women sothey don't have to travel
outside of their communities toget work, but they bring work to
them so children can have thestrength of the mother near
them.
And now they've been able tosend with their own travel
company that's run completely byfive mining communities and the
Yucatan right outside of Tulum.
(59:26):
They've been able to send 15students to college to
university with the scholarshipsthey developed.
And so this is what our moneydoes.
Jessica (59:35):
So these
Crystal (59:36):
are just some of the programs that I do there.
Tratamiento de copal.
I make my own body care productsSo like copal, I infuse it in
oil and I make, um, Uh, lotionout of it.
It's very wonderful forcomplexion for acne and eczema.
So those are one of the reasonswhy I make body care products
because I suffered from eczemamany years and my grandmother
(59:59):
taught me how to treat itholistically.
Jessica (01:00:02):
Love that all you offer and even virtual opportunities
and travel opportunities.
Yeah.
You know, this is not yourtypical massage parlor, right?
Like there's again, a lot ofintention and I love it.
Crystal (01:00:16):
Yeah, it's it's called the wellness studio and it was
very intentional and creating awellness studio.
I wanted to create a center andso like the virtual classes, I
do a virtual member class everymonth where I teach you
different mindful practicestechniques and rituals and
ceremonies so you can create onyour own.
(01:00:38):
So the next one is going to beactually this May, May the 5th
and this will be with one of mystudents.
And it's called the magic of thewomb.
So you'll be learninginformation about the womb, how
to serve your own room, thecycles of the moon, and how they
affect your room next month inJune.
We'll be doing fire ritual.
(01:01:00):
I also have my teacher, Dr.
Rosita, she's a herbalist.
And she's going to be inChicago, um, in June, and we're
going to be doing an herb walkwith her on June the 9th in
Tilsen.
So again, this is my way ofsharing the knowledge, um,
educating people, and so we canreclaim this ancestral healing.
(01:01:22):
Um, people don't know that theMidwest is filled.
With it was a place ofabundance, and it is filled with
natural medicine that people whoare interested in foraging, they
can literally go outside intheir neighborhood and forage.
Jessica (01:01:39):
Wow.
Yes.
Well, thank you so much forsharing all of this.
And, one last question I ask myguests here on the podcast, how
are you redefining motherhood?
Crystal (01:01:51):
By trying to really, you know, Show my children and
remind my children who they areand what their culture is by
reclaiming it.
So I can leave them a legacy.
So if they choose to pick upthis, uh, traditional healing,
they always have it accessibleto them.
(01:02:12):
So my grandchildren can receiveit.
And my great grandchildren canreceive it.
Jessica (01:02:18):
Yeah, that's beautiful.
Like you're doing an amazingjob.
You're, You're just phenomenaland thank you.
Um, I think these practicesshouldn't get lost, you know,
and they shouldn't get likewhitewashed really.
I think that what you're doingis something that I've never
heard of to be honest.
Um, I've definitely heard ofsobaderos, cerveros, you know,
(01:02:41):
but like.
There's just so much intentionthat you have in your business
and I wish you all of thesuccess, you know, clearly you
have this track record for 16years.
And yes, what you're doing forthe community.
And where can people connectwith you for those that haven't
heard of you?
Crystal (01:03:02):
So you can go to my insta handle at verdehws.
You can go to my websiteverdehws.
com or you can even follow me onmy insta handle at Cristal
Dorado.
Jessica (01:03:15):
Great.
Great.
I'll make sure to share that inthe show notes and any resources
that you're able to share.
Um, because yeah, it's abouttime that we educate ourselves
and Reconnect with our ancestorsthat that is something very
important.
So, uh, thank you so much forbeing here.
I really, really appreciate it.
Thank you so much.
(01:03:35):
I appreciate you too.
Mujer, thank you so much fortaking the time out of your busy
schedule to listen to the VivaLa Mami podcast.
If you enjoyed today's episode,will you do me a favor and
follow the podcast and leave arating and review?
Hitting that follow button andreviewing my show will allow
other mamis like you find thispodcast.
(01:03:58):
Your review will also tell me ifyou enjoy the show, so I would
truly appreciate your thoughts.
Don't forget, please share thispodcast con tus amigas.
Also, make sure to follow me atViva La Mami on Instagram or
visit VivaLaMami.
com.
Please note the informationshared in this podcast is for
educational purposes only andshould not be taken as
(01:04:20):
professional advice.
Okay, mujer, thank you forjoining y nos vemos in the next
episode.
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