Here are some of the questions and answers people ask about our sweat lodge:
Do I have to make reservations?
What do we wear in the sweat lodge?
Does it matter that I take a medication?
Is it true that menstruating woman are not allowed at the sweat lodge?
Do you have a web page with directions to your home?
Do I have to make reservations? If you have never been here before you need to contact us at least a few days before the sweat lodge, email is preferred. And write something about your self, things like how are you called to the sweat lodge, and how you found us. If you can't use email and are going to call, please be respectful of my home and don't call late at night. And please, don't expect us to return your call if you call the day of a sweat lodge - plan ahead.
What do we wear in the sweat lodge? Modesty is a valued virtue. At all ceremonies we dress with modesty in mind. In the sweat lodge, men wear shorts or trunks and women wear sweat dresses or shorts and t-shirts. Women's bathing suits might be okay if they are modest but many are not. Usually if a person asks if a dress or swim suit is modest they already know the answer.
What time should I arrive? Come early for sweat lodge ceremonies. For our regular lodges we enter the lodge around 7 P.M. and everyone needs to be present by then. But the ceremony actually starts with laying the fire a couple of hours before. All are encouraged to be here for the entire ceremony but definitely be present when we go in. If this is your first time here, definitely plan on being here before 6:30 P.M.
How long is the sweat lodge? I suggest that you don't try to fit a sweat lodge into a busy evening. We are usually in the lodge about 60 to 90 minutes but with the pot luck and other stuff you can expect to be here for 3 to 4 hours. The pot luck really is part of the ceremony so if you don't have time for the pot luck, wait to come to the sweat when you do have time. Most evenings of the regular lodges the place is cleaned up and folks have left by 10 PM.
What do I need to bring? You need to bring clothes for the sweat lodge, towels, and clothes to change into after. Also, you need to bring food for the pot luck feast. Sometimes we drum before the lodge so bring a drum or rattle if you like.
If it rains will you
cancel? So far we have been able to keep our
commitment
to the scheduled lodges since 1996. We have never canceled for rain, snow or heat.
There have been times when travel was not possible and we had the lodge with
only three people, but we still had it. Here is a picture of some men
tending the fire for a lodge last
winter in the snow.
Will we eat a meal?: The Sweat Lodge Ceremony we do is a community prayer and sharing a meal is an important part of the Ceremony. Bring a dish to share. It is usually best to bring the kind of food eat for your dinner. The folks who come to our sweats have a variety of dietary styles and there is usually plenty of both meat and vegetarian foods. We emphasize the luck in pot luck and rarely have we had a lack of balance, like the famous dessert sweat of 1999.
How much does it cost? : Money is a problem, isn't it? The Sweat Lodge Ceremony is our prayer and you can't buy it at any cost. But people do need to make a contribution and money is the most common way. We open our home and there are expenses. We put out a basket at the pot luck and donations are anonymous. Donations go to cover expenses. If each person attending contributed $20 the lodge would be self sustaining. So plan on a give away donation of labor, fire wood, or money.
Can I bring my dog? : Please do not bring pets with you to our lodge. We love animals but they are not part of our ceremony.
Can I bring my child(ren)?: Our regularly scheduled sweat lodge ceremonies are not appropriate for children so please not bring them. Their presence will likely be a distraction to the prayers of you and the other persons attending. The question does arise as to when a child is old enough to attend one of our regular sweats. Most children are old enough by the time they finish high school. Some high school aged children are very mature and some are very immature so it is difficult to draw a line. If you are not sure it is likely the child is not ready yet. Don't hurry your children to leave their childhood sooner then they need.
On occasion we have special ceremonies for teaching children about the sweat lodge. We also have ceremonies for initiating young adults which may include a sweat lodge. These might be at menarche, a graduation, or any other biological or social milestone.
How hot does it get? It gets as hot as any sauna I have ever been in. The rocks are glowing red and the steam is at least the boiling point of water. I can think of two reasons why people ask this question. One is that they have health concerns. If your doctor gives the go ahead for you to go to saunas then I expect the sweat lodge will be okay. Some medical conditions and medicines do have heat interactions and your concern is important, do ask your doctor.
But if the reason you ask this question is that you are afraid of being uncomfortable, then the sweat lodge may not be for you. The sweat lodge is uncomfortable. We crawl on our hands and knees on the earth, sit for an hour or more in a tight cramped position, and have heat and steam pour over us in the complete darkness. All the while we pray. This is a very physical way to pray and it is not for everyone.
Does it matter that I take a medication? Let me say it again, some medical conditions and medicines do have heat interactions and your concern is important, do ask your doctor or pharmacist. The transdermal patches are affected by heat and can cause an over dose under some conditions. So, please take care of yourself and ask your doctor.
Is it true that menstruating woman are not allowed at the sweat lodge? It is true that in many traditions there are restrictions against woman on their moon coming into the sweat lodge. I hate to seem ambiguous in response to a direct question but my teacher Beautiful Painted Arrow says that it is up to the woman herself. He specifically says that men should not tell women what to do so don't expect me to tell you what to do. I do know women on both sides of the camp and there is no restriction here at MalvernSweatLodge. Whatever your decision please do join us. Some of the women I know who choose to stay out of the lodge while on their moon still come and do great service helping with the door, passing in the antlers, etc. and helping with tending the fire and carrying the rocks. In the lodge, when the door is closed the walls disappear and when that happens the difference between the outside and the inside goes away too. This means that sitting by the fire can have just as strong a spiritual effect as being inside by the rocks. As part of my learning I have tended fire outside the lodge on many occasions and I can tell you that it can be very fulfilling.
Pregnant? Do not come into the sweat lodge if you are or might be pregnant. That is not just my idea, everyone that I ever asked this question of, without exception, has said that the sweat lodge is just too dangerous for an unborn child.
Do you have a web page with directions to your home? No. You will need to contact us, email or call, for directions. We are located in Malvern, Pennsylvania but we will give directions when we talk to you to confirm your reservation.