Kalpulli Izkalli, a center for natural healing, held its third annual Traditional Medicine and Healing Gathering on Saturday.
Natural and traditional healers from across the country gathered at the Westside Community Center to participate in healing exercises.
"We have people that are licensed massage therapists and certified Reiki practitioners, and we have people that do spiritual cleansing," said Irma Hernandez, who coordinated the event.
Acihuatl Laca, a healer from El Paso, said Albuquerque welcomes traditional medicine.
"This is a beautiful experience because of the beliefs that I see in the community," she said.
Judi Perea-Gutierrez, who is also a member of Kalpulli Izkalli, said the event was designed to get the community together and heal everyone through natural sources.
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Though not a healer herself, Perea-Gutierrez is part of Kalpulli Izkalli's apprenticeship program, the Promotoras Tradicionales Project. It takes in young women whose goal is to empower themselves and teaches them the ways of traditional healing.
"We started from cleaning the Earth and the springs to planting the garden, to harvesting, to making soap," said Aysha Mora, an apprentice in the program. "It's like the full program from beginning to end on how to take care of the Earth."
Mora said Kalpulli Izkalli wants to ensure the traditions of natural healing and medicines are given to a new generation of healers.
"For me, it's about passing on the knowledge to my children so that the knowledge isn't lost and the use of the herbs isn't lost," she said. "It's about not letting the medicine or the energy die. It takes a lifetime to learn."
Hernandez said she learned healing from her parents and grandparents.
She said Kalpulli Izkalli follows tradition as a nonprofit organization, allowing people to use their healing services for a donation of money or goods.
Laca said traditional medicine and natural healing are very different from going to the doctor but can be just as beneficial.
"The people that turn to alternative ways are increasing," she said. "I think that's really good because it does more than just healing. It helps you out in all aspects of your life."
In natural healing, people must believe they can heal themselves, Laca said.
For some years the medical field has shunned the way of healers, but some are now accepting it, she said.
"I'm really glad that they're doing that," Laca said. "They have to integrate."
Some doctors' offices are contracting with Reiki practitioners, and when people are asking for alternatives, they'll refer them to healers, she said.
But Hernandez said the practices shouldn't be intertwined.
"It's not respectful of a separate type of healing where each patient has ultimate responsibility for their healing," Hernandez said. "When traditional healers work with medical doctors, some of the spirits of the natural medicines is lost."
She said there is a crucial difference between modern medicine and traditional healing.
"We empower the clients to heal themselves with herbs, water, exercise, nutrition, earth and the natural elements," Hernandez said.
