Steve Dumain
“I had a career in the film business for 10 years, in development & production…and then as a Creative Director in the Fashion Business. I initially had my own accessory brand and eventually was hired by others, such as Tory Burch, DVF, and various luxury brands in Europe and the US. I came to Kambo for my own healing from a lifetime of chronic issues, including deep digestive disorders, anxiety, and severe back pain, and I left with so much more.
A door was opened that very next day that I could never close.
I’d like to make Kambo something that is comfortable to approach for everyone. The jungle can be a special place to receive traditional medicines, but you will see that there is a special place for Kambo to be given treatment everywhere and for (almost) everybody. We all deserve deep healing. When we first heal & love ourselves, we can then heal and love each other & the entire planet on a true and profound level.
Raised on a horse farm in upstate New York, I was a child of the woods and the animals. I had a sense of complete connectedness to nature, one that i lacked in my adult life. Over time it seemed to slip farther and farther out of reach.
At the university in vermont, i studied international business, spanish and art. Later i was lucky to travel, live and work in south america and europe. My time in south america brought back my connectedness to nature and a fluidity of life, i did not want to leave. Time passed, and eventually, I made my way to NYC to pursue a career and became established in the film industry as a writer and producer for 10 years until launching a fashion brand in 2004. My career grew as a creative director, but I knew something unexplained and visceral was missing.
Like all of us that work in various modalities, i found my path to kambo thru my own search for healing. My first Kambo experience was in Brooklyn over 3 years ago. I went along with my usual amount of skepticism, hoping I could get some relief from an old back surgery where my disc had to be replaced by cadaver bone and some rods. I not only left with that relief, but so much more. I was completely wiped out on my treatment day and took the nap of champions in the afternoon. I woke up bright and full of energy before dinner. The next day was something else. I believed I’d found the fountain of youth and the key to my own superpowers. So many insights flooded my brain. I was physically and mentally propelled. In yoga class that day i was able to do headstands for the first time in my life. I realized later that week that I was also speed-reading. The gifts since have been seemingly endless and humbling. This was my calling.
From the first moment after doing Kambo, it has been like meeting a long-lost friend and mentor.
I sought to find a way to share this with as many people as possible. I immediately started searching out more info, and soon found karen darke. After reading about her path and the scientific information she offered, I knew she was the all-knowing frog mother I needed to meet…so of course I stalked her…who wouldn’t? Upon meeting, I had the slight feeling I had known her for centuries!
Friends have called me the witch doctor, as I’ve always tinkered with herbal remedies, cleanses, and ways of healing. I couldn’t find the right fit in the healing arts; they all felt too compartmental. Kambo removed all of that fear and helped me get ready for my subsequent stage. Karen eventually contacted me because a spot had opened in the next training, and I immediately said yes.
My training came quickly. I met and fell deeply in love with my teachers and all of my fellow students. I immediately knew that I found my other family.
Returning from training was a strange time in my life. I found myself feeling low for some months and not knowing where to turn. But i kept breathing and knew that, with patience, a direction would form, and it did. Kambo lead the way. I know now that it’s not a magic bullet for every ailment and malady - and while that was a hard fact to swallow after my initial experiences, I now feel so much more robust in this information. We are the medicine; kambo is a tool. I can handle anything that comes my way – with breath and patience – most of the time;). I trust the frog to guide me through life. It can’t give us all the answers, but it teaches us where to look for them within or be at ease in the unknown.
The frog has brought so many shifts for myself and the lives of my clients, big noticeable ones and tiny movements in consciousness and daily rituals. Working with Kambo, I feel complete, fluid, and natural. It gives me hope for indigenous medicines and people, which i constantly fear are being killed by western culture.
I truly love this work with all my heart and am so grateful to have such a wise community with leaders to whom I am forever indebted. The fact that we are now connected is not a mistake. Kambo has taught me that through life, we are always holding space, always in ceremony... Spreading the Kambo love as we grow and learn and share our knowledge. We are the tadpoles of this beautiful frog tribe, waiting to fall from the tree into the water.
I give continued thanks for the opportunity to serve Kambo and for this beautiful adventure we are all on together.
Testimonials
“Steve is a very powerful and nurturing healer. The ceremony felt very comprehensive and he provided safe space and food to ground after. I would highly recommend Steve to anyone interested and even resistant to the medicine. He was so graceful and understanding with people who were very frightened. He has a true gift to intuit where your blockages are and has helped me feel greater joy throughout my body. Most importantly I feel that he holds a beautiful space of love, light and humor. I will definitely be coming back in the future!”
- Carlos
“I found my way to Kambo through a good friend. She knew I had tried almost everything to help alleviate my anxiety, depression, and generally “stuck” feeling— with little to no effect.Kambo had helped with her anxiety and I felt that it was worth a try. When I entered the room to the session I was extremely nervous. Steve greeted me with a warm smile, acknowledged my fear and immediately put me at ease. The session began by connecting with the other participants- This was actually very comforting because even though the session is deeply personal you feel supported by those around you. The session takes you out of your thinking mind and puts you completely in your body. Steve tailors each session to your specific needs and issues. I have done Kambo three times and although each time was completely different, they have all had a positive effect. The most interesting part about Kambo is that is finds what needs to be healed or released. Kambo works from the ground up. In the days, weeks following a treatment I found myself doing things that were previously insurmountable without any effort on my part. I highly recommend Steve as a healer, practitioner, and guide.”
- Jamie
Steve is an amazing Kambo facilitator and healer. He is patient and makes you feel at ease, yet strong enough to help you through whatever it is you’re experiencing. I did three Kambo sessions within five weeks. Since then I’ve been able to navigate through life’s ups and downs with a lot more ease and grace. I’m making choices that serve me and feel like my life has up leveled since Kambo. Thank you Steve ♥️
- Amy
“It has been one week since my first Kambo ceremony and I cannot get it off of my mind.
I didn’t come to Kambo on my own or discover it by researching a way to heal my own emotional and physical struggles. For that reason, I was more hesitant about receiving it than some others might be. I was open to hearing about it, reading, and learning, and believed.
What I read and heard to be true, but my fear of the process told me that it wasn’t something I needed to be open to trying.
Steve talked me through my fear and anxiety surrounding the process in a kind and patient way. It’s very clear he is knowledgeable and experienced, but his gentle nature and kind spirit put me instantly at ease. I felt safe with him, and was ready to experience what Kambo had in store for me.
I wasn’t surprised by anything I felt during the ceremony, but knew I needed to be strong and willing to work through it so that the medicine could go where it needed. For me, the most difficult physical part was the eye drops Steve used at first to “open my heart”, he said. They
Burned intensely but the burning made me radically present since I could only focus on that pain. Ironically, the shock of pain in my eyes made me very centered and calm because I needed to soothe myself. The Kambo itself instantly made me feel warm and fuzzy, until the feeling intensified and the discomfort of nausea began. My purging was strong and plentiful but that didn’t bother me once it began. I’ve always felt much better after vomiting and like I’m leaving a sickness behind me. In this case, I could literally see the toxins I was releasing and relinquishing. That made me feel good, clean, and hopeful. Once I was through, I shivered and laid down, and Steve covered me with his grandmother’s blanket and brought me hot tea. I felt totally comforted and cared for. He played traditional music and quietly sang along, which I loved.
Just after the ceremony, I felt positive, chatty, upbeat. My face and lips were puffy and I was filled with wonder and self reflection, but I can’t say that I felt immediate gratitude. It took me until later in the day and over the course of the next week to really reflect on the experience and sit with my new physical and mental reality, and that made me feel grateful. My overwhelming feeling has been one of calm, peace, patience and clarity. Things that would normally upset or unravel me feel easier to manage and communicate about and my responses to my (at times) very exhausting and frustrating little children are guided more by love and patience and less by anger and irritation. For me, that is so far THE greatest gift from Kambo. I’ve had great energy, my sleep has been deep and peaceful, and I experienced a period devoid of menstrual cramps for the first time in 28 years. I guess I needed to really feel and experience some effects or outcomes right away to believe in the power of this medicine. I’m so relieved that I did because it makes me want to continue to receive it more and to work on other things that challenge my life like sugar addiction, alcohol as coping mechanism, depression, anxiety and a fear of looming Alzheimer’s disease. I’m so thankful to have found such a powerful remedy that can be given in such a peaceful environment by such a benevolent being as Steve.”
- Grace
I first learned about Kambo several years ago while doing research on a physical issue I was having. I had tried everything to help alleviate my symptoms including traveling to Peru to see a Shaman. Upon my return home one of my Shaman's from Peru contacted me and told me that I should try Kambo for my problems. Pure synchronicity, as I had been hearing frogs all that day.
I found some wonderful practitioners and began my relationship with this powerful medicine. When they moved out of the area they recommended Steve to me.
From my first circle with Steve I felt at home. He was warm, welcoming and greeted me with a smile. It was very comforting because even if you are familiar with the medicine each circle is uniquely personal and it is important that you feel supported by those around you.
Steve is wonderful, he put's you at ease, listens to what you hope to accomplish, helps direct you in a good way while letting you follow your own intuition. Each ceremony is orientated to your and each persons specific needs and issues. All done in a beautiful, peaceful space.
Kambo has helped me so much more than I ever thought. Not only have I overcome my physical issues but, Kambo has helped me mentally, spiritually and emotionally as well.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you Frogs.
- Jennifer
The first time I worked with Kambo I was feeling stuck in general. The medicine helped me to motivate and take care of a few tasks I had been sitting on.
The second time I worked with Kambo was almost two weeks before my second experience with ayahuasca. At this time in my life, old childhood wounds from when I was 10 years old were beginning to emerge related to my mother and the controversy around my parents’ divorce. I was also continuing to heal from my own divorce. Kambo points were placed on my root chakra for related healing. I don’t recall my intention from this session, or what transpired for me during the throes of the medicine. But this turned out to be the first session in which Kambo became part of my overall journey towards healing this childhood wound.
In my grandmother session two weeks later, she showed me very clearly that to heal this wound I had to be brave enough to let go of whatever beliefs I was holding onto. This night, a small charcoal pot and sage was placed at the altar in the center of the ceremony for burning away whatever we needed to. For a long time, I sat there with a vision of my mother in my mind, holding onto a bit of sage at my heart, sobbing uncontrollably, until I could finally release it into the pot. The following week, my mother was in town for a visit and I took the opportunity to have a conversation with her, to excavate and examine with her this controversy I had been sitting with for almost 40 years. We had a long overdue conversation, which brought many tears, and lots of healing for both of us. Through her words, I was able to understand so clearly how her trauma impacted me. I had inherited it as if it was my own.
A few months later, I returned to Kambo in preparation for another session with grandmother. Before we got started, I gave Steve an update on what had happened since my last Kambo session, what had transpired in my grandmother session and the conversation with my mother. He suggested there may need to be some additional healing and points were placed on root and solar plexus chakras.
This session went deep. I remember hovering over my bucket while memories of being 10, around the time of my parents’ divorce, flooded my mind. I don’t recall which specific memories at this point but I remember them coming fast and being easily accessible to me. The medicine also put me in what I’d call an other-worldly state. Steve said I was unresponsive to his directives about trying to get sick. I couldn’t really move and had to lay down and began to shake. Eventually I did get sick.
After this Kambo experience, additional healing of core wounds happened outside of medicine work. I’ve had stuff come up related to my father, and have been able to access the emotion related to a defining moment in my relationship with him when I was 16. I’ve been able to see the connection between that moment and how I am today. I parlayed that clarity into clarity on my romantic relationship patterns and the connection with the relationship my father, which has been a huge insight for me.
Though I’m still learning how to work with Kambo, it has been one of the catalysts in my multi-faceted healing journey.
