Rosita Arvigo, 2003 Women of Discovery Earth Award

"Believe that you can do anything you set your mind to. Your passion should be your path and your path should be your passion." — Rosita Arvigo

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Ethnobotanist, Traditional Healer, Teacher, Author

Born: 1941-01-01

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Education: Doctor of Naprapathy

Achievements

Discoveries: Several previously unknown plants once used by the ancient Mayan people.

Expeditions: More than 200 expeditions in the jungles of Central America.

Biography

Dr. Rosita Arvigo was born in the early 1940's on the north side of Chicago.  She earned her degree in Naprapathy from The Chicago College of Naprapathy in 1981, graduating with high honors.  In addition to her work as a naprapathic physician, Dr. Arvigo is a master herbalist with over 20 years of field and laboratory research experience.  In 1981, Dr. Arvigo moved to Belize to practice natural medicine and learn more about the countries healing plants.  There, she studied and learned from  dozens of traditional healers and midwives, the most notable of whom was Don Elijio Panti, the renowned Maya shaman of Belize.  As Don Elijio's students, she also mastered the spiritual healing practices that are an integral part of traditional Mayan medicine. Today, Dr. Arvigo is a recognized authority on Maya healing techniques and medicinal plants, and has been teaching these techniques in the United States and Europe for over ten years.  She has been on more that 200 expeditions into the jungles of Central America to discover plants once used by ancient Mayan people and bring them to the world.  She is the founder and director of Ix Chel Tropical Research Foundation in San Ignacio, Belize, an organization dedicated to the preservation and study of medicinal rainforest plants and founder and President of The Traditional Healers' Foundation in Belize, which works to support traditional healers.  Additionally, Dr. Arvigo worked for nine years with Dr. Michael Balick of The New York Botanical Garden to collect medicinal plants for research at The National Cancer Institute. Dr. Arvigo maintains her private healing practice in Belize and spends most of her time teaching The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Massage in Belize, the United States and around the world.  Rosita has remained in Belize, passing on the Mayan healing traditions to the next generation through her Children's Bush Camp.  She established Rainforest Remedies, a company that prepares and distributes herbal remedies and medicines from the tropical forests of Belize and Mayan medicinal traditions.

Fun Facts

Favorite Item to have in the field: Compass, magnifying glass, good shoes, hat, and vest...good machettee.

Heroes: Elijio Panti, Maya shaman

Publications

SPIRITUAL BATHING: Healing Rituals & Traditions from Around the World; with Nadine Epstein (Ten Speed Press, 2003)
SASTUN: My Apprenticeship With a Maya Healer (Harper Collins, 1994)
RAINFOREST REMEDIES: 100 Healing Plants of Belize; with Michael Balick (Lotus Press, 1994)
RAINFOREST HOME REMEDIES: The Maya Way to Heal Your Body and Replenish Your Soul; with Nadine Epstein (Harper Collins, 2001)