Curanderismo: Traditional Healing of the Body (Coursera)

Curanderismo: Traditional Healing of the Body (Coursera)

As the second of four courses on Curanderismo, the art of Hispanic/Latino traditional medicine, this course focuses specifically on traditional healing of the body. As an educational and cultural platform, this course will share a number of traditional body therapies.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Learners will not become certified traditional healers at the completion of this course but will be able apply basic principles or traditional medicine for health and illnesses. They will become familiar specifically with the traditional treatment of Empacho (intestinal blockage), Manteadas (shawl alignments), Ventosas (fire cupping), Hidroterapia (healing with water), and other topics such as the Huesero (bone setter).
Future Curanderismo courses include:
Traditional Healing of the Mind, Energy and Spirit: Temazcal (sweatlodge), Limpias (energetic/spiritual cleansings), Risaterapia (laugh therapy) and other topics.
Global and Cultural Influences of Traditional Healing: African tradition, Afro Latino from Cuba and Puerto Rico, Native American spiritual cleansings and Mayan acupuncture and other topics.

What you will learn

  • Provide information on the traditions, rituals and remedies of Curanderismo, a healing tradition with emphasis on treatments of the body.
  • Recognize the importance of traditional methods of healing intestinal blockage and shawl alignments.
  • Explore different traditional hands on techniques and their impact on bodies ailments.
  • Demonstrate traditional healing methods for special populations such as infants and the aging community.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Intestinal blockage (empacho) & Shawl alignments (manteadas)
In this module, students will recognize different types of intestinal blockage empacho as demonstrated by Tana. Rita indicates a number of benefits of the shawl alignment manteada, traditional healing technique.

WEEK 2
Fire cupping (ventosas) & bone setter (huesero)
This module explains the benefits of fire cupping ventosas. Rita gives a demonstration and description about different methods of ventosas. Agustin, the bonesetter, huesero, shows a traditional body treatment ventosa technique to treat sciatica combined with a brief demonstration of intestinal blockage, empacho and magical fright, espanto (similar to susto).

WEEK 3
Mayan abdominal massage & body asjustment
Alex demonstrates a Mayan massage and the benefits for the body. Roberto shows how the body can adjust through muscle adjustments.

WEEK 4
Spinal alignment & hydrotherapy
Felipa demonstrates a body treatment to improve spinal and body mobility. Rita shows how we can use hydrotherapy, water and its therapeutic benefits.

WEEK 5
Traditional healing of infants & tradicional healing for the ageing community
Rita and Tonita show traditional healing techniques and their benefits for a special population such as infants and the aging community. Professor Torres concludes the course by summarizing the modules.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Childbirth: A Global Perspective (Coursera) Coursera
Emory University

Childbirth: A Global Perspective (Coursera)

This course will review challenges for maternal and newborn health in the developing world, where a great many women and babies are suffering from complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the days following birth. Themes covered include the epidemiology of maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity, relevant issues for the global health workforce, community-based interventions to improve maternal and newborn health and survival, and sociocultural dynamics surrounding birth.

Aug 24th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Career 911: Your Future Job in Medicine and Healthcare (Coursera) Coursera
Northwestern University

Career 911: Your Future Job in Medicine and Healthcare (Coursera)

This course aims to help high school students, recent graduates, and those considering career transitions explore health care career options and learn strategies for entry into the health care workforce and health related fields. There are lots of amazing job opportunities in medicine and healthcare! Join us, as we share the strategies and secrets for getting those jobs.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Dopage : Sports, Organisations et Sciences (Coursera) Coursera
University of Lausanne

Dopage : Sports, Organisations et Sciences (Coursera)

L'objectif du cours est de permettre une compréhension distanciée du dopage. C’est pour atteindre cet objectif que le cours s’appuie sur une approche pluridisciplinaire qui constitue une opportunité d'observer comment diverses disciplines abordent un même objet, selon différents angles et de manière complémentaire. Il s'agit également de donner des repères permettant d'appréhender le dopage dans sa complexité.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks
The Brain and Space (Coursera) Coursera
Duke University

The Brain and Space (Coursera)

This course is about how the brain creates our sense of spatial location from a variety of sensory and motor sources, and how this spatial sense in turn shapes our cognitive abilities. Knowing where things are is effortless. But “under the hood,” your brain must figure out even the simplest of details about the world around you and your position in it.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Epidemics (Coursera) Coursera
University of Hong Kong

Epidemics (Coursera)

“If history is our guide, we can assume that the battle between the intellect and will of the human species and the extraordinary adaptability of microbes will be never-ending.” Despite all the remarkable technological breakthroughs that we have made over the past few decades, the threat from infectious diseases has significantly accelerated. In this course, we will learn why this is the case by looking at the fundamental scientific principles underlying epidemics and the public health actions behind their prevention and control in the 21st century.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Chemicals and Health (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Chemicals and Health (Coursera)

This course covers chemicals in our environment and in our bodies and how they impact our health. It addresses policies and practices related to chemicals, particularly related to how they get into our bodies (exposures), what they do when they get there (toxicology), how we measure them (biomonitoring) and their impact on our health. Most examples are drawn from the US.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Philosophy, Science and Religion: Philosophy and Religion (Coursera) Coursera
University of Edinburgh

Philosophy, Science and Religion: Philosophy and Religion (Coursera)

Philosophy, Science and Religion mark three of the most fundamental modes of thinking about the world and our place in it. Are these modes incompatible? Put another way: is the intellectually responsible thing to do to ‘pick sides’ and identify with one of these approaches at the exclusion of others? Or, are they complementary or mutually supportive? As is typical of questions of such magnitude, the devil is in the details. For example, it is important to work out what is really distinctive about each of these ways of inquiring about the world. In order to gain some clarity here, we’ll be investigating what some of the current leading thinkers in philosophy, science and religion are actually doing.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
How Music Can Change Your Life (Coursera) Coursera
University of Melbourne

How Music Can Change Your Life (Coursera)

Did you ever wonder how music works? This course provides free video, audio and journal resources that explain six basic principles about how music can influence individual and community health and wellbeing. From biology and neuroscience, to psychotherapy and politics, the ways we engage with music can make all the difference. Music has always played an integral role in the lives of individuals and communities all around the globe.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Evidence-based Toxicology (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Evidence-based Toxicology (Coursera)

Welcome to the Evidence-based Toxicology (EBT) course. In medicine and healthcare, evidence-based medicine has revolutionized the way that information is evaluated transparently and objectively. Over the past ten years, a movement in North America and Europe has attempted to translate this revolution to the field of toxicology.

Aug 17th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (Coursera) Coursera
Leiden University,Leiden University Medical Center

Clinical Kidney, Pancreas and Islet Transplantation (Coursera)

Kidney transplantation is a major advance of modern medicine which provides high-quality of life for patients with end-stage renal disease. What used to be an experimental, risky, and very limited treatment option more than 50 years ago is now routinely performed in many countries worldwide. The number of renal transplants is expected to rise sharply in the next decade since the proportion of patients with end stage renal disease is increasing.

Aug 17th 2026
4 Weeks