Anna our friend from Davannayoga sent me an email regarding a children’s yoga course that she is offering this summer. I have watched her teach her children’s courses and she has a wonderful way with the kids. If you have kids, send them. They will love it.

One of the things I like about Anna’s classes is her focus on healthy eating. She has a way of motivating kids to think about what they eat and actually gets them to try new healthy foods. Sometimes the kids even develop a liking for healthy stuff. That’s not easy!

Below the photo of one of Anna’s yoga classes for kids is the email she sent me with all of the pertinent sign-up information:

Dear Friends,
Davannayoga is offering a  1-week summer course for children ages 6-11.  They will enjoy yoga and yoga games, arts and crafts and learn how to create their very own healthy vegetarian snacks. The course will be bilingual!

Dates:  Aug. 4-8 (M-F)
Time: 10:30am-1:30pm
Where: davannayoga shala – Calle Matamoros #542, Centro
Cost: $1000 pesos per child for the entire week.
All materials included.

Course limited to 12 kids only! You must Pre-register to reserve your space!
tel. 223-0530  anna@davannayoga.com
We look forward to playing together Aug. 4-8!
Anna, David, Jack, Grace & Max Hite
www.davannayoga.com

This is Anna in action. My muscles ache just looking at the picture.

Anna has written a couple good articles about yoga in Puerto Vallarta:

Do it Yourself Yoga Retreats in Puerto Vallarta

Vallarta’s Perfect Climate for Yoga

This is second yoga guest post by Anna Laurita from Davannayoga. When I announced the opening of her yoga center on the blog, I got a tremendous response from readers looking for more information about yoga in Puerto Vallarta. Since I know nothing about yoga, I asked her to write a series of articles for my readers. If you have any questions about yoga in Vallarta contact Anna. She loves what she does and is a great resource.

The Perfect Climate for Yoga is in Puerto Vallarta

Increasing flexibility and health benefits of yoga
It’s a hot day here in Puerto Vallarta – 86 degrees (but feels like at least 92) and 70% humidity (but feels like 80). After the 9-10:30am Yoga Flow class today I heard  the following comments:  “Wow, do I feel flexible today”;  “I haven’t sweat this much since the last time I was practicing yoga in India”; “I haven’t been able to get into that yoga posture in ages”; “My doctor sent me here to detox!”.  These are incidentally all the same reasons I highly recommend yoga practice in Puerto Vallarta.

Puerto Vallarta weather could be called tropically perfect. PV benefits from a very similar weather, a sub-tripical climate, to the Hawaiian islands. This is because they are located on the same latitude  (Incidentally yoga is very popular in Hawaii also). In PV there are an average of 315 days above 80 degrees and 102 days above 90 degrees. The average morning humidity is 92%.

Why is yoga practice better in a warm and humid climate?
The birthplace of yoga is India (over 4000 years ago), where the climate is well, quite warm. They were on to something.  In yoga practice, elongation and twists are common which stretch and squeeze the internal organs and incidentally if there is enough heat they squeeze out the toxins in the body.  Moist heat is also better for your joints.  If you are generally inflexible, the heat can help your joints loosen and muscles relax more quickly to improve the efficiency of your yoga practice.

Demonstrated Health Benefits of  Yoga
Many doctors consider yoga to have therapeutic results, and recommend it for several illnesses and conditions, mainly related to the nervous system.

Many studies have been conducted to determine which areas will benefit from an extended practice of yoga. Yoga practitioners are most likely to see improvements in the areas of physiology, psychology, and biochemistry.

From the physiological point of view, extended yoga practice benefits: pulse rate;  respiratory function; blood pressure; the nervous system; gastrointestinal & endocrine function; endurance; the range of motion in joints; energy level; immunity to diseases; cardiovascular efficiency; reaction time;dexterity; depth perception and sleep.

Yoga’s psychological benefits include: enhanced somatic and kinesthetic awareness; self-acceptance; self-actualization; social skills; well-being; concentration; memory; attention; mood; and learning efficiency.

As for the biochemical benefits of yoga, tests have shown improvements in:  glucose; sodium; cholesterol; total white blood cell count; vitamin C; total serum protein; and hemoglobin.

Deep Organ and Joint Stimulation
Various studies have revealed that yoga exercises are extremely effective at increasing joint flexibility and at lubricating and strengthening the joints, ligaments and tendons. Another interesting finding is that yoga is one of the very few forms of exercise capable of massaging all the internal organs and glands. This includes organs that are rarely stimulated, such as the prostate. The stimulation and massaging of the internal organs proves to be extremely beneficial for health.

Elimination of Toxins
These ancient and efficient yoga techniques also provide a thorough detoxification of the body. Stretching the muscles and performing a complete yoga workout acts as a massage, thereby ensuring the optimal blood supply to every organ. Consequently, toxins are eliminated from the body and certain undesired processes, such as aging, are delayed.

All of these remarkable health benefits are available from yoga practice and enhanced immensely by yoga practice in a warm and humid climate such as we enjoy in Puerto Vallarta.

Read Anna’s first post: Do-It-Yourself Yoga Retreats in Puerto Vallarta

This is a guest post by Anna Laurita from Davannayoga. When I announced the opening of her yoga center on the blog, I got a tremendous response from readers looking for more information about yoga in Puerto Vallarta. Since I know nothing about yoga, I asked her to write a series of articles for my readers. If you have any questions about yoga in Vallarta contact Anna. She loves what she does and is a great resource.

Do-It-Yourself Yoga Retreat in Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta is a great town to create your own personalized yoga retreat at a fraction of the cost of a yoga retreat at a large hotel or retreat center. A do-it-yourself retreat gives you a lot of flexibility as to how much yoga you practice per day and accessibility to other spa services and action adventure activities.

Finding affordable housing close to a yoga school is the first step in planning your retreat. A perfect example is in the heart of Old Town Vallarta where there are many affordable and beautiful guest hotels such as Los Cuatro Vientos,  or La Casa Dulce Vida. These boutique hotels have beautiful rooms/suites for as little as $50USD to $95USD and have pools. The location of these hotels is within walking distance (less than 5 min. walk) to yoga schools in town.

Pricing of yoga classes in town are very affordable (less than $10USD per class if you buy a discount card) and private classes which can cost about 50-100 dollars in the USA, only cost $40USD in a studio which has certified yoga instructors. One school in particular is Davannayoga. This yoga school offers between 4-6 classes per day depending on the season. Another well known yoga school is Yoga Vallarta.

Now that you’ve found the bones of your yoga vacation (hotel and yoga school), you can fill in the rest of the retreat with other affordable spa-type activities within short walking distance from the hotels and yoga schools. Bike and Surf tours can be found at EcoRide, run by Rogelio which is only one block behind Davannayoga on Calle Miramar. Massages, manicures and pedicures can be found just down the hill in every direction.

Affordable and delicious restaurants with yogi food (fresh, local, vegetarian) abound in this area (called Gringo Gulch) as well:  A favorite new small café,  El patio de Mi Casa on Calle Miramar #420, is where Heidi serves delicious coffee with homemade breads, fruit and fresh squeezed fruit juices. A few doors away is La Esquina de los Caprichos with amazing tapas (corner of Miramar and Iturbide) and finally is Planeta Vegetariana on the Iturbide steps between Hidalgo and Matamoros where you can have an all-you-can eat vegetarian buffet meal for only $6.50USD.

Also nearby is shopping and art galleries with the famous Art Walk on Wednesday nights where the galleries open to visitors with much fanfare. The ocean is close by where there is swimming and lunches served on the beach as well.

The end result is a very affordable, relaxing and well rounded yoga vacation in the heart of Old Town Vallarta, and a very Mexican Adventure. Everything is within walking distance, or just the distance of a very long Adho Mukha Svanasana (downward facing dog).

Be sure to read Anna’s other Puerto Vallarta yoga post:

Puerto Vallarta’s Perfect Climate for Yoga

Puerto Vallarta Yoga School

A good friend of ours, Anna Laurita, is opening a new yoga school in Puerto Vallarta on May 6, called  Davannayoga. The school is located at Calle Matamoros #542, which the corner of Calle Matamoros and Corona (at the top of the Corona steps).

Anna Laurita has a tremendous love for what she does as well as extensive yoga training and studies. She has already developed a loyal following in Puerto Vallarta and her school is sure to be a success.

For more information about the Davannayoga school you can contact Anna Laurita:

Anna Laurita
044-322-147-7008
Shala:  223-0530
anna@davannayoga.com

Below are all of the details that Anna Laurita has asked me to share with my readers as well as a link to the classes offered at Davannayoga.

Happy yoga!

A New Yoga School – Opening in the Heart of Old Town on May 6th

This is a traditional style bi-lingual yoga school which offers classes for all walks of life, from beginners to advanced, children and pre-natal students.

WHO Is Opening the School?

Anna Laurita, a full-time resident of Puerto Vallarta who has been teaching here for the past year-and-a-half since her arrival from Shanghai, China where she was teaching yoga as well.  Anna has studied yoga since 1991.

Anna Laurita has traveled extensively (spending over 14 years in Asia and Latin America) to learn techniques that promote health, happiness and peace. She is known for her powerful practice, intuitive understanding of the body and her creative, and engaging teaching style.

Anna Laurita is a certified Yogic Arts(tm) teacher and owns Davannayoga(tm) studio in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico where she leads Yogic Arts(tm), Flow Vinyasa, Power Flow, children and pre-natal classes. She lives in Puerto Vallarta with her husband and three children.

Anna Laurita in Action

What Makes davannayogaTM  Shala (School) Special?

**Individual Asana Basis – At davannayogaTM  Shala we adjust the practice for the unique needs of each student. This is the traditional way of learning Asana, and requires a teacher be skilled in the art of assessment and adjustment. Also it requires the teacher to be intuitive to the needs of the students that enter the class and adjust the class for them offering many variations of skill and depth

Classes Offered:

All Classes are taught in English and Spanish!

Morning yoga and Stretch: MWF 7:30-8:30 (All Levels), gently encouraging circulation in the muscles and training the breath for the day ahead.

Hatha – T/TH 9-10:30 -  The postures and breathing exercises of Hatha yoga reunite and balance the body, mind and emotions bringing the student to their natural state of well being.

Open Flow Vinyasa MWF 9-10:30am and 7-8:30pm Mon, Tues, Thurs  (All Levels) – Flowing with your breath. Postures are connected by breath and intention to help you reach the synchronicity of mind, body and spirit. Each class is distinct, multi-level and taught on an individual asana basis.

Power Hour T/TH 5:30-6:30pm (Int-Adv.) – A vigorous yoga practice to build strength and flexibility. The sequence is a shortened Ashtanga Vinyasa. This practice offers tremendous health benefits.

Yogic Arts Wednesday Night 7-8:30pm (All Levels) – A dynamic yoga style that integrates the core strength and joint conditioning elements of Buddhist Gung-Fu (healing martial arts), the fluidity and purification of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga (breath-motion yoga)  and the healing touch of traditional Thai Therapy (yoga massage).  This is a FUN class, light hearted, and set to hip-hop music. Come ready to sweat, kick and sway.

Children’s Yoga – Saturdays 12-1:00pm- Combines movement, song, and yoga philosophy through story telling, and game playing. Watch for special programs during school holidays combining yoga, art and vegetarian snack cooking for children!

Pre-Natal Yoga – Saturdays 8:45-9:45am – Yoga for mom’s-to-be that minimizes common discomforts and risks in pregnancy and increases circulation. Also creates an intimate bond between mother and child before birth.

Private Classes – by appointment to help the student begin a yoga practice or take a yoga practice deeper.

Renting the davannayoga shala – The space inside the studio and the rooftop space are also for rent for people wishing to begin a new class or who wish to just practice in a quiet place.

Anna has contributed some great Pueto Vallarta yoga posts to VallartaBlog:

Do-It-Yourself Yoga Retreats in Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta’s Perfect Climate for Yoga

If you are ever in need of a Chiropractor, Dr. Basil Abuid is the one you want to see. I went to him when I needed to rehab my right arm after I injured it during heroic headfirst slide into second base while playing softball. To add insult to my arm injury, I was called out. Dr. Basil helped me to get back into playing condition.

Dr. Basil is originally from the city of Calagary, Canada but has studied and worked around the world. He did his chiropractic studies in Dallas, Texas at the Parker College of Chiropractic. In the late nineties, he worked for the Saudi royal family at a private hospital in Saudia Arabia. From 1999 to 2001 he lived in Perth, Scotland doing low back studies for the British health care system.

In 2001, Dr. Basil’s brother in law convinced him to visit Puerto Vallarta and consider moving here. Like many others who have come to Vallarta to visit, he stayed.

Dr. Basil specializes in sports medicine and chiropractic neurology and is one of only fifty practicing chiropractors in Mexico. He believes in trying all non-invasive measures before resorting to surgery to treat a condition.

If you need to chiropractic treatment, Dr. Basil has his clinic, the Chiropractic Health Center, in the Plaza Marina shopping center, space A-38.

You can contact him at 322-221-3190 or in an emergency at 044 322-146-5796. His email is basildc@hotmail.com.
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