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
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