Every year, guests of Hotel Mousai and Garza Blanca Preserve Resort & Spa in Puerto Vallarta are invited to participate in wellness activities hosted by Spa Imagine. Wellness 2020 took place between November 23rd and November 28th. Throughout the week, guests had an opportunity to experience activities dedicated to harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit.
The comprehensive program offered a variety of mediation experiences, spa treatments, yoga classes, and nutrition workshops. Gema Yerena from the spa gave a special Janzu water class for couples. Our annual wellness program aims to promote healthy lifestyles and provide a rejuvenating wellness experience.
This year’s wellness instructors included:
- Paola Contreras – a certified in Hatha & Yin Yang Yoga teacher. Paola has been teaching yoga for the past 7 years. In her classes, she teaches students to align their poses, synchronize their breath, and hold postures to gain strength and flexibility as well as achieve mental relaxation. She enjoys sharing her knowledge with others so they can experience all the mental and health benefits of yoga.
- Iorch Quetzal – a reiki coach and spiritual healer. Iorch has been a special guest during Wellness Week for several years. He is a musician who has been working with sound healing for the past 10 years. He is also known for his capabilities as a healer. He has traveled extensively to India to seek further insight. Guests joined him for a Tibetan Singing Bowl Concert and a Cacao Ceremony.
- Victor Rodriguez – an experienced meditation and yoga teacher specializing in Ayurveda. Yoga and Ayurveda share several similarities including regular practice, breathing exercises, meditation, and the chanting of mantras for mental and physical health. He led guests in a calming meditation session and taught therapeutic yoga.
- Dr. Jeanette Preciado Vega – a nutritionist specializing in cell medicine. Jeanette treats patients with chronic diseases and advocates plant-based nutrition for healthy living.
Wellness 2020 Recap
Yoga – The program included a variety of yoga classes held every morning at 9:00 am either at the beach or at the Orange Deck. Paola taught Yin-Yang and Vinyasa Yoga. Procuro, a Spa Imagine therapist, led Kundalini and Hatha yoga sessions, and Victor taught Therapeutic Yoga at the beach. At 10:00 am, guests were invited to test their balance on weighted Stand-Up Paddleboards with a special SUP yoga class at the beach pool. In each yoga session, students were invited to connect with their own essence, set intentions for their practice, stay present, and to take a moment to feel gratitude for all the blessings in life.
Tibetan Singing Bowl Concert – Iorch led guests in a Tibetan sound healing concert to promote relaxation and peace. The vibrations from the sound bowls are very healing. Iorch instructed guests to relax and feel each sound in their body and to let every thought that came up, just to pass. The frequencies of the sound helps to clear chakras and align energy resulting in a feeling of profound peace.
Cacao Ceremony – a ritual that dates back to the Aztecs and Mayans. Cacao ceremonies help promote healing and connection to ourselves and others. During the ceremony, guests drank a hot cup of ceremonial-grade cacao (between 70 and 100 per cent pure cacao), which is quite bitter. Iorch instructed guests to close their eyes and allow the spirit of the cacao to be present and to set an intention for the ceremony. Then he led guests in a breathing circuit to clear the mind. This ancient ceremony is intended to move stagnant energies and to open the heart.
Nutrition Workshops – Jeanette Preciado M.D. is a nutrition expert who specializes in cell medicine and plant-based nutrition. Jeanette held two nutrition workshops. The first workshop was focused on liquid nutrition and the second was a Vegan Culinary workshop. Jeanette believes that drinking juices and smoothies full of healthy ingredients can help those, especially the chronically ill, to fight disease and replace any bad cells, with good cells. She demonstrated how to make several different kinds of juices and smoothies with healthy ingredients such as spinach, squash, kale, celery, turmeric, and avocados. She explained why it is necessary to drink both juices and smoothies. The difference is that drinking juices gives a shot to the body almost as powerful as a blood transfusion with most of the fiber removed and packed full of antioxidants, whereas smoothies give us fiber that helps to flush out the toxins in our bodies. In her Culinary Vegan workshop, Jeanette shared some of her favorite Vegan recipes with guests and demonstrated the diverse possibilities and delicious dishes that can be created solely from plant-based ingredients.
Janzu Class – Gema Yerena, a Spa Imagine therapist, taught Janzu classes at the Panoramic Pool. Janzu takes place in the water and is a healing style of massage intended to allow the recipient to access a state of being that is similar to being in the womb. Couples were invited to take the Janzu class and Gema demonstrated soft flowing movements in the water and couples took turns trying out this style of massage on their partners. The movements included the lullaby, moving the recipient back and forth in the water while cradling them, as well as the opening and closing movement of folding the legs towards the chest and pulling them out straight again. These movements provide the sensation of protection and relief and allow recipients to just relax and let go.
We thank all of our guests who participated in Wellness 2020. We hope you enjoyed all the luxurious splendor of Hotel Mousai and Garza Blanca, as well as experiencing a wellness boost on your vacation while learning about health-conscious cuisine, participating in fitness activities and receiving wellness treatments. If you missed Wellness 2020, we hope that you will be able to join us next year for another incredible program of activities designed to inspire the mind, feed the soul, and strengthen the body.
