CANCUN

I first came to Mexico at the tender age of one month – the youngest member of a week long conference (accompanying my mother). Since then, I have traveled somewhere Latin America every year without fail. I’ve seen Peru, Ecuador and Costa Rica. I’ve even been to Cuba. But there was one place I had never, ever been --- Cancun.

For me, Cancun has represented the world of an American influence in Latin America. A place where North Americans come for reckless partying or a vacation experience that could be in any country – a beach scene devoid of true Mexican heritage or culture.

As I began to visit other cities and other yoga communities, however, I started hearing a different story. Two heads of different yoga centers gushed about their recent vacations to Cancun – the nature preserve protecting wildlife, the fresh water cenotes (exposed underground rivers or lakes), the yoga retreats along the beach.

(A cenote called Casa Cenote)

It piqued my interest that Mexicans wanted to be in Cancun. How could America’s international party zone be simultaneously Mexico’s sanctuary? I decided to find out!

Driving south from Cancun, one discovers the heart of Quintana Roo, an area once sacred to the Mayan people. A place of incredible natural beauty, Quintana Roo reminded me of the National Park system in the United States.

(The Mayans built Tulum, a sacred site and port over looking the Caribbean.)

I met people from Asia, Australia and Europe, all equally fascinated by the unusual landscape – lush tropical jungles, beautiful beaches and sacred Mayan sites.

(Here I am at the Mayan ruins of Tulum.)

There are NO rivers in the state of Quintana Roo.  Instead, a series of Cenotes line the drive south from Cancun. At times these cavernous lakes, peaking up at the earth's surface are lovely fresh water. Then, nearer to the coast, they turn salty, as sea water intrudes on the underground aquifer.  Swimming in perfectly clear water, I used snorkels to view tiny fish, mangrove forest roots, and curious rock formations throughout the cenotes!

One of the furthest areas south in Mexico, Bacalar, sits on a fresh water, crystal clear lagoon. It was completely breathtaking!

My trip included “professional” advances as well! Near the town of Tulum, I discovered the spiritual center of Quintana Roo. The “spiritual strip” – a series of retreat centers, boutique hotels and yoga studios lining the white sand and crashing waves. In less than two months, I’ll be opening my own little Bed and Breakfast/healing center in my hometown of West Chester, Pennsylvania. From the healing centers and boutique hotels, I documented creative ideas to bring home to Pennsylvania. Some of them connected me with the ancient Mayan traditions born in Quintana Roo. Other, more modern design elements, just caught my attention because of their creativity or fun!

On the hospitality side,  I loved that hotels transformed the very necessary mosquito netting into the most attractive design feature in the room!

Lighting was used to draw clients into a space:

Or to relax them:

Restaurants became half living rooms --

-- half beachside porches.

And there never seemed to be a lack of gracefulness in the details!

One of my professional missions was to learn about local hands-on healing practices. As a craniosacral therapist and Pravada Shamanic Sound Healing Practitioner, I’m interested in how to create experiences of magic, healing and change.

Years ago, I started making my own salves, lip balms and lotions. Then I learned about Return to Beauty: Old World Recipes for Great Radiant Skin by Narine Nikogosian.

Nikogosian shares the natural beauty care products she learned to make using food and plants from her Russian grandparents. All over the globe, native traditions have healed the body and the spirit using earth, clay and other natural ingredients. In Tulum, I experienced a Mayan honey and sea salt exfoliation and a cocoa body mask and facial.

In ancient times, the cocoa bean was used as currency, in the place of gold. It was that valuable to people. It is still used all over the world to sooth and heal the body … and to eat!!

Well, I don’t think my skin has ever been so soft as after that honey scrub. I’m anxious to try my own version of this Mayan tradition with native Pennsylvania honey!

Mexico is a country with so many healing tools to offer. And also with a need for so much healing. Instead of spending the week at resort hotels and wild parties, I enjoyed the tranquility – and the power – of the ocean and the rich traditions of the Mayans that go back thousands of years.

On this journey, I express gratitude for the wisdom and creativity of people and traditions that came before me. I give myself permission to relax and enjoy. I know that through pleasure and happiness, I am finding my way towards giving back to this earth in a manner that is unique to me.