October is a very special month at Villa del Palmar Cancún because every year at our resort we completely devote the month of October to health and wellness.
October Wellness is for everyone from complete beginners to advanced athletes. Giselle Sedinger, our Spa Manager at Villa del Palmar Cancún, designed the program for the October Wellness 2019 event. The program offered a variety of activities including detox rituals, high intensity training, yoga, and meditation.
For those who participated in these activities, we thank you for joining us. For our guests and members who didn’t have the opportunity to attend this year’s October Wellness event, we would like to share with you some of the activities that you missed and we hope that you will consider joining us for a healthy vacation in paradise next year.
Each day of the program started with yoga at 9:00 am. Our instructors taught a variety of Yoga, SUP Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, and Vinyasa Flow Yoga. Daily at 10:00 am, Stretching was led by Naya Rappaport or Lina Muñoz. In the 11:00 am time slot, Functional Training was led by our Village Spa staff. At midday, Aqua Zumba classes were taught by Kim McMurren. And at 5pm there was detox time and purification rituals at the Village Spa.
While many guests chose to test their physical condition with HIIT and indulge their bodies with detox rituals at our exclusive Village Spa, some preferred to exercise by doing yoga, stretching and aqua zumba in the pool.
Wellness 2019 Instructors
- Lina Muñoz – certified Thai massage instructor, specializing in Meditation, Ashtanga Vinyasa and Hatha Yoga
- Kim McMurren – professional and certified personal trainer through FiTour, an expert in Boot Camp training and also a certified group exercise instructor (AFAA)
- Bonnie Ringer – experienced practitioner of Yoga and Healing Art Therapy, and she created the Bonnie Shala YogaStudio in New York
- Salila Thuy – yoga trainer, certified by Yoga Journey in Boca del Raton, Florida
- Naya Rappaport – social media influencer and a renowned yoga and fitness instructor from the Dominican Republic
- Oscar Resendiz – in-house instructor at Villa del Palmar Cancún
Yoga
Yoga class was a favorite activity led by instructors from Villa del Palmar Cancún with special guest instructors Naya Rappaport and Bonnie Ringer.
Naya Rappaport has been a guest instructor at Villa del Palmar Cancún during the October Wellness Event since 2016. For Naya, yoga is a lifetime practice, which never stops revealing new lessons to improve our health both mentally and physically.
Morning yoga classes were held at Villa del Palmar Cancún’s gazebo, located on the pier, framed by a dazzling tropical backdrop. Guests enjoyed the teachings of Oscar Reséndiz, an instructor who is passionate about the benefits that regular yoga practice provides. Many of our guests considered him as a spiritual guide, who allowed them to discover the path of yoga.
After each practice, our guests shared their favorite moments with us and told us that Oscar was always very patient, inviting them to continue doing yoga. Other guests told us that despite it being their first time practicing yoga, Oscar guided them at every step. He was very good at explaining yoga poses and postures and the concept of connecting with universal energy.
“The practice of yoga is open to everyone at Villa del Palmar Cancún, regardless of their skill level, and all of our guests are invited to come and enjoy the health benefits it provides.”
Giselle Sedinger
Sound Meditation
The sound meditation was led by instructors Lina Muñoz and Magali Rodríguez. Outside on our pier overlooking the beautiful Caribbean Sea, they explained to guests how to open their chakras.
The class started with a brief explanation of energy and invited our guests to make a circle in order to keep the energy in constant motion, flowing in tune with the body. Maintaining a lotus flower posture, the meditation began with breathing exercises. Breathing is an essential part of living but since it is so automatic, we often breathe without conscious awareness. Breathing exercises help us to bring our attention back to our breathing and control it. This is an essential part of yogic practice and is known to enhance physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
This sound mediation included exercises to the rhythm of repetitions with the sound of vowels, as well as powerful mantras such as: Lam, Vam, Ram, Yam, Shyam and Om. The meditation immersed us in beautiful sounds and vibrations and was also accompanied by bells, drums and gongs.
We have seven chakras and all of them vibrate at their own frequency. Sound has always been a central element used to balance the chakras. Sound rhythms and vibrations work to tune each energy center using particular frequencies. The sounds helped our guests to enter a world of vibration where they could achieve a deeply relaxed and meditative state releasing all tension and stress.
After the session, some guests told us that they experienced a profound sense of peace and well-being as they allowed the healing sounds and vibrations to wash over them and that the session felt like a spiritual journey towards healing and self-discovery that allowed them to connect with their emotions and embrace their presence in the universe.
“With sound meditations, we motivate our guests to feel part of the universe again and connect with emotions that are forgotten in our daily life. We want positive emotions and thoughts to return after having been abandoned, to raise energy vibrations and for the body to recover the vital energy that goes out as our lives go by.”
Giselle Sedinger
At Villa del Palmar Cancún, we support the fitness journey of all our guests and we invite you to start or continue training with us at any time of the year.
For our guests who had the opportunity to participate in the October Wellness activities, we would love to hear about your experience. What activities do you recommend for the next October Wellness 2020?
