Growing up in a family of free spirited adventurers we would explore the “wild” west on our many skiing, camping or hiking trips. One place discovered along the way is Pagosa Springs. Pagosa Springs is a small mountain town located in the Four-Corners region of southwestern Colorado. The region is known for its access to archeological sites, unmatched mountains, great skiing, beautiful rivers, canyon lands and a wealth of cultural history. The town is nestled in a beautiful valley on the banks of the San Juan River, surrounded by the 3 million acre San Juan Forest and adjacent to the largest contiguous wilderness area in the nation, the Weminuche Wilderness.
One of the best kept secrets that make Pagosa Springs so special is the hot springs. Long touted as the largest and hottest natural mineral outflow in the world, the “Great Pagosah Hot Spring" is often coveted for its healing and restorative qualities. The use of hot springs dates back to the Bronze Age. Once you experience hot springs you will be hooked. Here are some of the many benefits (http://www.livestrong.com/article/146809-benefits-of-hot-springs-spas/):
Improve Circulation
Hot springs are thought to help with blood circulation, hypertension, nervous imbalances and atherosclerosis.
Treat Skin Infections
Sulfur is a mineral present in every cell of your body and is used to make collagen, which keeps your skin smooth and healthy. Hot springs are a rich source of sulfur and its healing benefits include treating skin irritations and infections such as rashes and eczema. According to the website Alternative Doctor, bathing in sulfur-rich hot springs helps treat dry scalp and arthritic pain as well as internal problems such as menopausal symptoms and digestive disorders.
Reduce Stress
The hot waters of mineral hot springs help your body to relax, which benefits many aspects of your health, including sleeping patterns and nutrient assimilation. When you are experiencing stress, your digestive tract can have trouble digesting and you may even suffer from insomnia, which, according to the National Sleep Foundation, causes more stress in your body and decreases your productivity. The relaxation promoted by the heat and buoyancy of hot springs also helps increase the range of motion of your muscles and joints, making the soaking beneficial for individuals recovering from trauma or suffering from rheumatoid arthritis.
Detoxify
According to the article "Some Like it Hot," published in the Spavelous magazine in August 2008, bathing repeatedly in hot springs can help tone your autonomic nervous system and normalize your endocrine system, as well as release toxins in your body through sweating.
Boost Immune System
Some proponents believe that iron content in hot springs, along with other trace minerals, might help build your body's immune system, making it stronger and more able to fight infections.
Keep exploring and living your dreams,
Kendra Charts
Alchemy Tours will be combining the healing properties of the hot springs and yoga with the adventure of snowboarding and skiing in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, February 3 – 6, 2011. If being in a mountain town soaking in hot springs under the stars sounds like heaven or if you have always wanted to learn to snowboard or ski or already a rock star at it please consider this Yoga and Snowboarding (and Skiing) Colorado retreat with Silvia, Jacob and myself. And if you can’t wait until then please join me for the pre-season Yoga for Snowboarding and Skiing workshop at Total Body Yoga, October 24, 2010.
Your Yoga will be taught by Silvia Mordini whose loving Anusara-inspired Vinyasa Flow teaching style is influenced by more than 10 years of Hatha yoga study. She studies primarily under Shiva Rea. With over 7,500 hours of yoga teaching experience, as a nationally recognized Experienced Yoga Teacher with Yoga Alliance (E-RYT) she owns and teaches at Total Body Yoga, a 3,900 square foot Chicagoland yoga center with over 200 monthly classes and countless weekly workshops as well as for a fifth year teaching a Nationally accredited 200 Hour Yoga Teacher Training Program. Silvia also enjoys working privately with athletes of all ages applying her knowledge of therapeutic yoga to aid healing old injuries or preventing new ones. Silvia’s dedication to her students makes her classes upbeat and fun, serious and informative, supportive and authentic.. When her students leave class, they have been inspired to be good to themselves and thereby kinder to others. Silvia finds healing in the beauty and stillness of Moab and considers nature and the relationship of human spirit her greatest teachers!!
Jacob is an avid cyclist, runner, and lover of all things outdoors, involving people. With over 10 years of guiding experience, beginning on Mt. Rainier, he has broadened his horizons by transitioning to guiding cycling trips around the world. He has been living in, and exploring the Olympic & Cascade mountain ranges of the Pacific Northwest for the past 11 years, and can often be found cycling, trail running, hiking and skiing in the greater Seattle area when not practicing yoga indoors. Jacob is a Certified Carmichael Training Systems coach and is CPR/First Aid certified, but his real experience comes from his passion for showing people new places and exploring along with them.
Kendra is a soul rider. She adores nature, yoga, snowboarding, rock climbing, surfing, people with adventurous spirits and playing in the mountains, desert and beautiful bodies of water. Kendra has studied yoga with Silvia Mordini in Anusara-inspired Vinyasa flow as part of the 200 hr Nationally accredited Yoga Teacher Training program and teaches at Total Body Yoga in Mundelein, IL. She has been snowboarding over 12 years with humble beginnings at Wilmot Mountain, WI to living the ski bum lifestyle in Aspen, CO. Kendra is Avalanche I certified, and has her CPR/First Aid and Outdoor Emergency Care certifications. Her love for snowboarding, powder and mountains has led her to the mountains of the West and South America. You’ll find her passion for the mountains and her wonder for nature contagious.