The Yogi Bar
Paseo de la Marina 3 | Local 7, Puerto Vallarta 48335

I was recently in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and decided to go to a local yoga studio to experience yoga in a different way. Major caveat: Everything in Puerto Vallarta is geared towards tourists–there are Americans everywhere and almost everyone speaks English. However, at the Yogi Bar, I was able to take a yoga class from Miguel who spoke half Spanish and half English throughout the class (plus the Sanskrit yoga poses.) This was the “international yoga” experience I wanted (I didn’t want to be led by a teacher who emigrated from the US.)

Pros
1.) Good teacher with extensive yoga experience (teacher was very flexible and emphasized flexibility as a part of the practice.)
2.) Conveniently located spot if you are staying in any of the hotels nearby; close to other restaurants/spas.
3.) Amazing prices ($5 US dollar/class is amazing); fresh juices and smoothies are both enormous and very reasonably priced at $3 US dollar/drink (about 70% cheaper than anything you will find in San Francisco.)

Cons
1.) There is a wide variety of experience levels in the class so it’s not as strong of a Vinyasa Flow as I would normally like.
2.) If you aren’t somewhat familiar with the basic Ashtanga yoga poses, then you might feel lost since the class is taught in English and Spanish. I personally really enjoyed this part of the practice but some novices may not.

Now if you can get on the water in Puerto Vallarta, the water is quite warm (by North American standards–I would guess 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit,) grab a standup paddle-board and try some yoga moves on it (it’s really hard to balance on the open ocean!)