What doesn’t she do? Pat Henry inspires La Cruz and beyond!
Shortly after arriving in La Cruz in 2009, I decided to take an exercise class. Little did I know I’d meet one of the most inspiring ladies, ever, Pat Henry is exceptional!
Pat Henry created a therapeutic exercise program; I asked her to explain. “In 2007, I was certified by Heather Wallace as a practitioner in her program The Wallace Method, a pain management therapy. After helping clients on the therapy table, I became interested in creating a way to teach them how to do the movements themselves… the fishing pole (not the fish) approach. That pursuit became Organic Stretching®: bodymind movements, my adaptation of her amazing creation. This is the 7th season in La Cruz teaching on my terrace in the middle of my garden.
Recently Pat has created an online program of exercise… “From the moment I experienced Heather’s work, I wanted to take it out to the whole world. The Seven (7) Step Online program is now live and available wherever the Internet goes. This required adding to my technical skill-set with video, editing, and web design, at least a little bit!”
~ A very creative and super-gentle way to become pain-free and maintain it. Organic Stretching® student; Andrea
Pat Henry moved to La Cruz de Huanacaxtle in June of 2009. In 2005 she had bought a little casita on a nice piece of land with fresh air and some big tree Pat says “I could afford it. I fixed it up, doing quite a bit of the work and developed the garden. It was something for the future, but at the time I didn’t have a plan. I was living on the South Side of Puerto Vallarta in a sweet third-floor apartment and rented the first-floor unit for a studio. The renters in La Cruz wanted to stay put, and their rent almost paid for my apartment. In Dec 2008, I opened a gallery in the studio space… it could not have been worse timing. The economy was tanking, no tourists, no mode of travel (swine flu), and no business. By late April, I knew the time had come to move into my little casita! I loved the small village feel of La Cruz and the peace of my location. Perfect silence almost every night.”
Rarely does one see such an impressive resume. I asked Pat to share the highlights of her life, before La Cruz, I had heard many snippets of her story like that she was the first woman to circumnavigate the globe and wanted to know more. Pat shares her story.
“We really have to start in 1997 when I arrived in Puerto Vallarta by boat returning from my solo voyage. I loved it and have been in this area ever since. I left Acapulco in May 1989 and returned in May 1997 (eight years and one day past my start date). The New York Times reported me as the first woman from the Americas to Solo Circumnavigate the world. It was a 40,000-mile journey with stops in 40 countries. A year later another American woman finished her solo. Mine was “via the canals” (Suez and Panama) and hers was “via the capes” (Hope and The Horn). We agreed to share the honor by adding that at the end of our “first.”
In 2002, my book By the Grace of the Sea: A Woman’s Solo Odyssey Around the World was published by McGraw-Hill/International Marine. Writing it was a 4-1/2 year effort. More than half the time that the voyage took!”
An aside; I marvel that as I’m putting the finishing touches on this article this pops up on Facebook:
“Hi Pat, A little story for you… Savannah and I are in a restaurant in Reykjavik, Iceland at the end of Sept. We were talking to the couple at the next table and when we said we were from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico he said: “Oh, I just finish reading a book about a woman who sailed solo for many years and now lives in Puerto Vallarta”. I said oh that’s Pat Henry I know her. He was very impressed and he loved your book.” ~ Candace Shaw
And then;
“I thought I was enriching my 10-year-old grand daughter’s life and knowledge on the way to her gymnastics class the other day by telling her about Pat Henry’s voyage. Hurray for women! She informed me from the back seat of the car. “We learned about her in school!” Gloria Baczak
Pat Henry began her career as a licensed architect in California and in Illinois. In 1974, she was invited to teach in the only (at that time) degreed Interior Design program in California. During her time there and since it has evolved into an Interior Architecture program. Pat became head of the 250 student program in 1975 and helped take it toward certification by the American Society of Interior Designers.
Pat both dances and teaches tango, she says: “I can’t remember when I caught the bug to dance the tango, but the fire was ignited in 2002 in a performance of Argentine dancers in Puerto Vallarta. Then in 2005, it became possible to begin dancing in PV through the efforts of Al and Barbara Garvey. When they retired here from San Francisco (where they helped found the early tango community there); they knew they would have to start teaching in order to have people to dance with. With trips to San Francisco and Buenos Aires for workshops, classes, and practice I have continued to enjoy and improve my dance. When I first moved to La Cruz I offered tango lessons and practicas (little dance events) on my terrace. There were not enough people here to continue, but in January 2016 that will change in La Cruz. Watch for news of very special teachers arriving!!”
As if that’s not enough… Pat was a textile product importer with her own company in both home fashion and soft travel items and industrial textiles. Both areas had national distribution with source countries of Thailand, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Korea. She says “A few of our customers included Barney’s, Crate and Barrel, Neiman Marcus, and Honeywell, Cray Computers, Raytheon, and Hercules a sampling from the industrial products. I became an artist on my journey to pay my way with exhibitions, gallery sales, and commissions. Those paintings were watercolors from the places where I stopped. I continued to paint in PV at the end of my voyage until writing my book took over all my time. Then later I came back to painting but switching to abstract oils and acrylics. These were shown in my own gallery. After my book was launched, I began teaching sailing and created Coming About…any woman’s sailing school. Students flew down from the US and Canada for the 9-day program. Many of them went on to crew on long-distance voyages, co-captain with their partners, and some to solo sail.”
More Q&A with Pat:
What do you consider your specialty or most special talent; Problem solving, organizing, and teaching…I love all three!
What do you enjoy the most about what you do and/or your life in paradise? “Empowering people to develop their own ability to become pain-free. Promoting a model of wellness that encompasses what we take into our bodies (and minds), what we believe, and what we do—our physicality. Living here “in paradise” is a part of my own wellness model… fresh air, fresh food, a more gentle path to follow.”
How do you define a good year of business? “By the number of people I have helped.”
I imagine your job has its share of rewards, challenges, and overwhelming moments… please share. “The people I am blessed to work with and get to know. My terrace is so full of beautiful energy left behind after a class that anyone entering my garden for the first time usually comments on the feeling they experience; even the guy who brings my garafones of water! On the challenging side, it is the very short season and the difficulty to reach the people who might be interested in this work… educating them on what it really is that I do. AND now; managing all of the web/computer stuff.”
Is your clientele more Mexicans, ex-pats, tourists, or all? Expats and now and then some tourists. I am close to offering a class in Spanish; perhaps after this season.
Do you speak Spanish? About 65%
So Pat Henry Inspires La Cruz… What inspires you? The endless possibilities for my work! One young man (28) wrote to say that after one day using my DVD he was finally able to wake up without pain in his arms and hands. He had had stem cell replacement therapy for cancer and his body rejected the cells, attacking his connective tissue. That is the tissue we are stretching in this work.”
You sail, do you enjoy other water sports… surfing, fishing, etc? “I’m not sailing anymore. I am a long-distance sailor, not a bay sailor. When I go, I want to go thousands of miles or at least ten days worth! I love to row and could see someday having a rowing shell. And swimming.”
Do you cook? If so, what is your favorite recipe? “My diet is very simple and mostly fresh, so I don’t cook much. On the boat, I baked bread and desserts and enjoyed complex meals. Not so today. My favorite recipe is for my pancakes every morning…made without flour, butter, sugar, any of the usual ingredients. Very satisfying and nutritious and they don’t need butter or syrup!”
What do you see as the greatest change to La Cruz since you got here? “The work done on the main road and down to the marina. The entrance experience is very inviting now. The growth of the marina and the Sunday Market is a little bit more “polished” but not too much, and there is increased focus on the cruisers, especially more than when I first arrived alone on my boat in 1989! There were no laundries in those days and no Philo’s, etc. There are new homes popping up in my area regularly now.”
Do you like that change? “Yes, overall I do.”
If you could preserve something from earlier times in La Cruz what would they be? “The roundabout!! I liked the old one so much more filled with bougainvillea…not so sterile.”
What one thing do you think people ‘about town’ don’t know about you? “I married at a very, very young age, but went on to finish high school at 18 with a toddler, and started university at 25 with two children in grade school.”
Do you have a favorite quote? “It isn’t over until it is over. It may be my own saying, but I have shared that with many families who are heartbroken watching a young daughter who they feel has lost her future. There are still so many more doors left to open in her life. Support her, love her, and be proud of her.”
If you had a magic wand, what would your wish for La Cruz de Huanacaxtle be 5 years from now and beyond? “This wish is not strictly for La Cruz, but for the area… more diversification of the economic base to provide expanded opportunities to the young. I would like to see a low impact high tech light industry move here providing high-quality jobs not dependent on seasons and tourists. That could create a pool of high tech educators to expand on that front as well.”
What is the one thing you’re most proud of in your life, greatest achievement kinda thing. “Beyond my amazing daughters…it is the work I did revitalizing and overhauling the university program I ran at San Jose State. It was a labor of love. Second to that was the writing of my book. I kept a quote above my desk from Tom Clancy: “Success is a finished book, a stack of pages each of which is filled with words. If you reach that point, you have won a victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-handed around the world.”
Why would you recommend La Cruz to someone;
- To vacation here. “The perfect tranquility, the pace of life, friendly people, the beauty of the bay, the music, and any activity they might want.”
- To move here. “A place to contribute, to become part of the community in a meaningful way, the small-town feel, the mix of ex-pats and locals, the climate, the breezes, the wonderful colors, and close enough to the “city” for those can’t live-without things we don’t find around the corner.”
http://www.lively-arts.com/humaninterest/2002/0207/pat_henry.htm
