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The Benefits of a Mayan Hammock are now available in Turkey!
By:
Nur Ergönül
Have you have reclined in a Mayan hammock? Most Turkish people, unless they have travelled to South or Central America have probably never encountered a Mayan hand-made hammock. The Mayan hammock is the primary form of bedding for natives of the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico. It is said that over 10 million people sleep in hammocks as their primary form of bedding every night!
I was introduced to the Mayan hammock, by an American friend of mine who lived in Mexico before coming to Turkey. She has two of them installed in her Istanbul living room, and uses a large one as her bed. Her daughter was constantly playing or lying in the hammock - and my own children loved it from the first moment they saw it.
Mayan Hammocks are made using a vertical loom using a Mayan method of triple weave using a centuries old method made by Mayan artisans. One hammock can contain up to 2500 kilometers of string, and take over 90 hours to complete! They in themselves are a beautiful piece of art that resembles a fishing net. The triple weave design adjusts to the weight and shape of the body perfectly. The support removes pressure points and thus allows the muscles of the body to relax. Support without pressure points allows the blood to flow to all body parts and thus maximizes the healing potential that our bodies have. Without pressure points the vertabrae of the body can begin to align themselves. Even if one only has a few minutes at a time, lying in the hammock can reduce the physical stresses and the benefits are cumulative. Because of the design of Mayan hammocks specifically, the weave pattern allows for total support and the largest size hammock available has a weight capacity of 400 kilos!
Unfortunately, most people assume that all hammocks are typical of the coarse stick and rope method that are known for flipping! This couldnt be farther from the truth, a Mayan hammock is incomparable to that style of hammock! My friend, Maya Ergun and her family import these Mayan hammocks (no joke - its her real name) to Turkey. She said didnt understand why Turkey, being one of the nicest places to come and relax, only had simple stick and rope hammocks which are so uncomfortable. She proceeded to import them from Mexico, and begin to distribute them last summer while on her own summer vacation.
After purchasing one hammock of my own, I now know personally of the benefits of this style of hammocks. Having a three-year old autistic son myself, Maya and I began to research the possible benefits of hammocks with regard to Autisim. We learned that Mayan hammocks have many health benefits for everyone who uses them, whether individual, patient, or practioner. Hammocks not only give the therapeutic benefits of stress reduction they provide relief from back pain and/or neck pain by lying perpendicular across the axis of the hammock. In addition, hammocks can provide benefits to people diagnosed with autism, sensory processing disorders and many others. Here is a quotation we found off an autistic wesite to give you an idea of how beneficial Mayan hammocks can be:
(Quotation taken from: http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/reclining-hammock-chair.html)
'Children and adults with proprioceptive dysfunction, tactile defensiveness , Autism, PDD, ADHD, Asperger's, excessive energy levels, etc. will ALL benefit from some soothing, calming vestibular and proprioceptive input these provide.
For those of you who don't have any major sensory "issues", know that the deep pressure/proprioceptive and vestibular input a regular hammock, hammock chair swing, or reclining hammock chair provides is PRECISELY the reason they ARE so comfortable. More specifically, children and adults with Sensory Processing Disorders (also called Sensory Integration Disorders), especially regarding proprioceptive or vestibular dysfunction and basic sensory modulation disorders, can use any type of hammock as a wonderfully therapeutic tool!
The gentle back and forth or side to side motion hammocks provide is both calming and soothing for children and adults whose bodies enjoy this type of vestibular input. IF a child or adult has difficulty with the vestibular sense, they will surely feel "threatened" by sitting/laying in a reclining hammock chair, especially if their feet are unable to touch the ground. Therefore, whether it feels good OR not, reclining hammock chairs and hammocks can easily be a GREAT FORM OF THERAPY...either giving someone the input they crave or by using it to gradually build the necessary tolerance to this type of movement/vestibular input.
The other, more useful benefit of a Mayan hammock, is its deep pressure/ proprioceptive input . Some of the greatest swings for sensory integration therapy are very expensive to afford, or difficult to find- Mayan hammocks provide an equal alternative!
These can also provide calming input for children and adults who crave "deep pressure". They will give you that "all-over-body-hugging-feeling" that equals complete comfort and total relaxation! '
WOW! Many of us were simply unaware (but are no longer unaware) just how much a hammock can be a benefit for our entire family's health. After learning the benefits hammocks can have with relation to in the very leason autism, I donated a hammock to the school my son attends. The hammock has received great response, and many children now receive the benefit of them. Not only is reclining in the hammock stress reducing but also hammocks are easily installed! Knowing this may provide you with an additional amount of relief because whether indoor, on a balcony, or with a stand in the garden, or camping outdoors - everyone can find a place for something as good as this hammock is.
For more information about Mayan hammocks, you can visit:
http://www.mayahamklari.com
Currently the website is offering a spring season sale, with free installation done by hunerliadam.com! For more information on any other source information in this article please visit:
References:
http://www.educationupdate.com/archives/2006/Sep/html/cov-mccarton.html
http://autism.healingthresholds.com/therapy/sensory-integration
http://www.dad.state.vt.us/atp/Autism%20Resources/Resources.htm
http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/reclining-hammock-chair.html
http://www.dreamweavershammocks.com/pages/suspension_swing.html
http://www.therapyinpraxis.co.uk/html/sensory_integration.html
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