From the time Homo Erectus realized chasing mammoths around all week made for serious joint pain, there’s been a rush to find nature’s balms within every earthly nook and cranny.
Today, hundreds of natural locations around the planet have been enshrined as centres endowed with the capacity to heal an entire Gray’s Anatomy of physical illnesses. And while thousands of the halt and lame seek out these sacred groves and mystical energy “vortexes” that reputedly provide illusive cures, the jury is still out on whether these sudden health benefits have any medical basis or are simply the result of illusory, wishful thinking. So the question remains: Can exposure to nature and the earth’s peculiar climatic and geological components actually affect human health? Or are we just as effectively treated for our nagging maladies by dancing naked on the summer solstice wearing shells and feathers and hootin’ at the moon?
An answer may be found at a Mexican destination spoken of by its residents in reverential terms. The area is affectionately called Lakeside by the locals, and Lago de Chapala (Lake Chapala) by the mapmakers. The naturally-formed lake, the largest in Mexico at approximately 80 kms long and 20 kms across, is located in the Mexican south-central heartland encircled by the flanks of the Sierra Travesaño and Sierra Las Vigas mountains, a 40-minute drive south from Mexico’s second largest city, Guadalajara.
“I came to Lakeside 12 years ago, crippled and hobbling with muscular pain from my hips down.” says 68-year-old Ken Clarke, originally from Montreal. “The pain was so great, I was given a Disabled Sticker for my car in Canada. I was told by two specialists the only treatment for my joint condition, which involved bones rubbing against bones, would be major surgery. I refused the surgery and was told that the situation would only worsen. Shortly after coming to Ajijic (a popular village on Lake Chapala’s north shore), the pain went away. I have since climbed the mountains behind the village, once even taking an eight-hour trek up to the highest peaks. The whole thing was astonishing!”
Richard Fiscella, who has lived in Ajijic for almost 10 years, believes this unique locale does induce bona fide health benefits. While he can only speak about his own experience, he claims he has seen similar restorations in many of his friends.
“I was a butcher, so I did a lot of hard work with my hands and my arms,” he said. “When I retired, I had such terrible rheumatism and arthritis, I couldn’t even use a computer keyboard. I lived with that pain for 14 years—until my wife and I came to Lakeside and the pain and stiffness has gradually disappeared, and has never returned. I can do just about anything I did when I was younger, and what’s funny is that none of the doctors I’ve seen here were all that surprised by what has happened!”
Are these stories of enhanced well-being just isolated cases involving people who simply would have grown healthier anyway, no matter where they relocated? Or is there something remarkable about the Lake Chapala area that makes it special?
“When I retired, I had such terrible rheumatism and arthritis, I couldn’t even use a computer keyboard. I lived with that pain for 14 years—until my wife and I came to Lakeside and the pain and stiffness has gradually disappeared, and has never returned.
According to Lakeside resident Dr. L.T. McGee, a doctor of Naturopathy, certified by the American Naturopathic Medical Board, a consistently sunny and agreeable climate can cause genuine beneficial effects in a person’s physical and mental health. “Lake Chapala’s year-long moderate climate with the ever-present sunshine is unlike any in the world,” he says. “It creates an environment that is less stressful on our bodies.” He also believes the serene, laid-back culture at Lakeside reduces stress levels as well. “There’s a ‘happiness’ factor here. Indigenous peoples are generally happier with their simpler way of life, and these good vibrations rub off on newcomers and help reduce anxieties and raise mood levels.” Dr. McGee believes the overall lack of stress and better moods from climate and culture; help rebuild the immune system, which in turn creates greater vitality and feelings of well-being. Other influences, Dr. McGee speculates, such as a change of diet and activity level, may also play a role.
A Lakeside doctor agreed, saying that in his 25-year practice he has seen numerous visitors shed their disabilities and chuck their medications to one degree or another. “This is the type of environment that spawned us hundreds of thousands of years ago,” he said. “We were products of a moderate, sunny climate, and our bodies and internal systems operate most efficiently and productively in a place that doesn’t require us to fight off climate extremes and provides added Vitamin D, a wide variety of fresh food that helps satisfy the aging body’s nutritional needs. I think both these things help people stay active, no matter how old they are.”
Other local doctors and experts agree that the single major health advantage of the Lake Chapala area is undoubtedly the semi-tropical climate, rated among the finest in the world. The altitude at Lakeside, a comfortable 1,585 metres above sea level and the sandy soil keep the humidity to very comfortable levels. The abundance of local vegetation and mountain foliage and the light prevailing breezes keep the air fresher and easier to breathe while the lake moderates the temperature. From May through October, the annual rainy season delivers refreshing spritzes and showers almost exclusively during the nighttime hours, so as not to impose on the area’s plethora of inviting social, cultural, intellectual, charitable, and sports activities—important factors for maintaining a healthy mind, body and attitude.
When a few aches, pains and tensions do surface—the product of too many holes of golf, romps or adventures, there are spas and geothermal mineral hot springs nearby for relaxing massages and soothing soaks in water naturally heated by the earth.
To be absolutely clear, there are no miraculous cures at Lake Chapala—at least not the type that involve supplicants who sample mysterious waters or see visions and then leap out of their iron lungs and join a rodeo. Even if this area is not a healing shrine, Lakeside residents offer some of the best evidence that nature itself has remarkable, although often unexplainable, powers of healing. Sometimes it seems that the ancient Aztec sacrifices just might have paid off in the form of a divine gift—an ideal climate and setting for joyful living. 
