Now this I could get used to...

A typical day at Blue Osa:
Wake with first light and sounds of howler monkeys around 5:00.  Strong Costa Rican café and fresh papaya and pineapple to start.  Walk on the beach, observing ghost crabs scurrying across the sand and scarlet macaws breakfasting in beach almond trees.  Seventy-five minutes of hot, sweaty power vinyasa yoga where I am achieving poses I always thought unattainable…must be a combination of the inspiring instruction of JL Chiemingo, the humid heat, and my increasing ability to let go.  

Astavakrasana

 

The yoga studio is a gorgeous space with a view over palms out to the sun glinting off the sea.  We’ve even seen white-faced capuchin monkeys leaping through branches while we were in Vrksasana.  
 

View of studio

View from studio

A quick shower – don’t even mind that there’s virtually no hot water – then a well-deserved brunch of fritatta and gallo pinto.  In the afternoon, we either make a wilderness excursion or hang out at the pool or swim in the Golfo Dulce – nap optional. 

An hour of restorative yoga – easy stuff like balancing chakras – and a guided meditation, followed by a cold Imperial cerveza or a watermelon mojito. Dinner is a delectable exercise in true farm-to-table indulgence, consisting of lentil-tomato soup with fresh tarragon; avocado with passion fruit dressing; cashew-encrusted mahi-mahi; chickpea, beet & orange salad; mango mousse with coconut macaroons.

 

At just eight degrees from the equator, nightfall comes early and I collapse into a deep sleep by 9:00 – the only thing that might disturb is one of a series of distant earthquakes jolting the cabina….This retreat will soon come to an end, but yoga has been and will continue to be an integral part of my journey, providing a crucial source of balance and centering.  As one of my Montana soul sisters urged me: Make the world your sticky mat! 

Namaste!