6 Reasons Why Beach Yoga in Costa Rica is Best

Practicing yoga outdoors has many benefits, especially at the beach. In addition to beautiful scenery and fresh air, it takes balance, concentration and strength to hold yoga poses in the sand, so you get more of a workout.

Here are six reasons why yoga is fun on the beach, from Nancy Goodfellow, resident yoga instructor and co-owner of Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica.

1. You tune into nature. Sunshine, sand, salt air and fresh breezes are invigorating.

2. It’s relaxing at the beach. The sound of waves and seabirds, soft wind, and warm sand all have a calming effect. Doing yoga at sunrise or sunset on the beach adds an extra gentleness.

3. Rhythm of waves and breath. One of the most important elements of yoga is breathing – stimulating calmness and giving your muscles oxygen. The sound of ocean waves mirrors the sound of deep breathing. Fresh ocean air cleans out your lungs and gives you an energy boost, along with the positive vibes from negative ions.

4. Challenge your balance. Practice doing yoga poses on unsteady sand, and you’ll soon find a whole new level of balance and stability you didn’t know you had.

5. No mats needed! Sand is much softer and more shock-absorbent than a wooden or ceramic floor. It is gentler on your joints and a good cushion for practicing challenging postures like handstands or crow.

6. You can go for a swim afterward!

Costa Rica beach resorts for yoga

At the beachfront Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, hotel Pranamar Villas, you have the best of both worlds for practicing yoga. Yoga in Costa Rica and yoga retreats at Pranamar Villas are held in their stunning open-air Yoga Shala, looking out to the blue Pacific Ocean, palm trees and white sand. Step outside and you are right on the beach.

Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat holds daily yoga classes open to hotel guests and the public. International yoga retreats are open to anyone to join. Private and semi-private classes may be scheduled at any time.

Article by Shannon Farley

An oasis of serenity at Pranamar Villas yoga studio in Santa Teresa Costa Rica

I am never the same person walking into a yoga studio as when I leave. Usually I am always rushing to get to class, arriving just in the nick of time to get my mat laid out, and frantically trying to breathe my way into calm, poised relaxation. After an hour or so of stretching, strengthening, measured breathing and soothing music, I walk out a calmer, happier, more focused person, with a lot less stress.

A yoga studio can be a magical place when designed well and filled with calm energy. The Yoga Shala (Sanskrit for “studio”) at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica has that tranquil magic. The beachfront Santa Teresa Costa Rica hotel specializes in yoga and yoga retreats, and the yoga space was carefully crafted to be a centerpiece.

The impressive Pranamar Yoga Shala rests on the white sand of Santa Teresa Beach, facing the bright blue Pacific Ocean past a fringe of palm trees. Hand-crafted from natural tropical woods from Costa Rica and certified sustainable Costa Rica bamboo, the yoga studio is open on three sides to verdant gardens, the beach and sea, and the beautiful swimming pool designed to flow like a river. Hardwood teak floors lend a smooth stability for yoga practitioners, and energy soars skyward with vaulted ceilings. No columns interrupt the flow of energy or get in the way of practicing yoga; comfortably fitting up to 40 persons at one time in a class.

“People experience a sense of peace here. There is positive good energy and a feeling of serenity,” remarked Nancy Goodfellow, resident yoga instructor and Pranamar co-owner.

Keeping with the Bali-Indonesian theme of Pranamar Villas, the Yoga Shala features 4,000-year-old antique wood Javanese doors that they imported from Indonesia. Pranamar’s oceanfront villas are decorated with imported, hand-crafted Indonesian furniture and other elegant touches.

It is easy to feel serene in Pranamar’s Yoga Shala. You gaze out at beautiful nature and the ocean while doing yoga, listening to the sound of waves and the swimming pool waterfall. Goodfellow said the studio is fully-equipped with all of the different yoga props – mats, blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, eye pillows, and meditation cushions.

Pranamar is very busy with international yoga retreats and groups, mainly from January to May, which are all open to the public to join. They do offer daily morning yoga classes to hotel guests and the public, usually at 9:00 a.m.; depending on the season, there are also afternoon classes.

Goodfellow teaches Tantric Hatha Yoga, a dynamic form of Vinyasa yoga that uses Tantric techniques of chanting, breathing exercises and meditation. Other types of yoga, such as Vinyasa Yoga or Yin Yoga, also are sometimes offered. Private and semi-private classes may be scheduled at any time.

Article by Shannon Farley

The Nicoya Peninsula nature reserve that changed Costa Rica history

The tiny nature reserve at the extreme southern end of the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica seems too pretty and unassuming to have changed history, though it did.

The Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve – Costa Rica’s first privately protected reserve – put the ecotourism capital of the world on the path to protecting the country’s natural resources.

It all started in 1960, when Swede Nicolas Wessberg (known as Olaf or Olle) and his Danish wife Karen Mogensen bought a farm near the town of Montezuma on the southern Nicoya Peninsula on the Pacific Coast. Like much of Costa Rica at the time, the forest on the peninsula was completely cut for farming and cattle except for a small piece of primary forest.

The nature loving conservationists, impressed by the abundant wildlife and the enormous size and diversity of trees still left, bought 3,100 acres with the help of an international conservation organization.

 In October 1963, the Costa Rican government gave it the status of the country’s first privately protected reserve, which eventually led to the development of Costa Rica's extensive national park system.

Today, the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve safeguards 3,140 terrestrial acres and 4,420 marine acres. With pure white sand beaches covered with colorful shells, clear aquamarine sea, waterfalls and rivers, huge trees and abundant wildlife, Cabo Blanco is one of the most scenically beautiful areas of Costa Rica. 

Since before the time of the Spanish conquistadors, this area has been known as the “White Cape,” or “Cabo Blanco,” for the bird guano-encrusted rock island that is located 1.6 km offshore. Cabo Blanco Island is an important seabird sanctuary, inhabited by large numbers of Brown Pelicans, Magnificent Frigates, Laughing Gulls, Ospreys and the largest colony of Brown Boobies in Central America.

About 150 species of trees have been identified in the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve. The forest is home to animals such as white-tailed deer, agoutis, armadillos, anteaters, coyotes, porcupines, raccoons, coatis, and howler and white-faced capuchin monkeys. Wild cats include margays, ocelots and jaguarundis. Due to the combination of sea coast, freshwater rivers, mountains and forest, you can see hundreds of different types of birds, including roseate spoonbills, kingfishers, toucans and bellbirds, in addition to the sea birds.

The Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There are two main trails to hike. The shortest trail, called “Sendero Danes” (Danish Trail), is 1.3 km long and can be easily walked in a morning or afternoon. The longest trail, called “Sendero Sueco” (Swedish Trail), is more than 4 km and leads you to the pristine white sand beach in front of Cabo Blanco Island. This trip will take more than half a day, so plan to bring snacks, plenty of drinking water and allow time to enjoy the beach and have a swim. There are fresh water showers and drinking water available at the beach.

Where to stay on the Nicoya Peninsula:

Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat is a top beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica. The Costa Rica beach resort can arrange guided hiking tours in Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve. The holistic resort specializes in yoga and surfing holidays, daily yoga classes, and yoga retreats. Pranamar is offering Costa Rica yoga vacation package special deals from July 5 to Aug. 8, 2014.

Article by Shannon Farley

Keeping water clean in Santa Teresa Costa Rica

“Without water, there can be no life. Without clean water, there can be no healthy life.”

This is the driving force behind the worldwide environmental organization Waterkeeper Alliance. Based in the United States, the Waterkeeper Alliance aspires to protect every major watershed around the world, to advocate for every person’s right to clean water and the equitable use of water resources globally.

Water is at the center of the world’s most pressing issues today: security, scarcity, energy, climate change, and infectious diseases. Fresh water resources are declining in virtually every part of the world in quality and quantity. It is reported that more than 1 billion people on the planet live without access to safe drinking water.

More than 200 Waterkeeper grassroots organizations on six continents strive to defend clean water in their communities. In Central America, Costa Rica is the only nation with a Waterkeeper organization.

The environmentally-friendly town of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, is the lucky home of Costa Rica’s Waterkeeper Alliance. Founded in October 2012, the Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper group is focused on improving the quality of water in the Santa Teresa area, and helping the community properly deal with its waste waters.

“One of our primary priorities is the lack of water and quality of water in Santa Teresa,” said Carolina Chavarria, in charge of the Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper group. “Another priority is how residual waters are treated in Santa Teresa – from private residences to hotels and restaurants.”

Like many coastal communities in Costa Rica, especially ones that have developed rapidly from tourism, Santa Teresa faces water shortages during the Costa Rican “summer” months of January to May. Residents and businesses in the area are forced to buy tanker-trucks of water almost weekly to meet their needs until the rains begin again.

Waterkeeper is part of the local community’s Committee for Water and Health of Santa Teresa that is working with the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA) to solve the area’s water issues.

The Santa Teresa Waterkeeper group is targeting two community campaigns: “One River at a Time” to clean each of the area’s 18 rivers, and helping people properly treat their waste waters with practical and affordable solutions such as bio-gardens. Waste water is treated to be used safely in landscape irrigation. “Besides being pretty, they are really practical and useful,” Chavarria said.

On Santa Teresa Beach, Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat is creating a bio-garden for their restaurant kitchen’s gray water. “All of the water from the kitchen is going to be treated to get rid of the grease to be able to use for irrigation,” said Pranamar hotel manager, Mario Matarrita.

The Costa Rica beach resort already uses a completely independent septic system that recycles treated water to irrigate the hotel’s gardens. “We save water all year long this way,” noted Matarrita.

The Balinese-style oceanfront villas closely follow sustainable tourism practices. Two fresh water wells on the property reinforce the boutique hotel’s water supply. Water is filtered and purified in the restaurant and made available for guests. “The idea is for our guests to not buy so many plastic bottles of water, but rather to re-fill their bottles in our restaurant with our purified water,” Matarrita explained.

Pranamar Oceanfront Villas and Yoga Retreat is a top beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa Costa Rica. The holistic resort specializes in yoga and surfing holidays, daily yoga classes, and yoga retreats.

Article by Shannon Farley

Santa Teresa waves star in Costa Rica surf competition

Santa Teresa’s awesome waves will be in the limelight once again as top Costa Rica surfers roll into the Pacific Coast town at the end of April for the fifth 2014 Olympus National Surfing Circuit competition.

The COPA Unit tournament will be held April 26 and 27 at the spectacular beach of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, on the southwestern Nicoya Peninsula.

Famous for year-round surf and a friendly, relaxed vibe, Santa Teresa and neighboring Mal Pais attract visitors from all over the world who come to surf, relax, do yoga and enjoy one of Costa Rica’s most stunning tropical beaches. Walking down the nearly white sand beaches, you see no high rises, only jungle, sand, surf and sensational sunsets. Up-to-date surf conditions for Santa Teresa are reported daily by Magic Seaweed.

Costa Rica surfing is in the news with the Costa Rica National Juniors Surf Team, trained by three-time Costa Rica national surf champion, Gilbert Brown, currently competing in the ISA World Junior Surfing Championships in Ecuador from April 5-13. See the surfers compete live on the official ISA website.

Hotels in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica

Coming to the Santa Teresa surfing competition? Stay in luxury at one of the finest Costa Rica beach resorts at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas and Yoga Retreat. The holistic boutique hotel presents surfing and yoga holidays on the beach at Santa Teresa. They give surf lessons, and have daily yoga classes and yoga retreats. See their weekly yoga class schedule on Facebook.

Upcoming events at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas include a celebration for Costa Rica’s national holiday of Juan Santamaria Day on April 11, with traditional Costa Rican dishes and live typical music in the Buddha Eyes Restaurant. You can hear live jazz by local musicians every Wednesday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at Pranamar’s Jazz Nights.

Article by Shannon Farley

Jazz nights at Pranamar every Wednesday in Santa Teresa Costa Rica

“Jazz washes away the dust of everyday life.” — Art Blakey

The clear tones of Miles Davis to the eclectic mix of Herbie Hancock can be heard weekly emanating from the Balinese-style Buddha Eyes Restaurant at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas & Yoga Retreat on Santa Teresa Beach.

If you think a remote tropical beach in Costa Rica is a funny place to hear jazz, famous jazz saxophonist Ahmad Alaadeen has words for you: “Jazz does not belong to one race or culture, but is a gift that America has given the world.”

Pranamar Villas, on the beach at Santa Teresa on the southern Nicoya Peninsula, is presenting Jazz Nights every Wednesday from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Local musicians David Walker, a saxophonist from California, and trumpet player Luciano from Argentina accompany the sounds of the Pacific surf with their own mix of jazz and pop music. Their repertoire ranges from original compositions to covers of jazz legends like Miles Davis.

“Pranamar is a great space for a jazz listening evening,” commented Walker.

The open-air, thatched roof restaurant pavilion overlooks the meandering free-form swimming pool, styled after a Balinese river, with luxurious two-story bungalows at the water’s edge. At night, soft lighting, tropical vegetation and warm sea breezes create an elegant ambiance. Pacific Ocean waves rhythmically roll onto shore a few steps away.

The weekly events are indeed popular and reservations are recommended, noted Pranamar restaurant events manager, Diana Vitola. “It’s a nice treat to have music both for our guests on yoga retreats and local residents,” she said.

While enjoying the live music, you can take advantage of happy hour two-for-one specials on Costa Rican beers (from 7-8 p.m.), or a cocktail or non-alcoholic smoothie from Pranamar’s extensive drinks menu. Every night at the Buddha Eyes Restaurant the menu varies for dinner with different rotating main dishes and appetizers. Mondays, for instance feature freshly-made sushi rolls. Pranamar chefs blend Pacific Rim and Asian cuisine with native Costa Rican fare and Italian touches.

Vitola said the Buddha Eyes Restaurant 

additionally is staging one or two events per month, such as Flamenco nights, live Latin percussion or acoustic guitar. The hotel even offers taxi service for guests to come from other points in Santa Teresa. “We’re very interested in having people come try our restaurant,” she said.

The next upcoming event will celebrate Costa Rica’s national holiday on April 11 of Juan Santamaria Day, for the national hero who helped conquer invading forces in 1856. The hotel will serve traditional Costa Rican dishes and have live typical music in the restaurant. “We want to show our guests about our culture and why we celebrate that day,” said Vitola.

Pranamar Oceanfront Villas and Yoga Retreat

Enjoy lovely, private Costa Rica villas with Bali-style flair right on the beach at this Santa Teresa, Costa Rica hotel. The luxury boutique resort features a magnificent yoga “shala” offering daily yoga classes, regular yoga retreats and yoga vacations. See their weekly yoga class schedule on Facebook.

Article by Shannon Farley

Meditation and yoga on the beach in Santa Teresa Costa Rica

In today’s busy world, being centered, balanced and at peace are much sought-after elements. People in seriously busy places are turning to the timeless Eastern practices of meditation and yoga to help them get there.

People have different reasons for wanting to meditate, but those who do so regularly say it greatly enriches their lives. Mantra meditation is one of the most popular meditation techniques.

What is a mantra? It’s a word or phrase repeated over and over during meditation – generally sacred in nature, that uplifts you and helps keep you focused during meditation. Mantras give your brain something to do to quiet all of the usual chatter, whether repeated, chanted or sung out loud or silently. Mantras have a soothing, calming effect on the mind to softly but firmly focus only on one tiny simple thing.

“With so much emphasis on multitasking, it’s not as common in our society to concentrate and focus. Mantras help build the skill to focus,” commented Nancy Goodfellow, yoga instructor at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas and Yoga Retreat in Santa Teresa Costa Rica. Goodfellow integrates the practice of mantras and meditation into her daily yoga classes at the Costa Rica beach resort that specializes in yoga retreats and vacations.

The key to building a healthy meditation practice is to start slowly with 10 minutes a day and work your way up to 20 minutes, then 30 minutes, an hour, etc.

Top 10 benefits of meditation:

• Quiet the mind and find calm
• Reduce stress
• Improve creativity
• Visualize achieving goals
• Dispel negative thinking
• Follow a faith or spiritual teaching
• Get to know yourself better
• Breathe better and improve focus and concentration
• Improve your health
• Control anxiety

Pranamar Oceanfront Villas and Yoga Retreat

Enjoy private Costa Rica villas with Bali-style flair on the beach at this Santa Teresa, Costa Rica hotel. The luxury boutique resort features tropical gardens, a healthy gourmet restaurant, free-form saltwater pool, beachfront spa, and a magnificent yoga shala offering yoga classes, yoga retreats and yoga vacations. See their weekly yoga class schedule on Facebook.

Article by Shannon Farley

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