Welcome to the surfing village of Nosara, located on the Nicoya peninsula of Costa Rica- a designated Blue Zone. The Blue Zones are 5 areas around the world where researchers have discovered people live the longest. We are arriving in luxury on a Nature Air flight from San Jose but most folks fly into Liberia and have a 2.5 hour bumpy drive on mostly unpaved roads. The locals actually like it this way because it discourages development. Our first stop is a lovely yoga retreat center called The Bodhi Tree Resort which sits on a small hill overlooking the Pacific. It is like we are doing a mini yoga retreat before our full week Kundalini /Gong retreat! We did not plan it this way!
Our resort has several open air yoga studios, a TRX studio, pilates , weight room, vegan meals and a very hip pool area. And most amazing, the first room we’ve stayed in with air conditioning- /<insert much rejoicing by Douglas and some by Lisa>. But our room does not have a bathroom or shower, instead we share with another room. Upon arrival we were given three pairs of tickets for yoga classes. We get to practice Kundalini twice & Hatha Flow plus experience an amazing Ayurvedic massage. It feels like we are in Bali without the 19 hour flight. In the morning, Douglas takes a private surf lesson on one of the best surfing beaches in Costa Rica, Playa Guiones. Nosara is very strict about natural preservation unlike Tamarind which is becoming the new Cancun. You will not see any new development that is within 200 yards of the ocean. So no high rise hotels, no fast food restaurants, only a few beach bars, no cabanas nor beach loungers to rent. It is a very simple pristine beach. We heard about Nosara thru an excellent NYT article, where they refer to Nosara as ‘the anti-resort resort’….
Here is a delicious breakfast at Bodhi Tree which serves predominately vegan
In case you were wondering, research around these Blue Zones was documented in Dan Buettner’s book and website : https://bluezones.com/ The five blue zones are:
- Nicoya- Costa Rica
- Okinawa- Japan
- Sardinia- Italy
- Icaria- Greece
- Loma Linda, California (Large 7th Day Adventists community)
The people inhabiting Blue Zones share common lifestyle characteristics that contribute to their longevity.
- Family – put ahead of other concerns
- Less smoking
- Semi-vegetarianism – except for the Sardinian diet, the majority of food consumed is derived from plants
- Constant moderate physical activity – an inseparable part of life
- Social engagement – people of all ages are socially active and integrated into their communities
- Legumes – commonly consumed
In his book, Buettner provides a list of nine lessons, covering the lifestyle of blue zones people:
- Moderate, regular physical activity.
- Life purpose.
- Stress reduction.
- Moderate calories intake.
- Plant-based diet.
- Moderate alcohol intake, especially wine.
- Engagement in spirituality or religion.
- Engagement in family life.
- Engagement in social life.
Next stop? A week long retreat with The Gong Father…http://www.gongteacher.com/
