Yoga and Meditation

A new type of travel is becoming more popular as a younger generation of world travelers has asked hotels and resorts to offer much more than in years past.

This new wave of tourists wants to get more out of a vacation than just sightseeing, and so the trend has been hotels and resorts offering yoga and wellness.

Wellness and Yoga Retreat Centers are becoming more and more popular throughout tropical destinations such as Costa Rica and Hawaii.

Costa Rica towns that focus on tourism, such as Montezuma or Santa Teresa in the southern Nicoya Peninsula, have multiple places to do yoga, and hotels and retreat centers compete over who is able to provide the most spectacular space.

YogaRetreat Centers such as Anamaya in Montezuma, Pranamar in Santa Teresa, or Bamboo YogaPlay in Dominical have beautiful wooden decks for doing Yoga, sometimes overlooking the ocean or jungle scenery. Such yoga shalas often look great in photos, which aid a hotel or yoga retreat center to attract guests, since so many pick a hotel mostly by the photos they see online.

Yoga teachers from around the world have traveled to Costa Rica for retreats, and have been taken by the enthusiasm for yoga here. Many are now working in hotels and resorts, or offering private yoga sessions on the beaches at luxury rental beach villas.

Because of this influx of skilled yoga teachers to Costa Rica, the tourist towns, such as Mal Pais have a variety of yoga options. While it’s not always true, the guys go surfing and the girls do yoga.

Yoga is often part of a larger type of vacation options known as Wellness Centers. These places offer their visitors a chance not only to relax, but to live for a week with a healthy diet, participate in internal cleansing, practice meditation, and learn about healthy lifestyles.

Participants in these wellness retreats return to their regular lives not only happier and healthier but with improved knowledge about their bodies and will continue to live more healthfully long after their trip has ended.

Many wellness centers focus specifically on cleansing, and usually start with fasting. Next is a restricted diet of tasty organic foods such as fruit and veggies, often raw.

Along with the dietary changes, there’s generally an array of treatments such as steam sauna, massage, colon irrigation, acupuncture, and others that are great for detoxing the body.

After a few days, most clients report quite a difference, but that can depend on how their body’s health is to begin with. Clients sometimes learn they have food allergies they never knew about, such as a milk or wheat allergy. Some guests report clearer eyes, more radiant skin, and better sleep.

If you are fantasizing about your next trip to Costa Rica, you can research some of the health centers instead of the standard hotel chain. Like so many other people who have visited them, you’ll most likely return happier and healthier.

Geoff McCabe is a recognized authority on green travel and Costa Rica. Click below for more information about his personal Yoga and Wellness Retreat Center in Montezuma.