Exotic Yoga Retreats in Costa Rica – Blue Osa day 3
After the first day on the Exotic Yoga Retreats in Costa Rica when we played an awesome game to remember all our names, I was feeling awesome and I got a good night sleep. Our second night of the yoga retreat rained all night, at 5.30 am when I heard my alarm it still rained so I stayed in bed for another hour.
Last night Gayle gave us a walking meditation card with The Guest House poem by Rumi when we were supposed to walk along the beach at sunrise and just Stop, breathe and feel. That’s exactly what I did when the Sun came out. I strolled all the way down to the river delta and back. I stopped a few times and looked around to breathe in the fresh morning atmosphere. The three dogs, Rama, Pete and Steve from Blue Osa were slowly running along me.
”Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.” Rumi said.
So true! Everything that happens in our life and everyone we meet is there to teach us something. Even in bad moments I should stop, realize what the situation has taught me, accept it even if I don’t agree with it, and just move on. This is just one of more than 150 things I learned at Blue Osa.
I sit down on the sand for a few minutes of Pranayama to breathe even better, and then enjoy fruit with cinnamon rocking in a chair. I see a yellow bird I’ve never seen before flying all around and making a significant noise. Only after I’d checked it in a wildlife book, I learned it’s a Great Kiskadee bird and they have a nest right in a palm tree close to the kitchen so I can watch the birds when having breakfast. The Great Kiskadee family became my favorite part of wildlife in Osa Peninsula for the next 6 weeks. This simple fact just made my day. We still keep the morning silence and now I don’t even look at the people until 8 am and just listen to the Great Kiskadee’s squeaking :)
I am sitting by the pool covered with sand from the beach. It’s cloudy so I am just hoping the weather will get better the following days so I can swim a lot and get some tan. As no one is speaking, and many are just waking up, I can hear the sea splashing on the beach.
Then it’s time for the morning yoga class – it’s about emotions today.
In yoga we need to have a strong core and legs and fluid upper body which teaches us to have strength to find balance and then also go with the flow to adjust to different situations.
Valentina Rose, a yoga volunteer at Blue Osa at that time, does Sun Salutations with us. I admire her arm strength, her flat belly and love her voice when teaching yoga. We sweat a lot but every drop is so worth it. Every sweat drop gives us strength to move forward :)
In the afternoon, I feel pretty tired and a bit sad but force myself to swim 10 pool laps and then work online for an hour before swimming another 16 laps. By the pool we are chatting with Gayle. I truly admire her body and she still reminds me of Cameron Diaz. I found out many people told her so. How lucky to look like a star! :)
At the afternoon yoga class we stretch shoulders and neck and then practice headstands. At first I am a bit scared but slowly Gayle opens my eyes – all the obstacles are only on our mind. I can do it. I can do it. I promise myself I will be practicing headstands every day since today.
We also gave a short neck and shoulder massage – my partner was another Gayle who became a great friend of mine on the yoga retreat. Gayle is an awesome painter and designer, and her daughter is a singer. I also had a nice relationship with Gayle’s brother, one of the only two men on the Exotic Yoga Retreat in Costa Rica with us – David.
After the time with the legs up and head down, I took a minute-long shower and went for dinner. Blue Osa cuisine never ceased me to surprise. This time we had gluten-free green pea pesto pasta, chick peas and a fresh organic salad from the garden.
After dinner we chatted with Mindy, my roommate, Leanna, Lisa, Shannon and Anne about Vietnam, India, Nepal, clothes, traveling, yoga retreats around the world and also the delicious cuisine at the Blue Osa. We also all agreed about the happiness of the locals here in Costa Rica. They do not need any material things to be happy. We should all learn from the Costa Ricans and their pura vida happiness. Also, everyone working at the Blue Osa is SO friendly. I am slowly, but surely and deeply, falling in love with the staff.
We are all opening more to each other, talking about our lives, and just enjoying the present moment as much as we can. Around 9 pm I am ready for bed. So early. What happened to me? It might be the stunning sunrises in Osa Peninsula that make me go to bed early so I can wake up early then too.
For more information about Exotic Yoga Retreats in Costa Rica, please visit Exotic Yoga Retreats website. Thanks so much, Gayle and everyone else at Blue Osa who made my first day awesome.
