18 Day 200-Hour Therapeutic Yoga Teacher Training in Playa Costa de Oro, Guanacaste

Facilities

This program offers students in-depth skills to explore yoga as a vehicle for vibrant health, self-transformation, and personal empowerment. The curriculum includes a unique blend of alignment based Vinyasa flow, a solid foundation in Hatha yoga, and 200 hours of instruction offered within a therapeutic framework.

The instruction will cover a wide range of yoga techniques including yoga postures, anatomy, relaxation, breath awareness, pranayama, meditations to calm the mind, contemplations to transform limiting tendencies into life-affirming thought patterns, and the application of clear principles of alignment to create safety, balance, and freedom in yoga poses.

Students explore concepts from Ayurveda, the Upanishads, Patanjali, and the chakra system as frameworks for the application of yoga as a journey towards radiant health and wellbeing. The asana emphasis includes both level one and two alignments based Vinyasa flow sequencing as well as gentler and restorative variations.

Rather than offer standard sequencing or rigid methodologies, students are exposed to frameworks that inspire each trainee to adopt the practices, awaken their creativity, and find their own authentic voice as a teacher. Graduates of this program feel empowered to teach a variety of yoga class types, including all levels Vinyasa yoga, alignment-based classes, yoga foundations, senior, gentle, and Restorative.

The Costa Rica program is scheduled as an intensive program. While the program days are full, the activities of the day are kept diverse and active. The days really are a wonderful mix of digesting concepts intellectually, applying the concepts experientially, and diving into the practices of yoga.

Care is taken within the program schedule to ensure that students have a healthy experience both physically and mentally. They promise not to keep you sedentary for too long. There are physical activity and deep relaxation built into the program every day.

Daily schedule

Arrival day

• 14:00 Check-in
• 18:00 Group dinner
• 19:15 Evening program

Typical daily schedule

• 06:00 Meditation, pranayama, and gentle movement
• 07:30 Breakfast
• 08:30 Yoga asana practice plus techniques or teaching methodology
• 12:00 Lunch
• 13:00 Restorative, gentle, therapeutic practice, or yoga Nidra. Yoga philosophy, lifestyle, and ethics, anatomy, and physiology, practice teaching
• 16:00 Afternoon break
• 18:00 Dinner
• 18:30 Evening session

Departure day

• 06:00 Morning practice
• 07:45 Breakfast
• 11:00 Check-out

Please note that there will be one full day off mid-way through the program to explore, rest, or catch up on your studies.

Instructors

• December 1, 2019: Faculty, Liz Heffernan, Peggy Profant
• January 5, 2020: Faculty, Liz Heffernan, Alison Scola
• February 12, 2020: Peggy Profant, Sam Akers
• August 5, 2020: Peggy Profant, Alison Scola
• December 1, 2020: Peggy Profant, Sam Akers

There will be one full day off mid-way through the program to explore the local area.

Zen Spirit is located about 14 km south of Punta Islita airport in the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. It has been identified has one of the five blue zones on the planet. They are near Cabo Blanco National Park, Karen Mogensen Nature Reserve, Caletas Ario wildlife refuge. Therefore, while visiting the tropical eco-resort you are likely to spot some of Costa Rica’s shyest and most endangered tropical dry forest inhabitants, for example the black howler monkey, the white headed capuchin, tropical deer, macaws, eagles as well as sea turtles.

Located at the margin of the more popular hustle and bustle tourist beaches, Zen Spirit guarantees their guests a true retreat experience and the possibility to reconnect with their inner self. For instance, there are no hotels or facilities other than private residences on Costa de Oro beach. Because the premise is set on a wonderful long flat gold sandy beach interrupted by river estuaries, you can enjoy world class surfing as well as kayaking and bird watching in the mangrove, horseback riding and hiking to waterfalls, star gazing into the dark sky and much more. In short, it is a nature lovers paradise.

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At Zen Spirit - Costa Rica the cuisine is delicious, healthy, locally sourced and organic when possible. Most of the fruits and vegetables are organically produced on the Zen Spirit’s farm. When purchasing outside of the estate, the chefs always privilege local organic products. Therefore, by buying locally Zen Spirit is helping the local Costa Rica community. In brief, it is a truly farm to table experience. Vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free alternatives are provided to all students and included in the price of tuition. For those who prefer to add additional protein sources, there is the opportunity to purchase fish three times a week for a small fee (market prices apply please inquire). Students who have special dietary requirements are encouraged to let us know in advance as we will do our best to accommodate them. The water at Zen Spirit is fresh and healthy filtered spring water, very refreshing. Fresh juice is served at lunch and dinner.

The beach at Playa Coyote offers swimming, surfing, and other water sport activities. Alternatively, there are horseback rides on the beach, mountain bike rentals, forest hikes, and wildlife watching. Walking along the beach or in the forest, you are likely to see howler and white-faced monkeys, iguanas, snakes, vultures, pelicans, and maybe even anteaters or a wild boar. Flamingos and frigate are often seen around the estuary, and at the rocky Punta Coyote there are several bat colony caves to explore.

On the southern side of Punta Coyote lies Playa Caletas, where you can see as many as 50 species of bird in a single day. Playa Caletas is also home to an important marine turtle rehabilitation area. Since 2002, the Costa Rican conservation organization, PRETOMA, has monitored and protected the Olive Ridley, Leatherback, and Pacific Green turtles. Its project is run in collaboration with the local community and international volunteers, who monitor nesting activities, operate 'hatcheries' to safeguard the eggs, and help ensure the turtle babies make it safely to sea.

Relatively close by, just beyond the pretty beach resorts of Santa Teresa and Malpais, there are other important conservation projects. The Cabo Blanco Nature Reserve was Costa Rica's first National Park and reserve encompasses 1,272 hectares of primary and secondary moist tropical forest and 1700 hectares of surrounding ocean. It is home to hundreds of plant, animal, and bird species.

Rainsong Wildlife Sanctuary and Refuge is a new reserve, created around the limits of Cabo Blanco Park. It stretches to the southeast, towards the town of Paquera. On-going projects at the refuge include: the creation of a community Wildlife Refuge, extensive reforestation projects, a wildlife hospital, and an endangered species re-introduction program, for species such as the Scarlet Macaw, Great Green Macaw, Three-Toed Sloth, Spider Monkey, and Baird's Tapir. It is possible to visit the project from the small town of Cabuya, a gateway to both Reserves.

Possibilities for your day off include a range of hands on eco adventures including: zip lining adventures, one to one surf lessons, kayak adventures in the mangrove, turtle nesting tours, a hike to the waterfalls, butterfly farm tour, visit to the tourist towns of Santa Teresa and Malpais, visit to the nature reserves, and many other wonderful opportunities.

Spa services are available on site for an additional fee.

Wonderful healing massages are available at an additional cost

• 3 daily healthy and delicious meals
• 17 nights accommodation
• 200-hour therapeutic yoga teacher training instruction
• Eligibility to register with Yoga Alliance as RYT-200 upon completion
• Group transportation from Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) on scheduled shuttle for a reduced rate (there is a small fee for this)
• Use of the hotel facilities
• Comprehensive 200 page yoga teacher training manual
• Lifetime access to our 200 Hour Online Yoga Teacher Training content, an essential resource to support you as you move out into the world teaching yoga
• As needed mentoring after the program ends
• Day off to explore surrounding area

• Additional activities
• Airfare
• A reduced fee offered for a group shuttle to the retreat from the major airports SJO or LIR
• Spa treatments
• Excursions

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• A reservation requires a deposit of 15% of the total price.
• The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
• The rest of the payment should be paid 15 days before arrival.