INFINITE POSSSIBILITIES COSTA RICA INFORMATION PAGE

1-The time zone in Costa  Rica is central time zone (Chicago time).  For those of us living in  the Pacific Coast time zone it will be helpful to start adjusting your body to sleep earlier a week or two before the retreat so it will be an easier transition when you get there especially because we will have early yoga      classes and meditation training . 

2-  There is laundry and daily room cleaning  service at Blue Osa.   If you bring your clothes to housekeeping at 6:00 am they will be ready the same day, if you bring them later than 6:00 am, they will be ready the next day.

3- Blue Osa will be sending you an email before the retreat regarding your stay which will include any special requests for food, food allergies, etc.  The food that will be served will be from farm to table meals.  Blue Osa's  typical healthy and delicious Blue Osa cuisine  sample menu can be found here. The meals are vegetarian focused and  fish and  meat (mostly chicken) are  served three times per week. 

4- Blue Osa says you can brush your teeth with tap water. Locals drink tap water but our recommendation is to stick to filtered water for drinking and tooth brushing.  There is filtered water at the resort including sparkling water. 

6- The beach is sandy – there is a rocky entrance to the ocean right in front of the resort but only 15 meters to the left or right, the entrance is pure sand. 

7- There is world class surfing 15-20 minutes away from the resort  and you can also get surfing lessons if you wish.

8- There will be time for many different excursions during the day between classes.  There will be one afternoon without a class for longer excursions or night excursions (sun set kayaking).   You can sign up for these excursions when we arrive at the resort.   More information on these is here.

9-  Make sure to let your  credit card companies know you are traveling as well as your wireless  carrier.

10- Dress Code:

Anything goes ---- Some people come to dinner with their yoga clothes after their restorative practice, some come dressed up, some in between.  This is your time to be free and do whatever you want. It is always warm there so summer dresses, shorts, sandals are always good.   The vibe is very casual and a beach vibe however, if you feel like dressing up, do what your heart desires.   The whole resort is reserved for us (there are no other guests) so we set our own rules and have the yoga studio at our disposal whenever we want it.   You may see us yoga teachers in summer dresses or shorts in the evening as we spend our lives in yoga clothes so we like changing for dinner but not always.  

 While we will practice twice a day each day, afternoon/evening  practice is a sweat-free, restorative, stretching practice.  You can practice restorative yoga and come directly to dinner afterwards if you choose to or change for dinner.  It is up to you. Make your own rules 😊 this is your time to be spontaneous and do what you want.

11-    Costa Rica operates on the same voltage system as the United States and therefore no adapters are necessary. Hair dryers and flat irons are  not permitted as the system of Blue Osa can not handle the voltage. Blue Osa is mainly solar power operated and they need to conserve energy. 

12-  While Blue Osa promotes a non-smoking environment, they do provide designated smoking areas. Please speak with our team should you wish to smoke. There is NO SMOKING allowed in the rooms or common areas.

13- The cost of eco tours, spa treatments, and other incidentals will be charged to your room and are payable upon departure. Blue Osa accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Cash is always the preferred method of payment when settling your bill.

14- Tips for the hardworking staff at Blue Osa’s are very much appreciated. At the end of the week, you can leave a cash tip at check out. Blue Osa cannot accept tips through credit cards so make sure to bring some cash with you.  All tips will be pooled and divided evenly among their staff of about 18 people who work in the kitchen, garden, office and housekeeping. If you would like to tip individually, you may do so at check-out. Likewise, tips for individually booked spa treatments and eco-tours are left to your discretion. 

Our suggested tipping amount is $20 - $40 per day from each participant (which, as mentioned, is divided evenly amongst the staff.)

15- Every guest on the retreat will receive a $50 SPA certificate to be used for SPA services.  You can book your appointment when you arrive at the retreat. 

 1- Pack lightly - -the Sansa airlines has a luggage/weight limitation so please make sure to check these however you can bring extra luggage for additional fees.  We will be in the jungle during our excursions so consider bringing long hiking pants and hiking or sturdy non slippery gym shoes.  While there seems to be no bug issues, we are in the tropical rain forest so please bring your bug spray.  Light clothes, shorts, sun dresses, bathing suits, hats….typical beach stuff and of course your yoga clothes.  

2- There are no snorkels or flippers at the hotel so please bring your own 

3-  The electricity and plug system in Costa Rica is the same as in the USA so no need for adapters as mentioned above. 

4- Blue Osa provides towels, beach towels  so no need to bring these

5-  There will be coffee and tea service throughout the day starting at 5:00 am in the morning – They do not serve herbal teas or decaf coffee so please bring your own herbal tea or decaf if you prefer these. 

6-  There are cork mats in the studio. If you don’t want to bring your yoga mat, you can use these and have one mat exclusive for your use during your stay.  

7-There is filtered cool drinking water for your use at the restaurant.  We recommend that you bring your own water bottle so you can take this with you to your practice to ensure you are hydrated. Blue Osa also sells Blue Osa branded water bottles. 

8-  For your hikes and excursions, it will be helpful to have a small backpack that you can put your water bottle in. 

9-  Clothes usually dry overnight – we are going there during the dry season but even then there are occasional rainforest showers so if you want to bring a light poncho, this will help.  

10- Please bring your sun block and a hat as the sun is very strong during the day.    

11-  Blue Osa has no bolsters but we can substitute blocks & blankets or inflatable bolsters for these. If you want, you can  bring your own bolster or purchase an inflatable or normal  bolster from amazon.  In the past, some of the inflatable bolsters we brought to Blue Osa retreat deflated in time so we will leave it up to the students to choose whether they want to bring their own bolster or inflatable bolsters.  We will bring and provide  large pillow covers to use your bed pillows as bolsters in the studio if you choose to do.  

1- MORNING SILENCE

Blue Osa practices daily morning silence until 7:30 a.m.  They expect that all of their guests observe this sacred quiet time.

Silence is broken at 7:25 a.m. with a morning prayer from the Himalayan tradition. This beautiful prayer has been gifted to owner of Blue Osa, Yogi Aaron and the Blue Osa family with permission from the Himalayan Institute and Pandit Rajmani Tigunait. 

While  guests  are not required to know this prayer, Blue Osa  welcomes the opportunity for everyone at Blue Osa to pause and go inward, embracing this moment and this space to be present. 

This mantra imbues a deep sense of healing and protection and fills the practitioner with a profound sense of peace. 

Please note that the internet is also off during this sacred time and will resume at 7:30 a.m.

Please do not play music in the yoga studio during morning prayers. 

2-  Blue Osa's ocean-jungle retreat provides an array of constant natural sounds — ocean waves crashing, birds singing, monkeys howling, occasional rain, and so much more! Student’s rave about how soothed they feel simply listening to nature’s song playing in the background while attending class. We highly encourage you to take advantage of this unique experience that is likely unavailable back at home so we will not be playing music during most of our practices. 

3- No  shoes, no video-taping of other yoga practitioners except by teachers, no phones (you can have it on airplane mode), if you are going to come or leave early, please choose a place in the back row in the yoga studio.    

4- If you like doing your own practice and not following cues, please choose a location in the back of the studio so the rest of the students are not distracted. 

5- We practice Shaucha in the studio – purity, cleanliness and clearness as the studio is regarded as a sacred space by us teachers and Blue Osa.  Keep the studio tidy, clean and organized. 

6-- When you come to the practice observe what we call "sacred space."  We remain quiet and respect our fellow  students' quiet time.  If you need to talk please do so quietly. 

7- No  open cups in the studio. 

8- Upon finishing our evening practice, we turn off the lights and return all yoga props. Hang or roll the mats and  store them in the prop room unless you want to take them to your room.  The cleaning crew cleans the studio every evening.