Come experience Kundalini Yoga classes as you never have before – with the sound of multiple gongs played in a panoramic view overlooking Pacific Ocean sunsets!
In these special classes by Mehtab, Guru Karam and Tej Arvind, you can recharge, transform and deeply relax into an amazing soundscape of multiple gongs played during your daily classes.
Enjoy the gong and yoga as well as we play and chant on the beach around a campfire or practice Kundalini Yoga in the salt water Infinity Pool with the Gong played poolside.
Friday night is extra special with a FULL MOON gong concert and healing meditation at the end of our week together.
Paradise awaits you. All are welcomed!
–Lisa T (2017 participant)
– Diana E. (2017 participant)
Your week long yoga retreat vacation will be at the renowned Blue Spirit center, beautifully built and perched on a hilltop that overlooks the Pacific Ocean and a three-mile long white sand beach that is protected as a turtle refuge.
Blue Spirit is located in one of the world’s “Blue Zones”, which according to author Dan Buettner, the Nicoya Peninsula is one of five Blue Zone’s in the world, a concept used to identify the geographic areas of the world where more people live to be centenarians (past 100 years) than elsewhere and where people report the highest levels of well-being.
During your week, you will have the opportunity to:
- Wake up each morning to the sound of the howler monkeys and enchanting sunrise over the ocean
- Enjoy daily yoga classes with Mehtab, Guru Karan and Tej Arvind
- Recharge, transform and deeply relax into an amazing soundscape of multiple gongs played during your daily classes
- Play on a pristine beach and swim in the warm waters of a friendly ocean cove
- Explore the natural jungle and ocean settings with eco-excursions
- Heal yourself with local organic food exquisitely prepared
- Select from accommodations ranging from simplicity to luxurious
- Discover new and old friends on a well-designed spiritual journey
- Study with experienced and senior teachers
- Back by popular demand! Enjoy Water Yoga classes in the fabulous natural salt Infinity Pool with Guru Karam
- BONUS: Friday night is extra special with a FULL MOON gong concert and healing meditation at the end of our week together.
FOR GONG PLAYERS AND TEACHERS:
Gong Yoga Teacher certification – in Costa Rica!
Enjoy a vacation at the Blue Spirit Yoga resort in Nosara, Costa Rica and receive certification as a Gong Yoga Teacher!
Mehtab Benton, the creator of GONG YOGA and author of TEACHING GONG YOGA, is offering his only international training course in 2019 for teachers who wish to learn how to use the Gong effectively in all types yoga classes.
In this 18-hour course, you learn how to:
*Play the gong along with the practice of asanas
*Use the gong with pranayama techniques
*Play the gong with mantra and using scared sound
*Enhance meditation with the gong and mudras
*Create deep relaxation through Gong Yoga Nidra
*Balance the chakras and the subtle body with the gong
You will also have the option to teach a Gong Yoga class with your fellow teachers at one of the resort’s several beautiful studios.
The training is held in amazing Sky Mind yoga studio with panoramic views of the Pacific ocean. with an array of gongs for you to play and practice with.
Participants receive a complimentary copy of Mehtab’s book Teaching Gong Yoga as the course textbook and yoga teachers also receive a certificate in Gong Yoga Teacher Training.
Cost: $350
Additional course instructors include Guru Karam (Kundalini Yoga Teacher Trainer) and Tej Arvind (Hatha Yoga Teacher Trainer).
** Prior gong playing experience is recommended ***
While it may seem remote, Costa Rica is easily accessible from the United States and Canada. Costa Rica has not only become known for its spectacular nature, bio-diversity, and ecological tourism, but also as a country whose values reflect many of the ideals embraced by those of us interested in world peace, environmental preservation, excellent education, and a high standard of health care. It is unique in Central America as it has the longest uninterrupted democracy, no standing army in more than 50 years, and a 95% literacy rate.
BLUE ZONE®
Blue Spirit lives in one of the world’s five Blue Zones®: Nosara, on the Nicoya Peninsula. Blue Zones® are recognized areas where people live the longest and report the highest levels of wellbeing.
ABOUT NOSARA
In the last 10-years Nosara has grown quietly into one of the hip holistic hot-spots on the planet. Nestled along the coast with 3 unspoiled stunning beaches protected as a turtle refuge – Playa Guiones, Playa Pelada, and Playa Nosara – this peaceful and vibrant international community of nature lovers, surfers, yogis, and families truly embraces the Costa Rican ‘Pura Vida’ lifestyle.
TRAVEL TO BLUE SPIRIT
Blue Spirit takes care of all of the details regarding shuttle transfers between Blue Spirit and the different airports in Costa Rica. The two international airports in Costa Rica are: Liberia International Airport (LIR) and San Jose International Airport (SJO).
It is recommended to fly into Liberia, which has been recently expanded with increased numbers of flights from the US and Canada. Shuttle transfers from/to Liberia cost $60 per person each way. An alternative option is to take a 40-minute short domestic flight between San Jose and the Nosara airport (20 min. from Blue Spirit). Please contact Blue Spirit about arranging flights from San Jose to Nosara.
Please plan to arrive on Saturday (anytime … our first meal together will be dinner) and depart on Saturday. The last class will be Friday evening, and our last meal will be breakfast on the last Saturday.
Once you have your flights reserved, please CLICK HERE to reserve your airport shuttle.
There is a $29 departure tax payable at either San Jose or Liberia airport before exiting Costa Rica. It can be paid in US dollars, Costa Rican Colones or with a credit card.
AMENITIES
Gourmet Vegetarian Cuisine: Your stay at Blue Spirit includes three gourmet vegetarian meals a day. A few times each week few serve fresh, locally caught fish. The daily lunch and dinner buffet includes a pure food option, which offers greens, grains, and legumes without oils or seasonings. We purchase the food from local farmers and organic produce when available.
Blue Spirit Café: If you like to start your day with a healthy superfood smoothie, fresh coconut water or fresh vegetable juice, or prefer to indulge in an afternoon cappuccino with some raw food snacks or French pastries, the Blue Spirit café is your spot.
Blue Spirit Store: Whether you forgot your sunscreen at home or wish to treat yourself or friends at home with a little gift from Costa Rica: the Blue Spirit Store offers women’s and men’s apparel, spiritual books and CDs, gift items and snack foods, as well as personal and sundry items.
Wireless Internet: Complimentary wireless service is available throughout the main building. For your convenience as well, there is a single computer station located in the lobby.
Saltwater Infinity Pool: The environmentally friendly saltwater pool located near the Main Building has views of the mountains and the jungle surrounding Blue Spirit.
Guiones Beach: Blue Spirit sits atop of a hillside overlooking a three-mile-long white sand beach along the Pacific Ocean. Guiones beach is home to a turtle refuge, which preserves the flora and fauna along the entire length; building is not permitted. The north and mid sections of Guiones beach offer great surfing to beginners and advanced alike. Blue Spirit is located at the quiet South end of the beach, where swimming is easy, thanks to the gentle current. The 700 foot walk (220 meters) from Blue Spirit to the beach transverses lush grounds full of mango trees and coconut palms.
Read more
Whether your tissues are holding some core tensions, or you’d like some sound advice on nutrition, wish to transform a painful relationship issue, or simply are in the mood to be pampered with a tropical body polish or a luscious facial treatment… all Blue Spirit body-workers, therapists, and counselors are highly qualified, excel in what they do, and enjoy being of service.
EXCURSIONS
There is so much you can enjoy when you are not in your class! Whether you stay on the premises for a free Salsa dance class, lounge at the saltwater infinity pool, or participate in a fire ritual on the beach in the evening, there are fabulous activities for guests who like to venture further. We offer: Horseback riding on the beach, surfing lessons, surf board rentals, canopy zip line tour, river kayaking, bird-watching tour, waterfall hike, stand up paddle surf, and turtle refuge tour.
Please CLICK HERE to read more about excursions. These can be arranged at the center.
Laura (Guru Karam) Benton began her life-long yoga practice at age 16 at a Kundalini Yoga Ashram in Houston, Texas. She is certified in Kundalini Yoga, Hatha Yoga, and Ashtanga Yoga and is a Level 1 and Level 2 Kundalini Yoga Teacher Trainer. She has presented classes internationally on Gong Yoga Nidra, the art of deep relaxation with the gong, and brings a feminine perspective to the art of playing the gong for meditation and relaxation. She is the recipient of the International Kundalini Yoga Teacher’s Association “Building Communities in Yoga” award and a three-time presenter at the Southwest Yoga Conference. A Registered Nurse, Guru Karam teaches anatomy and physiology in teacher training courses and is a guest lecturer in other yoga teacher training courses and a presenter at the Southwest Yoga conference. With her husband, Mehtab, Guru Karam is the co-recipient of the International Kundalini Yoga Teacher’s Association “Building Communities in Yoga” award. [Read more about Laura]
Lyndsay (Tej Arvind) Fuls is a 500-hour certified Hatha teacher, a Level-1 Yoga Therapist, and a certified Kundalini Yoga Teacher. Her teaching style is very calming and grounding, with an emphasis placed upon inner guidance, safety, and function-over-form. She modifies each session for the energetics of the day and deepens each practice & relaxation by incorporating the healing sounds of the gong (when available!) Lyndsay’s therapeutic approach to teaching is influenced by Vedic Astrology, Ayurveda, sound therapy, and the chakra system. [Read more about Lyndsay]
Ocean View Room
These double rooms have step-out balconies and beautiful ocean views. The rooms are tastefully furnished and provide the perfect space for 2 people. Each room has a king-sized bed or two twins, with a private bathroom with solar hot water and air conditioning.
SOLD OUT.
Double Occupancy: $2795 per person
Mountain View Room
These double rooms have step-out balconies and beautiful mountain views. The rooms are tastefully furnished and provide the perfect space for 2 people. Each room has a king-sized bed or two twins, with a private bathroom with solar hot water and air conditioning.
We have 2 Mountain View rooms still available.
Double Occupancy: $2695 per person
Single Occupancy: $3395 per person
Nature Suite
These suites are very cozy and situated on a hillside overlooking the lush vegetation. They are natural wood frame structures and have private bathrooms with an outdoor shower overlooking the jungle. Each Suite sleeps 2 people (king sized bed or two twins), includes a separate enclosed porch with a desk, and has solar hot water as well as air conditioning. The suites are a short walk up the hill to the main building.
SOLD OUT.
Double Occupancy: $2595 per person
Single Occupancy: $3195
Hermitage Room
These rooms are specifically designed for singles or couples and provide privacy and elegance while being cozy and less expensive. Many of these rooms have partial views of the ocean and others of the mountains nearby, a queen sized bed, a private bathroom with solar hot water and air conditioning.
SOLD OUT.
Double Occupancy: $2295 per person
Single Occupancy: $2795
Eco-Cottage
The cottages are beautifully situated in lush vegetation, allowing for a sensual being-in-touch experience with nature. They are simple and natural wood frame structures with screening for natural ventilation. Each cottage sleeps two people and share a common bathhouse that has solar hot water showers. The Eco-cottages are situated below the main building and involve a short hike up to a stone stairway to get to the main building.
We have one eco cottage and one female roommate space still available
Double Occupancy: $1995 per person
Single Occupancy: $2395 per person
Platform Tent
Each tent has a queen-sized air mattress and is placed on a platform under a wooden roof for protection against the sun and rain. The tents are surrounded by nature and close to the shared bathhouse. All linen, pillow and towels are provided to guests.
SOLD OUT.
7 nights accommodations
Meals starting with dinner on evening 1
Use of property facilities, beach cove & pool
Classes, workshops and Special Gong Concerts
Travel to Liberia, Costa Rica and to Blue Spirit Retreat Center (shuttles available)
Spa services and excursions
Special private sessions or trainings with Mehtab
If you place a deposit, the balance due will be set to charge in equal installments starting the month after deposit through February, 2018, unless other arrangements are made.
We HIGHLY recommend that you consider purchasing Travel Insurance. Travel insurance companies like TRAVEL GUARD offer policies that insure your investment in case you need to cancel (including “cancel for any reason” coverages), coverages for expenses incurred due to to weather & travel delays, personal property loss and emergency travel medical. Please review policies carefully to choose the coverage you need.
We recommend that you consider purchasing trip insurance to protect your investment. Trawick International and Travel Guard are two providers that we recommend. Please review policies carefully to ensure they provide the coverage you need.
