In a world subjected to an unbridled rhythm and various crises, yoga offers a calming response. Meaning union in Sanskrit, this practice aims to release accumulated tensions. Finding balance between body and mind brings well-being and self-awareness. Costa Rican biodiversity offers an ideal setting to go further and blend in with nature. Active yoga consists in discovering the world around us to better preserve it and who knows, save it. Practicing yoga in Costa Rica is an intimate, concrete and effective way, and an eco-citizen approach to fill up with vital energy. This article invites you to travel to the heart of the mantras. Open your chakras and relax, reading begins between asana and pranayama.

Yoga in Costa Rica | The Benefits of Nature

Why does nature do us good?

Oxygenating to revitalize

Have you ever practiced heart consistency before an important appointment? Breathing (pranayama) is a pillar of yoga. Oxygenating is vital. More than just breathing, prana is the force of energy in the universe. Working on it makes us realize that it invades us. It uses invisible channels, the nabis, to inject its power into our bodies.

Moving in the open air generates a feeling of regenerative freedom.

Discovering again the primitive sensations

Our primitive brain manages our emotions. The wind of Guanacaste in the trees, the chirping of motmots recall the early days of hunting and gathering. Naturally, our limbic system multiplies the vital energy so that we can safely blend into the environment. And this, to the delight of the yogists who practice dynamic vinyasa.

Did you know that, according to E. Sternberg, Professor of Medicine and Director of Research, the color green is the reference of our brain?

Awakening senses to better disconnect

The salty touch of the Pacific sea, the warmth of the sand of Playa Negra, the screeching of animals, are all beneficial signals that stimulate your senses. Faced with the beauty of the landscape, smell, sight, and hearing are stirred as the amygdala releases endorphins (hormones of happiness). Quietly, your thinking brain is disconnecting to clear the way for relaxation and focus on the present moment “here and now”. Blood pressure decreases. You reduce stress, promote positive thinking and good mood. You create a virtuous circle around a balanced day, a restful sleep, and bases of mental well-being.

Practicing yoga outdoors is also getting more vitamin D, which increases serotonin level. Happiness? It’s around here! No more negative emotions. Viva pura vida in Costa Rica!

Psychological benefits for the yogist

Discovering a new environment also means enlarging your comfort zone. And adapting means strengthening your self-confidence.

At Los Nancites, we offer yoga to unite body and mind in a concrete and effective way. A perfectly balanced yoga, neither too spiritual nor too physical. The generosity of Costa Rican nature supports us in this approach. This perfect osmosis between the senses and the external elements improves the quality of meditation and concentration.

The posture of the namasté initiates the movement, the mountain position puts you in condition while the positions of the tree and the warrior anchor you on the ground. Greetings to the sun boost enthusiasm.

Please know, a direct link is established between meditation and the reduction of amygdala activity (part of the brain involved in managing emotions). Cognitive functions are also strengthened by the practice of yoga, especially memory, as the study published in the scientific Journal of Alzheimer’s disease points out.

Los Nancites | Practicing Active Yoga in Guanacaste

Vinyasa and hatha yoga connect to the Costa Rican natural environment

Yoga with a mission! This concept was developed by Los Nancites to extrapolate the benefits of yoga on the human being to nature. Thanks to vinyasa and hatha, would you share your well-being with the environment? Come on, as a gift, we add a good mood to the sessions because inner well-being needs positive energies. And, to be honest, humor is part of our philosophy of life. Pura vida yes or no?

Vinyasa focuses on breathing techniques, it favors strengthening postures.

The hatha, on the other hand, follows a slower rhythm, it is based on a controlled breath and a short holding of positions. It is ideal for beginner yogists.

The idea is to surf between the knowledge of oneself, that of the world and the reflected consciousness (self as an element of the world) to better connect. That doesn’t mean you have to take yourself seriously. Do not rely on appearances, don’t be afraid by names of birds that you will hear; they are just postures. And if sometimes they seem strange to you, don’t worry. Everything is explained!

Feeling of well-being to change the world

Doing yoga in Costa Rica with Los Nancites invites you to look around you. We encourage you to go beyond personal development to something even more rewarding. No, we don’t compare the posture of oneself to that of the neighbor, we focus on the inner beauty. Or, just one minute to laugh… but it’s good because it’s you!

For example, the energy devoted to local reforestation actions helps transcend each other. Why? Because they make it possible to participate in the surrounding life, to put into practice our love of nature and country.

Simple but symbolic gestures like putting your hands in the earth reconnect with Earth. Indeed, marveling at the results of our actions and the gift of self brings true pride.

Discovering the nested birds or monkeys perched in the tree that you planted yourself, generates a positive energy and a well-being unparalleled.

What could be more invigorating than seeing nature grow?

As Good Planet reminds us, “in all ecosystems, all living beings from which humans interact”.

Yoga and biophilia, osmosis of man and nature

E.O. Wilson, a biologist, emphasizes the “innate tendency of human beings to focus on realistic life and processes”, which he defines as biophilia. Man vitally needs to reconnect with nature and other forms of life. Biological reflex to better anchor in its environment.

At Los Nancites, we believe that adapting is no longer enough and that feeling good makes you want to change the world. The Earth provides us with well-being, and we do the same for it.

Small lexicon of yoga and its postures

Yoga families are multiple:

• hatha (body/mind balance)
• vinyasa (breathing)
• bikram (hot and humid)
• kundalini and anusara (spiritual experience punctuated by mantras)
• iyengar (restorative because it relieves pain and stretches muscles)
• ashtanga (yoga of power, it requires strength and endurance)
• nidra (sleep)
• prenatal
• etc.

The postures are varied. Here is a taste of what awaits you if you share the adventure with us:

• tadasana (the mountain);
• vrikshasana (the tree);
• ardha uttanasana (half-clip);
• adho mukha svanasana (downward-facing dog);
• the warrior;
• etc.

Because we believe that moments of well-being must be shared, that communing with nature can generate reciprocal benefits, we advocate active yoga. Between meditation, self-awareness and the world around us, the practice of yoga in Costa Rica is a beautiful memory to stick in the album. Why don’t you write it down on experiences to be relieved without moderation?

I want to discover this yoga experience, so I contact Los Nancites.

Christmas or new year’s eve in Costa Rica : did you ever try ?

Sources:

IOS Press: the cognitive benefits of yoga

Harvard University Press, on biophilia.