This week we have an exclusive guest post from fellow traveler Jane Rodgers. “Sign me up, take all of my time, all of my money, I have fallen down the wellness rabbit hole. Last week, I had the amazing opportunity to work a vegan yoga/pilates retreat in Costa Rica. Essentially, I assisted the host of the retreat for a brilliant reward: a free, all inclusive stay on the west coast of Costa Rica!“
I just moved back from Spain after a 10 month stint post grad and I have traveled around the world. The experience of sharing a week of physical, mental and spiritual transformation with strangers was truly special. There was a wide variety of characters: 20 something year old yogis, an Israeli business man, middle aged empty nesters looking for new meaning, and a former pro baseball player turned yogi- just to name a few. Everyone got something different out of the retreat, yet we shared the same experiences.
Not only was the retreat vegan (gasp) the retreat was also sober, meaning no alcohol. Its funny, drinking is such a social activity, that no one was really tempted to violate the “sober agreement’ because we were all sober. I think that spending this week sober gave me a new level of clarity (especially after spending 10 months in Spain). I also think that it may have made it easier for people to form meaningful friendships. There were no blurry nights, no slurred words, no meaningful yet meaningless conversations because everyone’s memory was intact and uninhibited for the entire week- which, as a 23 year old, I think is quite amazing.
So the vegan part- I know I know, “vegans are the worst” but our host was a super chill vegan believe it or not. Again, maybe this sounds too granola for your taste but her whole mantra is “I don’t condemn, I don’t convert” (bob marley quote). Basically, Kait is all about allowing people to see how it feels to be vegan not throwing animal cruelty in our faces. She even admits to liking the occasional chicken wing, which I think is very genuine and not pretentious. Being vegan for a week is basically like doing a giant veggie cleanse.
We started our days with these crazy digestive shots that consisted of bentonite clay, coffee, and almond milk. Breakfast wasn’t until around 10 (after we’d completed 3 hours of yoga) and usually consisted of a smoothie bowl with various nut, fruit and coconut toppings. It was actually amazing, if I could eat it every day I would (and not just in a trendy instagram moment to boost a millennials ego kind of way). Lunch was pretty sparse but somehow always filling. It consisted of various snacks such as hummus, guacamole, macadamia nut cheese dips or vegan quesadillas.
Dinner was provided by the resort but planned by the retreat host and was always outstanding. We had vegan curry, sushi bowls, lettuce wraps and costa rican cuisine. The food was always really well prepared and delicious- I never starved or really wanted for anything. We even had some sweets such as vegan brownies.
The area that we stayed in was fairly isolated with dirt roads, no sign of buildings on the beaches and very few people, only locals. Being in the middle of nowhere really added to the experience and allowed the guests and the retreat hosts to connect on a deeper level. There were only 15 of us there total and we started the week as complete strangers, however, by the end of the week, bonds were formed, memories had been created and we felt more like family.
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