Retreat Center Tierra de Suenos Lodge
Costa Rica Facts
Costa Rica is home to 30 national parks and about five percent of the world's biodiversity. There are cloud forests, coral reefs, dry forests, and rain forests to explore.About 30 percent of Costa Rica is protected through national parks, reserves, and refuges, so there are many places for animal populations to thrive. And pretty much anywhere you go, there's wildlife to discover. The country is a haven for more than 500,000 species of animals, including scarlet macaws, howler monkeys, humpback whales, green iguanas, sea turtles, and sloths.
Food usually isn't the first thing that comes to mind when most people think of Costa Rica. But with its traditional cuisine shaped by Spanish, Caribbean, and Indigenous influences — as well as a bounty of fresh ingredients — it's a hot spot for adventurous foodies
Costa Rica is about a three-hour flight from Miami, a six-hour flight from Los Angeles, and a five-hour flight from New York City. If you're traveling from the United States, you likely won't have to worry about dealing with severe jet lag, as the country operates on Mountain Standard Time from mid-March to October and Central Standard Time from November to mid-March. Although the country's currency is the Costa Rican colón, U.S. dollars and credit cards are widely accepted.
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One of the best-known Costa Rican mottos is "pura vida," which means "pure life." And Costa Ricans take this to heart. This is probably why the country is considered one of the happiest in the world according to the Happy Planet Index. The phrase is also used as a greeting or a response to "How are you?" so it's a ubiquitous part of the culture.
About your retreat leader
Marybeth VanVorst, 700HR E-RYT
Meet Your Yoga and Meditation Instructor
Marybeth has had an interest in yoga since a young age. Her first 200HR training was completed in 2018 and her devotion only grew when she realized there was much more to yoga than just poses. She took another 300HR Training online with MVP during the pandemic increased her desire to learn more about Ayurveda and philosophy. This led her to Shakti Yoga in Woodstock, NY where she studied under Linda Winnick for another 200HR training. She constantly reads, attends seminars and new classes to strengthen her own practice and more importantly enable her to pass that knowledge on to her students. She opened MarybethYogaLLC in 2019 and has been leading classes and retreats ever since.
Her style can be described hatha yoga with a strong focus on alignment based yoga helped in part by her 30+years in the medical imaging field. This medical knowledge helps strengthen her classes with precise anatomical cues and physiological benefits. Her no nonsense approach to yoga aims to get every person practicing as they are able. All abilities, backgrounds, sizes, genders, and religions are not only welcomed but encouraged to practice with Marybeth. Her philosophy: Yoga is not only for the young and flexible, it is for all people to help bring us closer to peace, harmony and happiness.
When she's not on the mat she enjoys hiking, gardening, kayaking, fitness, a good comedy show, reading, cleaning and spending time with her family and pets. Her passions align with animal rights, keeping the earth clean and healthy for generations to come, promoting inclusiveness and equal rights for all people, and creating a safer environment for our children.
Alexandra has studied the traditional ways of sacred ceremonial cacao with Indigenous Mayan elders of Guatemala.
She walks the Priestess path of the 13 Moon Mystery School. Alexandra has been a certified Reiki Master for several years and is a trained doula and hypnobirthing teacher. She has studied the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza for many years and understands the potency in understanding the neuroscience behind meditation.
She has also studied with Indigenous wisdom keepers of the Sapara nation of the Amazon rainforest. Alexandra's current mission is to provide a deeply nourishing and nurturing sanctuary for women to truly feel safe, rest their roots, and finally awaken to all of the magic that they truly are!
Follow Alexandra www.coversationswithcacao.com