So last week, I told my readers about the delights of eating in the Blue Zone of the Nicoya peninsula of Costa Rica. Another aspect of the lived experience of the aged residents of Blue Zones is routine daily exercise—routine, meaning, their everyday patterns include walking their hilly environs to the markets, to friends’ homes, and to places of worship. Inhabitants also garden and perform daily household chores. They don’t drive to the gym to get their exercise minutes for the day!
Though the Blue Zone experiences were wonderful, I actually signed up for this retreat because of the allure of restarting a yoga practice among friends. The yoga was just what I needed, with a fabulous instructor, Blake, and surrounded by about fifteen women of various ages and abilities. And indeed, I have continued my time on the mat now that I am home.
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Content will continue after this advertisement: I use an app, Down Dog, for a daily 25 minute yoga practice. I really like it! I can choose the instructor, Fiona, the background music, “Brainwaves,” the type of yoga, and the level of intensity. There are even more options that I haven’t explored yet. The best part is that the routine is different every day. Yes, moves are repeated, but I can’t anticipate what is coming. Now, back to your regularly scheduled programing.
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I experienced much more physical activity that week than twice daily yoga. The bunk house that I shared with four other women was 65 stairs down from the main area, and we were ascending and descending this incline multiple times a day. Too, my bed was in a loft which required climbing an alternating tread ladder. This was not a regular ladder with rungs, but widely spaced staggered steps. Another name for this type of ladder is “witches’ stair.” It was evil! I had to navigate this ungodly contraption multiple times a day, too, because I would inevitably forget some necessary object and have to ascend again to retrieve it. Descending it at night felt especially treacherous as the floor below was concrete. But I survived, and my knees have now recovered from the onslaught.
The resort, set on a steep mountainside, was surrounded by jungle, so we also had the opportunity to explore the trails on the property. One trail led to a series of three waterfalls, the lowest of which, at 10 feet, was perfect for jumping into the pool of crystalline water below. The trail continued to descend to the town of Montezuma. Another trail on the property led to the combination butterfly sanctuary/brewery that I talked about last week, while another led to a zip line.
I swam in the ocean with bioluminescent plankton at night and snorkeled with white-tipped sharks, a variety of tropical fish, and nudibranchs (very colorful sea slugs.) I paddled around in the infinity pool on the resort, sat in the sauna, and immersed my body in a cold plunge pool. And then I recovered from all this activity with a massage that almost put me to sleep.
I challenge you to think about your current activity level and find ways to incorporate more movement into your daily routine. Like, maybe I should have walked to this coffee shop where I am sitting instead of driven my car!