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The
Vinyasa Intensive with Teacher and Author Featuring Johnny Gillespie, Plexus Fitness & Empowered Yoga
{Location} There are plenty of tranquil spots on the seven acre property with
hammocks, benches and grassy areas for meditation, reading or just
hanging out. You may also wish to view this stunning oasis and learn
more at www.puravidaspa.com
Read Pura Vida Wellness Resort and Spa Media
Reviews While we do not endorse any particular search engine, many students have cited good airfares by going through expedia.com, orbitz.com and now, Kayak.com—which compares the majority of the airlines and prices. Check in time is 3pm, but you are welcome to arrive earlier and spend time on the beautiful grounds We suggest you choose your flight to arrive in San Jose between 12:00 to 4:00pm, so you can arrive at Pura Vida in time to relax and settle in before dinner and the evening session. (Of course, some itineraries may bring you in later in the evening which will also be accommodated).
{Pura
Vida Wellness Resort and Spa Media Reviews}
New York Times
…..Pura Vida Spa is on 12 acres of mountaintop, surrounded by coffee plantations. It overlooks Costa Rica's central valley, which is dominated by the sprawling capital, San Jose. As we tumbled out of Emilio's car, I noticed that the grounds appeared spacious and well manicured. …. We had come for a few days, but I learned that most guests spent a week at Pura Vida, arriving and departing on Saturday. The vast majority were Americans, who flew directly from home to attend a particular retreat, led by their local yoga instructor or a nationally recognized teacher. Each retreat set its own schedule, some having as many as five yoga sessions a day. We would participate in Pura Vida's house brand of yoga, under the title "Mind/Body/Spirit Adventure," which offered morning and afternoon classes on a drop-in basis. .I perused the week's schedule, posted in the dining area. (The information, like virtually all communication at the resort, was in English.) In addition to yoga classes, Pura Vida offered nightly activities for all guests, as well as occasional daytime excursions to local attractions. I felt as if I had hopped aboard a New Age cruise ship. Pura Vida's guest lodgings ring the southern end of the property.
On the east end is the most expensive option: the Japanese Pagoda,
which has a king-size bed, a living room and its own Jacuzzi.
When pressed to name names, however, Forrest picks Pura Vida and
Samasati in Costa Rica, where she has twice led private tours and
hopes to return in the very near future. 'At Pura Vida, it's all
about the great staff-including a chef who's willing to cater to
people's allergies and needs, which for me is important,' she says.
The staff leads guests out on adventures in the jungle, making sure
no damage is done by, say, someone drowning, breaking a leg, or
falling out of a tree. Indeed, swinging through the trees is always
a big hit with her students outside class. 'You climb up to a tree
platform where they hook you up in complex harnesses with big clips.
Then you travel along a network of cables to the next platform.
It's incredible under the tree canopy-that is, unless you're afraid
of heights."
I had been to yoga retreats before that were more of the northern California let's-sit-in-a-circle-and-sing-Kumbaya sort, which drove me to sleep. When choosing this retreat I was looking for pretty much the opposite. In Costa Rica Pura Vida means 'Pure Life.' It makes sense that
a country with no army, with 25% of its land protected and with
some of the most beautiful black-and-white sand beaches in the world
would have such a chipper national salutation. When you land in
this Central American oasis for a weeklong yoga retreat, 5200 feet
up in the mountains of the Alajuela region (at a resort called,
of course, Pura Vida), the good life starts to sink in."
"Located in Alajuela, Costa Rica, near the capital city of San Jose, Pura Vida Spa & Retreat Center is a mecca for the spiritually minded. With a focus on yoga, meditation, movement, and conscious living, the spa attracts those looking for a more fulfilling and enriching experience. A highlight of the spa is its open-air garden yoga hall. Built
and designed by the staff at Pura Vida in 1986, the project took
approximately six months to complete. While it may have been the
first of the four yoga halls to be built, it's also the most impressive
with stunning views of the spa's private 12-acre estate and the
surrounding Central Valley."
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Pura Vida, meaning ¨pure life¨, is located on a private
mountaintop estate in Costa Rica's Alajuela province surrounded
by coffee plantations and lush foliage. The whole estate commands
fantastic views of Irazú, Barva, and Poás volcanoes
and of the central valley with the capital, San José.
When booking flights to Costa Rica, you will want to come to Juan
Santamaría International Airport in San Jose (Airport Code:
SJO). Airlines with regularly scheduled flights into this airport
are American, Continental, Delta, Taca, Copa, MartinAir, and Iberia. 
Our program will end before the check
out time (Noon) on Saturday, January
31st. We will have a morning practice
on that day which is optional based on
the different travel schedules of our
group. Please plan to attend all other
program sessions in full throughout the
week.
Spa Finder Readers' Choice Award!: Votes
were cast for over 500 different spas
and Pura Vida Costa Rica was the winner
of favorite spa in Central America.