One of the most well-known landmarks at Nosara, Costa Rica is the Nosara Yoga Institute (NYI). People come from all over the world for the yoga teacher training and yoga classes at the internationally-renowned center. Opened in 1994 by founders Don and Amba Stapleton, NYI is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

Starting in the 1970s, pioneering expats from the U.S. began trickling into the beaches of Nosara, most settling in the beautiful, broad horseshoe-shaped bay of Playa Guiones. They came to “get away from it all”, to surf and seek a healthier and more peaceful lifestyle. Yoga was a natural addition, and Playa Guiones has become a yoga-focused community. Shops sell yoga wear and yoga accessories alongside beachwear, surfing gear, and health products. Most people you see around town are fit and athletic-looking from the area’s two top pastimes – yoga and surfing.

“There is energy here for yoga,” said Hilary Schweitzer at the Nosara Yoga Institute. “Nosara is a magical spot. You have the ocean, the jungle … and it’s in the Blue Zone (for long life).”

The Nosara Yoga Institute has expanded its hilltop facilities to open their new Yoga Village earlier this year. Trainees in the Institute’s educator classes now have a place to stay onsite, and visitors are able to come to NYI for all-inclusive yoga retreats on self-guided programs. New facilities include housing for 56 persons in single, double, triple and dorm-style units, a 25-meter pool, mini-waterfalls and man-made streams, and a huge two-story open-air pavilion containing a vegetarian restaurant, juice bar, lounge, gift shop and coin laundry. Created by Canadian developer Gary Edwards, who is a former NYI student, the Yoga Village employs an environmental design using gray water recycling, solar panel heating, and capturing rain water for the creeks and waterfalls.

The Nosara Yoga Institute is located just before the town center of Playa Guiones. Public yoga classes are given several times daily, and educator trainings are held most of the year.

Renowned for some of the best surfing in Costa Rica and uncrowded beautiful beaches, the Nosara region was named by CNN one of the 11 Places to Go Worldwide in 2014, and National Geographic noted it as a Best Winter Trip of 2014.

Hotels in Playa Guiones, Nosara: L’acqua Viva Resort & Spa is a 4-star luxury hotel in Costa Rica tucked between the coastal foothills and the beach at Playa Guiones. The Bali-style garden resort is located on the main road just off the beach – all hotels and businesses in the area are set back from the beach to preserve the coastline. L’acqua Viva Resort & Spa is an Enchanting Costa Rica Hotel.

Article by Shannon Farley
Shannon Farley writes English-language blogs and handles social media marketing for Enchanting Costa Rica and Profimercadeo in San Jose, Costa Rica.