Yoga In Costa Rica: But Why Three Times A Day?

Yoga In Costa Rica: But Why Three Times A Day?

I should preface this Ordinary Tuesday with: this is an Ordinary Tuesday in Costa Rica.

And to be even more specific, an Ordinary Tuesday in Nosara, on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.

I just bumped into a friend yesterday at the Organico Bakery. I had slept in, then had a cup of locally grown, locally roasted coffee with some fresh mango and yogurt. Took a leisurely walk on Baker Beach. The Pura Vida should just be oozing out of this paragraph!

So it was noon when I got to the bakery for sourdough bread. I asked what she was up to (while eyeing the homemade guacamole), and she announced that she was heading to her second yoga class of the day.

Yikes! And what freaked me out was that she asked if I wanted to go to sunset yoga on the beach later. Three yoga classes in one day?!! Damn girl!

When I feel like exercising, I lay down until the feeling goes away! I said no, thank you. But since I was curious, I asked why she did three yoga classes in one day, and how often she did that. And more importantly…why?

Three times a day, five days a week.

Long story short, she said, “It’s good for me.”

So is prune juice, but you don’t drink that three times a day, 5 days a week, I said. Then she got that deer-in-the-headlights look. Well, I’m in Costa Rica, so it was more like a Pasote-in-the-tuktuk-beam.

Then she said, ” Well, actually, my mother had severe arthritis and was house-bound for as long as I can remember, so I’m determined not to be stuck in my house.

Great reason, just not the one that I was expecting; but great reason! There was a hug and “See ya’ later.” Then, in a whoosh of lycra, she was off to Vinyasa!

What are we each trying to remain physically capable of doing—and why?

I kept thinking about that after she left.

Not the three yoga classes. I’m still not doing that. Let’s not get carried away.

I kept thinking about her mother.

Because I have one of those stories too.

My mother died of fatty liver disease. She was diabetic, overweight, smoked, and was about as sedentary as a person could be. I don’t smoke. I try to eat better than she did. I walk. Apparently, somewhere along the way, I looked at my mother’s life and made some decisions too.

Just different ones.

Which made me wonder whether my friend and I are really doing something all that different.

She’s doing yoga because she wants to keep leaving her house.

And apparently I’ve been making some of my own choices because of what I watched happen to my mother.

Different choices. Same kind of looking backward to think about what we want ahead of us.

Neither one of us wants the same things that limited our mothers’ lives to limit ours.

Good Fortune Finding Nosara

The adage is, “When you know better, you do better.” My friend and I know so much more about health, wellness, and disease prevention than our mothers. And we have the sad advantage of hindsight and personal loss to inspire us.

But knowing isn’t the only advantage we have.

Advantage…Costa Rica.

My mother would never have come here; it’s too hot. I can’t speak for all of Costa Rica, but I can tell you that Nosara is a wellness mecca. Yoga. Pilates. Surfing. Hiking. Snorkeling. And beautiful, sunny, pleasant weather all year long.

It’s easy to go outside and be active here…even if it’s only a walk. Even the rainy season is pleasant! As a Canadian, I’m good with any type of precipitation that I don’t have to shovel!

It’s also easier to eat well here (not necessarily cheaper); fresh fruits and vegetables are readily available. And so are fresh fish and chicken. I can avoid processed sugar and salty snacks with ease.

Let’s just say that wellness is highly visible here, and it probably doesn’t hurt the marketing that we’re on the Nicoya Peninsula, home to one of the places made famous as a Blue Zone.

Wellness is practically an industry here. People travel here for yoga retreats, surfing, spas, and all manner of things intended to make them feel better. Other people come for dental work, surgery, and medical care. And lately I’ve been wondering whether those things are quite as unrelated as we’ve decided they are.

That’s a rabbit hole for another Tuesday.

Today I’m still stuck on the yoga.

There’s something else.

I know those yoga classes aren’t only about her body. They’re also where her people are.

She sees the same people over and over. They take classes together. They talk before and afterward. They make plans. Somebody presumably notices when somebody doesn’t show up.

So what looks from the outside like an extraordinary commitment to exercise is also something else entirely.

It’s part of how she participates in her life here.

I meet “my people” at the bakery, or the local farmer’s market, or walking on the beach just after dawn. That’s how I participate.

Neither one is better. But they’re not interchangeable either.

Come to think of it, I bumped into her at the bakery.

Maybe Organico is doing more for my social life than my sourdough habit.

None of this means I’m going to start doing yoga three times a day.

Or once a day. Maybe a few times a month, if I’m honest!

Let’s remain realistic.

But I think she accidentally gave me a better question than Am I getting enough exercise?

What am I hoping to remain physically capable of doing?

She wants to keep leaving her house.

I have some answers of my own.

And maybe there’s another question hiding behind that one:

What does being physically capable allow me to keep participating in?

I don’t think the answer has to be yoga.

Related Reading

If you enjoy following ordinary observations that turn into bigger questions, you might also like:

• The Story Gets Better Every Time
• Costa Rica in August: Why Green Season Might Be the Best Time to Visit
• How to Make Friends: The Forgotten Science of Adult Friendship
• 12 Healthy Habits for Retirees That Make Retirement Smoother

• World Health Organization — Healthy ageing and functional ability.
• Systematic review: social participation and physical activity in older adults