It’s easy to feel at peace doing yoga at Pranamar Villas in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica when the Yoga Shala looks like a majestic Balinese temple.
Article by Shannon Farley
The sense of peace is palpable here.
So is the feeling of being awestruck. It’s like walking into a majestic Balinese temple.
Most visitors are rendered speechless at first. Then they become effusive with compliments: magical, breathtaking, enchanting.
The Yoga Shala at Pranamar Oceanfront Villas was carefully crafted to be a centerpiece at the beachfront hotel in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica, which specializes in yoga retreats.
“The yoga shala was a dream and definitely my favorite place to do yoga in this world. I can honestly say I fell in love with Costa Rica and left my heart at Pranamar!” wrote one guest on TripAdvisor after attending a yoga retreat at Pranamar Villas earlier this year.
Pranamar’s striking yoga shala (meaning “studio” in Sanskrit) faces the bright blue Pacific Ocean, palm trees and white sand of renowned Santa Teresa Beach. Hand-crafted from Costa Rican tropical wood and certified sustainable Costa Rican bamboo, the yoga shala is open on three sides to lush gardens, the beach and sea, and the beautiful swimming pool that meanders like a river.
Teak wood floors lend a smooth stability for doing yoga, and energy soars skyward with vaulted ceilings. The entrance from the hotel side features spectacular, 4,000-year-old antique wooden Balinese doors, imported along with other hand-crafted Indonesian items by hotel owner, Susan Money. The back wall is graced with a mural of Buddha’s by Amanda Giacomini, an artist and yoga teacher, who frequently visits Pranamar.
No columns or walls interrupt the flow of energy or movement in the yoga space, which comfortably fits up to 40 persons at one time in a class.
If designed well and filled with the calm energy of a good yoga instructor, a yoga studio can be a sanctuary for health and well-being.
Pranamar Villas embraces all of that. While doing yoga, you gaze out at greenery and the ocean and listen to the sound of waves along with trickling water from the swimming pool waterfall.
“People experience a sense of peace here. You have positive good energy, and also a feeling of serenity,” said Nancy Goodfellow, resident yoga instructor and Pranamar co-owner.
Nancy teaches daily group yoga classes at Pranamar Villas that are open to students of all levels. Her classes involve many elements, which create a highly educational, physically challenging, and deeply soulful experience. The shala is equipped with yoga props for visitors and hotel guests, such as mats, blocks, straps, bolsters, blankets, eye pillows, and meditation cushions.
Yoga Retreats in Santa Teresa, Costa Rica
Want to know how a week in a tropical paradise can change how you feel about life?
Sign up for one of Pranamar Villas’ international yoga retreats and see how being surrounding by the natural beauty of warm sunshine, tropical forest and endless ocean, while enjoying world-class yoga and fresh healthy cuisine, will infuse you with peace, wellness, and happiness.
