Redefining Wellness in Costa Rica: Embracing Active Wellness for a Healthier, More Adventurous Lifestyle

Defining Wellness in Costa Rica

by Christine Larson, CIO, Costa Rica Inspirations

You might think that wellness is defined as “the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health through improved behaviors and lifestyles…” and, yes, that seems like a fitting definition of wellness.

And it’s understandable that if people are trying to achieve greater wellness in their lives, they might want to jumpstart their wellness journey by going on vacation to some exotic, tropical destination.

Think: Eat. Pray. Love.

And there’s no better place to experience wellness than in Costa Rica — or at least, that’s what the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) — whose main objective is promoting Costa Rica internationally — would like you to believe.

My social media feeds get flooded with ICT promotions and for a while it was mostly portraying cute, Spandex-clad young women doing yoga on some amazing Costa Rica beach, getting spa treatments and bathing in steamy hot springs. I get flooded with Costa Rica Tourism Board advertising ideas and they all seem to have the same flavor, like a cute spandex-clad young woman on an amazing beach or beside a remarkable waterfall, or getting a spa treatment or bathing in steamy hot springs. These promotions are great, Pura Vida! But we believe, and we know, that there is a lot more to wellness than just that.  

Pura Vida! Pura Relax! Ahhh… Wellness…

Several years ago, I attended a tourism fair in Madrid, Spain and while I was at the fair, I had the opportunity to speak with the Minister of Tourism of Costa Rica. 

I told him I was quite disappointed Costa Rica was spending so much on marketing “wellness.” I tried to get across to him that wellness travellers come in many shapes and sizes and are a diverse group of consumers with many motivations, interests and values. They are not coming to Costa Rica to just go to spas, health resorts, or do yoga and meditation retreats.

I was really hoping Costa Rica would concentrate more of its marketing efforts on promoting the type of tourism that is famous near the Arenal Volcano and throughout the country like adventure tours—rafting, canyoning, kayaking, ziplining, mountain biking, etc. 

The Minister of Tourism crossed his arms and started stroking his beard. He took a thoughtful pause and responded: 

“Christine, I agree with you. I really think we need to find a way to somehow make tourists understand that any time you are participating in an adventure tour like rafting while being immersed in the beautiful Costa Rican natural environment — that this is also considered a type of wellness…”

I was pleased to see he seemed to empathize with my complaint.

But what he said next really struck a note for me and it’s something I have not forgotten since our meeting.

He said, “Christine, what do you think if we call it something like ‘Active Wellness?’”

From that moment on, I started to really like the idea of promoting things we consider as active wellness.

And undoubtedly wellness can be portrayed and achieved in a variety of ways.

I have spoken with numerous tourists who have told me how they had life-changing experiences by simply getting into a raft and paddling down a raging tropical river in the middle of the Costa Rican rainforest. 

Others have commented that they felt a sense of self-discovery after pushing their limits and stepping out from a platform and hurling themselves off of a waterfall while rappelling down through a deep river canyon while canyoning in Costa Rica. 

The Global Wellness Institute explains “wellness is not a passive or static state but rather an “active pursuit” that is associated with intentions, choices and actions as we work toward an optimal state of health and wellbeing.”

So, wellness does go hand-in-hand with adventure. Doing adventures while being exposed to nature not only makes you feel better emotionally, it contributes to your physical wellbeing. Being in nature helps in reducing blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. It may even reduce mortality, according to scientists.

In fact, many of our tourists participate in exciting adventures in nature during the day while on vacation here and then take advantage of going to the natural thermal hot springs or asking to have a massage set up in an open air ranch under the tree canopy or even wanting to take a yoga class so they can work out the kinks from the adventures they participated in. 

As a result, my goal has been to create a new genre of Active Wellness Adventures that include facilitators or specifically-trained guides who help guests be more mindful of their surroundings and dig deeper to make the excursions and connections more meaningful for them during their stay. The hope is that their experiences are truly transformative.

Some of the other ways we have capitalized on the concept of Active Wellness is by incorporating Forest Bathing “shinrin-yoku" techniques — the Japanese practice of moving slowly and mindfully through a forest environment, homing in on all five senses along the way.

We also provide life coaching during our nature hikes near the Arenal Volcano — or do yoga on our Stand Up Paddleboards on Lake Arenal — or include yoga sessions at our yoga studio for our clients who sign up for adventures — or practice mindful meditation with team building groups before jumping off of waterfalls to gain a greater appreciation of the camaraderie among their fellow co-workers. 

Wellness is also intertwined with sustainability, so incorporating actions that support the Earth and our local communities in return, is also an important form of wellness.

We organize tree-planting initiatives, river clean-ups, community garden projects, etc. as well as provide opportunities for guests to purchase products that are connected to unique local wellness traditions within our communities.

We pride ourselves in knowing Costa Rica is a leader in the use of renewable energy sources and as a company we use low-emission vehicles and promote staying at properties that use solar energy and have established conservation projects.

We are a nature-adventure tour operator with strong values based on encouraging wellness among our guests and staff — both tourists and our employees are offered coaching sessions, mentoring, programs on nutrition, and we provide healthy meal options on our tours. 

In addition, we operate cultural culinary excursions to learn about how things get from the farm to the table, we curate authentic experiences with members of indigenous groups that share their healing practices and ancient, spiritual traditions and some clients ask us for referrals for holistic treatments to deal with deep personal traumas.

The intention is to help clients establish health and well-being goals. We encourage tourists to proactively integrate these aspects of wellness into their daily lives back home to maintain a healthy lifestyle, reduce stress, prevent disease, be more ecologically-minded and enhance their overall wellbeing. 

So, maybe Costa Rica is the ideal place to jumpstart an active wellness journey!