If you’re a workaholic who’s ready to ease up and manage your burnout, then join us for a carefully curated retreat where you’ll come away with simple stress-reduction and embodiment practices that leave you feeling more centered, relaxed, and confident, ready to meet whatever life brings your way!

Imagine...

Waking up to the sounds of howler monkeys in the trees outside your window, you excitedly jump out of bed and run out into the yard. The lush green of the gardens adds to your joy as you locate the troupe of monkeys moving through the trees overhead. 

The smell of the fragrant flowers wafts through the air as you delight in your surroundings. In the near distance, you hear the lapping of ocean waves, and you exult in the sounds of tropical birds singing all around you.

Minutes later, clad in swimsuit and sunglasses, you’re on the beach. It’s a perfect Costa Rican sunrise off the Bay of Samara, the colors of the sky are vibrant and enticing. The air is warm, and there is a nice breeze. A perfect time to get your toes in the water!

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Feeling the cool sand beneath your feet, you walk in the shallows, watching the waves and feeling their calming rhythms. You move at your own pace, enjoying every moment, savoring your surroundings and your connection to the earth. 

What a joy to be on a retreat in Costa Rica!

Wouldn’t it be great to have more balance in your life?

During our time together, we will explore various embodiment practices, so that you can identify what helps you find a healthy work/life balance.

How much joy would having the time and the energy for personal growth and self-care bring back to your life?

Through a transformative heart vision exercise, you will learn how to honor your needs without feeling selfish so you gain the confidence and clarity to focus on your personal growth and self-care.

Can you imagine how balanced your life could be if you could understand what your body is trying to communicate to you? 

During this retreat, through numerous methods of meditations, you will receive the messages that your body is sending you, so that you can make the changes to improve your overall wellbeing.

What would it feel like to have more freedom in your life, to be in control of your schedule and get to go on more vacations?

While examining your boundaries and focusing on living from your values, you will get perspective on what is important, so that you can prioritize your freedom.

Why Costa Rica?

Costa Rica is the perfect location to learn how to slow down and start enjoying your life again. The country's motto is Pura Vida, which is an acknowledgment of the Costa Rican attitude towards life.

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Pura Vida literally translated means Pure Life. The energy of this way of life is contagious and being immersed in it will change the way you live.

The Venue

You’ll be delighted to know that we’ve secured our favorite resort in Samara, Costa Rica, for our exclusive use! The Good Life Lodge is small, private, and in a great location. Everything you could need or want is within walking distance. 

With its spacious, comfortable and modern design, from the moment you walk into The Good Life, you’ll feel how each room was intentionally designed to calm your mind and keep you centered. Recharge at the end of your day in the luxurious walk-in waterfall shower. Relax with a book in the queen-size bed, or watching your favorite Netflix show on the large satellite TV. Every morning you’ll start your day with breakfast and coffee served on your own private patio. 

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There will be an introduction dinner and a farewell dinner provided to help foster the group connection. For these two meals as well as the lunches, our private chef will prepare our delicious meals and that will take any dietary needs into consideration.

For our introductory meal, our Chef will prepare a traditional Costa Rican meal. One of the favorites here is Cansado de Pollo. This is a stewed chicken with rice, beans and a side salad. Don’t hold me to this, but there are rumors that the farewell dinner may be fresh fish filets with a trio or sauces (chimichurri, passionfruit, and garlic butter sauce) served with coconut rice and an herb green salad. Vegetarian options available upon request. 

Check out this gallery of venue photos.

The grounds are green and full of plant life and include multiple lounging and relaxing areas. There is also a whirlpool and an outdoor shower to get the sand off your feet after a stroll on the beach. They even provide beach towels and a couple of bikes for shared use. 

The Cuisine

You will be provided with breakfast and lunch every day. The Good Life Lodge is well known for their delicious breakfast choices and gives you 4 options to choose from daily. You'll love the fruit plate, as the fruit in Costa Rica is always unforgettable. It is rare to find anything quite as fresh and flavorful. 

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Can you imagine how amazing it would feel to experience more than this never-ending hustle?

While on this journey, through fun activities immersed in nature, you will regain your sense of adventure so you can start to feel like life is more than a never-ending hustle.

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Wouldn’t it feel powerful to adjust your priorities and find ways to make time for the things and people that are important to you?

Through thoughtful journaling prompts and mindset shifts, you will feel empowered to enforce strong boundaries, so that you can be fully present for what’s most important to you.

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Can you picture how great it would feel to break out of the robotic nature of just going through the motions every day?

While together, through our full moon releasing ceremony and crystal healing, you will learn how to get unstuck, so you can start to fully experience life. 

Wouldn’t it be great to get out of the pattern of unease and anxiety that feeling unconnected to yourself has given you?

On this retreat, through exploring different types of embodiment practices, you will know which methods work best to ease your stress, so you can implement them in your daily life.

Costa Rica is the safest country in Central America and prides itself on the fact that it has no military. Because tourism is one of the main sources of income for the country, English is spoken by the majority of the people. They even accept US currency at most restaurants and shops. 

The weather in Samara changes throughout the year. March is in the dry season so the weather is beautiful and warm. Luckily all of the spaces at the resort are air conditioned and being a beach town there is frequently a nice breeze in the area. It rarely rains in March and if it does it is usually a short shower in the afternoon, which cools things down a bit. 

The Location

Samara is one of the hidden jewels of Costa Rica. It is a small beach town located on one of the best beaches in the area. Playa Samara has a horseshoe shaped bay that is protected by a coral reef so the waters tend to be gentle and it is a safe place for swimming and water sports. 

People who come to Samara have a tendency to fall in love with the area so it has a large expat community while retaining a distinct and authentic Costa Rican Culture. This allows for a wide variety of restaurants and shops, including an organic market and a weekly farmers market. 

Your Hosts

I started my wellness journey in 2012 when I attended and graduated from the Costa Rica School of Massage Therapy. This experience was life changing, not only because I received the knowledge to start a new career and help people feel better in their bodies, but because I was immersed in the Pura Vida Lifestyle that is Costa Rica. 

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Throughout my 10 years practicing massage therapy, I have had multiple experiences with burnout and injury. During the forced closures from the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 I decided it was time to start looking for what might be my next step and that is when I found BodyMind Coaching. During my training I realized that my body had been screaming at me for years that it was time to move on, but I had not had the knowledge or patience to listen.

This led me back to Costa Rica as a Teaching Assistant in 2021, where I realized that I was not ready to give up massage completely and that my body had been asking me to take a break and slow down. Being back in Costa Rica helped me make that clarification for myself.

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I realized that combining my BodyMind Coaching and the magic of Costa Rica was the ideal environment to help others learn how to connect with their bodies again, find their own powerful answers, and break free from burnout. 

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That is why I developed this retreat and have set it in Costa Rica. I truly believe that this experience will change the way you live your life. 

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Lead Facilitator - Mckenzie Merges

Tessa is an intuitive healer and energy worker who began her journey of the Wounded Healer early on as a child. As a Wounded Healer, Tessa is always in the state of healing which allows her to provide pure healing essence and directly connect with all who wish to heal. She has aided ancestral, generational, and collective healing in this lifetime. Her spiritual awakening began as a child where she developed her intuitive and healing gifts. She has proceeded through several spiritual awakenings in this lifetime of ascension. As an intuitive healer, Tessa’s empathic abilities allow her to connect with others on a spiritual level and often act as a mirror, reflecting what needs to be healed within.

Tessa is a strong advocate for individuality, liberty, and unconditional love. She encompasses sacred wisdom channeled from the cosmos. She has worked with children for many years, currently specializing in Star Children and empowering women to rectify the Woman’s Wound.

Tessa is a certified Crystal Healer, certified in Mindfulness, Reiki, and Meditation. But she doesn’t believe in titles and prefers an intuitive approach to healing versus a basic rendition of any healing practice. She utilizes crystals, tarot, natural remedies, energy work, and meditation to aid in her healing.

Tessa has dealt with career, energy, and life burnout. She now lives authentically, trusting her intuition to guide the way and rejecting preset societal and man-made “norms.” She now listens to her mind, body, and soul first. She is still working on balancing feminine and masculine energies, but has been successful at healing her inner-child and life traumas. She is an anchor: friends, family, and strangers seek her out for healing guidance.

Co-Facilitator - Tessa Browning