Just before Christmas, we went to Thea Retreats which just opened up in the mountains behind the beautiful surfing town Santa Teresa. Thea is owned and run by our amazing friend Adi and her husband. We stayed there for 6 nights and 7 days and just loved every minute of it. It'a place where you can come with whatever health issue you are dealing with (or no health issue at all) and they will customize a schedule according to your needs.
Santa Teresa
Thea Retreat is situated on the mountains only 10 minutes from Santa Teresa in Costa Rica. Thea is surrounded by trees, plants, birds, and horses with a breathtaking view of the Pacific ocean. It has some of the worlds best surfing spots, white beaches and beautiful waterfalls. The day we arrived, we were a little tired from traveling and were so happy to finally be in Adi's good care. She is a very warm, super talented healer who really believes in the body's ability to heal itself with help from food and herbs (and time and sleep).
Healing from the inside out
For Adi, it is important to share that being healthy does not only mean eating right. It's also about our mind, thoughts, and how good we have it in our everyday lives, meaning a holistic approach. We were welcomed with a delicious smoothie made of passionfruits, banana, and mango. Later, we had a delicious lunch with a big bowl of salad (quinoa, avocado, tomatoes, herbs from the garden, steamed cauliflower and broccoli, and cilantro) in the outdoor kitchen with a view of the ocean (wow pinch my arm). We ended the day with a 1-hour long meditation with Daniel (the yoga teacher) and a big bowl of soups loaded with veggies and herbs from the garden. The next morning the cleanse began!
The cleanse
Every day she changes some small details according to our needs but the meny typically looked like this:
0700 lemon water
0730 cellery juice (aids digestion)
0800 Yoga/thai chi/kundalini/meditation/dance
0905 smoothie with papaya, coconut, cacao, dates and coconut water
1100 Tea with medicinal herbs from the garden or from Costa Rica
1300 Vitamin C juice with oranges, turmeric, cayenne
1500 Roots juice with beetroots, cabbage, orange
1715 Smoothie with papaya, coconut water, and spirulina
1900 soup with zucchini, tomato, carrot and lots of herbs
2100 homemade oat milk with chai
Two of the days we had a cooking class, where we made a super healthy and delicious smoothie, a raw cake, potato salad, and an amazing salat and vegan ceviche. We have a youtube video of it here!
! It was super inspiring to cook with herbs and plants directly from the garden, and local goods from Costa Rica. We were also given options for the fruit we could use in Norway, for example switching out papaya with blueberries in our smoothie. We felt so much lighter mentally and physically when we left, having had time to stress down, clear our minds and just relax and restore our bodies. We both have a lot of trouble with digestion and after the cleanse it felt a million times better. We also feel super inspired to cook more vegan food and take good care of ourselves. If you are interested in learning more about Thea Retreat and what they offer you can visit their website here. They have both customized retreats and it's also possible to bring a bigger group if you host retreats. We can also answer any questions that you have.