8-Week Online Program & 1-Week In-Person Retreat with Eli Rechtschaffen, Rick William, John Freddy Cepeda, Sathyanarayani at Blue Spirit, Costa Rica
December 13 – 20, 2025
This immersive experience combines the best of ancient Amazonian healing, Buddhist practices, and Western psychology to support deep transformation from the inside out.
The first 4 weeks are designed to prepare your mind, body, and spirit for the retreat. Through weekly calls, embodiment practices, and intentional community connection, you’ll build the inner foundation to go deeper. You’ll also get to meet your full support team and fellow travelers before arriving in Costa Rica.
The retreat itself is a week of sacred ceremony, deep rest, and nervous system renewal. Set in the lush jungle near the Pacific, we’ll engage in guided Ambiwaska ceremonies and integrative practices—held in a safe, nurturing environment designed for release, revelation, and healing.
After returning home, the next 4 weeks of integration coaching ensure your insights become embodied changes. With continued support, you’ll have the tools and community to anchor your transformation and carry it into every area of life
Costa Rica, spanning 20,000 square miles in southern Central America, holds nearly 5% of the world’s biodiversity, protected within National Parks and nature reserves. Known for its ecological tourism and peaceful values, it boasts the longest democracy in Central America, no standing army for over 50 years, and a 95% literacy rate. As a leader in environmental stewardship, Costa Rica is committed to sustainability and reducing its ecological footprint. With successful forestation efforts and progress in lowering CO2 emissions, the country aims to become the first carbon-neutral developing nation.
Blue Spirit provides an exceptional setting for those dedicated to spiritual transformation, personal growth, and environmental sustainability. Nestled on a hilltop overlooking the Pacific Ocean and a protected three-mile white sand beach, Blue Spirit offers stunning natural beauty on one of Costa Rica’s most renowned beaches. During your stay, you’ll enjoy comfortable, elegant accommodations, gourmet vegetarian cuisine, a saltwater infinity pool, koi pond, café, gift shop, spa and wellness services, outdoor excursions, and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Rick is a purpose coach and somatic therapist who has trained in trauma-informed coaching, breathwork, and meditation. After exiting his tech business at 25, he spent years studying with leading spiritual teachers and therapists around the world. Today, he offers his own sessions that combine somatic work, shadow integration, and mindfulness, guiding high-performing leaders to connect with deeper purpose and inner freedom. His approach is grounded, experiential, and designed to support lasting transformation from within.
Eli was born in upstate New York and since a young age he has felt a strong connection with the spirits of nature. In his journey he found that the paths of meditation and shamanism have provided him the most supportive awakening tools. Eli is a long-time practitioner of meditation where he has studied in many lineages and spent intensive time in retreats and in silence. He also has frequented the Amazon jungle and there he studied the medical plant medicines through the tutelage of the Ingano tribe. Eli is the founder of The Nature Within and leads medicine retreats in Costa Rica with the Taita Chindoy family. His life intention is to bring these sacred healing tools to all beings in order to support the collective awakening.
John Freddy Cepeda is a practitioner of the sacred medicine path from the Sikuani tribe and is a brilliant medicine man, healer, and botanist. With over two decades of walking in the footsteps of his ancestors, John Freddy has devoted his life to working in harmony with nature and the plants of healing. Known for his powerful yet open-hearted presence, his work supports others in returning to their essence and remembering that all is spirit, energy, and connection.
Sathya is a breathwork facilitator, she has trained in transformational breathwork and has guided sessions with over a hundred people over the last 3 years. Nowadays she offers her own sessions which have a combination of active breath, bodywork, somatic exercise, and meditation, to make a complete journey. These practices have a profound impact as a direct way to connect to one’s body-mind and spirit. As she has worked alongside the medicine her sessions have evolved with the intention of having a tool for preparation and integration in Ancestral Plant Medicine retreats.
To enhance your integration post retreat and prepare both mind and body for your sacred medicine experience, we have created a bespoke 8-week preparation program with your growth and journey in mind:
If you were preparing for heart surgery, you would want to ensure that the procedure is performed by the best specialists available. Going to drink plant medicine is like going for a spiritual surgery where we are healing old karmic wounds, clearing energy stagnation in your subtle body, and coming back to wholeness. Who knows if this will be your only time drinking the medicine or if you will come to drink again.
Either way our spiritual growth is the most important thing we can invest in our whole lives. A well-nurtured spiritual path can bring balance and harmony to all other aspects of your life.
At our retreats, we recognize that each individual comes from different backgrounds and requires a unique set of tools to find peace. We integrate a wide range of modalities from various traditions, ensuring you have the most supportive tools to leave empowered and continue your journey toward true freedom.
With The Nature Within team, you can expect excellence and dedicated support. We look forward to supporting you on this transformative journey.
We cannot make any guarantees. In the end it takes a certain desire and openness from each participant to walk through the door and step into a better life. However, we can guarantee that you will feel loved and supported by a community who will walk you towards the door. We do have many participants that have resolved all sorts of traumas, physical illness and other ailments.
The medicine is a very powerful ally who can support us in this healing process. Sometimes we may leave a retreat with a trauma completely resolved or other times we may leave with new found strength to continue our healing journey.
Blue Spirit is located in Nosara, Guanacaste in the Nicoya Peninsula. It is about 2.5 hours from the Liberia airport and is located on the beach. It is approximately a 10 minute drive from the town of Nosara.
For more location details, visit this link.
The retreats at Blue Spirit are from Saturday to Saturday. The first retreat activity takes place on Saturday evening and the last one is Friday evening. Arrivals and departures are best on Saturdays.
Due to the nature of this retreat, we ask all the participants to stay for the whole week. The first days are designed to prepare you for the ceremonies and after the ceremonies, there are integration tools that will be shared. Everything is important. Please, if you need to leave, contact a team member.
CHECK IN & CHECK OUT TIMES
If you would like to arrive early or stay extra, please see the answer to this question below.
WHAT-TO-BRING-LIST
THE CLOSEST INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO BLUE SPIRIT IS LIBERIA INT’L AIRPORT (LIR)
Approximately a two-hour drive, Blue Spirit has multiple shuttles picking up guests at the Liberia Airport on Saturdays ONLY.
Note: shuttle not included.
According to the arrival times of all major airlines, there are group shuttle pickup times ranging between 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. for all flights arriving from midday to early afternoon, and between 7:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. for all flights arriving in the evening.
You can book your shuttle to/from LIR airport here.
***IMPORTANT: Please reserve your shuttle on the Thursday prior to your arrival before 12pm CST at the latest. Transportation requests and/or changes after this deadline must be made directly via e-mail to [email protected] or via a phone call. If you are already in Costa Rica dial +506 2656-8300, otherwise please call our US number (845) 684-2007.
Shuttle reservations sent via this form later than Thursday prior your arrival 12pm CST are NOT processed, even though you may receive a confirmation e-mail.
If you are arriving out of schedule contact Blue Spirit for options at [email protected].
If flying through SJO airport (4 hours driving distance), we recommend this transportation company.
Upon request, booking a private taxi is possible but there is limited availability for this service.
If you would like to arrive early or stay extra nights, please contact Blue Spirit directly: [email protected]
The Nature Within reserves the right to cancel a program at any time. If The Nature Within cancels a program, you will receive a full refund. A refund, minus 3% stripe fee of your room cost and a $200 processing fee, will be offered for cancellations made on or before the close of business, 45 days before each program.
No refund or credit will be offered for cancellations made with less than 45 days notice; if you do not show up; or if you leave a program early.
We highly recommend that you purchase travel insurance, which insures you against unforeseen sickness, injury, job loss, inclement weather, and more.
We understand that plans can change. Please get in touch with us immediately if you need to make adjustments or discuss your options. Your cooperation allows us to maintain the integrity of our retreats and provide the best experience for everyone involved.
To honor this beautiful commitment, we ask that you review and agree to the following terms:
At The Nature Within, our retreats require thoughtful preparation and care to create a safe and nurturing environment.
We strongly encourage participants to purchase travel insurance to protect against unexpected events such as illness, travel disruptions, or unforeseen emergencies that may prevent attendance.
Thank you for understanding and helping us uphold the sacred space of our work together.
Do you have any questions or concerns about joining a retreat? Schedule a free discovery call and let’s explore the possibilities together.