Whether you’ve lived a very healthy lifestyle for decades, want to refresh your knowledge,
or are just starting your wellness journey, this experience is for you.
During both weeks you will:
- Learn evidence-based guidelines for nutrition, physical activity, stress management, and sleep
- Gain practical ideas that you can take home and implement immediately
- Experience lifestyle as medicine through delicious food, physical activity, and connecting with nature
- Understand how lifestyle behaviors impact brain healthy, mood, mobility, longevity, and other components of whole-health
- Join a community of others excited about optimizing their health through the joy of lifestyle as medicine
July 8th - 15th

Program package price includes for participants:
guided morning hikes, bird watching, kayaking, yoga, meet community members from the blue zone, farm to table culinary classes, meet blue zone residents and farewell smoothie, mock-tail, or cocktail.
Schedule may change based on weather and/or excursions
Day 1
Optimizing Nutrition for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Learn from the blue zones how a delicious whole food plant predominant lifestyle will optimize your microbiome to improve your mood, increase your levels of energy and improve your health destiny. What are glycotoxins and what impact do they have on your health? Understand how to create a food environment that makes the healthy choice an easy choice. 1 hr
Day 2:
Optimizing Movement for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
In the blue zones, movement happens every 20 minutes throughout typical daily activities. Learn how to have joy in movement to help you live your best life. Learn a variety of movements that will optimize your bone, brain and metabolic health. 1 hr
Day 3:
Optimizing Sleep for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Sleep is a super power in the blue zones. Sleep increases stress resiliency, improves cognitive functioning and optimizes your mood. Sleep is so much more powerful than we ever have known. Learn the current, cutting edge research making sleep work for you. Learn tips and tricks to improve your sleep quality. 1 hr
guided morning hikes, bird watching, kayaking, yoga, meet community members from the blue zone, farm to table culinary classes, meet blue zone residents and farewell smoothie, mock-tail, or cocktail.
Schedule may change based on weather and/or excursions
- Yoga or Bird watching: 6 am - 8 am
- Breakfast: 8-9 am at resort restaurant (included)
- Education - Lecture with Dr. Michelle Tollefson each morning
- Daily activities
- Options for healthy, delicious meals including whole-food and plant-based options, vegan, vegetarian, and other eating styles
Day 1
Optimizing Nutrition for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Learn from the blue zones how a delicious whole food plant predominant lifestyle will optimize your microbiome to improve your mood, increase your levels of energy and improve your health destiny. What are glycotoxins and what impact do they have on your health? Understand how to create a food environment that makes the healthy choice an easy choice. 1 hr
Day 2:
Optimizing Movement for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
In the blue zones, movement happens every 20 minutes throughout typical daily activities. Learn how to have joy in movement to help you live your best life. Learn a variety of movements that will optimize your bone, brain and metabolic health. 1 hr
Day 3:
Optimizing Sleep for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Sleep is a super power in the blue zones. Sleep increases stress resiliency, improves cognitive functioning and optimizes your mood. Sleep is so much more powerful than we ever have known. Learn the current, cutting edge research making sleep work for you. Learn tips and tricks to improve your sleep quality. 1 hr

Day 4:
Optimizing Stress Resilience for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Stress is unavoidable even in the blue zones. However, we DO have the power to change our response to it. Learn how this will affect your psychological health, change your mood and create a balanced, stress-resilient life. Add some new tools to your stress reduction toolbox. 1 hr
Day 5:
Optimizing Social and Nature Connection for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
People in the blue zones are connected with their faith, family and friends. Learn how to optimize your personal connections to add years to your life and life to your years. Understand how to harness the power of nature to restore health and happiness. Experience this through Costa Rica’s immense and unique biodiversity and learn how to take these concepts back home to apply in your daily life. 1 hr
Day 6:
Optimizing Your Wellness Moving Forward - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Learn from the blue zones how to optimize your health. Put together all these lessons and experiences learned into an actionable plan to change your health destiny. The blue zones teach us how to live healthier, happier, more joy filled lives. Now it is your turn for you to achieve this same level of health and happiness. 1 hr
Optimizing Stress Resilience for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Stress is unavoidable even in the blue zones. However, we DO have the power to change our response to it. Learn how this will affect your psychological health, change your mood and create a balanced, stress-resilient life. Add some new tools to your stress reduction toolbox. 1 hr
Day 5:
Optimizing Social and Nature Connection for a Healthier, Longer, Joy-Filled Life - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
People in the blue zones are connected with their faith, family and friends. Learn how to optimize your personal connections to add years to your life and life to your years. Understand how to harness the power of nature to restore health and happiness. Experience this through Costa Rica’s immense and unique biodiversity and learn how to take these concepts back home to apply in your daily life. 1 hr
Day 6:
Optimizing Your Wellness Moving Forward - Dr. Michelle Tollefson
Learn from the blue zones how to optimize your health. Put together all these lessons and experiences learned into an actionable plan to change your health destiny. The blue zones teach us how to live healthier, happier, more joy filled lives. Now it is your turn for you to achieve this same level of health and happiness. 1 hr
Other Incredible Opportunities (additional fee required)

Nutrition & Cultural experiences
- Farm tours. Visit to their gardens
- Coffee tour, gardens, farm, spice tour & medicinal plants
- Hiking tour with biologist in the cloud forest
- Private yoga classes
- Guided morning walks
- Rincon de la Vieja adventure park: all day, lunch, zip lines, water slide, thermal baths, volcanic mud “bath”, cultural lesson.

Wellness
Sleep
Social connection & Nature conservation
- Private yoga classes
- Mud-thermal waters
- Crafts at Punta Islita Art museum
- Waterfall (such as Llanos de Cortes in Guanacaste)
Sleep
- Bed time Stretching and relaxation
Social connection & Nature conservation
- McCaw rescue Ara project.
- Wild life Refuge Turtle preservation.
- Crafts at Punta Islita.