Yoga Teacher at Blue Osa

We are SO grateful to have you come to Blue Osa as a volunteer. Blue Osa is growing and expanding and we are reaching out to the larger community to increase our visibility. Your contribution of knowledge and service to our community is vital and important to Blue Osa’s mission:

To provide the most nurturing and transformative environment possible to our guests.

Being a volunteer gives you an opportunity to come and experience Blue Osa in a very unique way. You become an intrinsic part of our community and our special way of life. We are opening our doors for you to become a part of our community. Our community consists of the guests, the staff, Marie, Adam, our animals, vendors, tour guides, drivers and many others who are a part of our eco-system.

In yogic philosophy, being a volunteer, or offering service, is one of the highest forms of yoga practice. The Sanskrit word for volunteering is “seva”. Seva basically means to offer service and to do so mindfully with non-attachment.

In deep gratitude for offering seva to Blue Osa and our community, our promise is to provide:

Upon your arrival and departure, ground transportation to and from Puerto Jimenez.
3 healthy delicious meals daily.
Private accommodations in our staff quarters.
Yoga classes when offered.
In some cases, eco-tours will be provided in exchange for a blog post about the excursion.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND

NON-PAYING
This is a non-paying position. It is a volunteer position. If you ask, we will immediately discontinue any correspondence.

REGARDING POSITIONS
We will indicate the positions we are looking to fill and when we are looking to fill them by.

ONLY SPECIFIC SKILLSETS
Please do not email us telling us about the skills you have that we are not looking for.

ARE YOU A YOGA TEACHER?
Although it is not always required, we generally look for volunteers who are able to teach yoga. If you are a yoga teacher, you will usually, but not always, be more likely to be considered.

PLEASE DON'T...
Do not email us asking if you may be able to attend the One-Month Immersion for free or for exchange. If you would like to attend the One-Month Immersion, please visit the page for more information on the price and what is included. One-Month Immersion Yoga Teacher Training

PLEASE DO NOT BE OFFENDED...
Please do not be offended if we do not respond. If we do not, it means that we are currently full and do not need your services.

WORK HOURS
MONDAY TO FRIDAY

Writer/Office
Retreat Schedule
Morning 7:00 AM to 10:00/10:30 AM
Brunch
12:00 PM until 3:30 PM (this includes 1/2 hour for snack)
Dinner – 15 – 30 mins seva

Non-Retreat Schedule
Breakfast Between 7:30/8:00/8:30 AM
Morning until 12:00 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Dinner – 15 – 30 mins seva

Gardening
Retreat schedule
Morning 6:30 AM to 10:00 AM/10:30 AM
Brunch
11:00 AM to 12:30 AM
Afternoon for one hour
Dinner – 15 – 30 mins seva

Non-retreat Schedule
6:00 AM until Breakfast which is 7:30 or 8:00 AM
After breakfast until 12:00 PM
Afternoon for one hour
Dinner – 15 – 30 mins seva

Kitchen Helper
Hours are given at arrival and often will change from week to week.

INFORMATION YOU NEED TO KNOW
The following information will help smooth your integration into the Blue Osa community and give you the information you need, so that you can fully express your gift in a way that supports both you and Blue Osa to shine.

We know that you really want to fit in and be a constructive member of our community. We have found that the following guidelines will help us to support you, for you to support us. We thought it wise to put it in writing. If anything stands out or surprises you, please contact us to discuss it at your earliest convenience.

We do expect all volunteers to comply with everything below. If you come and are not able to, you may be asked to leave without warning.

SAY HELLO

You are a part of our family, and greetings are very important!

In Costa Rica, saying hello and goodbye is an important way of life. Typically you say something like “Hola. Pura Vida!” If it is man to man, you always shake hands. If it is a female to male, or male to female greeting, then the custom is to offer a New York style “kiss” on the cheek. (Of course you are not obligated to do this. A simple greeting of “Hola” will suffice.)

While we sometimes get frustrated with each other, we always follow these simple rituals, which help to maintain a sense of community and camaraderie. This rule/ritual actually applies everywhere in Costa Rica.

100% ACCOUNTABILITY
During my time at Blue Osa, I will do my best to be 100% accountable for my experience. I am choosing to believe that I attract that which occurs around me and to me. This belief will prompt me to take ownership of both the good and the uncomfortable and to mindfully choose how I am going to respond externally and internally to the event. I am choosing to embrace the idea that my inner story is of my own design and that my external responses affect those around me. I am choosing to be a force for good both with others and with myself.

SEXUAL CONDUCT
Sex, fraternization and private time of any kind with guests and employees is strictly forbidden. This is a non-negotiable. We do encourage you to develop healthy and meaningful relationships with our Blue Osa community but must insist that you remain professional at all times. Any time with guests/employees must be done in public areas, in full view of other guests/employees.

We have a zero tolerance for sexual harassment of any kind.

WORKING HOURS AND TIME OFF
Below is a description of working hours. We expect 30 hours a week from volunteers for the work/assistance you are coming to provide. Additionally, we do ask/expect some seva from you in the form of community service. At night time, we are sometimes very busy with kitchen clean up and ask our volunteers to offer 15 – 30 minutes of help. This will help cement deeper relations with staff.

ACCOMMODATIONS
We provide for your accommodations while you are at Blue Osa. Accommodations consist of eco-style housing in our staff rooms. There is no AC so if you are heat sensitive or have problems with heat, we may have to talk. Each room is equipped with a fan. The bathroom is shared. There is a private outdoor shower for your use.

BE CLEAN
We ask that you practice keeping your spaces clean and tidy, specifically the areas you are working. You will most likely be working in the common
areas. Please remember this is a guest area as well and should be kept tidy. Our housekeeping will provide a basic service to clean your room once a week along with changing your sheets and providing fresh towels.

ALCOHOL AT BLUE OSA
You are definitely welcome to enjoy yourself as you wish during your off time and please do so responsibly and mindfully. You may bring your own alcohol (available in town) or buy drinks from the Blue Osa bar at a 50% discount.

DRUGS AND SMOKING
Drugs and smoking are strictly prohibited at Blue Osa. If you are a smoker, please smoke outside Blue Osa and do so privately. Please do not invite any guests to participate with you, and please do so without being in view of any person.

LAUNDRY SERVICE
We encourage you to travel as light as possible. You do not need much
here. While we do not have a laundry for you to use on your own, we will provide a laundry service for you once a week. The laundry room is off-limits to all volunteers.

MORNING SILENCE
One of our rituals at Blue Osa is to practice morning silence daily until 7:30. This time is reserved to honor the beginning of the day, for meditation and contemplation, yoga, and other sacred activities.

WAKE UP IN THE MORNINGS
Typically breakfast is offered sometime between 6:30 and 8:30 am. Depending on where you are working and what you are doing, we do expect to see you up and working / available in the early mornings. Additionally, it is much cooler in the mornings and is the best time to work. Our workers arrive and start their day here at 6.

DRESS CODE
At this particular time, Adam and Aaron are still discussing dress code for volunteers. However, we do expect all volunteers to properly dress. This means that a shirt or tank-top must be worn at all times unless you are going to the pool or heading to the beach. You also need to be neat and tidy in appearance when you are around guests or in guest areas.

THE KITCHEN
The Kitchen, the refrigerator and the freezer are off limits to all volunteers. If you are in the kitchen for any reason than the 4 reasons below, you might be asked to leave Blue Osa or given a severe warning:

If you are taking pictures.
You need to get a guest something from the kitchen and there are NO staff available.
If you are invited into the kitchen to work/help out.
You are cooking with Marie or the staff and/or taking cooking lessons.

MEAL TIMES
Your meals at Blue Osa will be provided for. Please take note of the meals times and show up when meals are offered. Once the meals are served, there will not be another opportunity to eat until the next meal. At dinnertime, you are expected to arrive when the meals are served. We use this time to share around the table, sometimes introduce ourselves, and talk about the food.

Our custom at Blue Osa is to wait until the guests have served themselves first before lining up at the buffet table.

LEAVING THE PROPERTY
Anytime you are leaving the property you need to let someone know where you are going. If you are going into town for dinner, let someone know you are going to town. Living in a remote rainforest jungle 11 km from town, we need to practice mindfulness in safety. We are not trying to keep tabs on you or care what you do in your free time. We are just concerned about your safety.

SPA SERVICES
We definitely want to invite you to enjoy the spa. We invite you to make your own arrangements with the spa staff in terms of fees and payments. They will often give a discount to the volunteers, and sometimes may even do trades, particularly if you are a writer or photographer.

ELECTRONICS
We are in the tropics and next to the sea and many electronics do not hold up well. We have found that Macs hold up much better here than PC’s. MUCH BETTER! But please remember your electronics can fail when you come here, and will usually magically turn on when you leave. It doesn’t really happen that much, but it has happened and we want to let you know.

Just for your information, we only use Macs in our office.

WI-FI AND INTERNET
We generally have good wifi for being in the jungle. We do not have a lot of bandwidth and ask that you do any downloading at night when people are going to bed. NOT in the daytime.
While we do have great wifi, you do need to know that it can occasionally go out for a few days at a time. This is not a regular occurrence but can happen. If this does happen, you can usually go to town for a couple of hours at a time and catch up on what you need to do. If you are coming to Blue Osa with your own projects to work on, you should be aware of. And we do not promise consistent internet usage. We are in the jungle.

POSITIVE BEHAVIOR
Blue Osa works towards being a positive communicative community – we don’t talk about things behind other’s backs and we do talk about things head on. Please bring things to our attention immediately so it can be addressed.

This avoids conflict, gossip and negativity in the future.

DOGS AND STRAY ANIMALS
While you are at Blue Osa, you DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION to feed stray dogs or welcome stray dogs to the property. Unless directed by Aaron or the management, you do not have permission to feed any animals that are residing at Blue Osa. I you are found feeding any stray dogs, you will be asked to leave immediately.

GOING TO TOWN
We are 11 km from Puerto Jimenez. We feel that it is important for you to know that we are this distance from town so that if you have needs there, it is not always easy to get there. However, there are usually cars going there all the time and you can usually get a ride.

While our employees have motorcycles, they are NOT permitted to give any rides to guests or volunteers. There is also a “bus” that passes by three times a day. And you can always hitchhike.

YOU ARE A VOLUNTEER
Please kindly remember that you are not a guest. You are a volunteer. We are so grateful for your assistance and all that you wish to add to the Blue Osa energy and life. Your service to us and our growing community is essential and we hope that your stay here will be as rewarding for you as it is for us. We look forward to having you come.

OPEN VOLUNTEER POSITIONS

Please read the descriptions below and when we might be look for them to be covered.

We typically look for yoga teachers who have expertise in these positions below. (With the exception of photographer, videographer and chef.) All volunteers need to be 200 RYT or 500 RYT yoga teachers, and be on call to teach as needed in the Blue Osa Yoga Programs as they are offered. You usually will not be teaching a lot, and will be working primarily in the job as listed below.

If you offer other services, or offer something we are not looking for, or are applying when the position is filled, please do not be offended if we do not respond to your email. We get at least 5-10 requests EVERYDAY for volunteering opportunities. We ONLY offer 3 – 5 volunteer positions at one time. We look for people who offer exactly what we are looking for and with the best skills.

And if you are looking for a vacation getaway, we suggest you use ourreservation system to book one with us.

UNLESS YOU EMAIl US REGARDING ONE OF THE POSITIONS BELOW, WE WILL NOT BE RESPONDING TO YOUR EMAIL.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

A Blog / Copy Writer/ Yoga Teacher

We are currently looking for a writer/yoga teacher.

We need a writer who is skilled in:
1. Blogging – writing copy for a blog.
2. Knows how to upload posts into WordPress or other platforms.

We have a website that needs blog content. We also look for volunteers with yoga teacher certification as well.

If you are interested in this please:
– submit samples of your work.
– Can commit to three months.

What does this position entail?
1. You will write 3 articles a week. Each article consisting of 1000 words or more. (The general topic will be Yoga In Costa Rica / Travel Costa Rica / Wellness in Costa Rica.)
2. Possible copy for the website
3. Be on hand to teach yoga as needed.

What you will receive?

3 meals cooked prepared daily
access to daily yoga classes (when available)
a private room in our volunteer quarters
a shared bathroom (shared with other volunteers)
laundry is done for you one time week
free wi-fi (computer not provided)
taxi transportation to and from the airport on arrival and departure days
And so much more!