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Four Ways Into BEing
Horses
Horses
Horses
Being Seen
Horses meet us in the immediacy of relationship.
They do not require our résumé, our history, or an explanation of who we intend to become.
They experience the human standing before them, and they respond to what is happening between us now.
In their presence, we can experience what it feels like to be seen without first construct
Being Seen
Horses meet us in the immediacy of relationship.
They do not require our résumé, our history, or an explanation of who we intend to become.
They experience the human standing before them, and they respond to what is happening between us now.
In their presence, we can experience what it feels like to be seen without first constructing a story about who we are.
No horse experience is necessary.
Yoga
Horses
Horses
Being With
Yoga brings the exploration into the body.
The body carries history. It exists in the present, and it is continually changing.
Our practice isn't about asking the body to become more flexible, stronger, younger, thinner, or better.
Instead, we explore a different question:
Can I be with this body, exactly as it is?
No previous yoga experience is necessary.
Nature
Horses
Nature
Being Part Of
All of this takes place within a living system that has very little interest in our timelines.
The river moves and has been moving long before we arrived.
A tree contains its beginning, its present form, and the possibility of what it will become.
The rainforest is simultaneously growing, dying, decomposing, and being born.
Noth
Being Part Of
All of this takes place within a living system that has very little interest in our timelines.
The river moves and has been moving long before we arrived.
A tree contains its beginning, its present form, and the possibility of what it will become.
The rainforest is simultaneously growing, dying, decomposing, and being born.
Nothing is static, and yet nothing appears to be rushing toward completion.
Nature doesn't teach us how to escape time; it reminds us how to live within it.
Art
Horses
Nature
Being Expressed
Then there are the inevitable gaps—the places language cannot quite reach.
Art gives those places form.
Color, texture, line, shape, and image allow something intangible to enter three-dimensional space.
A feeling becomes a mark.
A memory becomes color.
An emerging possibility takes shape before we fully understand what it mean
Being Expressed
Then there are the inevitable gaps—the places language cannot quite reach.
Art gives those places form.
Color, texture, line, shape, and image allow something intangible to enter three-dimensional space.
A feeling becomes a mark.
A memory becomes color.
An emerging possibility takes shape before we fully understand what it means.
Art makes visible something that, moments before, existed only within us.
Honestly, no artistic skill is necessary.
The Lodge: Hacienda El Origen
High in the mountains, in the same village as Eponicity, between Costa Rica’s Southern Pacific coast and San Isidro, lies Hacienda El Origen.
The owner of Hacienda El Origen has preserved this extraordinary place as a living connection to his roots and the land he came from.
Powered by the sun and water, it offers a truly off-grid experience. The 100-hectare hacienda is a working farm, with hundreds of fruit trees, cattle, emus, a tilapia pond, and an authentic sugarcane press.
High above it all, a treehouse rests within the branches of an ancient tree, reached by a suspension bridge and overlooking the rolling canopy of the rainforest.
Staying here feels a little like stepping into Swiss Family Robinson, and a little like stepping outside of time altogether. Life moves according to a different rhythm: rain and sunlight, planting and harvesting, flowering and ripening.
Time is no longer a straight line here. It spirals with the seasons, circles back upon itself, and reminds us of something we may have forgotten: we are part of nature, not separate from it.
Guest Rooms
A Different Kind of Stay
Guest rooms are not typical hotel rooms, and that is part of their charm. Whether you brave the suspension bridge to the treehouse or choose accommodations a little closer to the ground, you’ll be comfortable, welcome, and well cared for by the staff throughout your stay.
The accommodations reflect the character of the estate: rustic, unique, immersed in nature, and authentically Costa Rican.
Meals
From the Farm to the Table
You’ll be invited to gather fruits, vegetables, and other foods growing right on the farm. If you'd like to join in, you can lend a hand with daily chores and get acquainted with the wonderful menagerie of animals that call the finca home, including emus!
Our on-site cooks lovingly prepare meals using fresh local ingredients and the authentic flavors of Costa Rica.
The Facilitators
Deborah Draves Legg and Susanne Streidl
Our paths have crossed in some wonderful ways over the years. We have both lived and worked in Costa Rica, owned and managed destination hotels, and collaborated in tourism. Creating experiences where people feel welcomed, cared for, and at home comes naturally to us. We share a genuine curiosity about being human, a love of creativity and nature, and an appreciation for experiences with depth that still leave plenty of room for laughter, play, and spontaneity.
HUMANS BEing brings all of that together, with enough structure to hold the experience and enough space for the unexpected moments that often become the ones we remember most. Together, we hold the central question of this retreat:
What becomes possible when we stop trying so hard to become and experience what it is to BE?
Benevolent Being Podcast: Featuring Susanne and Deborah discussing Being as a Verb : HERE
Susanne
I love bringing people together, creating spaces where curiosity can unfold, and inspiring people to discover their own creativity, joy, and aliveness.
Life has taken me through many different worlds. German-born and shaped by a life across cultures, my journey has led me from working as a flight attendant and educator in human and social development to becoming a yoga teacher, retreat facilitator, and hotel manager in Costa Rica.
Along the way, I’ve been part of international teams and social projects in different countries, always guided by curiosity, a love for people, and a desire to explore new perspectives.
I speak four languages and feel most at home and alive across cultures and with all kinds of people.
This unique mix of experiences shapes my BEing today: connecting professionalism with curiosity, experience with intuition, and structure with the freedom to do things differently.
Creativity and design are another important part of my life. I love painting and creating, inspired by beauty—in people, in nature, in little things, and in those special moments that make life feel alive.
Whether it’s yoga, meditation, art, singing together, or a walk in the forest, I invite you to SIMPLICITY- something that feels good for your soul and awakens your childlike joy, and to LET YOUR INNER SUNSHINE OUT.
Deborah
I love the places where certainty ends and curiosity begins, where horses, nature, creativity, and honest human experience help us see ourselves from a different perspective.
Like Susanne, my life has moved through many worlds. I spent more than thirty years in nursing, from the intensity of neonatal and pediatric critical care to the deeply human work of hospice and end-of-life care.
Alongside that journey, horses became some of my greatest teachers, eventually leading me into equine-facilitated learning, transformational coaching, retreat work, writing, and exploring the many ways we make meaning of our lives.
For more than twenty years, I have brought people and horses together through Eponicity, creating experiences that help us discover what becomes visible when we pay attention.
I am endlessly inquisitive about consciousness and the mystery of what it means to be human.
Living in Costa Rica has deepened that curiosity. Here, surrounded by horses, rainforest, rivers, wildlife, and the constant movement of nature, I am reminded every day that being is not a state of stillness. It is a living relationship with life as it is happening.
During Humans BEing, I’ll invite you into experiences with the horses, the land, one another, and yourself, not to find something that is missing, but to remember everything that is already here.
Retreat Investment
$3,800 USD/person
€3300 Euros/person
Seven nights | March 7–14, 2027
HUMANS BEing is limited to six guests.
Living together is part of the experience—sharing meals, mornings, conversations, laughter, silence, and the ordinary spaces between everything else.
HUMANS BEing is intentionally communal.
Accommodations are shared. Private rooms are not available for this retreat.
What's Included
- Seven nights shared lodging and meals at Hacienda El Origen
- Equine experiences at Eponicity
- Yoga and movement experiences
- Art experiences and materials
- Day trip to Uvita and the Whale's Tail - We'll travel to Uvita and Marino Ballena National Park, home of the famous Whale's Tail, where two beaches meet to create a natural formation extending into the Pacific.
- Private group transportation throughout the retreat
- Round-trip group transportation between Quepos Airport and Hacienda El Origen
Not Included
- International and domestic flights
- Meals eaten at local restaurants on the arrival-day lunch in Dominical and lunch during our Uvita beach outing
- Alcoholic beverages and soft drinks
- Tips and gratuities
- Personal expenses
- Travel insurance
Reservation & Payment
A 50% non-refundable deposit ($1,900) reserves your place.
The remaining balance of $1,900 is due 60 days before the retreat.
All retreat payments are non-refundable.
Payment may be made by credit card, PayPal, bank transfer, or Venmo.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance is required for all participants. Your policy should include coverage for:
- Trip cancellation and interruption
- Emergency medical care
- Medical evacuation to your home country
- Pandemic-related disruption
- Force majeure events
Because payments are non-refundable, we strongly encourage you to purchase comprehensive coverage as soon as you reserve your place. Each participant is responsible for travel arrangements. Please allow generous connection times when coordinating international and domestic flights. Retreat activities and timing may be adjusted in response to weather, land conditions, the horses, or other unforeseen circumstances.
Arrival and Departure
Arrival: March 7, 2027
Our time together begins at Quepos Airport (XQP).
A private group transfer will meet participants at this regional airport.
Departure: March 14, 2027
A private group transfer will take you back to Quepos Airport (XQP).
Travel Planning
For international travelers, the easiest route is generally to fly into Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) near San José and then take a short domestic flight to Quepos Airport (XQP). SANSA Airlines offers service between San José and Quepos.
Depending on your international flight schedule, you may prefer to spend a night near SJO before or after the retreat.
We are happy to offer guidance on your international flight, SANSA connection, and overnight airport stay.