Why Buena Nota?

When I was in a major professional & personal slump, I visited my friends who had just moved to Costa Rica. With a "why the heck not?" attitude, they up and moved to a new country for a year- just to try it, just to live a little, just to remember that life actually can be fun and adventurous even in the doldrums of adulthood. This decision alone was wildly inspiring to me, but that was before I even visited the land of pura vida.

Buena nota literally translates to "good grade or good note", and ticos (native Costa Ricans) commonly use it when expressing gratitude or acknowledging how agreeable or enjoyable something is. "Buena nota mae gracias por ayudarme" (Thanks for helping me) or "Ese viaje fue buena nota" (That trip was awesome). When things are buena nota, they are pleasant, relaxing, and strike a chord of harmony within a person.

To me, this is exactly what health is. It's a deep sigh, it's a resonant yes, an alignment of body, mind, and soul. Health is harmony, it can't exist without it. There is no dissonance nor sour chords. There is no avoidance nor constriction.

For a long, long time, I was only skimming the surface of health. I exercised, I avoided processed foods, I looked fit - but was my health buena nota? Nah, it was avoidant and superficial and deep down, very confused. I believed my body was broken- that something was inherently wrong with me and that my flaws made me unworthy of nourishment. All the little tweaks I made only pushed me deeper into dissonance.

For too long, my approach to health came from this belief that I was inherently wrong & that punishment was the only remedy rather than the enlightened knowing that my body was right all along. Our bodies do not betray us, ever. Every ache, pain, or unpleasant emotion is in response to something, and harmony alone comes when we learn to listen rather than fight it. My goal with every client I see at Buena Nota is to facilitate this return to resonance.

A little background on the origins of my company name