One Time Retreats
Yoga Santocha Center
Santocha Yoga Center was a small hatha yoga and Pilates studio in the city of Cartago, in Costa Rica's Central Valley, founded in 2009 by dancer and yoga teacher Diana Dittel. Its website no longer works and we found no current listing, so treat this page as a record and check before you go.
Update, November 2026: We couldn't confirm Santocha Yoga Center is still running. Its website (yogasantocha.com) no longer works, and we found no recent listings or reviews under its name or its founder's. We've removed its old phone numbers and email address. Check locally before you plan to visit.
Santocha Yoga Center opened in 2009 in Cartago, the old colonial capital in Costa Rica's Central Valley, about 30 to 45 minutes east of San José by car. When we wrote about it, the studio was near the city's courthouse and taught hatha yoga and Pilates to the general public. Santosha, the Sanskrit word behind the name, means contentment.
The founder
Diana Dittel began studying modern dance at age 9 and earned a bachelor's degree in modern dance at Costa Rica's National University (UNA), where she also began studying hatha yoga in 1998. She went on to train in several styles, including Anusara, vinyasa, Ashtanga and partner yoga, and was certified to teach yoga, Pilates and chi kung.
What it offered
Besides regular hatha and Pilates classes, the center ran public talks and workshops that anyone could join.
If you're looking for yoga in the Central Valley today, see our guide to where to do yoga in Costa Rica, which covers the Central Valley as well as the coasts.
[Updated on: 4 November 2026]
