San FranCelia

One of the biggest long time trends, and one of the greatest reasons to live in San Francisco, is the constant health kick the entire city seems to be on.  When I first moved here, I of course had thought about my health and even worked-out on occasion (*cough*cough* “worked out” in this case is a little subjective, I’ll admit), but I was never into it.  I didn’t think about the things that I put into my body and the beverages I consumed.  I have always been active, but in my opinion, that’s just not enough to live what San Franciscans love to call, a “healthy lifestyle”.  Upon my move, I realized that this notion, and subsequent action by the city’s residents, was something that was pervasive around the city as a whole.  If you’ve ever been up at 6am on a Saturday morning (you poor thing), you’ll see marathons in Golden Gate Park, bicyclists in large groups heading out to Sausalito for a Marin Headlands jaunt, and joggers galore.  From corner stores to restaurants, foods are catered for people trying to eat less fat, consume more nutrients, and of course, because we are all food snobs here, want something that leaves us craving better and better taste and texture.  I love it!  But, with the healthy eating that’s so easy to come by, and since we don’t all like to rise at the crack of dawn (crack of noon in some people’s cases… *cough* cough*) we must find a way to be responsible for our own well being, especially in a  a physical sense.  If you are human you need to move.  We are animals after all.  That’s why, when I had a chance to check out the upscale Sports Club LA affiliated with the Four Seasons on Market Street, I jumped (yes literally – it’s good exercise, don’t you know) at the chance.  While the pricey monthly dues (about $160/month for the full time membership) and steep initiation fee (around $1000) can leave some reeling – myself included – if you can afford it, this place is the way to go.  They have everything; from a salt water pool to a steam room, a private Pilates studio and basketball court.  Classes are offered all

day and there are tons to choose from at any given time; two floors of space, in fact.  The gym has so much equipment that you will never have to wait for a treadmill again.  With floor to ceiling window views of Market Street, it makes for a magnificent sight.  It’s clean, has a nice and helpful staff, and is a gorgeous facility to boot.  And to top it off, as posh as it is, it’s still not as intimidating or sterile as you would think, as many high end places can tend to feel, which I loved.  I didn’t feel like all the women were perfectly in shape and wearing make-up and the men could compete in Mr. Olympia with a good chance of making top 5 (some were, of course, but I suppose that’s to be expected at any Downtown gym).  Can’t stand when you feel too chubby to join a gym…  what’s the point after all?

While there are many options when selecting a gym membership, this fitness mega-plex is definitely one to be considered.  While pricey, the benefits definitely outweigh the cost if you frequent enough.  If you want to have a taste of the luxe facility, ask them about a free week pass.  You may even find you can’t live without it.  If not, hey… free week!  That’s what I call a healthy lifestyle.

Peace and love Xo

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Just checked out Funky Door Yoga last night for the first time and it’s a cool spot I think everyone would love.  They have several locations, one in the Haight, one in Berkeley, and the one I went to in mid-town, at Pine and Polk.  They are exclusively Bikram, so if you go, be aware of that.  I love Bikram yoga – it’s the most difficult yet rewarding type of yoga there is as far as I’m concerned.  I’m not a first time Bikram doer, so I didn’t have to go through anything special at Funky Door, but you may have to go through a small info talk from an instructor if you’ve never been.  I just walked in, left my shoes at the door, paid my drop-in fee of $16 and headed to the locker room.  Super easy.  Bikram , or hot yoga, is doing strength stretching in about 110 degrees, so you sweat profusely.  It sounds close to awful when you read about it on paper, but if you like yoga, or even working out to a certain

extent, it will change your life!  It’s very difficult when you are actually doing it – your heart beats hard (even though all the movements are slow and controlled) and as you can imagine and as I mentioned before, you sweat… A LOT!  But that’s part of the magic.  Imagine all of the toxins leaving your body and your muscles getting a good stretch while being kept warm continually – amazing.  You leave practically walking on air, and you almost feel high, the endorphins are running so hard.  The cool thing about this spot is that the instructor (I had Darius last night) actually opens and closes the windows during the session, so you weren’t ready to pass out at any given moment.  I went to a Bikram class once where not only was it hot like normal, but she never cracked a window to keep the air at 110 degrees.  I think this made all the difference in my experience, since the temperature of the heater along with the students’ body temperatures rising can make the room almost unbearable.  It’s a 90 minute class, so making sure you are relatively healthy is an important start.  Getting slightly dizzy or breathing hard is not uncommon.  The instructor will tell you if you’re new to stop if you need to – it’s not overly stringent.  It was a great class where I really pushed myself – totally worth going.

Short post, just needed to tell you about this awesome spot.  Have fun going and stay healthy!

Peace and Love Xo

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Recently, a friend of mine in PR sent me samples of the Zola Açai Berry Smoothie line, and it’s amazing!  We have all heard of açai berries and the benefits of drinking it’s juice regularly (hello Oprah!), so this will really excite anyone who is looking to get healthier in an easy, tasty way.  Zola’s signature Açai Juice is already in stores, but coming this April, they will be launching a new smoothie line, and lucky me, I get to taste them before they are out and let you all know what’s the deal with them and, more importantly, how they taste!  Below are all four different blends:

 Energy Smoothie

 This smoothie is light and refreshing.  Tastes like fruit punch with a kick!  It’s naturally caffeinated with a boost of yerba mate and guaraná seed, so you do actually get pumped, which is so great, because it’s actually healthy for you in regular intervals (as opposed to my daily latté – bonus!).

 Antioxidant Smoothie

 What a berry blast!  Tastes like you are drinking pure blackberrys (or some sort of dark berry) but it’s actually full of purple açai berries that deliver more free-radical fighting antioxidants than any other fruit in the world.  This, as I recently found out, helps with cell damage, so everything in your body gets, well… better!  Pretty impressive, and so is this delicious smoothie.

 Immunity Smoothie

 This was a particularly useful and tasty blend, as I had a cold while trying all of these juices.  It’s a super tart mix that almost tastes like a delicious pastry… is that weird?  Haha!  It’s a scrumptious mix of acerola cherries, camu and açai berries.  It contains antioxidants, bioflavonoids, and of course Vitamin C.  You will definitely be feeling healthier (or in my case, less sick) after drinking this blend.

 Superfood Smoothie

 This is the earthiest tasting of all four smoothies, and definitely takes the most getting used to if you aren’t a true “foodie” as we say in the Bay.  However, it does really grow on you, especially when you hear the benefits.  It is (of course) full of free-radical fighting açai, but also contains Vitamin B packed graviola and anti-aging (yes!) cupuaçu.  This will help you feel super alert and energized when you are on the go, plus help you stay young looking for years to come… awesome.

Alright peeps… check these out in April.  They will be at Whole Foods in the Bay Area to start, and then moving into other health food stores and high end grocery stores (think Andronico’s) later.  Check out their YouTube link to get Zola’s full story:  2009 ZOLA ACAI

 Happy (and healthy!) drinking!

Peace and love!  XO

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