I love everything about this studio. So where do I begin? Ordinarily I’ll start with the setting and the vibe of the spot, however, it’s the people at One Life Yoga that stick out most in my mind. Founders, Samy Rose and Reza Samadi are both hip, humble, warm, excitable, and illustrious yoga practitioners. They are deeply passionate about creating an environment where people of all levels of yogic experience can come to learn and grow from a multitude of modalities and teachings.

Laura McCarthy, studio manager and resident teacher, offers a cheerful energy to the space, which is at once both welcoming and grounding. In fact, the communal atmosphere at One Life makes everyone, students and teachers alike, feel like old-time neighborhood friends. There is even a majestic German Shepard/Husky mix named Lily that enchants the space with her soft and friendly demeanor.

The Studio at One Life Yoga in Pasadena

Located in the serene, quiet mountainside of Northern Pasadena, the relaxed attitude of the studio seems to match its surroundings. It features a sleek façade, exposed brick, and modern décor. Yet it maintains a comfortable and cozy feeling; one of the two studio spaces is aptly called The Calm Room. With large fluffy carpeting and over-sized cushions, it is the perfect space to curl up and dive into the mysteries of Tarot or one of the other eclectic workshop offerings. The other studio boasts new wooden flooring and a sun-lit and spacious environment tailored for both hot and unheated flow classes.

Five Core Practices at One Life Yoga

One of the hallmarks of the studio is their structure of five core practice offerings. These include the following: Fire (held poses/hot yoga), Water (flowing vinyasa in medium heat), Earth (Yin/Restorative/holds without heat), Air (energizing Kundalini and breathwork inspired classes without heat), and One Life (multi-modality class in medium to high heat).

Other notables include their dedicated parking lot (off Washington Ave) with ample spaces. There are also private showers in each of the locker rooms. Check out their user-friendly app, powered by Mind-Body.

Whether you are a dedicated practitioner or new to yoga, the variety of classes provides an opportunity for you to find the practice you are seeking. In addition to their loaded schedule, the studio offers some Gratitude classes, with $5 or $10 suggested donation. You’ll see me here often!

More information about One Life Yoga in Pasadena

One Life Yoga, 1365 N Hill Ave Pasadena, CA 91104, 626-714-7447
onelifeyoga.com

Brett Fleisher

Brett Fleisher is a filmmaker, yogi, musician, and world traveler.

www.beheadedforgreatness.com

The post One Life Yoga in Pasadena appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Hey Hey Drinks in Echo Park

Fitting naturally into the bustling commercialism and culture on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Echo Park, a sleek, blue neon sign invitingly reads ‘Hey Hey.’ If you aren’t paying close attention though, you could accidentally sneak past this new gem. Hey Hey is recessed from the street and the entrance is tucked behind a large and cozy indoor patio. When you find your way in, you will be enticed by the sweet mingling fragrances of teas, coffee, and herbs.

Hey Hey is no ordinary teashop. The vibe is high-end cocktail lounge meets community rec center meets mom-and-pop, old school soda counter. Board games line the walls and a single microphone in the middle of a makeshift stage waits patiently in one corner. Several customers take Polaroids of each other for a giant corkboard collage. Meanwhile, the whistle of a steaming kettle sounds as a barista puts the final touches on a decadent, multi-layered tea-cocktail. This is my kind of place!

Behind the Scenes at Hey Hey Drinks

I sit down with Chris Kwok, owner and imaginer of Hey Hey, over several colorful and unique varieties of tea-cocktails in tall sleek containers. Kwok, friendly and engaging, shared his experiences first as a student of architecture, then as an IT consultant for several years before coming up with the idea of Hey Hey. He quit his corporate job to work at cafes and Asian dessert shops while designing and conceptualizing his vision of a non-alcoholic bar with the feel of a neighborhood living room. “The idea is to be as comfortable and cozy as you would be in your friend’s living room, except you have bomb drinks here.”

Signature Mocktails

And bomb drinks they are! With a menu organized into different sections, customers choose their drinks based on four categories. These are: Bold, Rich, Fresh, and Straight. The Fresh category features signature mocktails like The Breezy, which is a take on a virgin lime mojito. House favorite The Union is in the Bold Category. It’s a half tea, half coffee swirl with homemade sea salt cream. Yum.

Hey Hey and Community

To increase the feeling of community for its official opening on April 7, Hey Hey hosted a 20/20 promotional challenge. If you walked up to a stranger and said “Hey,” then ordered a drink with your new friend, you both would receive a 20% discount on drinks. With promos like this, along with acoustic evenings, game nights, and endless activities in a non-alcoholic lounge that is both kid- and dog-friendly, Hey Hey is the perfect spot to bring your crew or make new friends.

Find Hey Hey Drinks

Hey Hey, 1555 W. Sunset Blvd. LA 90026
213.278.0689
heyheydrinks.com

Brett Fleisher

Brett Fleisher is a filmmaker, yogi, musician, and world traveler.

www.beheadedforgreatness.com

The post Hey Hey Serves Tea, Games, and More in Echo Park appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

The Genesis of Peace Guardians and Their Program for Youth Empowerment

While Fisher was working in corporate sales, he envisioned a peace-based education movement merging ancient and modern mindfulness practices. “I would drive past schools on my way to work and tear up, knowing that my heart yearned to be out there with the kids and not stuck in a cubicle.” This led to him hosting an event for youth in Topanga featuring qi gong, mindfulness, yoga, and smoothies.
 

“I would drive past schools on my way to work and tear up, knowing that my heart yearned to be out there with the kids and not stuck in a cubicle.” -Zachariah Fisher

 
Shortly after, Fisher left his corporate job to pursue his passion. In the two years since that Topanga event, he has continued to expand his ideas for teaching youth through mindfulness, theater, and play.
 
The team who continues to develop the Peace Guardians curriculum and programs is comprised of 10 multi-faceted para-facilitators with backgrounds including nutrition, trauma, meditation, theater, music, yoga, and martial arts.
 

Super Hero Curriculum and the Kecak

The Peace Guardian curriculum stands on eight pillars: Wonder, Play, Collaboration, Courage, Connection, Care, Integrity and Guardianship. Kids are invited to express each of these individually and as a collective.
 
The kids are encouraged to discover their unique superpower, identify their superhero name, and demonstrate their powers through movement and sound. They form teams and embark on missions to solve real-world problems with their collective peaceful powers.
 
The Kecak as facilitated by Paradox represents holding one’s place in the world while intersecting with others. A group forms by creating concentric rings then divided into slices. Each slice has a different rhythm that interlocks perfectly with every other piece. The ethos of this collaborative practice is to be strong and unified with the whole.
 

Peace Guardians and Watts Bears

In July, 2017, Peace Guardians developed a summer program for the Watts Bears—a group of student football and track athletes from the communities of South Central LA—who are coached by the LAPD.
 
Working in conjunction with the Watts officers and coaches, Peace Guardians and guest teachers spent several hours a day with the students playing superhero games, creating super-food smoothies, and facilitating mindfulness exercises as self-mastery tools for them to incorporate into their lives.
 

Peace Guardians and Sunwarrior Youth Ambassador Program

With a mission to uplift young people, Zachariah connected with Kimberly Kirk, the events coordinator at Sunwarrior, a plant-based super-food company, to create a Youth Ambassador Program.
 
The program offers kids a platform to share healthy lifestyle with peers, and to serve as role models in their communities. Peace Guardians and Sunwarrior have selected the first two youth ambassadors: Akida Warmsley, quarterback for the Watts Bears Junior Team, and Cali Dicapo, an up-and-coming actress and model. “I’m most excited about getting to help the community and inspiring others to lead a healthier lifestyle,” says Dicapo.
 

Youth Ambassador Program Launch at Bhakti Fest

The Youth Ambassador Program launches at Bhakti Fest in Joshua Tree on Saturday September 9. At the festival, Peace Guardians will join forces with Sunwarrior and other value-driven brands to host an interactive workshop led by long-standing Sunwarrior Ambassador DJ Cavem Moetavation and Youth Ambassador Dicapo.
 
DJ Cavem will teach the children how to live a healthy life by going green, gardening organically and exercising, while making beats with actual beets. In addition, Cali will lead a segment on the three Rs: Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.
 
After the workshop, DJ Cavem, Rocco Moon, Kiyoshi, and the Peace Guardian team will perform conscious hip-hop on the Hanuman Stage.
 
Peace Guardians will also lead several all-ages workshops in Kid’s Land at Bhakti Fest. Topics include parent–child connection, the Maori Haka from New Zealand, and Sing The World Awake, a music and movement experience that combines sacred sound, mantra, mudras and dance.
 
“This year’s Bhakti Fest is going to be off the charts,” says Fisher. “Sunwarrior has been incredibly supportive in bringing the vision to life.”
 
 

About Peace Guardians

For more information about Peace Guardians, upcoming events and their partnership with Sunwarrior, visit their website or send an email.
 

Brett Fleisher

Brett Fleisher is a filmmaker, yogi, musician, and world traveler.

www.beheadedforgreatness.com

The post Youth Empowerment: A Program with Peace Guardians appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.

Around lunchtime on any given weekday, a parade of yogis with mats tucked under arm, towels slung over shoulders and gym bags in hand, cross Glendale Blvd as halted drivers peer over steering wheels. It looks like what might have become the album cover of Abbey Road had the Beatles lived in California long enough. The parade enters an unassuming gray facade. Although it bears a new name, Rise Hot Yoga is the rebranding of the Bikram-style studio that has been a well-established part of the Atwater Village community for the past 14 years.

The new name comes with a new direction for the studio, adding both vinyasa and fusion-style classes to balance out the predominantly Bikram-based schedule. Nicole Gogolak, the down-to-earth founder and long-time practitioner of the 26 postures is excited to offer a greater variety of classes that will match the desires of the ever-expanding yoga community.

Newly equipped with PEM flooring, the immaculate studio feels spacious even during busy classes. New changing room facilities include showers and lockers. The friendly staff is quick to offer you a towel, mat and water for an additional charge, but I recommend bringing ample water, a towel, and a lock for your belongings. The lot across the street offers up to 10 hours of free parking.

Rise Hot Yoga offers monthly incentives and programs to raise awareness and support charities including a donation-based class Saturdays at noon supporting Children’s Hospital LA’s Neurodevelopment Department (autism research) and another donation-based class Thursdays at 5:45pm supporting rotating charities.

Rise Hot Yoga, 3223 Glendale Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90039, (323) 668-2500, risehotyoga.com

Brett Fleisher

Brett Fleisher is a filmmaker, yogi, musician, and world traveler.

www.beheadedforgreatness.com

The post Rise Hot Yoga appeared first on LA Yoga Magazine - Ayurveda & Health.