Meditation with Abdi Assadi
Posted 01/09/2011 by Lara
Tonight, I attended a group meditation session lead by renowned spiritual counselor and Shadows On The Path author, Adbi Assadi. I’ve written about Abdi in the past, he was one of the panelists at Norma Kamali’s “Conversations: A Dialogue on Wellness Solutions” seminar I attended at the Museum of Modern Art.
The session began with us using sage to smudge away negative energy on another member of the class; followed by Adbi leading us in a through a meditation sequence. I had a very rough week –I was out of commission due to an injury (hence I’ve a little quiet recently) and it felt really good to finally get out today and be apart of something so relaxing and mind opening.
To be apart of his next complimentary meditation session in New York City, sign up for his mailing list on http://abdiassadi.com/
Leave a Comment
Whole Foods Helps You Find the Perfect Gift
Posted 12/12/2010 by Lara
Whole Foods Bowery Location in NYC
For many of us when we think Whole Foods, we think food. Although some of us do shop their Whole Body section as well. What can you find in Whole Body? Vitamins and supplements, bath and body care, hair and beauty products, yoga items, cards, magazines and gifts.
Whole Body Personal Shoppers
This holiday season Whole Foods is offering personal shoppers at all of their northeast locations. No appointment needed, just visit the Whole Body section and look for a team member wearing a recycled apron and gift tag. They are available everyday from 10am-8pm through January 1st. Members of the team are on hand for all of your gift needs, whether it be to introduce you to a variety of pre-selected gift sets (all under $20) or to help you select those perfect custom gifts. They also offer complimentary gift-wrapping for your convenience.
An assortment of Blessing Baskets
Featuring everything from holiday scented candles to lotion gift sets. Whole Foods adheres to strict level of quality standards (read more about that HERE) coinciding with their belief with what you put in your body is as important as what you put in your body. So whether you’re shopping popular brands like Burt’s Bees, Kiss My Face, Dr. Haushka, ShiKai, or local products such as LUX Naturals handcrafted soaps (which smell phenomenal) or their philanthropic offerings including Blessing Basket (where your purchase plants crops, improved nutrition, buys livestock, educated children, protects forests and most importantly reduces poverty), you feel good about your selection.
For NYC, the Whole Body I’m partial to their Bowery location. It takes up the whole 2nd floor of Whole Continue Reading…
Leave a Comment
BluePrintCleanse – 3 Days to a Healthier You
Posted 10/24/2010 by Lara
BluePrintCleanse is a nutritional juice-based cleanse that offers a variety of programs depending on the system best fit for your lifestyle. The classic cleanse (although they do offer other products and services), has 3 levels: Renovation, Foundation, and Excavation. All of which consist of six 16 oz raw fruit and vegetable juices daily.
Having done the cleanse (3 days at a time) every 3-6 months for the past two years, I find it Continue Reading…
Leave a Comment
Pretty in Pink: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Posted 10/10/2010 by Lara
Kim Kardashian in ShoeDazzle pink 'Beth' booties and 'Hope' clutch
As most of you know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And to help raise funds for the cause many fashion and beauty brands are donating a portion of their sales to the cause. Below are some items in support!
ShoeDazzle's 'The Beth' booties, 'The Baila' Scarf and 'The Hope' clutch
ShoeDazzle – has created a special pink line consisting of a hot pink ‘The Beth’ bootie, ‘The Baila’ scarf, and ‘The Hope’ clutch (featured above on Kim Kardashian), $40 each. 10% of all sales of these pink items will be donated to the Susan G Komen Foundation for the Cure.
Ralph Lauren – Donating 10% of proceeds from all Pink Pony products to the Pink Pony Fund for Cancer Care and Prevention. The Pink Pony collection includes men’s and women’s clothing, sportswear, accessories and gifts.
BodyRock Sport Bras and headphones
BodyRock Sport – will be donating 10% of the proceeds from the sales of all pink-colored bras (6 styles) and headphones (2 colors) to Susan G. Komen For the Cure.
aerie bras by American Eagle Outfitters
aerie – the intimates and apparel line by American Eagle Outfitters, will donate a dollar for each bra purchased from October 18-31st to Be Bright Pink.
Skyn ICELAND Pink Detox Kit
Skyn ICELAND – Pink Detox Kit for stressed skin. $5 from the sale of each Pink Detox Kit sold in October will be contributed to the Cancer Support Community.
Ouidad - As a breast cancer survivor, Ouidad, the woman behind her namesake curly hair line created the Curls for a Cure campaign to help fund the fight against breast cancer. Her company will Continue Reading…
Leave a Comment
Conversations with Norma Kamali
Posted 10/04/2010 by Lara
Thursday, I joined fashion designer Norma Kamali for the kicked off of her wellness series, “Conversations: A Dialogue on Wellness Solutions” at the Museum of Modern Art. “The planet we live on is not like it was at any other time. In order to survive fast food farming technology and the toxic environment, we must face our problems head on with practical solutions,” said Kamali. Change doesn’t happen over night but by educating her piers and spreading awareness we can all work together for a solution. So in front of a live audience, she showed a movie featuring two-minute conversations with notable experts in fitness, health, beauty and nutrition. Followed by a panel discussion and Q&A session.
Honored guests included choreographer, Twyla Tharp, founder of Aveda and Intelligent Nutrients skin care, Horst Rechelbacher, spiritual counselor and author of “Shadows On the Path”, Abdi Assadi, filmmaker of “Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead”, Joe Cross, vegan and raw food chef, Chef Matteo, and more (Nancy Shaw, Magen Banwart, Dr. David Colbert and Physique 57).
I thought over all the speeches we’re good. The highlight for me was Twyla Tharp telling the audience the most important thing is “to just move, our bodies just want to move”. Anyone who’s ever been through a rough patch knows how easy it is to emotionally give up and just not want to get out of bed. Ultimately, the only cure for that and to turn your life around in any capacity is to move. Sometimes, it’s the simple things that we need reminding of. I could stand to start moving a little earlier in the morning.
I’ve also thought a lot about Abdi Assadi saying “everybody has a piece of the puzzle… no one person has the answer”, which is so true. I remember reading an article about actor Adrian Grenier, saying something along the lines of his biggest fear is all of his environmental initiatives have made no impact on the planet. For some reason that really stuck with me. Can you imagine if Continue Reading…
Leave a Comment
Happy 1-Year Anniversary SPiN New York!
Posted 09/19/2010 by Lara
By now some of my avid readers have probably noticed I have thing for ping pong. Unlike most table tennis players, the obsession doesn’t come from a table in my basement or game room in my college dorm, but from a few friends.
With SPiN Owners Franck Raharinosy and Jonathan Bricklin at SPiN Hollywood Opening Party
Once upon a time these friends, filmmakers Jonathan Bricklin, Franck Raharinosy and Bill Mack all lived together in fabulous loft in TriBeCa and bought a ping pong table. They started playing, didn’t stop, friends would come over, more tables we’re bought, more friends would come over and eventually they started throwing a weekly party/tournaments named Naked Ping Pong. While no one was actually naked, the parties attracted everyone and anyone from jocks to hipsters to nerds, artists to celebrities and everything in between; creating a diverse environment that was effortlessly fun. In those days I didn’t play, but I wasn’t the only one, and it didn’t matter. The mix of great people and music in such a social atmosphere made it still one rockin’ party.
With all the press they we’re receiving and popularity of the parties they decided to take their idea to the next level. Together with investors Susan Sarandon and Andrew Gordon they opened SPiN New York; a 13,000 square foot table-tennis social club complete with a gourmet restaurant, Ducks Eatery and bar. Continue Reading…
1 Comment
Cheat Sheet for Running a Half Marathon
Posted 05/11/2010 by Lara
About a months ago, I posted about my experience running my first NYC Half Marathon. To sum it up, the most I’d ever run prior to that day was 4 miles (and I can count on three fingers how many times that was). Yet somehow despite all of this I managed to run the 13.1 miles in 2 hours and 11 minutes. The strange part being I did it without stopping and quite easily. Or rather the crazy part considering I’m not a runner.
So now for the big question everyone (and I mean every friend, acquaintance, and person I ever worked or went to school with) has been asking me, how did I do it?
First off, I’ll start with:
- Have a positive attitude and some confidence in yourself. Seriously, if I can do it anyone who is physically able probably can.
- Once you’ve established you’re going to try to run it, don’t Continue Reading…
1 Comment
Water Crisis in Boston Ends
Posted 05/04/2010 by Lara
Well I picked a great time to visit Boston. Within a few days of my arrival a pike broke in Weston, MA causing nearly 2 million people in 31 communities in the Boston area (myself included) to lose their supply of clean water. The Mass. Dept. of Public Health issued a warning that tap water was not suitable for drinking, but could be used for bathing, flushing and fire protection. Mixed with the unreasonably hot, humid weather and all I can say is this trip has been a real pleasure. Fortunately, the water is now safe according to reports, just in time for my flight back to New York.
Growing up in the Boston area, I was so over this song. However, it’s never felt more appropriate (although I didn’t love that dirty water). Happy Tuesday Everyone!
Leave a Comment
Blood Donors Needed! Help Make a Difference
Posted 04/13/2010 by Lara
Back in January, I tried to do my part in the Haiti earthquake relief efforts, by writing a post listing five easy ways individuals could get involved and help and pledged to do them all. One of the ways listed was to donate blood. Earlier I received a phone call from the Red Cross saying “I’d like to talk to you about your blood donation in January”. Naturally, I stopped dead in my tracks and panicked; I thought the only reason the Red Cross calls was if there was something wrong with your blood. I was wrong. She continued with, “Are you aware that there’s currently a shortage of all blood types in NYC but especially 0+, and with just one donation you can help as many as three people? Can we count on you to make a donation?”
My answer was most definitely yes! Although I recommended they open with “We need your help” when making these types of Continue Reading…
Leave a Comment
The Wellness Cafe at Norma Kamali
Posted 04/04/2010 by Lara
I received an invitation from Norma Kamali to visit her new Wellness Café. Located at the Norma Kamali flagship store on 56th Street, I was no stranger to the café considering I used to work around the corner. Tucked in the back of her store, it was an olive oil haven. Filled with all types of pastries and snacks (all olive oil based); I was a sucker for the lavender shortbread.
I had heard during New York Fashion Week Norma made some adjustments to her life and was adding more raw and vegan elements into her diet. The café is an extension of Kamaili had thus evolved with her. I was excited to see the changes to the café, and even though I knew the olive oil base would always prevail, I had a feeling this would be the demise of my beloved shortbread.
As some of you know I’ve been on an oil kick for sometime now, olive oil, macadamia nut oil, argon oil, coconut oil, essential oils . . . you get the point. What began as something I only used on my body has now fully been integrated onto my face and hair as part of my regiment. I’ve also been on a recent health kick (or at least trying to be), the downfall of months of traveling and abiding by the ‘there’s no calories on vacation’ rule. And to that all I can say is it’s all fun and games until bathing suit season. So perfect timing for this invitation, I would be in good company, and I can use all the inspiration I can get!
So through the entrance, past the mannequins to the back of the store I go. Aesthetically it’s still very much the original café, however Continue Reading…
