Daily Archives: June 25, 2011

Seren-i-Tea in the Square

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So I meditated.

OK that’s a lie. I mainly just sat there. For 10 minutes. Then I started planning out the rest of the day, weekend, etc in my head.

Then I started to feel like I could fall asleep sitting up. I think maybe I’m not one for meditating.

That being said- the event itself was a lot of fun – I’m so glad I was invited to attend!

Today’s event was put on by Sokenbicha Tea, Japan’s leading tea brand that is exclusively sold at Whole Foods markets nationwide.

Beautiful setting, beautiful weather!


It started off with Taiko Drummers taking the stage and they were awesome! You could tell these girls were having a blast up there.


Then Mallika Chopra (Deepak Chopra’s daughter) led us in said 10 minute meditation. Or as I will refer to it – my mental day planner.

She then spoke about setting intentions for your day-to-day life and about how her father would ask her and her brother each day what they most wanted/wished for. They would reply with “toys, Celtics tickets and a doll” but then he suggested wanting love, connections to people, and the non-tangible things that make us happy.

I really liked that part of it, especially when so much of time is spent thinking about the material things that we next want to purchase. (Case in point: iPad 2. Guilty as charged.) ;-)

From there Stephanie Snyder, a very well-known yoga instructor that was named San Francisco’s most sought after yoga teacher by InStyle Magazine led us through some of her favorite yoga moves. All that stretching really hit the spot after my run this morning.

After the yoga portion was over we were free to head over to the “Oasis” to grab some snacks and bottles of Sokenbicha Tea.

Yes please.

They had samples of my very favorite PopChips (you better believe I grabbed 1 of every flavor), and then received bottles of 4 of the 5 flavors of tea.

Since Caroline had invited her guests to be VIPs we received an AMAZING Swag Bag!

  • T-Shirt
  • Manduka eQua Yoga Towel
  • Shiseido SPF 60 Sunscreen
  • Complimentary Shiseido Facial
  • 20% off Zobha yoga gear
  • Gorgeous green pashmina (seriously, SO SOFT!)
  • $50 Gift Card to Whole Foods (yes, you read that right. Probably the best thing I’ve ever seen. I am SO EXCITED to grocery shop this week. Yes, I realize how very, very lame that sounds.)
When I got home I was excited to try out one of the tea’s so I went with the Revive flavor which says it’s a combination of Oolong tea leaves, black tea lives, rose hips (your guess is as good as mine), rose petal and ginseng.
I poured it over ice and enjoyed it with my very favorite Plant Burger from The Plant Cafe Organic. SO refreshing!
I know, how gross does that burger look?
Now I am not one for veggie burgers. I think they’re (mainly) weird. I do like Black Bean burgers and garden burgers, but more for a snack than an actual mean. I like all-beef (or lamb) burgers – usually with cheese, arugula and spicy mustard.
This particular veggie burger however – is amazing.
It’s made from a mixture of lentils, mushrooms, beets, cashews & bulgur wheat. I like mine with melted white Cheddar on whole wheat bread.
The mixture sounds disgusting and the burger looks even more disgusting but it is SO TASTY. And pretty healthy too!
I’m off to get ready for Engagement Party #1 of the weekend (this hair won’t straighten itself!)
Have you ever meditated? Are you a veggie burger or beef burger kind of person?
Today was my first time meditating… if you could call it that. ;-) I really just relaxed in the sun. 
9 times out of 10 I will eat a normal burger but sometimes when I’m not feeling something really heavy, I’ll go with the veggie burger. It’s really hit or miss for me!

The Perfect Run

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Gooood Morning and Happy Weekend!

Hope your Saturday started off well! Mine started off by sleeping in until 9:30 (finally I wake up in a non zombie-like state!) and then a nice long run.

The backdrop was just OK. ;-)

I went into the run thinking I’d just do 3 miles. I had a hard week of workouts so I didn’t think I’d have much more in me.

Lately I’ve been starting my runs at a pace that is just too fast for me to keep up – in the 7:30′s. I’m not training for anything so why am I sprinting through my workouts?

I slowed down to about an 8:05-8:20 pace this morning and what a difference it made. My legs felt STRONG. And with the Glee Soundtrack blasting in my ears (yes I listened to Glee for 45 minutes and I am not ashamed to admit it! “Loser Like Me” can really get you goin!)

The weather was perfect – foggy with a bit of a breeze coming in from the ocean.

I felt GREAT. You know when you have those runs once in a while where everything just comes together and you feel like you’re on top of the world? That happened.

3 miles came and went. Then 4. Then 5. Honestly I could have gone for more but 45 minutes seemed more than enough for me!

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This morning also included something very exciting as far as the blog’s concerned, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow evening to *see* that for yourself! :-)

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Now I’m putting on my yoga Lululemon best and heading to this awesome event being held in Union Square – Seren-i-tea!

If you’re in SF and you’re reading this, registration is free and it sounds amazing!

Mallika Chopra, founder of Intent.com and daughter of famed health guru Deepak Chopra, in a unique experience designed to help you find serenity in your daily life.

Open your mind during an inspiring keynote and meditation led by Mallika. Then stretch your body with a yoga session led by Stehpanie Snyder as she leads you through her signature moves. And refresh your spirit with complimentary Sokenbicha.

I’ve heard such great things about Stephanie and I’m really looking forward to taking a “class” out in Union Square with her! I can honestly say I have never meditated in my life (and never really had a strong desire to do so), but hey, when in Rome SF.

Caroline my most favorite spin instructor on this planet (and a friend of mine!) invited me to attend as one of her VIP guests and I couldn’t be more excited! I’m off to go meet up with her and the rest of our group… stay tuned for the recap!

Have a wonderful Saturday! The sun is just starting to peek through the fog in SF! :)