Girls' Day Out: Love, Greens, Bikram Yoga, Infrared Sauna

Namaste, One and All:

Does anyone feel extra loving today? I do.

Talking about love, one of the first e-mails I read today was Jinjee’s Layers of Love writing that was circulated via her The Daily Raw Inspiration newsletter. Then, I opened up an e-mail from my dear friend, Teesha, who wrote: “I just LOVE you, my friend……..I still cannot get through reading this beautiful tribute with dry eyes. This is a gift that truly keeps on giving. Thank you, thank you!” she exclaimed. Tee was referring to a birthday tribute I wrote to her in December 2007. Six months later, she is still feeling the love. I love it.

On the topic of dear friends, I spent yesterday with Kate Mitchell, a new but already dear friend to me. Kate and I initially met at The Present Moment Cafe over a year ago. We were both at that raw food restaurant that night to hear Tonya Zavasta speak. Then, last summer, when my son decided he wanted to eat exclusively raw for three days, I treated him to lunch one day at The Present Moment Cafe. Kate came in for lunch during that time, and when it was time for Caleb and I to head out, I stopped to chat with Kate for a bit.

Kate, a Bikram yoga teacher who once owned a Bikram yoga studio, mentioned to me that she was at somewhat of a crossroad in life…..trying to figure out just what direction to head in next. She mentioned raw foods education as a possibility. I then shared with her that I had just received a scholarship to the Living Foods Institute in Atlanta, and that perhaps she might want to check that out. Kate was vaguely familiar with the name Living Foods Institute.

Many, many months passed by with no further communication between Kate and I. One day, when my husband and I went on a lunch date to The Present Moment Cafe, we saw one of Kate’s good friends, Angela. I asked how Kate was doing. Angela shared that Kate was well and in Atlanta…..at the Living Foods Institute! However, that wasn’t Kate’s first time there; she had already done the 10-day Healthy Lifestyle course and had gone back a second time for the next training phase of the Educator Program. The day I asked about her, she was in Atlanta for the third and final phase of her training.

Today, Kate is a phenomenal Living Foods Educator and a LOVING one at that! Angel Kate she is to me!

Yesterday, Kate and I spent an amazing Girls’ Day Out. And, ladies, let me tell you, Girls’ Day Out with her is nothing short of divine!

We started our day off in St. Augustine (45 minutes away from my home) at about 8:20 a.m. We met at The Present Moment Cafe’s next-door Coffee Shop and shared a celery/cucumber juice. Then, off we went to a 9:00 a.m. Bikram yoga class. I had never done Bikram yoga, so this was a first. Yikes! “How would I survive doing yoga in a room heated at about 100 degrees?” I wondered. “Would I be able to keep up with the 26 Bikram postures done during a practice?” I also pondered.

Not long into the practice, my body was dripping wet as though I had been sprayed with water. At first I thought I would feel claustrophobic practicing in all of that heat, but once we got going, the heated room was totally not an issue for me. Thank God! My attention had completely shifted to the postures — to being focused in the moment (as best as I could). The heat was obviously cleansing me on a deeper level and aiding my flexibility. It was truly an enlightening, joyful, HOT experience! Yes, I will do it again.

Other than the heated room, there were some other notable differences between that yoga class compared to the classes I typically take. I usually do a Vinyasa Flow type of practice, but with Bikram, the style of the journey was different. As Kate says: “Very old-school.” We did sets of each posture that were held for a certain count. The Bikram instructor did not practice with us, but talked us through the entire class. That kind of gave the feeling of having a group personal trainer/coach. Also, with my typical practice, closing one’s eyes at times during the practice is normal and encouraged. Eyes were to remain open during the Bikram practice. And, indeed, I was overdressed for this style of yoga. The female Bikram regulars had little shorts and sports-bra type shirts on…..like the yoga version of swim wear. I had on long yoga pants and a tank top.

In any event, the breath — focusing on the powerful breath — is a strong common denominator between both styles of practice. And you can do that no matter what the attire, right?

After my Bikram experience, I was able to rinse off at an outdoors shower (with clothes on). It felt awesome showering in the great outdoors. Very freeing and refreshing!

Next, Kate and I headed to a darling eatery, Stir It Up, that offers some tasty raw food options. I instantly fell in love with the place when I noticed that not only the business, but some of its dishes are named after Bob Marley’s songs. There’s also a food there named after Peter Tosh. Love it!

Outdoors-only seating is available at Stir It Up, so Kate and I sat at a bench to enjoy our delicious avocado/sprouts sandwiches; the beach was in the background. The atmosphere was one that reminded me of home (Bermuda); I could feel my island roots surfacing.

Lunch was followed by Kate and I hanging out at her lovely old-St. Augustine home, a home that definitely has great potential to be a Raw Vegan Bed and Breakfast. At first, I spent time admiring the plants and greenery that surround the home followed by consuming some greens; Kate made us a cucumber, celery, arugula, sprouted mung beans, lemon and E3Live juice. Healthy or what?

We sat in the quaint living room to enjoy our green juice and chat. There, we talked about art…after I noticed a Matisse book on her coffee table. We also chatted a lot about what I can expect during my 10 days at the Living Food Institute. Kate is a wealth of information and encouragement; she’s so passionate about what she shares that to know her is to simply love her. It’s no wonder she’s so popular in the St. Augustine community (and elsewhere, too, I’m sure).

Now, what’s a Girls’ Day Out without a little drama right? When Kate was giving my a tour of the upstairs wing of her home, we stepped out on the upstairs patio and I closed the door behind me. It LOCKED! Yes, we were stuck outdoors — on an UPSTAIRS patio!!! Although I felt badly that I had closed the door, we giggled about it. “I actually like this,” Kate said. “It’s forcing me to slow down.” We just decided to be in the moment as we waited for a neighbor to appear who could help with getting us unstuck. Kate and I chatted some more and admired nature from up high. About 20 minutes later, we were rescued.

As though we hadn’t had enough heat that day, we eventually ended up taking in a Infrared Sauna, too. I mean, how could I spend time at Kate’s that day and not try out her Infrared Sauna that seats four people. As our bodies heated again, we watched a brief informational StemEnhance DVD and listened to an audio about E3Live.

My day with Kate ended right where it had started: at The Present Moment Coffee Shop. We each purchased a few live items to take home, including E3Life and Live Sauerkraut. I also went next door to the restaurant and got a take-out order: A sea vegetable dish and raw sushi. I ate the sushi during my drive home. The Oceania Sea Vegetable dish will be today’s lunch.

Of course I returned home full of love. A pile of dishes that my husband had left in the sink didn’t even shake me. He had spent a full day of quality time with our son (and our son’s buddy) during my 12-hour absence, so I chose to focus on that and not the sink. I joyfully cleaned the kitchen, preparing the space to make smoothies for my family.

After kisses to all, I give them an earful about my day, showed them one of the Bikram yoga postures that challenged me to keep my balance, and then made and served smoothies. I’m now off to see what juice or smoothie combination I can best disguise a little E3Life in for my son. I plan to make this a regular for him.

I feel as if my cells got so much loving attention yesterday from the various forms of heat and some potent green intake, that there’s no wonder I’m feeling nothing but love today. Once we begin to cleanse on the cellular level, I would think the only thing there left to find is love. I mean, if God is love and nothing but love, well why would we be anything short of extreme love?

Kate, heartfelt thanks for an extremely loving day! You are a blessing to this world.

Loving Hugs to all,

Penny

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