A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to attend an amazing two-day yoga retreat in Los Angeles organized by the lovely Carolina Vivas.  Filled with yoga, good food and relaxation, it was the perfect post-birthday getaway with three fellow yoginis.  Our schedule:

Bright and early Saturday morning we made the two-hour drive to LA and met up at Urth Caffe, one of the yummiest (but busiest) places in LA.  (Urth Caffe is a celebrity hotspot, and the girls managed to spot Stephen Baldwin, the first of our weekend’s sightings!)  After a light breakfast, we were off again.

Our first class was Steven Earth’s 10:30am Power Yoga class at Earth’s Power Yoga.  Steven managed to work every part of the body, flowing through vinyasas and incorporating exercises and sequences specifically targeted to the abs, legs, arms, etc (you name it, we worked it).  His verbal cues and adjustments were right on and despite being a highly physical class, Steven’s laid-back and encouraging presence really brought out the spiritual side of our practice too. Ninety minutes later, super sweaty and feeling both exhausted and rejuvenated, we headed for lunch at California Vegan.

After lunch we checked into our hotel and spent some time at the pool before making the trek to Pasadena for Vivas Yoga at the house of a yogini friend, Jade. Her backyard has a perfect patio situated under a canopy of trees where we practiced – it was made for yoga! It’s always nice to practice outside, and the combo of Carolina’s class and Jade’s hospitality and humor made for the perfect afternoon.

That night we went to Flavor of India for dinner and The Bazaar at SLS for dessert.  Both were sooo yummy and much enjoyed after our long and active day.  The dessert bar the The Bazaar is pretty amazing – it’s like a fancy Willy Wonka’s Factory and they gave us our sweets in the cutest pink boxes! With happy tummies, we called it a night pretty early so we’d be well-rested for the next day.

At 7am on Sunday we headed to Runyon Canyon for a hike.  The sky started out a bit hazy, but cleared up enough when we reached the top to see all of LA. There were tons of people and dogs walking and it was a great way to start the day.  I’ve always wanted to hike Runyon, and I know I’ll be back with my honey and our doggies!

After our hike, we went to Kings Road Cafe for a light breakfast, where we spotted Sophie Monk.  We were sitting at the table just inside the window from her so we had to be careful not to be too obvious when we stared at her

Our final class of the weekend was Andrea Marcum’s 10:30am Vinyasa Flow class at U Studio Yoga.  My back was pretty sore from the weekend and our hike, and while her class wasn’t super advanced asana-wise, we alternated between holding poses and flowing and within 20 minutes I was literally drenched in sweat. We were packed mat to mat in her cool, retro feeling studio, but I still felt like she was teaching the class just for me. Her emphasis on alignment was exactly what I needed and it was the perfect last practice for our little SD yoga crew.  I loved Andrea’s energy and wish I lived closer because I could definitely see myself becoming a regular follower!

After showering and checking out of the hotel, we grabbed lunch at Real Food Daily in Santa Monica before hitting the road.  Places like RFD make me wish we had better vegan options in SD – the food was deeeelish, especially the chocolate chip cookies! I’m glad we live only two hours from LA so we can do it again – hopefully very soon!