Conscious solo travel & my Los Angeles roundup
What can I say, LA totally stole my heart this time around. It’s not my first time here, but it is the first time that I’m here for myself, and not for work. As you guys know my Google past, coming to LA used to be about meeting agency clients and working from the office in Venice which as cool as it sounds, very quickly all the fun about it disappears when you do work that doesn’t fulfil you. Just the other day I passed by the office on my way back from the foodie heaven that is Gjusta I was having brunch at, and just looking at the employees having their lunch at the all gated courtyard made me feel so happy and relieved that I wasn’t one of them. What is cool for me these days is that I get to be in LA following my passion for the yoga, wellness and spirituality scene without trading any of my time and energy doing work that doesn’t align with my soul’s purpose.
A little part of me did pop up a couple of times telling me that maybe I could’ve stayed at Google a couple of years longer, gotten another role in the US, get the green card and then finally quit and do my own thing as a US resident. The what-ifs of life creeping up..can easily be evaporated by centering into the moment, feeling gratitude for where I am in my life right now, and knowing that there wasn’t any other way than the way life happened. I have full trust in my choices and own them entirely for I know that whatever I truly desire in life I can have.
I’ve done my fair share of traveling the world by now, in many capacities, but this time something was different. I approached this trip with intent and very specific intentions. The two are not the same and here’s the difference.
To set your intent is to commit to surrendering to your soul’s unfolding. For me, that involved dropping into my body and away from the mind, and allowing my intuition to guide me where I needed to go - that means instead of trying to control every single bit about my trip by booking everything in advance and having a solid plan of all the things that I want to do, to allow for some space so that I can act in the moment according to what is in front of me. Of course some planning is totally necessary and not always things work out in the most magical way possible; there were moments that i did have to book the airbnb that I had been eyeing from the start because nothing else happened to pop up, but that in itself can be a practice of letting things flow and trust that even in the last moment you can just sort things out with no problem. For all control freaks out there, including myself, this is super important!!
Setting intentions is like creating certain goals that you want to achieve, and by having them in mind it helps to be focused on how you spend your time. One of my intentions was to meet super interesting people and be invited to events that are in the sphere of what I was looking for that maybe I wouldn’t otherwise get to find out about on my own - or I would have to do serious research and spend so much time on. By bringing myself in places where this was possible I just worked my magic social skills and let the universe do its job and within very little time one by one my intentions manifested!
Being in LA and immersing into the yoga, spirituality & wellness world was a serious upleveling experience for me. That’s mainly because this is my interest and passion at the moment and being here meant that I could go to all the studios, and meet all the teachers, and mingle with all the community around it and meet all these interesting people and be invited to all kinds of things that were in alignment with what I was looking for. I ended up going to an actor’s house in the hills for a renowned kundalini yoga teacher’s birthday, to a divinely feminine & grounding women’s day event in Laguna Beach led by all these incredible teachers and wellness personalities I follow on instagram, a three hour workshop dancing to five rhythms, sweating & connecting to wild beautiful women led by another famous teacher, and have a meeting for a potential partnership at a fellow yogi’s house in Topanga! All these experiences opened up pathways in my mind about things that I could do to grow myself and my business, courses I could take, people I could work with, and places where I could do my own events. Most of all interacting with people that are in the frequency that I’m looking for and doing things that inspire me was totally uplifting and gave me a fresh look on what’s coming up for me.
Oh and apart from all the above, so many other incredible things happened...I will bore you if I continue! Point is, when you are clear and conscious about what you’re after and trust in the flow of life that what you are looking for will come to you, chances are you will receive what you are calling in. Making sure what you’re calling in serves a higher purpose will make your intention setting more potent, as the universe works for us when we are in alignment with our true self.
So now, here’s a roundup of my favourite things/places around the city, although to be fair, I ended up spending most of my time in Venice, Santa Monica with a little bit of West Hollywood/Beverly Hills and some trips to Malibu, Topanga and Laguna beach. The 30 deg August weather made the oceanfront definitely preferable, but also my intention for this trip was to check out all the yoga/meditation/healing spots and they did happen to be all towards the coast.
Yoga / Divine Feminine
RaMa Institute | Venice
The first thing I did when I arrived was to go to RaMa in Venice and get myself an intro pass for the month. Hands down my favourite kundalini yoga teacher guru Jagat is the owner and CEO of RaMa Institute which has four studios including one in Europe (Mallorca) that I’m planning to spend more time at in the near future. I went for the 9am pretty much every single day and I loved it - I used the super early wake up jet lag energy to make sure I was out of the house by 8am and enjoy the full day.
Checking out RaMa and of course attending guru Jagat’s Women’s Kundalini Yoga immersion at Camp Grace in Malibu over the weekend was the main reason for traveling to LA and I can tell you that I was so totally hooked with the divinely powerful energy of this Goddess tribe that right after I signed up for the year program and will be signing up for the upcoming teacher training as well. Yes yes I’m so excited!!
YogaWest | West LA
Another teacher I follow through instagram and podcasts is guru Singh and so I made sure I went to his class at YogaWest in Hollywood which is the studio Yogi Bhajan first taught in LA when he arrived in the 70s. I really enjoyed the class and seeing this gracious teacher offering a powerful transmission live.
Power Yoga East | Santa Monica
For this one I plead guilty - although it was in my plans to go and check out some of the teachers that initially worked at Bryan Kest’s original Power Yoga studio in Santa Monica, I got so busy with all things kundalini yoga and new friends I met through this amazing yoga community that I didn’t get the time to actually do it! If you go, please let me know how it was. I enjoy forms of more physical yoga a lot, and particularly rocket yoga, which is derived from the teaching style of power yoga developed by Kest after he practiced with Patthabi Jois (founder of Ashtanga) in India, is one of my favourite styles to practice when I’m in London.
Unplug Meditation | West Hollywood, Santa Monica
This is a little oasis of calm with all day 45min classes on all things relaxation, meditation and healing. I loved the sound baths as well as the breath work sessions; experiencing other teachers and their style is so inspiring and especially the eloquence and beautiful expression that American teachers usually share. Very good deal of $35 for unlimited two-week access to all classes, I used it profoundly in both locations in Santa Monica and West Hollywood.
Divine Feminine Grounding Day | Laguna Beach
I was serendipitously and very happily invited at this intimate women’s grounding day in Laguna beach hosted by the delightful ShopDivineFem and Le Paradox for an all-day affair that included workshops with some of my most beloved LA based wellness gurus, like a wonderful tea ceremony with Shiva Rose, a Gua Sha workshop from Wildling, divine plant based treats and nourishing and enlightening sound healing, astro and reiki sessions. When women come together in sacred, healing and nourishing space true magic happens! This day was yet another such experience, and I was delighted to connect with this beautiful Californian goddess community.
Women’s 5 Elements Dance workshop | Venice
My lovely LA based friend @glau_stanganelli invited me to this workshop with Sahara Rose and Malaika in Venice. Three hours of profound booty shaking and hip releasing movements through sweating and breathing heavily from the mouth and deep in the belly..about forty women in a room with capacity resembling that of a dance floor of a club, we danced together, we witnessed and marvelled at each other’s beauty and raw expression moving through the five elements..what an incredibly releasing, energising and connecting experience with fellow sisters; it reminded me for yet another time how much I love dancing, how I need to move my body like this more often and be surrounded by beautiful women expressing themselves as fearlessly as they did. Mmmm yum.
Food
Gjusta | This has to be the coolest foodie spot in town, sourcing all its ingredients from local farmers; with a feel of something between an East Coast deli and a French market this is an in-house bakery, smokehouse, deli and restaurant with awesome all day breakfast and other dishes to die for…my favourite had to be the Turkish poached eggs with stewed chickpeas, roast garlic & mint pistou followed by the Wake’n’Shake made with cold brew, date, banana, hemp seed, almond, cacao & coconut..oh my god. Take me back now.
Erewhon Market | The equivalent to Planet Organic in London (on the much bigger side) or maybe a much much bigger and more abundant Marqt for the Amsterdamers, this place is food heaven. An all organic grocery store with an extensive counter of fresh cooked food to eat in or take away. Think of Wholefoods but way lusher, with only organic, ethically sourced produce. I spent hours in there just looking at the isles..and I loved the five different types of bone broth recipes on offer; what a convenience to be able to buy such a superfood ready to eat..when I make bone broth at home it takes three days, plus all the effort..
MoonJuice | this place is so deliciously attractive, first to the eye and then to the palette…though it’s pretty hard to choose what to buy/drink/eat as every single thing they have in there looks so incredibly special and delicious. Moon dusts, their superfood/supplement powder blends, are added to their hot and cold drinks for an extra boost, and their super delish vegan treats are to die for. A bit on the expensive side for things you can buy in bags for a lot less money..but shopping in there is an experience of its own. Worth the visit, at least once.
Cafe Gratitude | The vegan spot in Venice and dare I say, everywhere I’ve ever found myself on earth so far, with all vegan menu that is a near orgasmic experience just going through it. My all time favourite had to be the pesto kelp noodles as my ultimate comfort food is pesto pasta for sure and by replacing grain and gluten with nutrient rich kelp (that is seaweed in case you do not know) plus brazilian nut cheese makes it the best plant based alternative. Complimenting all this plant goodness you get a thought provoking question after you order to make sure you have a quality conversation with your lunch buddy; whatever you may think that sounds like I think it’s fantastic and it definitely throws in some inspiration for a more philosophical conversation than the usual what-happened kind of chat we tend to have when we catchup with friends over a meal.
Superba Food - My personal favourite place to hang out, eat and work on my laptop when I need to. This place is just so cool, and the food is amazing, had the most luscious grilled cheese (that is on a sourdough toastie for the Brits) with a wonderful gazpacho just before my pre-plant dieta no-dairy-restriction kicks in for my trip to Peru that followed. Having said that, the salads could be bigger and it’s all a tad on the expensive side - did I say that about them all on this list? LA healthy/conscious food scene is not for the faint wallet-ed.
Urth Caffe - With nine locations in LA & coast, this place has been my safety spot. With all organic coffee and tea, and a great healthy menu, whenever I need to chill somewhere in the evening and enjoy a turmeric latte and a vegan pecan pie at 10pm this is the place to do that!
Blue Bottle Coffee - because I just love good quality coffee too much, and this spot makes probably the best coffee I’ve had here, and a recognisable coffee brand in big US cities like NYC & SF. Many locations around LA & the coast. Unless you are in Abbot Kinney in Venice and you can go to Intelligentsia which serves equally top quality coffee, pour over and cold brew in a very cool space you can do some work at or catchup with friends.
Shopping
Guru Jagat Collection | RaMa Venice
So I didn’t think I was going to be shopping for clothes while in LA - how wrong I was..I couldn’t help myself when at Camp Grace they suddenly put everything at 35% discount; I was actually surprised with myself that I didn’t buy more than one piece of the collection. All pieces are divine and they definitely have a place in my wardrobe, but for now one made it in. Coming up in October in Mallorca for the next gathering there will probably be space opening up for one more.
The Real Real | West Hollywood
I didn’t shop from here as I wasn’t in the place for shopping high end goods however I did appreciate the stock of very good quality pre-owned luxury items a lot and will keep an eye next time I’m in town and with more capacity in luggage speaking terms.
Aurora Sage Silks | RaMa Venice
Raw silk turbans naturally hand dyed with grape skins, daisies, roses, iris and eucalyptus by this amazing LA based designer. Turbans are in for the win after Camp Grace and I naturally had to equip myself with at least two different colours, lavender and sunkissed to get me through winter in Amsterdam.
General Store | Venice
Oh my, I totally loved this place, full of LA based designer brands from clothing to home items and accessories. This is one of the moments that the thought of why didn’t I move to LA with Google popped up for me big time…deep breath in, grounding and moving on. (photo of post above is from the interior of the store)
Warrior by Naomi | Venice
I bumped into this stand on Abbot Kinney one day being pulled by the shine of the 14K gold filled jewellery that was calling for my attention; ended up getting two beautiful rings and a pair of simple and oh so elegant earrings. I could’ve bought everything from this designer, who makes everything by hand in LA.
WËR | Venice
Super cute lifestyle concept store curating contemporary African brands. I got this amazing rope necklace at their 50% sale and I was so happy with it. Beautiful to connect with the shop owner and hear all about the designer brands she stocks from Kenya to Ghana and Burkina Faso.
ShopDivineFem | Laguna Beach
Divinely feminine Goddess-wear designed in Laguna Beach by the total beauty that is Jenn Mellon. ‘The dress line— each style aptly named for the powerful aspects that lie within every woman: The Lover, Warrior, Sage and Queen’. All ethically and sustainable produced in downtown LA.
Some final thoughts |
Going on a travel can be a truly transformative experience when it is approached as such. Too often we do things just to do them, in the case of travel we tend to go places just to escape our daily lives, or because we follow friends that are going some place without being conscious about why we do what we do.
For me, this changed radically when for the first time I went on holiday on my own because I was so tired of following friends to places that I didn’t care about going. It was a painful solo trip that one, as I wasn’t used to being on my own, and my choice of place didn’t offer many opportunities to meet people. But from this experience I grew confidence and got some of my power back, the power of choosing where I want to go without having to convince anyone to go with. That was four years ago now, and since then by following the same principle of taking the power to do things that I want to do for reasons that help me grow has totally changed my life.
View my LA trip story on instagram.
ABOUT ELENA & LIVING ON SOURCE
Welcome to my online portal!
I am a former Googler reborn as conscious living advocate, transformational mentor, conscious business advisor, yogini, sound healing practitioner and workshop & retreat facilitator.
I help people connect to their authenticity and harness their innate power so that they can manifest the life they truly desire through individual sessions, group events and retreats.
It is my passion to inspire people into reconnecting with their true desire; I write regularly on the Living on Source journal and curate events to bring the LOS community together in London & Amsterdam.
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