Athleta by Gap Inc - Online Yoga and Sports Wear

Hawaii has limited stores for yoga gear. I had to search high and low to find mats, clothing and other products for my practice. There's now a new solution...

The Gap Inc (i.e. Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime) introduces it's latest acquisition and addition: Athleta. This online store offers female clothing for yoga, pilates, hiking, biking, triathalon, tennis and other sports. I think their yoga line is the strongest and most extensive...and of course in typical Gap Inc fashion, these items will always go on sale. The best part is, they have clothing sizes for Petites!

Another store I love and that caters to Petite sizes is is Lucy. Lucy is an athelic store geared for women looking to combine quality material, fashion (clean, simple look), and affordability. (They always have sales!) Unfortunately Lucy is only on the mainland but Hawaii folks can order Lucy items online at www.lucy.com


In Honolulu, other places to shop:

Yoga Wear: Lotus Lily in Kaimuki, and Lululemon Athletica in the Ala Moana Center. Lululemon is on the expensive side, but has free classes such as "Yoga in Japanese," "Surf into Yoga," "Immunity Boosting," and "Self Defense" classes during the week/ends. Some days they have goodie bags for participants and other give aways. (check out their calendar here). Two other places I check is Nordstrom and Sports Authority (limited collections).

Yoga Mats: Lululemon (high end quality, $70), Lily Lotus (also quality mats), Birkham Yoga in Koko Marina Plaza ($20-30 range), Borders bookstore and Target (generic Giam) and Ross.

Yoga Accessories: Blocks, belts, meditation cushions, mat bags, cleaning sprays, foot and hand gear, etc. are at Lily Lotus and Lululemon. See too www.hawaiiyogastudio.com for online places to shop. If you order from Amazon.com, you can use the Mainlandgirl store on the side bar of this webpage for searches and orders of any kind. (thanks!)

Yoga Studios: I practice in the Iyengar tradition. Two studio in town for this tradition are the Silent Dance Center and the Iyengar Yoga Center. Hawaii community classes are the most affordable way to go and usually in the Iyengar or Hatha tradition. Other studios are listed at hawaiiyogastudio.com

Namaste.

Healing Prayer - Oahu Churches

For those looking for physical, spiritual, and/or emotional healing through Christian prayer while on Oahu, here are a couple of churches to look into to:

Laulima Ministries International (Salt Lake)
Recommended by churches on the mainland, LMI has an international reputation for having one of the most powerful healing ministries in Hawaii. If I didn't see it before my eyes, I wouldn't believe it--I've seen people who can't walk...walk and run again. People with illnesses cured, people who can't move their arm have full motion range, and those with cancer scream in pain as if their internal organs were being fully repaired. When you see the look of astonishment, amazement and moved emotion (tears of joy and gratitude) on the people's faces, you know that what they are experiencing is real. It is faith building to see.

Meets on Monday nights at the Moanalua Gardens Missionary Church. The "service" starts at 6pm, but I recommend arriving around 8-8:30pm for prayer. (Another smaller "practice" prayer time is held on Wednesdays at 11am in Kaimuki at 11am). www.laulimaministries.com

Bluewater Mission (Palama)
Very friendly church with gifted congregants and pastor in the areas of prophecy and physical healing. I had church members who I had never met before, come up to me and offer some prophetic words and visions in the middle of the worship service--the words were timely, pertinent, and encouraging. Prayer is offered at the end of each service. Pastor Jordan has shared prophetic words and visions over my near future, and we'll see how it all comes to pass.

One of my favorite churches on Oahu. Contemporary music, casual vibe, and a warm and welcoming congregational culture. Jordan is smart, sharp, funny and insightful--he has a way of taking familiar bible passages and interpreting them from a fresh perspective, often infusing values of humility, healing, social justice and community as central themes in his sermons. (right on!)

First Presbyterian Church (Kaneohe)
The 8 and 9:30am Sunday church services here are laced with sense of serenity and simplicity. I appreciate the sense of tradition and formal liturgy that has been maintained here over the years, while most other churches try to mimic megachurch strategies or emergent models of ministry. Recently ridding the priestly robes worn by the choir and preachers, this church has one of the best Christmas Eve services on the island, mixing Broadway operatic singers, hand held silver bell ensembles, and hula for an overall enchanted evening.

Prayer after Sunday services are from congregants (mostly all women) who will pray with you --but not in regards to prophecy and healing. These are simply kindhearted folks who will spend a few minutes chatting and praying with you over your concerns. However, the church has begun to host occasional evening healing ministry nights over the past year (with congregants who are in-training for prayer), and will offer a mini-healing conference mid-August 2009 featuring speakers/workshop leaders such as Judith McNutt and Christy Pierce from the mainland.

Dedicating this post to two friends soon headed to Hawaii > may you find healing and rest while here.

Chocolate and Wine

Spaces still available at the Wine Experience's Evening of Chocolate event:

Award winning, locally made, chocoate truffles by Master Chocolatier Melanie Boudar (from Sweet Paradise Chocolatier) paired with the Wine Experience's very own vintage.

In addition to five types of chocolate truffles, let these additional bites tempt your palate:

Kiawe-smoked Sea Salt Caramel
Xocopili exotic spiced Mexican chocolate
Hawaiian Passion Fruit White Chocoate
Cru Savage dark Brazillian chocolate

Ummm...I'm getting chocolate cravings just thinking about it!

The Scoop:
$25/person
Wednesday, 6-8pm
808.738.0737

The Wine Experience
Kilohana Square
1016 Kapahulu Ave., Suite 1
Honolulu, HI 96816

Spiritual Eating - Flatbread Company, Maui

I love the small town feel of Paia. It's one of my favorite areas to visit day in and day out on Maui.

I'll usually shop at Mana market to get my organic foods, visit my favorite store, Maui Hands (handmade crafts by local artists), and then walk across the street to my favorite eatery, Flatbread Company for some lunch.

Flatbread Company claims that eating their food is a "spiritual experience." And before you think this is just a metaphor or marketing strategy to promote the business, their pizza dough is actually made of kosher salt, organic flour, cake yeast, and spring water (perhaps similar to the way flatbread was prepared in Jewish culture)...and topped with sauce made from freshly grown organic tomatoes (I believe they have a garden outside) and topped with whole milk cheese other organic vegetables.

What makes this joint unique is that the pizzas are cooked in a real stone oven...which sits in the middle of the restaurant and is always fun to watch. The interior (pictures to come) is a casual setting, with wooden benches and chairs for small to large groups, and a bar to the left.
One pizza I ordered was called "Punctuated Equilibrium" (a theortical critique of Darwinism) topped with rosemary, goat cheese, kalamata olives, red onions, organic tomatoes, fresh italian herbs and mozerella cheese. The pizza was good and the spiritual politics interesting.

The notion of Punctuated Equilibrium states (in a nut shell) that the evolution of species happens in punctuated periods rather than as one continuous flow as Darwin suspected.

Here's how one food philosopher links the theory of Punctuated Equilibrium to flatbread:

"It strikes me that the evolution of human food also exhibits a pattern of punctuated equilibrium. During the Paleolithic, humans and protohumans hunted and gathered. By occasional improvements in tools and hunting implements, the Paleolithic period was punctuated. 10-12,000 years ago the Neolithic revolution ushered in an era of farming which dramatically changed human activity and food patterns...

Today American food is in a new period of punctuation. The organic and natural food movement along with its variants biodynamic, sustainable, and localvore foods has rapidly changed the dialogue and economics of food. Increasingly people see food as important; that how it is grown and where it comes from intimately affects human health and the well being of the world.
Punctuated Equilibrium flatbread marks this important event in the history of American food and honors an advancement in our evolutionary view of life."

{And, by the way, before you think that was all hog-wash, food philosophy is a real legitimate scientific field. i met a woman in my photography class whose daughter is working toward a doctorate degree where she is combining her interests in environmental politics and the food industry to interrogate the impact of foodways on the earth's sustainable nature.}

One last bit...Flatbread Co claims that they have the best zucchini bread. In my opinion, I'd pass up on the dessert. It was dry, unflavorful, and uninspiring. A touch a cinnamon or cardamon would have added a spiced kick to the bread, and it's pairing with coconut ice cream...well, I just don't get that. Coconut and zuchinni...ice cream and bread? An odd culinary decision. Nonetheless, they give money away to charity, post their politics on wooden signs above the bar, and serve some good eats on the island.

Where's it at:
Flatbread Company, Maui
89 Hana Hwy
Paia, HI 96779
(808) 579-8989

Free Chocolate Fridays - Mars Company

The Mars Co. is hosting "Free Chocolate Fridays" for the first 250,00 people who register online at: realchocolate.com every Friday until the end of Sept. Online registrants can get their coupons from 9 am until 11:59 pm (EST).

Free chocolate? Yup, use the coupon for free M&M, Milky Way, Snickers, 3 Musketeers, Twix or Dove brand candies. Yum!

From the LA Times business section.

Honolulu's Sugar Free Bakery - "Sweet Nothings"

This Honolulu bakery, located near the McKinley car wash, offers something sweet without the guilt and distress of added sugar. That's right, all baked goods at this small shop are made sugar free.

The store sells individual pastries ($1.70), cakes ($9.95+), and pies ($9.95+) for the health conscious and careful diabetic.

While folks say that the "Melba Peach" pie is delicious, I found the "Chocolate Lover's" cake too dense, chewy, and tasteless to consume. While the owner said that this is one of the best selling cakes, the texture was a bit odd and strange. I like my cakes to be light, moist, and at times dense or airy...but certainly not chewy and hard to swallow. The cake filling echoed "pudding" but the texture was off--a bit glassy. It needed more milk and cream to achieve a rich and creamy consistency, and could have used a large zap of flavor. Tastelessness aside, the overall texture in one's mouth was like eating a melted Barbie doll toy.

That said, I like the concept of having a sugar-free bakery on the island. It is surely needed and a valuable asset to the community. While some of the recipes need improvement, their efforts are certainly headed in the right direction.

Where it's at:
Sweet Nothings
1218 Waimanu Street, #102
Honolulu, HI 96814
808.593.1234

Mon, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat (7am - 7pm)
Sun (10am-pm); Tues (closed)

Best Local Food - Side Street Inn

Yuuum. So good, I'd recommend this place to my dad--the connoisseur of "local kine grinz" and the all-around gourmet home cook. And too, Side Street Inn is sooo good that the top Hawaii chefs head out to this place after their restaurant shift is over.
It's a casual little hole in the wall identified by a white lit sign in an alley near Ala Moana Shopping Center, well worth the find, and do park in the structure--bottom floor only--across the way (or find alley street parking, or valet your car for safety.) It's what you'd expect of any local joint: veneered tables, vinyl cushioned chairs, and locals in shorts and t-shirts. And while the ambiance isn't anything to write home about, what most stands out is the food. Let me paint you a picture. The food is so good that when the party next to you gets their food...you can smmeellll the succulent aroma from the dishes that they order...and you just have to turn your head to see what they ordered, eye up the colorful dishes, and strike up a conversation to find out what they got--or betta yet, see if they offer you some good eats. I'd recommend going with two to twelve people...the more dishes you can order, the more you can try. Everything is family style and the portions are huge.

They are best known for their Fried Rice (I like the one with lop chong though some like the kim chee version) and deep fried Pork Chops (drizzled with spicy garlic, I believe). Their Pork Belly Slidahs were ono--Kahlua pork between Chinese steamed buns, and the table next to us ordered some type of fried spring rolls with amazing smelling garlic sauce. (I'll have to update this post with my notes on other dishes to try as well as post my own photos).

If I knew about this place earlier, I'd have taken my family here for some reminiscent local food. Beats Rainbows, L&L, Big City Diner, and even Kakaoko Kitchen (though I do like the latter for a healthy alternative). Some say that the dishes are over priced and the joint overrated, but if it's good enough for Alan Wong and Roy Yamaguchi...it's certainly good enough for me.

Side Street Inn
1225 Hopaka Street
Honolulu, HI 96814
808.591.0253

{update: June 1, 2009}

Most Popular dishes (shared family style):
Pan Fried Island Pork Chops ($21)
Fried Rice ($11) with Kim Chee ($12) or Lup Chong ($14)
Lilikoi BBQ Baby Back Ribs ($17)
Kalua Pig Slidahs: Kalua Pig Stuffed Chinese Buns w/ Grilled Pineapple Silices and Lililikoi BBQ sauce (3 for $8.50)
Nori Furikake crusted Ahi Filet (market price)
Chinese Style Steamed Hukilau Farm Raised Moi on Asian Veggies with Hot Peanut Oil ($24)
Spicy Garlic Chicken ($12)

The island gift of Time, Community & Beauty

I went to catch the sunset at Ala Moana Beach the other day. It was relaxing personally, and refreshing to see other people take a stroll around the park or families play at the beach. I wondered why I didn't take the time out to do this more often.

When I first arrived on the island, I made it a point to watch the sunset almost every day at the Hawaii Kai harbor. I loved watching the sun set, the sky turn it's Hawaii orange glow behind the ridge before Diamond Head, while canoes and stand up paddlers lined the light shore waves. But somehow over time, life crept in, and I found myself caught in a daily routine just the same as the mainland...eating, working, meeting up with people, or headed off somewhere...catching the sunset mostly through my car window pane as I drove off to my next destination.

Yet everything slows down in Hawaii. I forget sometimes that driving doesn't need to entail passing up a "slow" car--how much time do we really need to save anyway? And that chatting it up with a local market cashier allows us to appreciate people in the moment and enjoy life's present richness--it's not a wasted minute of time as folks from the mainland are accustomed to think. And while I do need to plan to double the amount of time to do my usual errands (the pace of work is indeed slower here) it's made up by the courtesy, assistance and personal attention given.

What I find is that I reclaim the gift of time whenever I'm in the aloha state. Slowed time allows us to appreciate the moment, the gift of the day, and people around us. If Hawaii were couched as a "spiritual retreat" the three healing aspects I'd say the island uniquely offers is: the gift of time (slowed life pace), community (warmth and ease of people; value of relationships), and beauty (nature's creation).

And that, is good reason for pause enough.

{lap top is broken. but stay tuned for coming photos and posts...}