12 | August 3, 2017 | Malibu surfside news Malibu malibusurfsidenews.com MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS is looking for local FREELANCE REPORTERS and PHOTOGRAPHERS to cover events, meetings and sports in the area. Interested individuals should send an email with a resume and any clips to lauren@malibusurfsidenews.com MALIBU'S TOP SOURCE FOR NEWS & INFORMATION MALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS
malibusurfsidenews.com News Malibu surfside news | August 3, 2017 | 13 Malibu yoga studio hosts yoga, cooking and hiking retreat Barbara Burke Freelance Reporter The proverbial “getting away from it all” usually denotes a weekend at a resort, picking up a few spa treatments, catching up on reading novels, and perhaps taking an excursion to experience a unique cultural experience near one’s destination. This past weekend, a lucky few attended the Yoga, Cooking and Hiking Retreat hosted by Malibu’s 5 Point Yoga, an experience that transcended the traditional weekend getaway. Proprietors Ted McDonald and his wife, Lauren Lobley, a trained chef, expertly curated a wonderful weekend of hikes, yoga and plant-based vegan cooking lessons. The combination made for a perfect miniholiday, self-improvement hat trick retreat. Attendees arrived on Thursday, July 27, and gathered for yoga, followed by a welcome dinner. The yoga was that wonderful, user-friendly, non-intimidating kind where even a beginner feels comfortable but experienced yogis can find a challenge. Ted McDonald, a triathlon-experienced, endurance athlete who teaches both yoga and meditation, inspired participants by providing gentle guidance to challenge each person to reach a little deeper and try new poses, all the while educating attendees about the benefits of Iyengar and Ashtanga styles of yoga. “Let’s start with nice big stretches,” he said. “State your intentions, whether it is releasing stress, healing, or letting go of something. Do what is beneficial for you. Work on core strength.” Attendees breathed in deeply and the tensions of everyday routines and meeting obligations seemed to float into the ether, worries dissipated, and each person could focus on herself and try to achieve that balance we all yearn for. Relax. Charlie Nagle (third from right) was among participants in the recent Yoga, Cooking and Hiking Retreat. Yoga was led by 5 Point Yoga founder Ted McDonald. Photos by Barbara Burke/22nd Century Media Rejuvenate. Revive. There truly is merit to being still. McDonald’s yoga sessions center on strength, alignment and breathing, all aimed at helping students increase their flexibility, tenacity and focus. It is a remarkable feature of humanity how a group of strangers with a common aim can meet, coalesce and form a community in an incredibly brief amount of time. Repasts were the highlight of the experience, allowing for conviviality, nutrition education and replenishment. Chickpea quinoa soup with pesto, veggies with sweet potato hummus, cashew cheese with roasted dates served on fig crackers, warm spinach artichoke dip and a to-die-for vegan Caesar salad with Dijon roasted Portobella mushrooms were met with “oohs” and “ahhs” by delighted attendees. The pièce de résistance was the raw banana almond butter cheesecake. Travel weary, attendees retired. In the morning, there was more yoga, an apropos beginning to a picture-perfect Malibu day. Breakfast featured homemade granola, sprouted toast with homemade hazelnut spread, pecan butter, almond butter, fruit, fresh-pressed Clover juices, and a variety of fascinating teas such as Hazerbaba Turkish Tea and Tea Pigs. “I never thought that I could be completely satiated by plantbased foods,” attendee Phillip Reagan said. “I felt like the food might be tasty, but I worried that I might need more. I’m completely satiated, and I’m a meat and potatoes guy.” Buoyed by a nutritious breakfast, attendees were ready for the strident 1,380-foot-elevation, two-and-a-half-hour hike that followed. The experience provided panoramic views of the vistas of the Santa Monicas and the peaceful Pacific below. Another nutritious lunch followed and then attendees were in for a treat: a cooking class during with Lobley talking shop, providing technique tips, explaining the preparation for various dishes and giving attention to every detail. Of course, the highlight of that experience was the sampling. “Always have a stocked pantry,” Lobley advised as she displayed and explained the merits of vegan sugar, coconut sugar, flax seed, Xanthan gum and organic chocolate. “Do not add a cold vegetable to cold oil, because the vegetable will soak up the oil.” She exhaustively and clearly explained the techniques of making cauliflower rice, Shiitake mushroom saute, walnut meat and cashew cheese, among other featured epicurean delights. “As a young, vegetarian athlete, it’s great to learn healthy, filling vegetarian meal-making from Lauren,” said Emma Ellison, a 14-year-old from Lufkin, Texas. “I’m learning a lot of tips on races, exercise and recovery from Ted too.” After a brief rest, McDonald taught yin, or restorative, yoga on the beach — a type of yoga that is designed to lengthen connective 5 Point Yoga 23410 Civic Center Way, Suite E3, Malibu Phone: (310) 455-6681 Web: 5pointyoga.com tissue, prevent injuries and open energetic pathways in the body. “This type of yoga involves holding poses for a long period of time in order to lengthen the fascia, the connective tissue in our body, which increases our flexibility in order to release energy and be able to mediate and relax,” McDonald said. “Just relax and listen to the waves and the ocean.” The gentle, stretch-oriented yoga on Westward Beach was the perfect salve for sore muscles and any remaining tensions. “Let’s have a few moments of beach medication. Get your spine straight, your body relaxed and breathe deeply,” McDonald said. “Find a focal point, perhaps keying in on the waves as they lap against the beach. Inhale and exhale, and just meditate. Try to get away from all the other stuff in life that is super intense. When the unexpected is thrown at us, we must center ourselves.” As the sun prepared to set on the beach, the group, now fast Chef Lauren Lobley demonstrated how to make various nutritious, plant-based recipes at 5 Point Yoga’s Yoga, Cooking and Hiking Retreat, held July 27-30 in Malibu. Healthful offerings at the Yoga, Cooking and Hiking Retreat included collard green wraps with sundried tomato pesto, basil pesto and purple cabbage. friends, headed back for another amazing dinner. “Opening our house to Lauren and Ted’s retreat and meeting such a wonderful group of people is a pleasure,” said host Paolo Consiglio, who graciously opened up his home for the repasts. “We built our home to host family and friend, and we like when people enjoy it.” Yoga. Hiking. Superb food. Good company. Good times. 5 Point Yoga’s new experience retreats offer a calming yet invigorating coalescence of much of what is good in Malibu. Namaste.
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