Mushroom Magic:
TAbbot Kinney Boulevard is a one-stop shop for the stylishly spiritual. An afternoon stroll amongst its retailers can lead you to crystals, dream catchers—even the Birkenstocks that will carry you comfortably along your path to enlightenment. When it’s time for a pick-me-up, your latte can be upleveled, too. Since 2017, Four Sigmatic’s Shroom Room has been whipping up coffee and lattes—along with cacaos and elixirs—enhanced with ancient superfoods, a list that includes reishi mushrooms, herbs like ashwagandha and tulsi, and other adaptogens. It may seem strange to sip mushroom coffee, but the practice of using herbs and mushrooms to support focus, energy, sleep and immune health is far from innovative. “In the Western hemisphere this is very new, though it’s based on 2,000 years of Chinese medicine,” says Bryce Sorensen, manager of the Venice outlet and captain of the Mushroom Mobile, a traveling Shroom Room that has taken him to 10 states. Conceived by Four Sigmatic, the superfood superstars at the forefront of the medicinal mushroom movement, The Shroom Room aims to shine a light on an arena that is uncharted territory for many. “You can come in and try the products for free,” explains Sorensen. “Here, you’re getting educated about what you’re putting into your body rather than just purchasing it.” us.foursigmatic.com/shroom-room —Marisa Belger
Yoga Buzz
As Californians settle into life on the other side of legalized cannabis use, Los Angeles is experiencing a surge in ganja-themed experiences. At the top of the list is Stoned Yoga, the brainchild of Ashlee Langas, a dancer and yoga instructor. Stoned Yoga was born from her personal practice. “I’d come home at the end of the week, smoke a little, put on good music, and work out my kinks,” she says. “I realized that this could be something that people could find useful.” The guidelines are simple: Enjoy some cannabis before class and show up to one of Langas’ pop-up classes ready to experience a different flavor of yoga. “Cannabis amplifies the feelings you have in your body and the way you can connect to your body,” she explains. The classes are easy to follow and no prior yoga experience is required. Cannabis newbies may want to tread lightly, though. “Go low and slow,” advises Langas. “There’s no need to rush; you can always add more.” Find a Stoned Yoga class at
thewavvycloud.com —M. B
Power Up:
The latest craze in fitness is no longer an hourlong class but rather a technologically advanced workout. Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) is the name of the game when it comes to getting fit while adhering to a busy schedule. Orange County’s much-buzzed-about Lightning Fit (lightning-fit.com) will expand to Brentwood and Hermosa Beach this winter, bringing their 25-minute effective workouts that claim to burn 700 calories per session to busy Angelenos. Wear a neoprene suit—similar to a wet suit—outfitted with nodes that are sprayed wet and plugged in as current flows through the suit while you exercise. Nearby, Santa Monica’s Manduu (manduu.com), which opened on the West Coast last June, adding to their 10 other studios across the country, is also plugging clients into machines—for 15-minute training sessions—that use electrical currents to stimulate muscle growth, tone and sculpt at an accelerated rate. Element Fitness Beverly Hills (8500 Wilshire Blvd., elementfitnessbh.com) uses EMS technology to cut down workouts to a fraction of the time for a full-body session. A workout takes about 20 minutes, but with changing in and out of the suit, an overall 30-minute session with EMS tech adds up to 90 minutes of strength training in a regular gym, where the only thing that’s plugged in is your iPhone. —Miri Sadigh