Category FEEL
Road Trip! Esalen Hot Springs
I slipped off my bra and took a deep breath. Just the undies left. I hesitated a moment, then, feeling silly, yanked them off and stuffed them into my bag. All ready. Avoiding eye contact with everyone else disrobing, I grabbed my water bottle and towel and walked quickly outside. In the changing room surrounded […]
Road Trip! Hiking Half Dome
I couldn’t help feeling like I’d cheated. An hour ago I’d boarded a shuttle to be delivered 3,214ft up from Yosemite’s valley floor to its granite peaks at Glacier Point. Winding up the road, I’d watched towering pines blur past the windows and quickly dissolve into the immensity of the glacier-hewn landscape. Stubborn clumps of […]
Road Trip! Russian River Adventures
“It’s spinning again.” “I’m paddling on the right—it’s supposed to be moving left.” “Well it isn’t.” And it wasn’t. A full 180 degrees later, the canoe settled out and we began a backwards float downstream. Digging our oars into the water, we re-activated the rotation and were well on our way to forward-facing when another […]
Ocean Beach
Tuesday morning under a leaden sky rain drummed against the windshield, mingling with the waves rolling in beyond the break wall. In our apartment sat a blow-up mattress, two folding lawn chairs, and little else. There was so much to do—a refrigerator to fill; pots, pans, and plates to buy; and of course, jobs to […]
Communal Baths at Kabuki Springs & Spa
Hot air wooshes through my nostrils, ballooning warmly in my lungs. Fat beads of sweat gain critical mass and tumble down my skin in little rivulets, plinking softly onto the cedar bench. Cool sip of water. Eyes like hot jelly against closed lids. A final slow breath of heat and I head for the door […]
ODC Dance / Rhythm & Motion
It’s as if there’s a big jelly jar around you and your hips are cleaning off all the jelly. Far from a fluid flourish of jelly coated hips, mine jerk and twitch stickily about the imaginary glass. Surely “Absolute Beginner Tribal Belly Dance” is a misnomer. * When I enter the classroom I find a […]
Yoga on the Labyrinth
Although there is still over half an hour to go, a steady stream of yogis is flowing up the steps and through the cathedral doors, rolled up mats tucked under their arms or slung over their shoulder. Cutting my phone conversation short, I hustle through the doors too and start scoping for a spot. Patches […]
Foot Reflexology Center
Removing my feet from the footbath of tea water, I raise my legs onto the footstool and sink into the padded faux-leather chair. With a dollop of lotion, the reflexologist begins rubbing my leg with her glove-covered hands. Across from me is a man in his mid-20s tapping away at his smartphone, and a heavyset […]
Sensuous SF 