After taking care of the morning bathroom ritual, I head downstairs to fix and eat a hurried breakfast.

A quick glance at the clock tells me I’m already running late.  Should I take the time to look at my phone and see who sent me an email, I question myself.

Sure, why not.  But guess what?  Now I’m running 10 minutes late instead of five and I haven’t even taken a shower yet.

Sound familiar?  These are some of the first world problems a few of us share.

But what if there was a way you could escape for an hour or so?  A way you get rid of some of your daily stress without drinking or drugs.

It’s called Reiki and Sound Bath.  And when combined in a session, the receiver can come out feeling relaxed with their energies realigned.

Reiki is a non-intrusive, non physical therapy of spiritual healing.  Typically, a Reiki practitioner will give a treatment in a peaceful and private setting – like a yoga studio.

The client usually lies on top of a mat while the practitioner moves their hands a few inches above the client’s body.  The energy in the client’s body is transferred to the practitioner’s hands and then is diffused.

Once the energy in the practitioner’s hands is gone, they move onto a different area of the body to move and realign the blocking energy.

While Reiki is not a religion, it is spiritual in nature and helps promote living in harmony with yourself and others.

So now you’re totally relaxed.  The pent up energy in your body has been removed.  Your mind is still racing and you are wondering what you’re going to make for dinner.

Imagine the sound of the wind moving through the trees.  It is gentle.  Natural.  As your mind focuses on the wind, you notice the sound of running water.  The wind and the water soothe your mind and allow your mind to relax and join your relaxed body.

Laying in this elevated state of consciousness, the practitioner may use singing bowls to create sound vibrations.  As you lay there, your deep and relaxed breathing calms your nervous system as it blends with the sound and vibrations.

Reiki and Sound Bath are two great ways to eliminate stress and achieve a higher level of consciousness.  I know it sounds a bit hooky and new agey but give it a try.  What’s the worse that could happen?….You take an hour long nap on the floor and feel rejuvenated.

Some content courtesy of Reiki.org, Medical News Today, Auster Sound, Gorton Center, and Couple Sessions / Soundsations.

A post shared by Tanja Hamm (@my6hamms) on May 8, 2018 at 12:28pm PDT

STAIRS

For a very intense workout, Santa Monica offers what residents know as the Santa Monica Stairs. A pair of staircases up your cardio workout and are located just off Adelaide Drive. One set of stairs records a 170-wooden stairs with a wider width than its counterpart to allow for more climbers to enjoy the workout with you. The set staircase plays host to 199-concrete steps and offer more stability with a metal guard rail to support yourself on the steep climb.

Be aware of parking though. While at the beach you can pay for all day parking, Adelaide Drive only hosts its residents and can result in a heft ticket haul if you park in the wrong place.

CARDIO DAY

Cardio is the easiest way to exercise any where in the world, but Santa Monica provides beautiful options for cardio that others never get to experience. For a nice easy cardio workout, residents can go for a bike ride along the beach and enjoy the beautiful sights as you ride. For a more intense cardio workouts, Santa Monica offers a wide variety of hiking ranging from beginner to intermediate trails to enjoy that overlook the coastline or trek through the woodlands of California. 

Don’t forget that one of the best cardio workouts is running on the beach. The shifting sands under your feet require a larger amount of effort from your calves and legs as you constantly adjust to keep your balance while running. Watching out for beach goers may be your biggest challenge as you run along the sand.

A post shared by Robin Legat (@overcomeanyobstacle) on Feb 9, 2018 at 10:27am PST

CIRCUIT TRAINING

The hardest part of working out without a gym or building a home gym is the circuit workout. However, with the sun shining all year long, Santa Monica has put in the perfect playground for adults wanting to hit a wider variety of workouts. From the original Muscle Beach to Clover Beach, fitness lovers can enjoy outdoor workout equipment that aren’t even traditional to a gym.

Beach lovers can enjoy a gymnastics course on the beach of Santa Monica. The “adult playground” offers parallel bars, uneven bars and ring swings. The location plays host to many regulars and is always an enjoyable experience even for the regular joe. Many gymnast love to show off their amazing abilities while staying in shape at this location, but don’t let that scare you off. Many of the regulars enjoy sharing their knowledge and helping newcomers improve with little tips and tricks throughout their workout.

However, if you aren’t so much into the large crowds Santa Monica beach attracts, Clover Park offers a 15-station fitness course. The course offers a wider variety of obstacles and challenges than Santa Monica Beach. From a climbing rope to a stretching station, the course offers the ideal well-rounded workout for any fitness lover, and after you’ve finished your workout, the park offers several different sports fields and courts for people to enjoy as well as BBQ pits.

Cover photo by JC Dela Cuesta. Photos courtesy of Robin Legat and Tanja Hamm’s Instagrams.

On Wednesday, in a victory that will positively impact disabled students throughout the nation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that special education programs need to meet higher standards.  According to Reuters, they stated special ed programs must be “reasonably calculated to enable a child to make progress appropriate in light of the child’s circumstances.” This is a big win, affording similar education standards to those that are disabled as those that are not get.

The ruling was long awaited, and it all began way back in 2012.  An autistic student, Endrew F, felt that his school in Colorado’s Douglas County had failed him.   His parents had originally enrolled him in a local public school in Denver, however after noticing that their son was not advancing , they decided to transfer him to a private school specializing in autism in 5th grade.  Since moving schools he began progressing quickly, and in 2012 his parents decided to sue the school district.

In 2015 the court sided against them.  According to Reuters, the courts stated that Endrew had made “some academic progress,” henceforth the district had done there job by providing “merely more than de minimus.”  However, on Wednesday, that decision was overturned by the Supreme Court.  It revealed a major disconnect between the opportunities offered to disabled students and those that are not disabled.

On Wednesday, according to Reuters, Chief Justice Roberts expressed his discontent with the current system, stating that “a student offered an educational program providing ‘merely more than de minimis’ progress from year to year can hardly be said to have been offered an education at all.”

Some content courtesy of Reuters.

Get ready because this Sunday one of the largest marathons in the country, the fourth largest to be exact, the Sketchers Performance Los Angeles Marathon is back! The marathon supports almost 100 charities and boasts over 24,000 runners from every state in America and 63 countries.  They will all head to Dodger Stadium at 6:30 a.m. to kick off the race, travel through West Hollywood, and finish up the race right here, in Santa Monica

Whether you’re running, watching, or are just now hearing about the event, there are some important things for you to know.

While some are simply hoping to break their own PR, others have much grander plans in mind.  The LA marathon has partnered with the Guinness World Records.  They have encouraged runners to submit an application and attempt to earn a spot in the famous world record book. 

In addition to the record hopefuls, the new Los Angeles Chargers will be participating in the marathon! They will get involved by running a 13-person relay!

However, with all the hype of the marathon there is one big downside: street closures.  Street closures in Santa Monica will start anywhere from 5 to 6 a.m. on Sunday, and begin even earlier throughout the rest of LA. Some major streets will start closures on Saturday morning and will only reopen once it is safe. 

If you’re planning a getaway or need to travel in and around LA your best bet is the Big Blue Bus or the Metro Expo Line, who will have a service every nine minutes to better accommodate for the marathon.

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There’s nothing that puts a damper on a warm Santa Monica afternoon quite like a case of the flu.  Flu season tends to go from December all the way into March and can sometimes last until May.  This one, in particular, has been especially dreary and plagued by the dreaded Norovirus.  The number of students and teachers infected has been so great, that many schools in Santa Monica have had to suspend activities outside of class in an effort to contain the spread of this virus. Luckily, the number of cases has gone down so the district and the Department of Public Health have lifted their restrictions!

This is great news since so many activities have been stalled due to Norovirus. John Adams Middle School even had to cancel the school dance, and their not alone.  Numerous field trips at other schools have also been cancelled. 

Despite the good news, the Department of Public Health still recommends everyone stay vigilant with washing their hands and, if infected, stay home for a full 48 hours after symptoms have ended.

By Don Hughes

SANTA MONICA, Calif. March 8, 2015 — Over the weekend, the Los Angeles Galaxy traveled to Vancouver to play against the Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place.  Home crowds cheered the Whitecaps to victory as they beat the Galaxy 2 – 0.

For the first 45 minutes of the match, the scored was tied at 0.  After the halftime break, the Whitecaps came back and scored two goals.  Midfielder Kekuta Manneh seemed to be all alone in the penalty box as he placed the ball at the near post.  Galaxy keeper, Jaime Penedo, knelt on one knee with his hands on a thigh as he hopelessly watched the ball sail into the net.

Forward Octavio Rivero also scored against Penedo and the Galaxy during the second half.  Though there was a little more traffic in and around the goal when he scored, the Galaxy defense was thinly spread and Rivero took full advantage.

Ka-ching – GOOAALL Whitecaps!

The win against the Galaxy is the fourth consecutive win for Vancouver.  The team is on fire and it shows.  If they keep playing this well, they could be contenders for the 2015 MLS Cup.

Probably not so for the Galaxy who won their their fifth MLS Cup in 2014.  This season is shaping up to be very different.  For starters, the Galaxy are not able to come together as a team.  There isn’ t any cohesion or real leadership on the pitch.  The Galaxy lost one their star player when Landon Donovan retired at the end of the season.

Speaking about the match and what could be taken away from it, Head Coach Bruce Arena said, “Can’t take anything good [from it].”

Ouch – that has to sting.

The Galaxy will host the Seattle Sounders at StubHub Center on April 12th.  You can watch the match on Fox Sports 1 or Fox Deportes.

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