Dru Yoga, Sir Hops-A-Lot!

So tonight I took an exploration into the unordinary and attended a session of Dru Yoga.  Dru Yoga was developed in the UK so is a very western take on the yoga practice.  Not knowing what I was getting into, a super cute Canuk (that’s Canadian) led the practice and explained that this is not your average yoga.  “Sure, I said!” not thinking it was not like my average yoga.

Lo and behold we begin with an exercise of hopping to some of the cutest darn music I’ve heard in years, almost like the Rugrats theme song.  Hopping aimlessly into space.  Channeling youthful energy.  Up and up we go!  Then we start slapping every part of our body to awaken and relieve stress.  I giggle as we start slapping our butts.  A remarkable experiment into being young again.

Philippe Halsman had a theory called jumpology where one’s true identity was revealed in how one jumped and he captured those moments at the height of their leap.  Food for thought…

Philippe Halsman Jumpology

Meaning of Tea, Berkeley, CA

Meaning of TEA at the Elmwood, Berkeley

I had the pleasure of seeing the documentary film The Meaning of Tea on Thursday, Apr 22, at the Elmwood Theater in Berkeley, CA.

Prior to the show, there was a reception at Far Leaves Tea Company across the street, where I hosted a tea tasting station for the reception because of my involvement in SF Tea Meetup group (www.meetup.com/SanFranciscoTea).  It was a really interesting White Peony processed in Darjeeling, India.  What a lovely floral treat, different from every White Tea I have ever tasted!

Now back to the movie:

The documentary took me on an incredible journey through many cultures and how they derive meaning from tea.  The movie was moving, spiritual, and above all else funny.  It left me in awe and left me with a thirst to dig deeper into my journey of tea.  Here are some of my highlights:

• The short 1-2 minute interlude showing how Moroccan teapots are produced.  At each step in the process I was on the edge of my seat thinking, “Is that a bowl? No it’s a cup! No it’s a bowl. No it’s a fruit bowl! Oh wait, it’s a vase!  Shoot, now it’s a vessel.  No way! It’s a teapot!”
• Tea, South Dakota.  A rural town that has named itself after tea, though it seems this community has little to do with tea, high tea, etc.   I was fascinated by how the director even discovered such a hidden jewel in the Midwest.
• One of the funniest moments was when the crew introduced a new Japanese Matcha tea marvel (a water bottle with a screwtop that drops matcha into the bottle and you shake to get a frothy treat) to a kind woman tea sensei who performs the chanoyu (formal Japanese tea ceremony).  The expression on her face was priceless as she tried shaking the bottle and tasting the elixir to then quote, “it’s not very good.”  Priceless!

All in all, I recommend this movie to all who want to delve into this world that has captivated millions and millions of people throughout history.  I truly am a changed tea professional from viewing this documentary.  Thank you!