Stay Calm Stay Chic

For those of us who tend to be slightly Type-A and live in a city where just driving to your nearest Whole Foods can raise your blood pressure, Suze Yalof Schwartz has come up with a remedy to help us tune in and drop out. She opened Unplug Meditation in April, where this guided meditation studio in Los Angeles is already drawing a cult-following of plugged-in, stressed-out devotees. Although the thousand-year-old practice is typically done solo or with a guru, mediation is rapidly moving into the mainstream as a way to focus attention and decrease stress- not to mention bolstering the immune system and benefiting both mental and physical health- and many people like the sense of community when they meditate in a shared space.

Yalof Schwartz began meditation to better cope with her own hectic schedule after relocating to California from New York, where she was a fashion editor for Vogue, Elle, Marie Claire and Glamour magazines. She then came up with the concept for Unplug as a sort of Dry Bar or Soul Cycle for mediation, where busy people could drop in to her Zen-like chic studio to quiet their overactive minds in a minimalist, Buddha-free space. Organizing its 32 sessions into a series of 30 minute and 45 minute classes, Unplug tackles everything from anxiety to mindful eating to fear of flying, and is staffed by a calm team of experts including Maha Yoga founder Steve Ross, and wellness author Olivia Rosewood. Yalof Schwartz has provided us Angelenos with a quick and affordable way to release our intentions for the day… and then get on with our day, peacefully. We hope. www.unplugmeditation.com