Best Places To Meditate In Los Angeles
When you live in lively Los Angeles, it's not always easy to escape the fray in order to get your zen on. Still, make a conscious effort to find the right spot in the City of Angeles in which to intermittently meditate so you can relax, regroup, and feel alone with your thoughts for a specific amount of time. So where will you go? The following are five super soothing ideas.
Solstice Canyon
3455 Solstice Canyon Rd.
Malibu, CA 90265
(805) 370-2300
www.nps.com
Make a beeline to Malibu's ultra serene Solstice Canyon, picking a spot at a mountainside waterfall for your serious meditation session. Doing so does mean you'll need to hike into the interior for a couple of miles (don't worry, the terrain is not too difficult) but this also means you'll get to enjoy the distinctive flora and fauna -- like a bounty of shady sycamore trees -- along the way. To be sure, nature is at its best in this storied Southern California retreat that offers an abundance of serenity in a place in which the Chumash Nation of Native Americans long depended on for all their necessities.
Los Angeles Arboretum And Botanical Garden
301 N Baldwin Ave.
Arcadia, CA 91007
(626) 821-3222
www.arboretum.org
Step aside from the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles by going inside the boundaries of the glorious Los Angeles Arboretum, a true mystical wonderland where plenty of spots do the trick for your meditation intensions. Consider the Aquatic Gardens (full of water lilies and benches in the shade) and the Meadowbrook Garden (where the magnolias are as enchanting as the view of the San Gabriel Mountains). Our favorite? The Celebration Garden, of course. And after your own personal session, if you time things right, you can join a free yoga class given on these very verdant premises.
Lake Shrine Temple
17190 Sunset Blvd.
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
(310) 454-4114
www.lakeshrine.org
Head for the hills in the Pacific Palisade to refresh at Lake Shrine Temple, a Hindu house of worship that overlooks a lovely, spring-fed lake. It here at the on-site meditation center where you will spend quality time in this pursuit. Also on the premises and soothing to the spirit: A tranquil pond filled with coy, ducks, water turtles and lotus flowers. Perfection!
Related: Best Parks In Los Angeles
Descanso Gardens
1418 Descanso Dr.
La Cañada Flintridge, CA 91011
(818) 949-4200
www.descansogardens.org
For perfect peace among a bounty of flora, choose Descanso Gardens for your meditation session. While some of the same mind frame will head straight to the Japanese Tea House to find a bench on which to languish, others will take a stroll through the Rose Garden or stop and practice by a coy pond or at the waterfall. While turtles, swans, geese and ducks are part of the bird sanctuary, this can also be your place for a serene sit down of the meditation variety.
Shambhala Meditation Center Of Los Angeles
963 Colorado Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90041
(323) 255-5472
www.shambhala.org
In the heart of Eagle Rock, this notable branch of the highly regarded Shambala Meditation Center sees students through the art of meditation, a practice that dates back 2,500 years. Introductory classes are free of charge and available to all who practice or want to practice meditation, learning everything from how to understand what meditation is all about to getting over any obstacles that may pop up when you start to commit to this form of relaxation and actual shift in viewpoint.
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