Get High On Life At Club SÖDA NYC

If you know me personally, then you know first hand I’m not a big consumer of alcohol. Although, I’d be lying to you and myself if I said that I never drink at all (I will have an occasional glass of Rosé or a margarita on a summer day) but 9 times out of 10 I’m opting for fresh lemon water with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Why may you ask?

-Alcohol dehydrates the F out of your skin. I think it’s safe to say we all know I’m a firm believer in hydrating your skin, I will do what I can to avoid my skin feeling dry & if you haven’t tried my new face mask yet, what are you waiting for? -Expensive! Drinking can be so damn expensive! I can’t wrap my head around why someone would rather spend $22 on ONE drink opposed to purchasing amazing essential oil at Saje instead. I just don’t know.. -I was born without an immune system. I work hard to constantly build immunity in my body therefore when I drink alcohol, I find myself more susceptible to getting sick. No thanks. -Not to mention a number of friends that I’ve lost to the battle of addiction. RIP <3

So when I learned about Club SöDA, it immediately sparked my attention. I first heard about Club SöDA through a new friend Priya, who I met a few weeks ago while doing her makeup as we were filming for a scripted tv pilot. Priya owns an acupuncture practice in NYC along with specializing in nutrition, essential oils, and Feng Shui. She told me how great the Club SöDA event was, which was one of the several signs that quickly led me to follow Ruby Warrington. Ruby is the Goddess and author of Material Girl, Mystical World, founder of The Numinous, and co-host of Club SöDA. You can read all about our Moon Magic Retreat here.

Let’s be honest though since ancient times drinking has been the “nucleus” of social gatherings. Could a rooftop party really be this fun without any Rosé at all? I’d have to see for myself. I mean Sunday’s are made for playing so why not? I signed my friend Samantha and myself up as the official test to see if we could get high off our own supply. & High is what we got!

The afternoon started at 12 pm at the McCarren Pool & Hotel in Brooklyn. Not sure what to expect, we immediately connected with a group of girls by the bar as we sipped on drinks from Sound Tea. Shout out to my friend Salim Najjar who is the Co-Founder of Sound Tea, which you can read about here.

I was so excited to run into another new friend Joanna Cohen who is an amazing Yoga instructor (Guyyyyyysss she teaches yoga classes at Revolve in the Hamptons, can we say #Goals), wellness/lifestyle blogger, and health coach. I met Joanna last month while doing makeup for a wedding. She was the bride’s cousin and we instantly hit it off talking about our love for writing and wellness.

I even bumped into a few of my Moon Retreat sisters! It was so nice to catch up and see how the girls were doing after our intense weekend in the Catskills as we dug deep to find our Soul Purpose.

After the first hour of sparking conversations and catching up, Biet led us into an awesome meditation. Biet is a Meditation Master, singer, and Co-Founder of Club SöDA. I know a couple people that are her personal clients and I hear nothing but rave reviews. She had us partner up with someone we did not know, and look them in their left eye. You may remember this technique we did at the Moon Magic Retreat.

I partnered up with Yasmin a beautiful model and blogger in NYC. As we stared into each other’s left eye, I noticed I felt way calmer than I did the very first time I practiced this exercise that quickly escalated to me crying on the floor. Psychologists such as Carl Jung explain the subconscious mind or the “soul” could be linked to our left eye which translates to our right brain. Our brains are a complex phenomena. I’ll save that conversation for another day, but by looking into someone’s left eye, you’re looking at a person’s unmasked true self.

Photo by: Nadine Freniere

Beit then lets Amy K. take the mic as she instructed us to close our eyes and led us into a Kundalini practice. Amy is a Kundalini yoga and meditation instructor and an awesome DJ if I do say so myself. I really enjoyed the practice as we inhaled 5 times through our nose then exhaled 5 times while being in sync with our hand motions. You could actually feel the force between your hands during this practice. After 11 minutes of this exercise, we stood up and let our bodies sway as we danced through out the entire afternoon. When in doubt, dance it out! We laughed hysterically for no reason at all and let loose.

Ruby passed out Unicorn shots, which are made with love, almond milk, cacao, kava, honey, banana, and Energy Tonic from Moon Deli. Oh, and sprinkles on top!

Photo by: Nadine Freniere

As we danced around to Disco, I thought how cool it is to be surrounded by such an awesome crowd who are enjoying a booze-less brunch with major high vibes all around. When there is a space for consciousness and healthy living, no alcohol is necessary.

As the party came to an end, Samantha & I wanted to continue the fun. As I checked my Insta feed I saw that Maha Rose was having an open house featuring Reiki, tarot card readings, life coaching, massages, and astrology. I checked my Google Maps and it was only 1 mile away.

We quickly power walked our way to Maha Rose. Upon arrival, you take your shoes off at the door. Samantha signed up for a mini Reiki session and I signed up for a coaching session with Sah D’Simone. Let me tell you about Sah real quick. I’ve been following him on Instagram for a few months now and he is the most captivating, positive, intelligent, and beautiful person on my feed. I had no idea he was going to be at Maha Rose so it was a nice surprise for me to finally meet him.

Photo by: Sasha Juliard from Sah’s Instagram: @SahDSimone

We had a session that covered relationships, career, spirituality, and exercise. He went over a meditative breathing technique for me to follow 20 minutes a day. It’s only been three days but I’ve been practicing the technique every night since, which leads me right into a deep sleep.

What a perfect end to a perfect fun filled and healthy day. This has opened my eyes to a new community of people who are alcohol-free and join together in these consciousness expanding parties to support the lifestyle I want to live. Learning to get elevated and high off life is the best prescription for any one. I am dedicated to exploring new ways of getting lit!

How I know I’m on the right path: Synchronicity. Driving into NYC yesterday to renew my passport for some upcoming fun travels, I am describing to my boyfriend how fun Sunday was, that it was such a different experience from what I’m used to and how eye opening it was. As we are having this discussion who walks right past me in front of my car? Beit. There goes Beit laughing and chatting away with a few others as she’s crossing the street leaving the Piers off the West Side Highway. I can’t help but laugh to myself. Thank you, Universe!