SATURDAY SCOOPS
Relaxation consultant's book helps calm your life
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Darrin Zeer, who divides his time between Maui and San Diego, has written three books for the stressed-out corporate crowd ("Office Yoga," "Office Spa" and, coming next year, "Office Feng Shui"). His newest is "Everyday Calm: Relaxing Rituals for Busy People."
Zeer spent seven years in Asia, studying yoga, meditation and other Eastern practices, and served as a relaxation consultant for CNN, Glamour nagazine and Pixar Entertainment. Here in Hawai'i, he has consulted for the Hawaii Prince hotels.
Q. You live in Maui and San Diego, two of the most relaxing placing in the world. Are you a surfer?
A. No.
Q. What brought this project on?
A. In the East, studying yoga and mediation, I started learning how to be more relaxed and thought about how stressed out we are in the Western world. I immediately wanted to spread the word.
Q. In "Everyday Calm," you have more than 50 relaxing rituals. What's your favorite?
A. They're all good. "Wisdom of the horn," page 30 — it helps calm road rage. Or page 34, "Two-Minute Midday Calm." The idea is to stop just in the middle of your day and to calm down, just so you're more prepared for the second half of your day. Or page 53, "Call Drop Desperation" —how to deal with the aggravation of your cell phone dropping a call. There's "Tumble-dry meditation" (with a yin and yang illustration in the dryer) — how to stay calm and find enjoyment while you wait. This will be the last one, really. Page 60: "Rein-CAR-nation" — walking around the parking lot, wondering where you parked your car.
Q. Were you always laid-back?
A. Yeah, I think staying calm is natural tool I have access to. I think, personally, everybody on the planet is stressed out, to varying degrees. I'm not talking about relaxing so you fall asleep, but calm, so that you're sharp and focused and making good decision.
Q. Here in Hawai'i, what do you notice about the relaxation levels?
A. That's a good question. It seems like every part of the world is caught up in that rush, that treadmill of life. Hawai'i is no exception. Maui, O'ahu, whatever. People are still caught up in the grip of stress. I see a lot of tourists on the beach; they didn't leave their work at home. I really want to help them. My calming tips are really to speed the process significantly.
Q. Are you SURE you're not a surfer?
A. No. Really.
Want to know more? Visit his Web site, www.relaxyoga.com.
Self-care starts with getting rid of clutter
Last month it was taxes. This month, take care of yourself. Fitness magazine lists tips to help unclutter your life. Make it a family day. Order a pizza, turn on the radio and say goodbye to clutter:
- Streamline your junk drawer. Keep only essentials and unique items in the kitchen catch-all.
- Eliminate the paper trail. Keep only the documents you absolutely must. Do you need a year's worth of utility bills? Probably not. Last year's tax return? Yes.
- Make a "trial" pile. If an item of clothing feels a little snug, tag it with a date six months in the future. Vow to give it away if it still doesn't fit by then.
- Clean your clothes. Dry-clean every piece when a season ends. That will motivate you to get rid of clothes you no longer like instead of wasting money cleaning them.
- Stash the special stuff. Store meaningful heirlooms that you don't use in an out-of-the-way place.
Look for bon dance calendar June 1
One of those things that makes living in Hawai'i special is the annual series of o-bon festivals held by temples, shrines and community organizations.
Advertiser library photo • July 14, 1996
The Advertiser will publish its annual bon dance calendar June 1, in advance of the bon-dance season. Each week, that week's bon dances will be listed in the TGIF and Faith calendars as well.
If your organization is planning a bon observance, we'd like to hear from you by Friday. Include time, date, place, events planned and phone number. Write: Bon Dance Calendar, Island Life, The Advertiser, P.O. Box 3110, Honolulu, HI 96802; fax: 525-8055; islandlife@honoluluadvertiser.com.
Summer lessons offer opportunity to go courting
Tennis, anyone?
Having trouble with your baseline game? Do you even know what a baseline game is? Call it a love-love affair that it's time to take advantage of. The U.S. Tennis Association Hawaii Pacific Section is sponsoring inexpensive tennis lessons for beginner and intermediate players at various parks around O'ahu. The lessons don't start until June 2, but the registration deadline is Monday. If you don't have a racket or balls, don't worry. They'll provide you with one. Phone 955-6696 or visit www.hawaii.usta.com.
A capital idea for history, culture
Advertiser library photo
Take a stroll and soak up some history and culture today while participating in "A Capital Day Down Capitol Way," when you can visit participating museums and historic sites in the Capitol district for free.
"Jardiniere" by Esther Shimazu, stoneware, 1993, displayed at the Hawai'i State Art Museum.
A trolley will provide free shuttle service from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. between the locations, open at varying times:
- 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Honolulu Hale, 'Iolani Palace, Judiciary History Center. 523-4674, 522-0832, 539-4999.
- 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Honolulu Police Department Museum. 529-3351.
- 9:30 a.m.-1 p.m., St. Andrew's Cathedral. 524-2822, ext. 215.
- 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Mission Houses Museum, state Capitol, Washington Place, YWCA on Richards Street. 531-0481,586-0221, 586-0240, 524-8789.
- 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Hawai'i State Art Museum. 586-0900.
- 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Honolulu Academy of Arts. 532-8700.
New book offers ways to enlighten lives of your pets
As if your pet weren't spoiled enough already, now comes a book with ideas on how to design "petchitecture." "Pads for Pets: Fabulous Projects for Your Furry, Feathered, and 'Phibious Friends" (Chronicle, $18.95).
Author Elizabeth Quinn offers up stylish personal space ideas for dogs, cats, birds, toads, fish, mice and rabbits. Novelist Amy Tan is into it — she's got a cat bed made from a cello and velvet cushions.
Our favorite idea to treat a harmonious kitty: A Zen bed for cats, made from clawable sisal carpeting, cat grass and a buckwheat pillow.
Home buyers and designers, this fair's for you
These days, we seem to spend a lot of time in our comfy nests, our homes. How to make your nest even more comfy or give it more pizzazz? The folks at Gentry Pacific Design Center, 560 N. Nimitz Highway, will offer their latest ideas at a Homebuyers and Designers Fair this weekend.
Among the attractions are a feng shui expert at Pacific Orient Traders; interior design and home-buying seminars today; and a showcase and sale by the merchants in the complex.
There's entertainment, too, by the Diamond Head Shooting Stars, and inflatables for the keiki.
Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and tomorrow. 599-8284, www.gentrycenter.com.
If you're wondering what our future artists are up to, check out the 2003 Student Art Exhibition at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the Hawai'i Convention Center.
The exhibit is part of a dedication ceremony honoring student artists and their work. It's hosted by the State Foundation on Culture and the Arts and features art created by students in kindergarten through the sixth grade statewide.
It's a free event. Check out what the kids come up with under the theme "My Island and Me."
