Healthy Restaurants In Paris

If you're used to having a local Whole Foods around the corner, but you're in town for Paris Fashion Week, it's only a matter of time before typical French food stops being interesting and starts triggering your emerging/existing sensitivity to gluten. Before it comes to this, here is our go-to list of top five places to find healthy food in Paris:

NANASHI, LE MARAIS
The French have chic versions of everything, and that now includes the bento box. This minimalist spot is the current reigning trendy venue among the fashion crowd, so opt for off-peak hours to beat the line-up. Or on-peak if you actually feel like networking. Order the salmon chirashi. 
57 rue Charlot

SEASON, LE MARAIS
Juices, chia seed puddings, a variety of bowls you'll spend time more time photographing than eating, and innovative versions of low-carb favorites such as Red Chard Caesar Salad with avocado. 
1 rue Charles-François Dupuis

Photo: @ladashefler

BOB'S KITCHEN, LE MARAIS
Going to Bob's is all about the veggie stew and assortment of side salads. It can only be described as the 'tastiest things you can do with vegetables', and is the perfect antidote to all those steak tartares.
74 Rue des Gravilliers          

NOGLU, 2ND ARRONDISSEMENT
The name speaks for itself - and the Paris outpost of this gluten-free eatery (there's already one in New York) doesn't disappoint. Think gluten-free versions of classic burger and fries and indulgent desserts - a place to go when you are hungry and need something substantial you can feel good about. 

16 Passage des Panoramas

Photo: petiteetoilebotw

WILD AND THE MOON, LE MARAIS
Vegan and gluten-free, Wild and the Moon is the perfect breakfast or lunch spot to refuel and get a mocha with almond milk and coconut oil. The presentation is Insta-worthy and the ambience is basically a Kinfolk editorial.
55 rue Charlot                      

Retreat: Experience The Ancient Practice Of Qigong In Bhutan

It seems that attaining mindfulness has never been more important than it is now. Especially for someone like me who spends their time immersed in decision-making and business, the ability to detach from worries has become an art that I’ve spent my life perfecting. I love meditation, but there comes a point every few months where there is a need to take it to the next level and really cultivate the best possible energy and fortify the mind-body connection. Which means Qigong, an ancient Chinese health care system that integrates physical postures, breathing techniques and focused intention.

So when my teacher and friend David Melladew, an Oriental Medicine Consultant, invited me to Uma by COMO in Paro, Bhutan for a week-long retreat he was hosting, I was in. There’s no better place to practice Qigong than Bhutan, a Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas, a land of monasteries, fortresses and dramatic landscapes.

The word Qigong (Chi Kung) is made up of two Chinese words. Qi is pronounced 'chee' and is usually translated to mean the life force or vital-energy that flows through all things. The second word, Gong, means accomplishment, or skill that is cultivated through steady practice. Together, Qigong means cultivating energy, and is a system practiced for health maintenance, healing and increasing vitality.

For someone who wants to go on an authentic spiritual retreat but needs a certain comfort level, the COMO Shambhala is perfect. The rooms are minimalist but fantastic, the views are spectacular, and the spa offers many kinds of ayurvedic treatments.

The menu is perfectly suited to the spiritual mood of the retreat, but by no means boring. I would start the day with a green juice and Shambhala muesli with live mango yoghurt, freshly grated apple and almond milk.

Each day, practice included morning and afternoon Qigong sessions that took us through a set called ‘The Eight Animals’, centred around a key element of Taoist philosophy. There were also morning meditations, hikes into the surrounding mountains, visits to local monasteries, as well as philosophical talks about Qigong and Taoist practices – which I may have enjoyed the most.

I would end the day with a hot stone bath and massage. This Bhutanese therapy uses hot river stones which have been placed in a bath where they crack and steam, releasing key minerals for relieving deep-set aches and pains.

To start, I would recommend attending a few Qigong classes in your local area. But for an all-around rejuvenating experience – a point where you really want to hit reset – the COMO Shambhala is the perfect getaway. 

Find out about David’s next retreat here.

Why I Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway

Carmen photographed by Diana Gomez at Claridges Hotel in London, Styled by Mauro Durant, Make-Up by Michael Furlonger

If you know Carmen, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that she’s something of a posterchild for fearlessness. This is the woman who carried on working through a military coup-d’état in Caracas, got seriously stern with French luxury fashion bosses in the 90s when she was just in her early 20s so they would allow her to sell in Latin America, invested a whopping amount of that hard-earned money into Natalie Massenet’s then-unheard of idea when no one else would, and then stood up to Richemont bosses in the dealings of the 2015 merger and valuation of Net-a-Porter.

Let alone the fear that tends to plague women most of all - marriage. Carmen has decided not to marry, a feat in today’s society, which never seems to take the pressure off. And particularly for someone who comes from a Latin background, who shielded herself from the machismo mentality that ensues there.

So how does she do it? “I’m not afraid of facing my fears. It’s not that I don’t feel fear, it’s just that you have to recognize that you feel fear, but you say ‘this is what I am afraid of, so I’m going to go towards it’”, Carmen explains. It brings to mind the 1987 cult self-help book Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway by Susan Jeffers. Carmen assures me she has a copy.

“But there can be a healthy amount of fear, sometimes it’s good”, she adds. “There is a fearless trait that I believe also comes from our family, from the Cuban side.” (They fought in the Cuban revolution.) “And I mean, my brother died of Russian roulette - you shouldn’t disguise fear with adrenaline. You need to analyse and understand it. Fear gives you a perspective of your limitations, and helps you see whether you want to challenge yourself or not, and your motivations for wanting to.”

Confused as to whether she is pro or anti fear, I ask her how she is able to discern between what a healthy amount of fear is, and when it’s destructive – how do you know where do you draw the line? “Meditation” she answers.

'Fear gives you a perspective of your limitations, and helps you see whether you want to challenge yourself or not, and your motivations for wanting to.'

Carmen’s dedication to meditation and other mindfulness practices, something she is increasingly becoming a big advocate of, have always been her way of countering the fear that comes with having her life. And it pays off – evidenced by the fact that despite having ups and downs in business, her intuition has been so well-honed that she continues to invest in those she believes in, evidenced by her growing portfolio of companies.

Another fear that she’s had to overcome more and more in recent years is public speaking. Being half-deaf and dyslexic, worrying about saying things correctly and hearing well enough to engage with someone while being on stage is anxiety-inducing in the best of us. Carmen says she’s knocked this one out too, knowing she has a lot more value to add by getting up there, sharing expertise and inspiring others.

“What still scares you, then?” I ask, trying to poke holes. “Marriage” she says and laughs, but then pauses to reflect. “It’s actually not marriage that scares me, but more the idea of dependency – having to depend on someone else. I don’t believe in marriage the same way I don’t believe in institutionalized religion, and I think our goal as women is to really learn to not be co-dependent when it comes to men, but healthily interdependent. We do need people – no man is an island, but at the end of the day it’s your own decisions that result in your survival and your success.”

Navajo Nation

In aim of scouting special locations to host QiGong and wellness retreats around the world, Carmen recently travelled to Navajo County in northern Arizona - a land of spectacular eroded rock and geological formations stretching back 180 million years. Making her way from Kayenta, through Monument Valley, Antelope Canyon and several Indian reservations, Carmen got a good taste of this magical part of the US, which contains the greatest concentration of National Parks and National Monuments in the country.

Carmen stayed at the Amangiri Hotel, which offered stunning desert views from her suite. Amangiri opened in 2009 (and is consistently full year-round). The name means “peaceful mountain,” is one of the newest outposts of Aman Resorts, the Singapore-based company that specializes in developing small, exclusive resorts in extraordinary and often out-of-the-way places. Combining luxury and wilderness, the resort is only a 20-minute drive from the Glen Canyon Dam end of Lake Powell and a stunning 4.5-hour-drive from Las Vegas.

Carmen did a road trip, stopping in small towns and Indian reservations in Navajo County's desertlands. 

“One of the most extraordinary things I encountered on the trip was this enigmatic woman at a reservation. She was singing to herself while weaving, but was so soulful, and present.”

While there are other deserts and remote lands to visit and consider for the wellness route Carmen is putting together (Qigong Around The World), Navajo County is a definite yes.