Portland's Hub for Happiness, Richard Matusow

In order to live a vibrant, happy, and healthy lifestyle, we all need to find harmony between our outward exertion and inward peace. At Carioca Bowls and Full Lotus PDX, we aim to help people strike this balance by combining complementary aspects from the lifestyles of Brazil and India.  Our objective everyday is to provide a “hub for happiness” for people to nourish their bodies with healthy meals and to recharge and relax with community connections and spiritual practices. 

Acai is an energizing food that represents the alegria of the active, Brazilian lifestyle and kitchari is a grounding meal rooted in the Indian Ayurvedic healing tradition.  People often consume acai for invigoration before or after activities and eat kitchari to help rejuvenate for better focus and concentration.  Like our food menu, our events calendar includes both energizing and relaxing practices—also from the Brazilian and Indian cultures—such as yoga, samba/forro dance lessons, capoeira rodas, Brazilian drumming, kirtan circles, kitchari cooking classes, sound baths, community satsangs, and guided meditations.

In yogic philosophy, Shiva and Shakti—analogous to Yin and Yang—represent the opposite poles on the continuum between action and stillness. The goal of the yogi is to strike the balance between Shiva and Shakti in order to maintain equipoise in all situations.  Along these lines, at Carioca Bowls and Full Lotus PDX, we provide a wide spectrum of nourishment, activities, and practices that give people the opportunity to embrace a more harmonious, healthy, and happy lifestyle.