The Center SF: Tea, Movement, Community
By Courtney Aldor
The first time I met The Centre SF, I fell in love. Just like in a proper rom-com, it was raining. Bolting down the adorable alley-way entrance, I leapt over a puddle and missed the landing, splashing myself all over in a way that somehow endeared whoever was working that night to open the door at that moment and welcome me in. In the yoga room, I set up for class then went outside to the main space to catch my breath. I found a keg marked ‘holy water’, filled my bottle, and struck up a conversation with some people nearby. The room smelled of exotic fresh-brewed tea. It felt like I was at a friend's.
The Centre SF has been around for some time. However, it’s been newly revamped as a drop-in or membership-based teahouse, event space, movement and all-things-yoga studio. They have kung fu, capoeira, reiki sessions, singles nights, how-to-manage-money workshops, dance, sound healing, yoga, and the list goes on. Their most popular event to date is their Full Moon Party, which happens every month on the full moon. It’s led by in-house Kundalini teacher, Abigail Tyler. The evenings include pranayama (breath work), sacred sound healing, and a release ceremony where we look at what is no longer serving us in order to let it go.
Beyond their events and classes, the space itself is great. With various low and high table settings, a collection of eclectic furniture and accessories, you can nestle in a corner with old friends, or drink tea at the counter and make new ones. They also sell cool gifts. For instance, some of the coolest up-cycled vintage eyeglasses I’ve ever seen, made by Dro, who works the tea station, and celadon pottery that is seemingly vintage but modern.
The next Full Moon Party is May 22nd. For a full list of their events and class schedule, click here. The Tea House serves from Wed-Sun from 2-10pm.
