Laguna Through a Local's Eye: Kama Hagar

Kama Hagar is a certified holistic wellness coach and entrepreneur who uses the magic of Hawaiian healing, meditation, yoga, and reiki mastery as the baseline for her teachings and her eco-luxury skincare line, Mukama Botanica. 

Growing up between the jungle of Hawai'i, the Bay Area, Cabo San Lucas, Dana Point, and on the road with her dad's band, Van Halen, she discovered that to fulfill inner peace, she would have to make home a place within -- viewing the world as a temple, a teacher, and a playground. 

She’s taken her early-life teachings and has passionately set forth on her mission to help humanity and the planet through the practice she coined, Selfless Self-Care.™ Through teaching and working with the wise, sacred lineages she’s studied and the wisdom of earth itself, Kama leads curated meditations and creates luscious botanical skincare that show us that self-care is not only not selfish, but it is wholly essential to being alive and realizing our fullest potential.  

We recently caught up with the wellness guru to ask her to share some of her favorite places to visit when she’s visiting her parents in Laguna.

Organic Tree Juice Bar

This little plant-based juice bar is technically in Dana Point, but it’s definitely worth the trek from Laguna. Their little menu boasts tea elixirs, a delicious true ceremonial grade matcha with house cashew-almond mylk, yummy smoothies and toasts, and all kinds of wellness potions and powders in their mini store. Even more, rumor has it that they infuse reiki energy into their creations. I swear you can taste it!

Salt Creek Trail (right below the Ritz Carlton)

When I'm at my parents' house, I walk out on this trail every day. Miles go by and you don't even feel like you're exercising because there's so much to see and feel. My favorite part of this trail happens to be my favorite part of California as a whole. Stop at one of the lookouts under the Ritz Carlton Laguna-Niguel and watch the surf for some real life Gray Malin-perspective.

Active Culture

I love this So-Cal staple. If you want something wholesome, plant-based, and healthy with tons of options and great secret sauces, Active Culture is your place. 

Zeytoon Cafe

Location? Check! Delicious, authentic Mediterranean food? Check! Adorable rooftop? Check! How does this place even exist? This Mediterranean bistro is absolutely perfect!

Lupe's

My guiltiest pleasure (aside from Machine Gun Kelly) is probably a real, authentic, cheap and cheesy bean and cheese burrito. Growing up part time in Cabo San Lucas, I'm a real snob when it comes to my bean and cheeses, but this place really does it for me. The salsas, the stretchy tortillas, the flavorful refried beans -- Lupe’s had to be on the list.

Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park

This place is so good that I not only used to drive all the way from my old studio in downtown LA to hike here, but I also have slipped and strained my sacrotuberous ligament and gotten lost for hours here before... and it's still one of my favorite places to unplug, sweat, and be at peace. 

Urth Caffé

I want to say I'm above this trendy transplant stop... but I'm not. I'm an absolute sucker for Urth Caffé’s mango matcha with coconut milk. It got me through my entire yoga teacher training and I don't regret a single moment of it.