As an avid workout queen I thrive on new experiences. Let’s face it workout fads can get boring pretty quickly! After going through a dozen Yogilates and Zumba classes my mind and body were ready for a challenge and I was looking for a new workout to help me take it to the next level.
If you’re anything like me—pack a bag and put your search to rest!
I headed to the Upper East Side to bring you the next best ultimate fitness method that will transform your body to The Body – literally!
The Establishment:
The Body is a high energy class consisting of a sequence of fast paced exercises at the Ballet barre, based on the renowned Lotte Berk fitness method. The Body NYC is led by director, Shawn McCormack and her team of fitness instructors. McCormack teaches a modern version of the method, which focuses mostly on core and lower body exercises designed to trim, tone, lengthen, and strengthen the body. The movements are almost a combination of Yoga, Pilates, and ballet class all rolled into one fun and innovative workout.
The Body classes are designed for all types of students (beginner to advanced) and the studio focuses on technique so the classes are small and spaces can be reserved up to one week in advance!
The Essence:
The studio is breathtaking! I felt as if I was at a spa only I could stay as long as I wanted! The locker rooms are more of a “boutique like” design rather than the typical locker rooms you might see at a gym. The essence of the entire studio makes you feel welcome the moment you step in.
The Experience:
In an effort to rise to the challenge, I decided to be brave and take an intermediate class rather than a beginner—not the best idea! The class is 55 minutes of intense lower body movements and specific core postures that have a unique rhythm you must grasp before graduating to higher level classes. Once you get a basic idea of the movements, the advanced classes combine the unique movements and cardio together to bring you an intense total body workout!
To give you a visual idea of what I mean, here is a list of body parts that were extremely sore the day after—butt, thighs, abs, shoulders, and back! But hey, you know the old saying, no pain, no gain! Go checkout The Body NYC today: http://www.thebodynyc.com.
The Body
802 Lexington Ave at 62nd Street
NY, NY
Energy Flow
The latest in the Exhale Spa Core Fusion classes and DVD series is Core Fusion Yoga: Energy Flow. This is the first yoga DVD from Exhale spa’s award-winning fitness DVD line. The DVD features Core Fusion creators Fred Devito and Elisabeth Halfpapp, who have over 50 years’ combined experience teaching Pilates, Lotte Berk Method, yoga and dance.
The DVD is designed to reduce inches, tighten, lift and tone the body using a unique combination of yoga, cardio and core conditioning. The exercises feature five 10-minute workouts, which can be completed all at once for a more intense, full-body workout, or individually, allowing for focused conditioning. The DVD also includes several bonus workouts, such as: Core Fusion Lean & Toned and Weight Loss Cardio Sculpt, and a 5-minute Savasana and Stretches routine designed to finish the workout with a peaceful state of mind.
The DVD title may lead you to believe (as it did me), that this workout is slow paced, but it is anything but that. This lively, fun workout will leave you feeling energized and toned. You’ll really feel the calorie-burning benefits of cardio, the sculpting effects of Pilates and the flexibility and balance of Yoga, all in one workout! This is definitely a DVD I can see giving results in no time and it’s one I’ve enjoyed doing several days a week as it really doesn’t get boring!
Available for $16.99 at Exhale spas nationwide and http://www.exhalespacom.
Fit Fashionista
If you’re like me, sometimes it takes the simplest things to make you want to workout instead of stalling in Sephora and missing your gym class. Kiehl’s products in the bathroom (thank you, Equinox),and the thought of a top of the line blow dryer, like I said it doesn’t take much to make me happy. Another thing that makes me remember my gym clothes is a cute, stylish gym bag. Meet the Lindsay Tote by Ellington, a sport and stylish carryall for the fit fashionistas.
The crushed nylon bag comes in black and red and my favorite part is that it contains a stow-away compartment at the bottom of the bag, which is perfect for your smelly/dirty or just bulky gym sneakers! This compartment could also hold computer cables or other heavier accessories if you use the bag as an everyday tote. The main compartment of the bag is roomy and contains several pockets for your cell phone, keys, a book, and has a hidden magnetic closure. The fabric is soft and light so even if you pack a lot into the bag, it never feels heavy. I’ve been using this for the gym, weekends away when my sneakers don’t seem to fit in my regular carry-ons and even as a purse on days where I need the extra room.
If you’ve never heard of Ellington, you should check out the Lindsay Tote and their other functional handbags at Ellingtonhandbags.com. Ellington is a group of dedicated people creating casual-chic handbags and travel accessories for women who lead active lives.
Available at ellingtonhangbags.com
Bottoms Up
Everyone today is trying harder to be eco-friendly, and one of the easiest things you can do is buy re-useable bags and bottles. If you’re like me, you have those cotton or nylon bags in every purse and desk drawer, and a Sigg-type water bottle both at home and the office. However, using the same water bottle day in and day out, definitely has led me to wonder, how do I clean this in both an effective and safe way? Luckily, I finally found an amazing new product that banishes germs and odors for those times when your water bottle is not so “fresh,” and it’s called Skweet! Skweet cleans water bottles made of plastic, stainless steel or aluminum and contains non-toxic, biodegradable ingredients like citric acid and grapefruit oil to clean and deodorize. An avid cyclist who was worried about the gross bacteria that could be growing in your eco-friendly bottles created Skweet, so by just using a teaspoon of Skweet in your water bottle, you’ll banish germs and any lingering odor. One jar of Skweet holds enough powder for up to 24 washes, so go buy some today and ensure the water you’re drinking is as fresh and clean as possible!
Available: http://www.skweetclean.com
Lettuce Lovers
To some, salads are synonymous with bland and boring, but the new salads I discovered at the grocery store will definitely add some spice to your green routine. You probably know Fresh Express from the bag salad section of your produce aisle, well they have just launched their Artisanal packaged salads. These salads bring the taste of the four seasons with ingredients cultivated by artisanal growers and picked throughout the year for optimal freshness and taste.
The distinctive blends are crafted to deliver seasonal peak-of-flavor taste, which for someone like me who doesn’t always have access to the best produce, is very appealing! The new blends include:
• Sierra Crisp Herb – An herb salad that combines the taste and crunchiness of Sierra Crisp lettuce with mild red baby butter lettuce and a changing seasonal accent of herbs
• Wild Rocket Zest – A boldly flavored salad that blends robust, peppery Wild Rocket with flavorful greens like mustard and Tatsoi for zesty flavors. In the winter, the spinach in this blend will be replaced by chard.
These new salads also have a new packaging: the new convenient salad bag maintains product quality and shelf life of similar Fresh Express blends, while using 50 percent less plastic. As with all Fresh Express salads, these new blends are thoroughly washed, contain no preservatives and are ready to eat.
Fresh Express artisanal salads are now available at select retail grocery stores across the country. To learn more about Fresh Express artisanal salads, visit http://www.freshexpress.com/artisanal.
I have a new fitness idol! Her name is Chalene Johnson and she’s the supportive, friendly, unbelievably fit creator and host of TurboFire, a new workout program designed to push you to your physical limits and have you love every minute of it.
Turbo Fire is designed as a 12-week weight loss, health-building plan. Included with the DVDs is a book introducing Chalene, an explanation of the program, a rubber “sculpting band” for use in some of the classes, a nutrition guide (with terrific recipes in it … seriously, try the crock pot chili!), a class schedule (choose your own mix of workouts for the week) and a guide to her “5-day Inferno Plan.” The Inferno Plan, tagged “Get Hot for the Weekend,” provides a tough but sensible diet and exercise plan that takes real commitment to follow.
I’m a big believer in making every second count during a workout. Why spend time and energy if there’s no real payoff on the scale or when it’s tape measure time? No matter which workout I chose (there are 10 DVDs to choose from, each a different length and combination of classes), I was sweating and fired up within the first couple of minutes. The music is awesome, custom-mixed to each routine so that it gives an extra kick to every move. There are two main types of workouts: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Fire. HIIT consists of intense 30-60 second “fire drills” packed with boxing and aerobic moves.
What Health & Fitness Editor wouldn’t be inspired to learn more when a yoga instructor’s motto is “slim, calm and sexy” and her claim to fame is that she was Deepak Chopra’s personal yoga instructor?! Well, I for one definitely had to learn more once I came across Tara Stiles’ Web site for her yoga studio, Strala Yoga. Tara, along with her yogi-husband, started Strala to provide a studio where authentic yoga is available to everyone without the pretension or intimidation factor that has surrounded the modern yoga culture. All of Strala’s classes are just $10, so everyone can get a great workout, health and well-being for practically nothing. Strala’s classes build strength, balance, focus, and awareness. The classes are open to everyone and are designed to provide the right challenge for beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Tara helps you deepen your practice, create balance and enjoy yourself along the way.
I could tell from my first class that Tara is a different kind of yoga instructor. She’s down to earth, friendly, relaxed and all around just a cool person. Her philosophy is that anyone can enjoy and practice yoga and this is what has made her so popular with New Yorkers. Intrigued? So was I, so I asked Tara some of my burning questions below:
1. What is your background and what form of yoga do you teach at Strala?
I grew up doing yoga-type things. My family lived in the country and I spent a lot of time hanging out in trees following my breath and feeling connected to the world in that happy, yoga way. I was introduced to the formal practice of yoga in my teens while I was studying classical dance. Hatha yoga was part of our weekly schedule and I then realized what I was doing in the woods as a kid I could continue with a formal practice. My ballet teacher noticed my bend towards yoga and guided me in the direction of his guru and studies, Yogananda. This was before “yoga teacher trainings” were a business and looked upon as a requirement to teach yoga. You just started teaching when someone asked, or the opportunity presented itself.
My “style” of yoga is simply yoga. At Strala we teach challenging classes, because we are in NYC and people need to create a healthy body and mind to be most effective. We offer Relax, Recover and Basics classes so there is something for everyone. The moves that I teach aren’t complicated. I keep the challenge in holding poses like chair and warrior 2 and keep people focused on the breath by moving through a simple series in their own timing. Everyone is welcome and the classes are self-explanatory. Yoga to me is a practical approach to maintain a radiantly healthy body and mind, and connect to our best self, our most creative self, and intuitive self, while dusting away the things that hold us back, emotionally, psychologically, and physically, along the way.
Lets face it summer is here and your chances of cooking at home in 100 degree weather are quickly diminishing. Even if you’re getting in an avid workout routine two to three times per week, one summer cocktail and a few embellishments at your neighbor’s barbecue can easily throw you off track. Suddenly you’re discovering a new mirror image you’re not too fond of – myself included!
Why not kick off your own party in the kitchen with some foods to really make it worth your while! BN has teamed up with renowned, triple board certified clinical nutritionist and the founder and director of the Food Coach NYC (http://www.foodcoachnyc.com), Dana James. Dana tells us about five super foods that you can easily add to your diet, along with recipes that are fun, easy, and worth the time!
Dana James, Nutritionist and Founder/Director of Food Coach NYC
Dana James’ practice specializes in obesity, depression, anti-aging, cardiovascular disease, food sensitivities and digestive disorders. Among her many talents, James is a gourmet cook who possesses a strong passion for food that she avidly passes on to her clients. Her mission is to help you discover your body’s unique biochemistry, while offering nutrition and coaching to support your body type and master healthy habits and thoughts. When it comes to super foods, color plays a big role and we’ve got them all covered!
The Jolly Green Genius
According to James, spinach is packed with 13 different flavonoid compounds, which help protect the body from prostate and ovarian cancer. They are also rich in Calcium and Vitamin K, both which are essential for bone health. Spinach may make you smarter, says James, as it improves learning and motor skills. It’s also packed with Folate which helps give you that thick “Victoria Secret” style hair we all assume can’t exist in real life.
The Recommendation:
Swap out your usual mixed greens for spinach leaves or add them to a berry smoothie for an extra antioxidant punch.
The Recipe:
• 8 cups 1- to 1 1/2-inch cauliflower florets (from 2 medium heads)
• 2 large shallots (3 to 4 ounces), peeled, halved
• 3 cups (packed) fresh spinach leaves (about 3 ounces)
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 to 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions:
• Cook cauliflower and shallots in large pot of boiling salted water until tender, 8 to 10 minutes and drain well
• Place half of cooked vegetables in processor
• Add 1 1/2 cups (packed) Spinach and 2 tsp oil. Blend to smooth puree.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper
• Repeat with remaining cauliflower, shallots, Spinach, and oil. Season with lemon juice to taste