Bikram Yoga NYC

various locations around Manhattan

I took my first Bikram yoga class some years ago at the studio on 8th Avenue at 50th Street. They had an awesome beginner's special of $20 for an unlimited week of classes, which was great given that the classes were usually $20 each. It was near my apartment, I had a fondness for yoga and even greater fondness for heat therapies like saunas, so the combination of the two was appealing. I cannot recall the details of what motivated me to go, other than knowing I was instantly hooked at the intensity of the workout and sweating.

There's lots of controversy about Bikram, so I'll start with the cons -- first yes, it's hot. Very hot. Don't go in there without a bottle or two of water, and don't complain when you get dizzy in the middle of the 90 minute class. We told you it was hot! It took me a while to get through an entire class without having to sit and bear the dizziness and nausea. I still consider it an accomplishment when I can get through a class without having to take a break.

Second, because it's so hot, you're doing your yoga with the least amount of clothing on - meaning short pants and sports bra for women, shorts for men. The beginner may initially be embarrassed by this, but once the class starts you'll be so busy trying to keep up and do the poses and not pass out that you forget about anyone else around you, let alone your self-consciousness. And you'll be glad to have as little clothing on as possible because it's so hot. The Pro to this, at least for me, is self-acceptance. I've become much less modest about my body or the occasional display of skin. You get to see everyone in their near-nakedness, and while it's true many students will be in amazing, zero-body-fat shape, there will be many that aren't, and that's okay. You also get to see your own body, since the classes are done in front of mirrors, with you staring at your sweating, red faced almost naked self the whole 90 minutes - no hiding anything here. That extra abdominal roll might have bothered you as you came into the class, but by the end it doesn't look so bad.

Third - because it's so intense, there's this food issue of being careful not to eat two hours before the class. Go ahead and break the rule if you want, but it's like the no-swimming an hour after lunch - you'll suffer the physical pains of it. So one must really get disciplined about time and schedule if you're planning a Bikram class - no eating two hours before a class, then the class is an hour and a half long, then the recovery afterwards (cooling down, showering, slowly getting dressed again in a daze), let alone the travel time if you're coming in or out from the Bikramless burbs like your truly.

As for the Pros - I cannot think of any single workout or exercise regime that is better for you in the immediate aftermath. I've done my sampling of dance and gyms and martial arts, tai chi and various yogas, running and biking, facials and body wraps - and this is by far the best thing for you - physically, mentally, maybe even emotionally. They, he - the Bikram guy himself - claims the 26 pose series stretches every single muscle, flushes every single joint, and works every single organ in your body. I've done no scientific investigation to try and back this up, but I'll believe it. Your skin is softer all over, your complexion is glowing, your whole body is relaxed and loose and all those stresses and frustrations you brought in with you were left behind with the sweat. You just feel CLEAN, inside and out (well, at least once you wash the sweat off).

Enough about the controversy, what about the actual facilities? The Bikram I stick to is the Bikram NYC, though I know there are other studios around Manhattan (Chelsea, Soho, and Union Square at least have theirs too). The NYC guys (or gals, as it were) have four studios - 50th St/8th Ave, 72nd St, Flatiron, and 83rd(or somewhere on the Upper East Side) and your "membership" is linked to all of them. But actually there really isn't any membership required to join - you just go when you want, even once a year (like I have, recently) and you'll still be in their computer system. You can pay for a single class at a time, or buy in bulk depending on your commitment level. A class and two towels for $20, rent a mat for $5, a bottle of SmartWater for $2. There are separate gender locker rooms with showers, and I know the 8th Ave. recently renovated their showers (which look awesome). It can get a bit hectic around class sign-in time, but the workers are always friendly and trying hard to accommodate everyone.

The class numbers vary depending, as always, on time. There are a variety of instructors that rotate in and out of the schedule, but because the poses remain the same - 26 poses, done twice in the same order - the variation of instructors does not interrupt one's yoga practice all that much. In fact I've found it to be an advantage to have so many instructors, as they pick up different tips and suggestions, and I've gotten some wonderful advice from them.

Okay, look, I'll be frank - I'm not going to say a lot of bad things about Bikram. I'm a huge huge fan and completely biased. So I'll wrap and say Go! By all means go and try it if you're curious. It's amazing, it's wonderful, it's miraculous, it's fantastic, a god-send...

I will address one more issue of controversy - there is a lot of talk of the style's founder, Mr. Bikram himself - things like lawsuits, bad press, flashing his bling while sitting in his Rolls, etc. etc. Does that impact the yoga style he's honed and marketed? I can't say that it does, though it hurts the reputation of the style. That's too bad, for all the good it does, and the good, at least for me, far far outweighs the (alleged) negative personality behind it.

Two Little Red Hens Bakery

Two Little Red Hens Bakery
2nd Avenue just south of 86th Street

Need an awesome birthday cake in a pinch? How about three awesome cakes, for a 77-year-old, a 68-year-old, and a 2-year old, needed for a party at 3pm on a Saturday, and it's now just after 1pm? If you find yourself in a similar scenario, head on over to Two Little Red Hens bakery. In a word - Awesome! Their cakes are great, small, so beautifully decorated, in a ton of various flavors.

The space is small and cozy and busy, but not so busy that you can't breathe. My DH sat in the car outside waiting for me, and commented on how many people came in and out of the shop. Despite its busy-ness, the service I got was prompt and wonderfully attentive, as they patiently listed for me the variety of choices, even spending extra time in the back to find the cake flavor I whimsically asked for. Upon settling for three specific flavors (almond, strawberry shortcake, and gooey chocolate) I was shown a couple different versions of each cake so as to pick the "best" one. I was given ample warning that the strawberry shortcake was a day old, and when I went ahead and took it (I was desperate and my untrained eye saw nothing amiss) they gave it to me for half price. They inscripted each one beautifully, with the properly spelled names and appropriately matching/contrasting colors, packaged each one up with a white cardboard box and old fashioned string - despite the 30 minute car ride home they stayed in perfect condition, no frosting mushes on the side of the cakes.

And the taste? Awesome, again! All of them! The chocolate was a huge hit, I found the strawberry shortcake amazing and fresh despite its alleged old age, and while I did not fawn over the almond cake, most everyone else did (the taste was compared to marzipan, and the marzipan fans loved it while the marzipan-haters quietly shunned it). The true NYrs who attended the party gave the indirect thumbs up when they asked "Where did you get the cakes? Where is it located, what's the name?" and filing the info away for future reference.

Another note on the staff, all of whom were incredibly friendly and happy and smiling sincerely as if they really liked their jobs. That in turn made all the customers smiley and happy and glad to be there despite the mild chaos. Most customers did not go for the cakes but were buying the other baked goods - cinnamon rolls, crumb coffee cakes, large cookies, cupcakes.

The only criticism (and I had to think for a minute to find one) was the small space that gets crowded with merely five people in the space (not counting the seating area). Great space, great staff and service, great tasting and looking sweets - what is not to like??

Apple iPhone

It's love. First it was fascination, then a crush, obsessive some might say. Struck up the courage to engage in the commitment, and finally consumation. And it is true love.

This is not my first real PDA-type thingy, for I did have a brief affair with a Palm V some many years ago, in a pre-NYC life. It held lots of info, sure, but it never really took. Since then I've hunkered down from the fast evolving techno craze. My last phone did not even have a camera on it, let alone email or internet access. But since finishing school, becoming a licensed professional and having my own business, I figured it was time to get a real grownup techno gadget to fit the times. The iPhone contains everything I need, with that need becoming greater as I lost my orange iPod shuffle and the battery of my low-tech phone started acting wonky again.

With less than 24 hours of ownership with my new iPhone, I find the gadget has been constant source of delight. And utter coolness.

Things I love:

• the usual cool out of box experience that Apple so wonderfully delivers with each new product
  
• the way cool alarm clock dials that resemble the spinning wheels of a slot machine
  
• notes to keep track of my to do's and ideas that always far exceed what I can keep in my head at any given time
  
• consolidation of my phone numbers, emails and addresses plus the means to utilize them in same contraption (tap to call, tap to email, tap to log on and surf)
  
• calendar finally all in one place, that I can sync with my computer, again on the go
• iTunes with me all the time, especially on the long subway ride to and from the burbs or when my iPod runs out on my patients mid-treatment
  
• a screen of beautiful colors, ease of use, nice feel of the machine in my hand
• maps! a must in NYC when one lives out in the burbs and one's office is at home in the burbs while the business takes place in the city.
• the full-on website pages
  
• the cool way you can magnify or diminish the view of pictures, web pages, emails, etc.
• the elimination of the stylus (yeay!)
• the keypad for the phone, because there's something ultracool about tapping on a plain smooth sheet of glass instead of a set of plastic buttons.
  

Have yet to really use the phone, for I'm still waiting for the activation to come through.

Not like:

• the icons on the main screen for some things I'm just never going to use, like YouTube and stocks - not a terrible thing, just a wasted 3/4ths of a square inch
  
• one can say "price" and it is steep, but you know, combine the iPod with phone and internet as well as computer, one would say it's quite the bargain
• can't switch the order of listed cities on the weather feature, so you either eliminate Cupertino or deal with the fact that you'll always know the weather in California before your own city [UPDATE with the iPhone software update to 1.1.1 they've fixed that issue]
  

UPDATED next day: So the phone finally works, and the sound is beautiful, crisp, and clear, at least compared to my old cheap phone. iPhone comes with handy earbuds that not only allows you the privacy of listening to your tunes, but it also comes with this tiny clicky thing on the right earbud cord that you click to answer the phone call that came in while your iTunes was playing, then once you finish the phone call, click the tiny thingy again, and your music resumes. It also doubles as a mic, and from my test run I was told the sound is great, maybe a little too great in that the breeze blowing in from the window was heard by the caller on the other end.

The iPhone is another piece of hard evidence of the thorough and thoughtful engineering of Apple, and why I soon switched to Apple after my first iPod many years ago, when it first issued the iPod for Windows and the stock price was still under $30.