This past weekend, I flew out to NYC to take a barrage of yoga/fitness classes within a 3 day period. I do this in order to see what other teachers/studios are like, what I can learn, etc.- basically continuous education as a Yoga teacher.
The result? love. lots of love, appreciation, learning… for myself, for others, for my body… Totally unreal. Yoga in NYC is so different than Ohio… actually, just the overall energy is different. I went into each class expecting nothing but a regular yoga/fitness workout… and it always ended up surprising me, in such a wonderful way.

Below is a recap of my time spent in NYC… just to give you an idea of how CRAZY my weekend was! I’ll be writing separate reviews for each studio soon – there are so many great things I learned & LOVED about every single class I took, and there is no way I can fit it all into 1 blog post 🙂

Friday:
Fly in @ check into hostel. Meditate, then for a 4 mile run along battery park with a friend.
Grab a bite to eat at a local bodega, then head over to Laughing Lotus at 2 pm for a 1 hour “Fly”  Class with Victor Colleti –> Check out the Full Review of Laughing Lotus Studio NYC here
Run to Y7 Studio to catch a class with Courtney at 4:15 pm for a 1 hour heated flow in a dark, candlelit room –> Check out the Full Review of Y7 Studio NYC here
Shower & head out for dinner & drinks with friends

Saturday:
I woke up a little early & couldn’t fall back asleep – so, I found the closest studio near my hostel & took an impromptu 1.5 hour yoga class with THE Dharma Mittra at the dharma yoga center (There is something very exciting about watching a 77 year old man doing a hands-free headstand at 10 in the morning!)…. The best unplanned class I’ve ever taken!
Cabbed it to the East Village to eat at Raclette – See images below. No explanation needed.

I mean… just look at that CHEESE!!!!

Headed to Ishta yoga at 2 pm for a 1.5 hour yoga class with Marco Rojas (which actually turned into almost 2 hours). The hardest, best class I’ve EVER taken in my life!
Sprinted to Equinox in Greenwhich to catch 1 final 1 hour yoga class with a friend at 4:15 pm.
After 4.5+ hours of yoga classes, a belly full of cheese, and several protein bars later, I was ready to go out! (Seriously – Yoga is moving meditation, and although my body was a bit sore, I was ready to go out!) So, shower & head to Brooklyn to hang out with a friend. We went to an outside dance party, then walked around Brooklyn looking at the Graffiti Art. By the time we got back, I only ended up getting one hour of sleep… totally normal for a birthday weekend, right??

Sign seen at outside dance party: If not us, Who? If not now, When?

Sunday:
Walk (in the rain) to Cyc Fitness in Astor with Jordan – get lost – and finally make it to the class as its starting.With 1 hour of sleep, this class woke me up!
Change clothes, head back to Laughing Lotus to take 1 final 1 hour flow with Felipe Gonzalez. Amazing, amazing class to end my time in NYC!
–> Check out the Full Review of Laughing Lotus Studio NYC here

Because this is what adults do – eat Gelato topped with macaroons for lunch

Headed back to meet up with a friend for “lunch” (see above :)), then finally catch the shuttle to head to the airport. By this time, I was ready to Pass Out!

I finally landed back in Columbus around 10:30 on Sunday night… and have been walking around in a haze the past few days, trying to catch up on sleep. And my body? Finally recovering. The good news is, after all those workouts, I have a much greater appreciation for my body. It is resilient, strong, and capable of pushing past any physical limit I may think I have (I’ll just say that my body was bent & adjusted in ways that I didn’t think possible! Basically, I came back as Gumby).

So what’s next? NYC AGAIN in a few weeks -either end of June/2nd weekend of July… more yoga/fitness classes, and more time to hang out with friends. Also, looking for jobs out there, so if you are hiring…. I’m looking 😉

Stay tuned for a more in-depth recap of NYC Studio reviews!

What was your last adventure you went on? And have you ever pushed yourself past what you thought were YOUR physical limits?