Commute: 20 minutes by subway (1 train to 72 Street, 1 min. walk), 20 minutes by Uber
Intensity: Low
Price: $27 per class
Take this class: for a low impact cardio exhaust
Levels: Beginner & Advanced athletes
Before I begin, I’d like to add one small disclaimer: I’ve never done yoga before in my life. So perhaps I was a little out of my depth when I signed up for the 6:15am Bikram yoga class at Bodē NYC. As soon as I walked into the room, I immediately felt my shirt stick to my chest; the heat is just on the tipping point of unbearable. For those of you who are claustrophobic, take this class with caution; I myself began to panic at first encountering the intense heat, but the preliminary breathing exercises really helped me to relax.
To add to the pressure of it all, everyone in the room looked like they’d come straight out of Yoga Journal, so I’m sure the picture of me doing yoga next to them looked pretty ridiculous. I’m a former gymnast, and I have always had a wider and stronger build. I’ve certainly never been that graceful, either, so the yoga poses themselves were quite a challenge for me. While I do still retain some of my flexibility, the individual poses require a certain type of flexibility (similar to that of bending yourself into a pretzel), which is hard for me due to my body type..
Nevertheless, the instructor was very reassuring and supportive. She walked us through each movement step by step, body part by body part. The essence of the class, besides sweating your entire body out, is to focus on the placement of each muscle and bone in your body. Ensuring correct body placement allows for efficient breathing and stretching in a healthy way.
The class began with a few deep breathing exercises (Pranayama) to introduce a conscious awareness of our breathing. We then proceeded with 26 Hatha Yoga postures, all of which were repeated twice. While the poses themselves don’t necessarily require a lot of strength, I felt my muscles fatiguing just trying to maintain the poses in the heat.
Overall, this class was an incredible way to wake up and sweat off (literally) all the negative energy weighing down my body mid-week. I highly recommend this class to anyone of any fitness level. It’s a great way to gain awareness of your body, which is important for all types of exercise going forward. You can also leave feeling like those 75 minutes really made a difference, now that you’ve soaked all of your clothes through and through.
Download the app MindBody to find their schedule and pricing. Bodē NYC also has a first time special: $49 for 3 weeks of unlimited classes. Besides its Upper West Side location, Bodē NYC has three other locations: Midtown, UES and Flatiron. In addition to Classic 75, Bodē NYC provides other classes including Hot HIIT® and Yin Nidra.