The Manhattan Times

A smashed toe is not happiness for anyone, but can prove disastrous for a fitness professional. Still, there are lessons to be learned!

By Nancy Bruning

It only takes a moment to transform your life.  And it only took a moment to smash my toe and turn a confident, smiling (rushing) person into a screaming, writhing bundle of woe.

Un dedo triturado no es felicidad para nadie, pero puede ser desastroso para una profesional de los ejercicios. Aunque todavía hay lecciones que aprender.

Por Nancy Bruning

Sólo toma un momento el transformar su vida. Y solo tomó un momento el aplastarme mi dedo y convertir una persona confiada, sonriente a un paquete retorcido de dolor gritando.

Zomoti Yoga Studio instructors (from left to right) Stephen, Giovanna and Taquice are all smiles during the grand opening of the new yoga studio in the Inwood office center. Courtesy of Zomoti Studio.

Story by Sandra E. Garcia

“Please Remove Your Shoes.”

So read the sign at the entrance of the new Zomoti Yoga Studio in the Inwood Center building at 5030 Broadway, on 213th Street.

By Nancy Bruning

Photos by Amala Lane

‘Tis the season . . . to find excuses not to exercise.  Somehow, it’s easier and more natural to do more walking, biking, or whatever in the warmer months. Easier now to sit around, eating, eating, eating. Yes, this is the season of adding a few more holiday pounds.

“Traceurs,” as practitioners of the Parkour movement are called, can be found almost every evening at Linden Terrace in Fort Tryon Park.

By Nancy Bruning

The next time you’re taking a stroll in Fort Tryon Park between the hours of 5 and 7 pm, make sure you visit Linden Terrace. You’ll think you’ve stumbled upon a movie shoot or a circus practice. And in a way you have. A favorite place to watch the sunset, Linden Terrace in Fort Tryon Park has also become a favorite place for Tai Chi practice, a place for the Fitness Walking Group to warm up – and a place for a group of young people to practice the daring art of parkour (PK).

By Nancy Bruning

Next summer, when you visit the pool at the Highbridge Recreation Center, you’re bound to be pleasantly surprised.  The new aptly named “Splash House,” a snazzy outdoor pavilion, will be complete.  When I visited a few weeks ago to get some relief from this summer’s humidity, I saw that just the framework exists, but what a framework!

By Nancy Bruning

Sometimes, in summer, nothing beats a visit to the waterfront.  Sometimes, looking at it isn’t enough--you actually need to be on the water. You can forget how close you are to the water on this skinny northern tip of Manhattan Island. A trip to the Inwood Canoe Club (ICC), just south of Dyckman Marina along the Hudson River, might be just the reminder you need.

It’s hard to resist romping in one of Northern Manhattan Parks dozen or so shower sprays, as evidenced by the author’s own quick, refreshing frolic in the water. Photo: Stuart Dean

by Nancy Bruning

Quick—what do a dog’s tongue, a wet bandana around your neck, the sweat dripping down your back, and the shower spray at Highbridge Park have in common?

One of the programs offered by the NYC Prenatal Fitness Initiative are prenatal water exercise classes at Jackie Robinson Park pool in Harlem and at Riverbank State Park in Hamilton Heights.

By Nancy Bruning

Everyone benefits from appropriate physical activity. But did you know that exercise confers special benefits if you’re pregnant? Exercise helps reduce backaches, constipation, bloating, and swelling; may help prevent or treat gestational diabetes; increases energy; improves mood; improves posture; helps improve sleep; promotes muscle tone, strength, and endurance; lowers maternal blood pressure; reduces swelling; improves post-partum mood, including sadness.

During the inaugural Kidfit in the Heights last year, youngsters – and oldersters – took part in a wide range of exercise activities, including Double Dutch jump rope and line dancing. Kidfit returns Sat., April 30 to the P.S./I.S. 187 school yard.

by Nancy Bruning, MPH

What do soccer, basketball, hockey, races, classes in jazz, salsa, hip-hop, belly dance, Capoeira, line dancing, yoga, Tai Chi, and pilates, plus hula hoops, Double Dutch jump rope divas, and boot camp have in common?