Hope you’re faring ok after a very rainy few days!!
Last week, I went to an event at Official Ritual, a sound bath studio tucked into an old blacksmith shop (what looks like a teeny single family home) between towering brick buildings in Chelsea. Maybe instead of spending all your money on cold plunges, you can try this to “reset your nervous system” instead.
During the sound bath, I entered a trance-like sleep state (it was 8:30 AM… not exactly my prime). We were wearing Blinkjoy eye masks, and I took home the hydrating eye mask—which is technically designed for people with dry eye which I don’t have—but when I tell you the first night I wore it, I woke up with my eyes (and the surrounding skin) feeling properly moist (sorry to the word haters.) A very unique experience that I now strangely want to repeat every night. Keep in mind the little eye cups sort of suction to your eyes, so it feels quite different from a silky soft sleep mask, but I dig it.
This week: A new contrast therapy studio in Williamsburg (go figure), laughter meditation, a yoga studio opening event, and a little recap of a NYC fitness festival.
on the radar: this week’s fitness and wellness events
Tuesday September 29: Outsiders The Move: Sensual Fluidity Dance Class (Flatiron), 745PM, $20
I love the concept behind Outsider’s The Move Series, which addresses the fact that NYC has too many damn run clubs and people should probably be moving in other ways, too. Well, this week is a sensual fluidity dance class hosted by Stephanie Peña, which seems like a great way to lean into intuitive movement and get out of your own head.
Wednesday September 30: Gravel Club Run with Salomon (UWS), 630PM, free
There are few opportunities to run anything but pavement around NYC, but Salomon’s run crew is going to be running a 4-mile gravel loop up in Central Park on Wednesday evening. You can test out the Aero Blaze 4 GRVL, which is like a sister shoe to a pair that I’ve tried (the Glide). Pretty good option if you’re traveling somewhere with trails but also plan to run on roads.
Wednesday September 30: Fast and Forte II with On (Williamsburg), 7PM, free
I’m calling it now: Everyone is getting just a wee bit sick of the marathon and short distances (sprints, 400m, etc) are going to be getting a lot more attention from the general public in the coming months/year. Case in point: Fast and Forte race, in partnership with Forte and NYC Sprint Collective. The longest distance of this street race is a mile but you could also sign up for the 400M or 100M, and there are cash prizes.
Thursday October 1: Welda Club x One Hotel Run and Yoga (Dumbo), 7AM, free
Too early in the morning (7AM) and too fast for me (8:30min/mile pace at least), but otherwise I’d definitely be interested in this event from Welda Club. The reason its so speedy is because you’ll be testing out Adidas’ new shoe—the Adizero Adios Pro 5, a carbon-plated race day shoe. These shoes don’t do much if you run slower paces, but really help when you’re cruising. After the run, there’s a yoga class at ONEHOUSEYOGA.
Friday October 2: Brooklyn Running Co Spice and Strides (Prospect Park), 630PM, free
Not that you need a reason to celebrate the dropping temps and arrival of fall, but here is one: A 4-mile run (or 1.5-mile) that ends with APPLE CIDER DONUTS. You’re welcome.
Saturday October 3: Yoga Joint at Domino Park (Williamsburg), 10AM, free
Yoga Joint, a yoga franchise that started in Florida, is launching in New York soon and kicking things off in Brooklyn with a fun community event at Domino Park. It’ll be a free 45-minute workout—the brands signature full-body strength class that blends high-energy training with low-impact movement (we haven’t tested it yet)—all set to the beat of a live DJ, which is something we’ve seen increasingly common at fitness events. Cool!
Saturday October 3: New Mom Run Club (SoHo), 930AM, free
Hosted by Nadia Neophytou every other week, this run/walk club is tailored to new moms—but really any moms are welcome. The run is two miles at a conversational pace, and welcomes runners at a 12-min-mile pace, which is pretty great for run clubs in the city. Bring your little one in a stroller!
some musings after Strong NY:
On Saturday, Maddie headed to the Glasshouse, where hundreds of people—many of them deep in the fitness industry—packed in for Strong NY, a day of workouts, competitions, panels and an overwhelming number of wellness brands. A few things that stood out:
The one big thing we noticed is how expansive the definition of wellness has become. Whether that’s because people are thinking of their health more holistically or companies are trying to ride the wave of money flowing into the industry right now is hard to say. The speaker line-up in particular went beyond what one would expect for a fitness festival. We attended one called “Sex, Attachment, and the Intimacy Gap” with Dr. Chris Davids and Dr. Christine Romano, and while we think sexual health is absolutely a relevant part of “wellness”, it’s not surprising that most of the gym bros sat out for this one.
We got to try Rythm’s at-home blood test (we’ll get results soon.) As someone who gets light-headed and almost passes out whenever I get my blood drawn, it felt revolutionary to stand there, apply a heat pad for a few minutes, and get my blood collected painlessly with no more than a little puncture on my arm.*
ATHX Games is a strength/endurance/conditioning fitness competition riding Hyrox’s coattails and starting to get more attention in the U.S. The big difference: You’ll see more standard strength work than you do in Hyrox. We did a 45-minute circuit, which was a condensed version of their competition and included 3 rep max squats, overhead press, box jumps, a 1500m row or ski erg, and burpees of course. It was enough to make me sore today (and realize that I need to get back on my cardio game).
*Side note from Hannah: I have mixed feelings about the explosion of at-home blood testing. On one hand, these companies are cropping up so fast and pushing people to test at a frequency that, based on experts I’ve spoken to for previous stories, is overkill for most people. (Rythm encourages monthly testing.) But also, with how shit America’s healthcare system is, its also a pretty cool evolution that you don’t have to schedule an appointment and wait for a Dr. office visit to get your blood drawn—you can do it at home for not much more than a copay or other fees.
Just keep in mind you have AI, not a doc, interpreting your findings (which isn’t necessarily bad or incorrect, but limited if you get a seemingly alarming result.) I’ve been testing out Sonata’s preventative health platform for a couple months, and I would’ve had major health anxiety if I couldn’t just hop on the phone with my assigned doc to discuss my biomarkers.
happenings around town
I just learned about the concept of “laughter meditation” in these upcoming workshops with ambient music artist Laraaji at 113 Spring. Dare I say this is something we all need? Consider me intrigued.
It seems like we’re reporting on this weekly, but Williamsburg is getting yet another contrast therapy studio opening in October-ish: Outershed. They’ll have private suites instead of large communal spaces, and we’re interested to see what they’ll do with the large outdoor patio but kinda bummed to see the first event is just a basic, pricey pilates class. Because a majority of these spaces feel pretty corporate in their operations, we respect that the founder leaned into her origin story in her IG Reels.
I was on a call with some of the people behind ATEAM for an article in the works, and one of the company partners put me on to the opening of Neko, a Scandanavian preventative health/ full-body scan company that just opened its doors in SoHo. He said you get your bloodwork results right on the spot. Over 25,000 New Yorkers are on the waitlist. Before you decide if you need one, just know what you’re potentially getting yourself into (especially those like me with health anxiety.)
I really hate the new term “wellness darty” , which apparently describes the increasingly popular college trend of swapping day drinking for parties that revolve around group runs, pilates classes, and other wellness activations. I’m all for finding ways to socialize that don’t revolve around alcohol, but I never want to hear the word “darty” again.
See you next Monday.