"Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another"
One of the best things about summer in New York is the plethora of free events across the 5 boroughs. All you need to do is know where to look, and really, that’s usually the hardest part. Granted a quick Google search can send you on down the right path to free New York fun. But if you’re lucky, your friends will do the work for you, and keep you in the loop like mine with New York City Dance Week (NYCDW).
So similar to Restaurant Week – Dance Week lets you try out different fitness and dances classes across the city, for free or at a reduced price for 10 days. I came a little late to the party, and took my first class 7 days after NYCDW started – but that didn’t bother me since I’m not a big dancer anyway. The first I took was Beginner West African Dance at the Alvin Ailey Extension School. Normally classes range from $20 - $300, depending on the type of package you buy, but I was able to snag a class for free. As a rule I tend to stay away from organized dance classes, and it’s for a good reason. Let me be clear, I have rhythm, but I also have a terrible memory. Learning each move step by step was easy, but the moment we had to put the whole routine together – everything went to hell. I COULDN’T REMEMBER A SINGLE MOVE. By then there was nothing for me to do but smile and enjoy my embarrassment. I must have looked like a complete idiot, but it was by far one of the best classes I’ve ever taken.
"Yoga does not just change the way you see things, it transforms the person who sees" ~ B.K.S. Iyengar
Next on my NYCDW agenda was 2 free yoga sessions at the mang’Oh Yoga Studio. I’ve wanted to take a yoga class for months. But as a virgin yogi, I was completely overwhelmed trying to figure out where to go, and what class to take. So mang’Oh was a blessing. The class descriptions were straight forward and the employees were extremely friendly. I signed up for a candlelight yoga class for beginners. When I got there, I let it be known that this was going to be the first yoga class I’ve taken, and they made sure to take care of me.
The class was amazing, and the instructor pretty tailored the movements for the beginners in the room. It was great. The second class I registered for was restorative yoga. Now if you read my color run post, than you already have a good sense of how stiff my limbs are. And since restorative yoga is meant to be a therapeutic class to help people relax and unwind, it was exactly what I needed by the end of the week. I had such a good experience at the mang’Oh studio that I decided to sign-up for their 2 week trail. I’ll let you guys know how I get on, after a few sessions. But I think it’s safe to say as fun as the West African Dance class was, I’ll be sticking to yoga for the time being.
L
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