GALFROMDOWNUNDER UPOVER

  A die-hard New Yorker pal points to Jack Kerouac's house on the next block, Ethan Hawke brooding over a banana crepe, Scarlett Johanssen perusing a condo across his street ... and tells me "New York never fails to redeem itself." And sure enough, while strolling back from Union Square last night I came across a seething crowd, and in New York, that means it's either someone dead or  dazzling. In this case, whispers of "who is it?" were met by "Paris Hilton". When people asked me, I just repeated it and so it went around, like Chinese whispers, it could have been anyone in there ... Seeing the crowd three times taller than me due to step ladders, boxes and other height advantaging tactics, I turned away, then couldn't help myself. Out came the Gal li'll digi camera , and in I went. Turns out that you're not so disadvantaged if you're short. While everyone is trying to get upover, I went downunder. At around 2:43 on my vide...

My Booma! Yoga is now being re-monikered to Easy Yoga. Yep, rather than "say it straight, then say it great" I'm going for "say it straight, then say it straighter." I discovered last night that newbies and seniors are pretty close in their requirements ... Apparently Doris, the Chelsea Parks and Rec mover and shaker, had spent the week strong-arming everyone able to bend at the waist to come to my class. Bless her. I arrived to find the room already full, including the four kidz who stumbled in last week. Most had never done yoga;  a handful had done "this much" - picture a raised thumb and forefinger pressed together. Ages ranged from around 20, to an 83 year young gal who was game to try everything. After teaching them a short dog and a simplified Vinyasa involving a short dog and a rock back to child's pose, the room was visibly sweating - who needs hot yoga? "Never thought yoga was so hard!" cried a really athletic look...

My mother loves to send along intriguing things ... in this case, a clipping from the newspaper of yogis in India: Last time she greeted me at the airport with an for poledancing . While you can practice and practice and get more flexible, the kind of hyperflexibility in this photo is largely genetic. I've never been able to easily do back bends - Joschi told me that small people with small bones can experience a lack of room between vertebrae to enable the spine to bend - it's all a bit tight. But keeping these images in mind does give you something to aim for and who knows? See you Tuesday 6-7pm 5th Floor at the Chelsea Rec Center!

Do these look like 50+ boomers to you? Nope. My Booma! Yoga class is getting off to a slow start at the Chelsea Parks and Rec Center - and today's monsoon-like rain didn't help. Meanwhile downstairs, the aerobics class was packed and in full swing. What gives? I suspect it is partly little flyer the center prepared. * The time slot is 6-7pm, which  suits me and younger folk, but not seniors. * The poster says 50+, which suits seniors, but not younger folk. So it's keeping both groups away. I'm going to ask them if they can tweak it to ... BOOMA! 50+ YOGA All ages welcome No wait, let's K.I.S.S. that goodbye and make it EASY YOGA. Because it's a class that will suit newbies AND seniors. I waited a while, not really minding that no-one was turning up - I am offering my time as a service, and the commitment to do so is as much a part of my contribution as teaching the class itself. Besides I can always catch up on some Barackberrying. Enter...

It's the end of the first week of my post-Bike Friday life, and I yet I still find myself subconsciously doing things one could call "work related". Since May is National Bike Month, I came up with the idea of giving the seniors at the Hudson Guild - where I volunteer teach yoga - a little thrill by riding it around their lunchroom. "Great idea!" said Yehudit Moch, the activities director, tasked with the tireless work of coming up with programs to keep seniors active and engaged. "Let's called it Folding Bike Fun, and do it at 12.45pm, towards the end of lunch, before they disperse." For disperse they do - the attention span is short, and hearing and vision loss doesn't help. The night before the demo I had this last minute idea to invite some local senior cycling friends to the show. Four names came immediately to mind: Tod Moore (72), a bicycle tour guide who rides every year in France; Jesse Brown (70), former president of t...

Tuesday has become my day of double yoga volunteering. Chelsea Recreation Center Today I taught my first BOOMA! Yoga class at the Chelsea Recreation Center, 6-7pm. BOOMA! is what I wanted to call it, for want of a less ageist word than "senior" or "50+". But when I arrived at the center,  sure enough, a flyer stuck above the counter simply said "Senior Yoga Tuesday 6pm". The staff told me it was a bit of an oversight and they'd try and correct it.  Two woman who'd spotted the flyers came looking for my class - one from the Dominican Republic and the other from Mexico. Que bueno! Yet another opportunity para practicar mi Espanol! The 5th floor art room is a nice space for yoga - one of those rooms with smooth blond wood floors. If I narrow my eyes I might almost hallucinate I'm in the sumptuous studios at Equinox, where the membership is 20 times more expensive, and if you can afford it, you love it. But this is the "everysoul...

I'm now teaching yoga Tuesdays 6-7pm, starting May 4, Chelsea Rec Center, 25th and 9th NYC. Best thing ... it's free to members, and membership is a recession suppression super deal - $75/year, $10/year for seniors - pools, access to all sister centers etc. I was asked if I would teach a senior class, since their needs are underserved a world where we worship the youth we all lose ... Since I already teach at Hudson Guild Senior Center, I'm aiming this class at Fit 50+.  And I've called it BOOMA! YOGA to be less ageist. (f-o-g-i-s did cross my mind but I'll wait til I'm 50 before I dare float that one). So don't expect any serious pretzel moves, but feel perfectly free to upstage me, as Colin Freestone, one of my customers, is doing in this picture. Colin's a long time yogi who offers yoga to cyclists on the trips he leads to Indonesia . So yes! Cyclists welcome - in which case bring on the pretzels or you might find yourself looking like ...