CRAB LEGS 🦀 & CHATURANGAS 🧘🏽: THE PEARL blog
FINDING YOUR FLOW 🌊
I was first introduced to yoga in high school through the 90s sitcom Dharma & Greg. Dharma, the free-spirited, quirky yoga teacher, embodied the 'yoga person' stereotype - zen, laid-back, and a bit unconventional. Back then, yoga seemed like something only hippies or eccentric types did, but I was intrigued. As a budding theatre geek and aspiring New Yorker, I was psyched the day my gym teacher turned out the lights and popped in a yoga video and I got to be like Dharma. I remember watching and clumsily following the moves of a group of women in sky-blue leotards as they practiced on sand dunes. I think we need to start bringing those French-cut leotards back 🤔
WHEN THE FAMILIAR BECOMES FOREIGN: Perinatal Yoga in a New Body
At The Pearl, we’re proud to offer the only weekly perinatal yoga classes in The Bronx. Offering perinatal is so important to us because we know how essential it is for expectant and new moms to have a space where they feel supported and connected during a life-changing time. Perinatal yoga teaches more than just movement - it’s about connection, about acknowledging the fullness of this stage of life. We’re here to help you find your strength, not just in your muscles, but in your spirit, because motherhood doesn’t ask for perfection, only presence.
MASTERING THE MOMENT: six “core” principals of pilates
If there’s one workout that seems tailor-made for type-A personalities, it’s Pilates. The drive for perfection, the pursuit of precision, the obsession with getting every detail exactly right. In a practice where quality trumps quantity every time, Pilates offers an endless opportunity to refine, adjust, and focus on the minutiae of each movement.
DISAPPOINTMENT, BUT MAKE IT FASHION 💅
Last Sunday, I had the incredibly surreal/awesome/weird experience of attending the Emmy Awards as a nominee for Associate Costume Design on the series Fallout. People imagine the glitz and glamour of movie-making, but behind the scenes, it’s a completely different story. The film industry is a Vita-Mix’d smoothie of stress, long hours, and the constant struggle to fulfill creative demands with either not enough time, money, or crew.
WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU TURN OUT THE LIGHT?
Something about the start of a new school year makes me feel like a character in the 80s /90s series The Wonder Years - that sense of nostalgia, the golden sunlight casting long shadows on the sidewalk, and the bittersweet mix of anticipation and reflection.
THAT HIGH FIBER LIFE
Let’s dip our toes this week into a topic that feels cloaked in mystery and misinformation: women’s health. It’s wild how little we actually know about our own bodies and the way they work, what’s normal, what’s suspect, and what lies between.
MAKE ART TODAY
Every time we move our bodies, we’re engaging in a kind of artistic expression. We’re composing, improvising, and experimenting. Movement can be just as creative as making visual art, activating similar parts of the brain and allowing us to explore new forms and rhythms.
BOOGIE DOWN WITH THESE 5 OUTDOOR WORKOUTS IN THE BRONX
Fitness isn’t just about breaking a sweat in the studio; it’s about exploring the world around us, and what better place to do that than in our own backyard? So, as we encourage our community to make the most of the final weeks of summer, we wanted to highlight some of the incredible outdoor activities you can dive into right here in The Bronx. Here’s a list of ways to get outside before it’s time to start buying out all the wet wipes, Elsa lunchboxes, and Trapper Keepers at Target.
The Allure of Pilates
Bringing group Reformer Pilates to The Bronx and making it accessible to more people is a mission close to my heart. Our borough deserves cool, nice things just as much as any other part of the city. Even Staten Island has multiple Pilates studios. No offense, Staten Island.
COME OUT AND PLAY
We get bogged down by responsibilities and are so used to being productive that we forget how to let go and have fun. We worry about looking dumb or wasting time, where kids (at least little ones) are naturally in the moment, their imaginations running wild without any concern for what others might think.
THE ART OF LETTING GO
I have so much energy and I have to tell myself to calm down. Breath in and out. Slowly. My mind is racing, thinking about all the emails I have to send, this itch on my leg, the sun is hitting my eyes, it’s hot. Then they start the yoga and they tell you to go into downward dog and I always think it’s too soon.
DODGING SUMMER BUMMERS
So, how do we manage our mental health without burying our heads three feet deep in the sand?
SPILLING THE TEA 🍵
“Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves – slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future.” - Thich Nhat Hanh
SUNNY DAYS, NEW WAYS 😎
June has been a BUSY month. Almost everyone I speak to has been overwhelmed lately with graduations, end-of-year ceremonies, birthdays, Little League, gymnastic ribbon days, weddings, etcetera, etcetera, ETCETERA.
EVERY BODY IS A BIKINI BODY
Let’s get something straight: there’s no such thing as getting your body bikini ready. All bodies come bikini-ready. If you have a body and a bikini, you’re ready. No diets, detoxes, or drastic workout plans required.
YOU DON’T LIVE ON THE INTERNET
On the drive home, which was only 10 minutes long, a Tracy Chapman song came on the radio and I started to cry. It was a good cry. One of those release cries. What was I even crying about?! I don't even know. Exercise just has a way of breaking you open.
RESTORE/RE-SNORE
Last Tuesday evening, around 8:45, I woke myself with a giant snort. I had fallen into such a deep yogic sleep that I was momentarily discombobulated and completely surprised to find myself laying on the floor of the studio, supported by bolsters and covered in blankets, lavender eye pillow sliding off of my face.
… We’LL GIVE YOU THE WORLD
I arrived yesterday at the 1010 Wins studio in Manhattan confident that we had a good chance at beating out four other small businesses for a prize of $10,000. We are the first Pilates Reformer studio in the Bronx, after all! With a focus on community and inclusivity, and offerings like senior classes, kids’ classes, the borough’s only weekly perinatal class, and even a free bilingual Community Class, I thought we might have this in the bag. That is, until, I saw the list of other finalists…
PLAY + JOY + ICE CREAM SATURDAYS 🍦
As adults, we often carry the weight of responsibilities and expectations, which can overwhelm us. By tapping into the playful and carefree spirit of our inner child, we can find moments of joy and lightness even amidst life's challenges.
👐 JAZZ HANDS 👐
I think dance is the epitome of health and life. It’s the purest form of communication, I believe, and the purest form of expression. Because anyone can do it - you don't need another person to see you, you don't need music, you don't need words, you just need yourself and your breath and your body, whatever that is for you.