This pedestrian death is especially relevant in the wake of the city’s fight to increase bike lanes across Manhattan.

LULEMON TEMPORARY STORE APPEARS ON 3RD AVENUE
Lululemon Athletica, a popular Canadian yoga and sports apparel store, will be opening a small pop-up for four months across the street from its flagship store on Third Avenue between 66th and 67th Streets.

The flagship store will remain closed for renovations during this time. But with the new pop-up, Upper East Siders will be able to stay in shape in style.

“Exercising and staying in good shape are inherent to the character of the Upper East Side lifestyle,” says Joseph Aquino, executive vice president of Douglas Elliman’s Retail Group that handled the transaction. “This brand resonates with people here.”

The temporary shop is replacing a Uniqlo store.

MIDTOWN LIBRARY SET FOR MAJOR RENOVATIONS
The New York Public Library’s main branch is getting a very expensive makeover. The work will begin this summer in a renovation worth $300 million. The project will create a multi-level atrium complete with views of Bryant Park inside the Fifth Avenue landmark.

The plan stirred up some controversy when it was initially proposed that millions of books be moved into storage. But no worries, bibliophiles: The New York Public Library changed course in their latest plan, stating that 3.3 million of the original library’s 4.5 million research volumes will remain in the building while the rest are placed in storage.

Despite fewer books, library president Tony Marx calls the renovation “the greatest that this building has seen in its history.”

Construction will begin this summer, and is expected to be completed by 2018. The library will remain open.

NYPD LAUNCHES NEW APP
New Yorkers can feel a little bit safer on New York City streets with the newly released NYPD free iPhone and iPad application. The app features “Wanted” sections to view breaking news, wanted posters, crime and NYPD videos, and the NYPD Facebook page. You can also look up crime statistics and precinct boundaries, as well as submit crime tips. There’s even a section with information on how to join the Police Department. The NYPD hopes that the app will allow for faster and easier public information. Now residents from all walks of life can help fight crime on the go.

CITY PARKING RATES TO INCREASE
It’s not such a happy new year for New York City’s motorists. Starting Friday, Jan. 25, the Department of Transportation will be increasing parking meter rates south of 96th Street in Manhattan. The new rate is $3.50 an hour, or 50 cents for 8:34 minutes. That’s up from $3 an hour. By the end of January, all single-space parking meters will be replaced by muni-meters citywide. There is a silver lining, though: Be glad you don’t live in Chicago, where hourly rates soared to $6.50.

‘PIPPI’ PUPPET SHOW RETURNS TO CENTRAL PARK
The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater is bringing back its 2007 hit puppet version of Pippi Longstocking, Pippi. The show premiered on Tuesday and features more than two-dozen marionettes. Award-winning playwright Zakiyyah Alexander brings this fun-loving children’s classic to the stage, where audience members can laugh along as the imaginative freckled redhead overcomes bullies and burglars with her friends. Busy this winter? Not to worry—the show will run until June. The Marionette Theater is located near West 79th Street in Central Park. Tickets costs $8 for adults and $5 for kids under 12. Reservations required. Visit the City Parks Foundation website, www.cityparksfoundation.org, for tickets and showtimes.

Pure Yoga’s Figure 4 Class is designed to give you the most effective results and a more flexible body. It can be tough to brave the winter elements to stay in shape, which is why this high-intensity yoga class is great for maintaining flexibility and keeping you limber for all those high-powered snow sports. Figure 4 will also help you ease your way into swimsuit season come spring. Pure Yoga has Figure 4 classes this winter at its Upper East Side and Upper West Side locations.

Keep Your Wheels Winterized
Cybert Tire and Car Care, 726 11th Ave., 212-265-1177, cyberttire.com
Need winter tires or a tune-up for the blustery months? Or maybe you just need a phone number on hand in case your car winds up in a snowbank. Cybert Tire and Car Care in Hell’s Kitchen, which has been servicing New York City cars for nearly 100 years, comes highly recommended from its customers. You can even buy your winter tires and order other services online from the luxury of your heated apartment.

Rock a Winter-Themed Pedicure
Carol’s Daughter, 24 W. 125th St., 212-828-6757, carolsdaughter.com
Carol’s Daughter salon in Harlem offers a “haute chocolate” pedicure in the winter months, complete with cocoa and brown sugar skin products. This winter-themed pedicure is guaranteed to keep your skin smooth and healthy all season, with these products’ proven antioxidant properties. Added bonus: hot beverages are served chair-side at Carol’s Daughter.

Work Up a Sweat
Bikram Yoga LES, 172 Allen St., 212-353-8859, bikramyogales.com
Bikram Yoga Lower East Side’s hot yoga is guaranteed to make you sweat this winter. One Yelp reviewer commented Bikram Yoga LES’s 105 degree temperatures can be a bit overwhelming, especially for first-timers, but the classes are ultimately enjoyable and great for healing all sorts of injuries. Alternate extreme snow sports with hot yoga this winter to whip your body into shape and keep injuries at bay.
Best Winter Coat Repair
Wilfred’s Tailoring, 277 Fifth Ave., 212-242-3030, wilfredstailor.com
Wilfred’s Tailoring in Flatiron will work miracles on your busted winter gear, from jackets to pants and everything in between. Wilfred’s tailoring and alteration skills have been featured in New York magazine, for their “best of” services, and even on various movie sets for their impeccable sewing and alteration skills.

Chill Out with a Mid-Winter Massage
Dyanna Body and Nail Salon Spa, 40 E. 21st St., 212-995-2355, dyannaspa.com
Dyanna Body and Nail Salon offers a cozy, comforting atmosphere and a full range of spa services. Hit up Dyanna’s for a revered massage this winter at a reasonable price and let the masseuses work their magic and rub away your winter worries. Customers say Dyanna’s massages are brief, but well worth it, especially for kicking those cold-weather blues.

Ski, Snowboard and Snowshoe Tune-ups
Paragon Sports, 867 Broadway, 800-961-3030, paragonsports.com
Stop in to Paragon Sports this winter for sports equipment tune-ups or new gear. Paragon Sports sells gear for every sport imaginable—from snowshoeing to table tennis—as well as clothing, footwear and accessories. According to customers, Paragon’s convenient Union Square location has a huge selection and a helpful, knowledgeable staff.

Donate to a Coat Drive
New York Cares, 65 Broadway, 19th Floor, 212-228-5000, newyorkcares.org
Get in touch with your charitable side this winter and donate a coat to New York Cares. The New York Cares organization accepts clean, gently worn winter coats for residents in need. Hurricane Sandy has left even more New Yorkers badly in need of donated winter items this season, so dig up your gear and help keep a fellow New Yorker warm.

Can’t-Miss Holiday Toy Shopping
FAO Schwarz, 767 Fifth Ave., 212-644-9400, fao.com
FAO Schwarz near Central Park may be daunting this time of year, particularly with all the holiday tourism, but where else can you go toy shopping for every kid on your list and see guards dressed as toy soldiers alongside other winter festivities? Nothing will get you in the winter spirit quite like FAO Schwarz, not to mention the store is guaranteed to have every toy and gadget a child can dream up and more.

Tricia Donegan coaxes inspired poses and generosity out of her local yoga enthusiasts

By Sophia Rosenbaum

Yoga studios in New York are as common as pizza joints, but there’s a reason Lady Gaga chose Tricia Donegan to be her yoga instructor.

Donegan, 42, is a burst of energy with a toned physique adorned with tattoos and a mess of curly, multi-colored hair. She’s the owner of Bikram Yoga Lower East Side—a walk-up studio with cases of water bottles lining the stairwell, pops of pink paint from the floor to the ceiling and people dripping in sweat from the 107-degree yoga room.

With a team of 15 other instructors, Bikram Yoga LES offers six classes a day, seven days a week. Monty Stilson, 54, has been taking classes at Bikram Yoga LES for more than a year and said the only negative part is all the laundry.

“Tricia truly has a gift to deliver the perfect balance of wit and wisdom, all the while coaxing the body into never-realized positions and undreamed feats of strength,” Stilson said.

Donegan’s yoga business is just one of her many ventures. She is also a Lower East Side community activist and a mother of a 5-year-old daughter, Lula.

“I’m here to change the world,” she said. “I build communities wherever I go.”

Donegan was born in Michigan and moved to New York City in 2001. Prior to her career as a yoga instructor, she worked as a restaurant owner in Atlanta. Although she loved the restaurant business and being a community activist in Atlanta, she feels much more at home in her yoga space at 172 Allen St.

“Everyone who comes to the yoga studio is trying to empower themselves or better themselves in some way,” she said. “This is a true well-being destination for people, so it becomes this safe haven for people to come and let go of themselves.”

For more than a decade, Donegan has been teaching Bikram yoga, or hot yoga, which is a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises in high-heat, high-humidity rooms. While Bikram originated in the early 1970s, it has became popular in the United States in the past decade.
Donegan said the heat forces students to focus on their bodies and push themselves more than a regular exercise class.

“It’s sort of like spaghetti,” she said. “If you try to bend cold spaghetti, it breaks. But when you put it in the water, you can do whatever you want with it.”

Tamara Pollack, Donegan’s life partner, said part of what makes Donegan talented are her interpersonal skills and her deep understanding of yoga.

“She won’t tell you to blindly push into a locked knee, she won’t just coach you into a deeper backbend,” she said. “Instead she will empower you in your weakness and lead you toward your strengths. She wants to see you try, and once you enter her hot room, that’s all you want to do.”
Four years ago, Donegan created a class that combined her love of yoga with her passion for community engagement. Nite Sweats is a donation-based class that’s offered the first Friday of every month.

The proceeds go to the Lower East Side Girls Club, which counts Donegan among its board members. The Club serves girls and young women from ages 8 to 23, teaching them the importance of education, healthy eating and equality.

“We’re not just babysitting girls from the projects,” Donegan said. “We’re giving them power.”
Donegan said Nite Sweats rakes in about $1,000 a month for the Girls Club.

“Tricia Donegan’s luminous and infectious presence enriches our community in boundless ways,” said Lyn Pentecost, the visionary behind the Girls Club. “She lives, works and runs her unique business on the Lower East Side and sends her daughter to school on the Lower East Side. One can’t get more ‘community’ than that.”

And while Donegan rarely leaves the neighborhood, she frequently goes on tour with Lady Gaga as her fitness instructor. She said she’s proud of her accomplishments in life thus far, but attributes most of her success to yoga.

“I have so many ideas, I have so much energy and it wasn’t until I slowed my head down with yoga that I realized why I am here,” she said. “Once you get real precise, then your dreams come and chase you.”

DECADE-LONG DECEPTION
Last week, a 73-year-old resident of West 67th Street filed a report of what she believes is an ongoing robbery, spanning almost 10 years. The victim said that she suspects her housekeeper, who has keys and continuous access to the apartment, has been stealing from her over the years, to the tune of $18,265 worth of property in total. An $8,000 opal and diamond ring and a $2,500 necklace were among the missing items. Some of the more odd (and unwieldy) things the woman is accused of taking include a $4,000 coat made from wolf fur, a polka-dot purse, $80 in cash, a pair of boots and a red floral duvet cover with matching pillowcase.

MONEY MACHINES
Last Saturday morning, an employee of a local restoration company returned to a work site in the rear yard of a West 83rd Street building and discovered a massive theft. An unknown perpetrator had climbed up the scaffolding lining the back of the building and stolen four engines, called hoists, from the structure. Each of the machines is worth $10,000. There were no witnesses or surveillance video available.

TEA AND ROBBERY
A 41-year-old woman was enjoying a late-afternoon tea at a local café, and had placed her purse on the chair next to her. When she went to leave, however, she noticed that her bag was gone, and she discovered when she called her credit card company that someone had used one of her cards on taxi fare and at a Duane Reade in Jackson Heights, Queens. The purse contained $400 cash as well as her credit cards and ID. Staff at the restaurant said that they only had security cameras on the front door and did not notice anything suspicious.

MISSING MACBOOK
A 34-year-old Staten Island resident enjoying a getaway in Manhattan found herself the victim of a robbery. She was staying at the Empire Hotel on West 63rd Street, and when she returned to her room last Saturday she discovered that her 15-inch silver MacBook Pro laptop, worth $2,700, was gone. There was no sign of forced entry or video available.

PLAYGROUND PROWLER
Last Friday, a local man reported that a bag containing clothes, jewelry and other personal items had been lifted from a playground in Riverside Park. The 24-year-old victim said that he left the bag for a short time, and when he went to pick it up, it had vanished. The bag contained a chain and pendant worth $1,000, as well as other men’s jewelry, $350 worth of jeans and $350 Dr. Dre Beats headphones.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Some city gyms have all the bells and whistles, while others take the no-frills approach. Then there’s the whole continuum in between. You can find just about anything you can dream up in NYC, but ultimately what you want from a workout is a personal choice. Furthermore, what may seem thrilling at signup, can quickly devolve into more of a burden than a blessing when you just want a quick lunch hour workout. Below is a variety of hot NYC gyms from the over-the-top extravagant to the stripped-down, bare bones, in-and-out experience, all for a reasonably good deal for what they offer.

(by Alissa Fleck)

1. Ludlow Fitness ($49/mo, LES)

One major perk to Ludlow is it’s open 24/7 on weekdays, which cannot be said for many City gyms. The size is small, but the crowd (generally young) moves quickly, and a recent expansion makes for more open space. There’s lots of equipment, clean amenities and a variety of classes, which gym-goers describe as “intense,” but in a good way. Staff is reportedly very friendly and helpful. One major bonus according to a Ludlow reviewer: “non-pretenious yoga classes.”

2. Yoga Vida ($110/mo/unlimited yoga, Union Square)

We thought we should include an alternative type of gym on here, particularly because Yoga Vida is such a popular choice among local yogis. Yoga Vida continuously has great deals on classes for people looking for all sorts of yoga-related experiences. Deals on unlimited yoga are always changing, and Yoga Vida offers great startup packages for people just looking to get their toes wet first. A variety of classes target every skill level in a beautiful, relaxing setting.

3. The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers ($160/mo, Chelsea) 

Okay so this massive gym is on the expensive end, but we couldn’t pass it up with all the stellar reviews it’s garnered (it seems to have something of a cult following). The Sports Center is definitely for the “sportier types,” as it has just about everything you could possibly imagine in a gym. There are tons of classes, a boxing ring, an eight-lane swimming pool, a climbing wall, a food and juice lounge, a sundeck, etc. Most classes do not cost extra and the weight room reportedly does not get overly crowded. Sports Center members also report the “beautiful” gym is regularly kept very clean, and there are tons of complimentary amenities. “The only problem with Chelsea Piers is that it will ruin every other gym for you,” writes one reviewer on Yelp.

4. Blink ($20/mo, NoHo)

Blink is the ideal gym for the less hardcore crowd. Owned by Equinox, it’s the less roomy, cheaper offshoot, with fewer extravagances, but which gets the job done nonetheless. The amount of cardio equipment is reasonable for a large crowd, but weight availability may be more limited, particularly during peak workout hours. Locker rooms are small and do not offer the amenities available at larger, pricier gyms. Unfortunately it sounds like Blink’s offer is almost too good to be true, as members report it’s only getting more and more crowded (with possible new locations to open soon, unless that’s wishful thinking).

5. Mid-City Gym ($20/mo, 42nd St., 49th St.)

Mid-City Gym does not boast the amenities of many other gyms—there is no TV for instance—but customers report for price and location, the gym is a deal. It’s never too crowded, say gym-goers, and the facilities are clean. Weights, free and not, are plentiful. “No-frills whatsoever,” but everything you’d need in a gym, describe users. It’s also welcoming to everyone on the workout spectrum.

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

By Alissa Fleck

The New York Times recently reported yoga studio owners feel unfairly targeted by city agencies. Three years ago, New York State government proposed regulations requiring schools that trained yoga instructors to obtain licenses to do so. Eventually, yoga studios were exempted from the regulation, but the obstacles for studios only continued from there.

Now, yoga studios in the City are saying the State is looking for any way to get money out of the booming industry. As we reported before at the Press, the State Department of Taxation recently decided to exclude yoga studios in NYC from the 4.5% sales tax implemented on other gyms and fitness centers. This followed a deluge of audits of local yoga studios though, in which the department threatened to charge back taxes on many studios, many of which were completely unaware of the status of the regulation.

City yoga studios say the government harassment does not stop there. The Department of Buildings has fined studios for not having the appropriate permit, reports the Times. Additionally, the Labor Department has gone after studios for declaring instructors independent contractors instead of employees. Studio owners believe these actions are unfair and unreasonable. Declaring an instructor an employee rather than an independent contractor, when that instructor teaches at multiple studios, incurs an enormous amount of burdensome and unnecessary costs.

J. Brown, the owner of Abhyasa Yoga in Brooklyn, told the Times: “[Agencies] think they can reinterpret statuses and apply them to yoga.”

While the sales tax was recently declared not applicable, studios continue to struggle with government agencies over the other issues. This is particularly hard for yoga studios as, while yoga itself may be an increasingly popular industry, “yoga studios operate on shoestring budgets,” Alison West, executive director of Yoga for New York, told the Times. 

Photo Courtesy of Wiki Commons

Local yogis can continue to embrace their spiritual, physical and mental wellness for a—relatively—lower rate.

Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal applauded the recent decision of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to exempt independent yoga studios from paying the “gym tax,” city and sales tax that is imposed on other gyms and fitness centers. The decision came after the Department recently began auditing these studios and threatening to charge back taxes after finding they had not been paying up.

The 4.5 percent sales tax imposed on fitness centers would have likely caused many studios to go out of business or hiked membership prices inordinately, according to Rosenthal.

“Working with yoga studio owners, teachers and students, I advocated to State Finance that unlike a Saturday morning spin class, where the goal is to shed pounds and increase aerobic fitness, yoga is primarily a spiritual experience, the emphasis of which is on the mind-body connection,” said Rosenthal. “I am pleased that State Finance recognized the unfairness in treating yoga studios like gyms and other fitness centers.”

Sarah Platt at Ishta Yoga, which has studios in Union Square and on the Upper East Side, was pleased with the verdict. “Yoga has become quite a competitive market, and we need to do all that we can to keep prices low, especially in this economy, while still making our bottom line,” she said.

Platt said she thinks yoga practitioners prefer the freewheeling studio atmosphere to bigger gyms anyway. “It creates more of a community feeling compared to gyms, which are owned by larger corporations,” said Platt. “People who join yoga studios tend to want a place where they can connect on all levels, personally, energetically, physically and spiritually, and they are less able to get that in a corporate environment.”

Gyms big and small seemed less invested in the decision. Many gym representatives around the city knew nothing of the controversy.

Amarilis, who works at a New York Sports Club (NYSC), described being indifferent to the decision, about which she had previously heard nothing. She said there is a NYSC gym “every three blocks,” and it doesn’t bother her at all to hear yoga studios aren’t affected by the same gym tax. “I don’t care what they do,” she said, adding that her gym’s yoga classes are always full of people looking for a workout. She said she has not seen the effects of the tax.

The tax, in place since 1971, applies to fitness centers but not “movement spaces”; dance centers are exempt from the tax, for instance. The logistics are complicated, though—one employee at a small, local gym, who preferred to remain anonymous, said she believed her gym was in fact exempt from the tax as well. The sudden interest in yoga studios is apparently not so sudden; the decision to apply the tax more widely went on the books a year ago, but many yoga studios were not notified of the change until the auditing process began.

According to Businessweek, some yoga instructors blamed the decision to tax studios on the fact that yoga is a booming industry despite rough economic times.

Sean Kelleher, a managing partner at the high performance Edge Gym on the Upper East Side, which provides yoga classes but has fewer devotees, said, “I think it’s difficult to tax such a small company. We’re an independent gym, so I understand the difficulty of that. Look, do I think Equinox should be taxed? Yes. But hot yoga on Lexington and 86th that’s barely making it? I think it would be harmful.”

Andrea Dershin, a New York City-based yoga teacher with a studio, Yoga People, in Brooklyn, described the fight to keep independent yoga studios like Yoga People and hundreds of others around the city free of the “gym tax.”

Dershin said her studio, described as having a “friendly neighborhood vibe,” had been raising money to fight the tax-free cause and was following it closely with concern. Their reaction to the news? “We’re over-the-moon thrilled,” she said.

“Yoga is so helpful to New Yorkers for their mental health as well as their physical health,” said Dershin. “Taxing would make it unattainable for many.”

Dershin added that yoga can already be relatively expensive, but “yoga studios are not in the business to make money,” and the tax would be especially hard for small studios.

“Gyms have been taxed all along,” said Dershin. “The big difference is between what’s offered. Yoga is one small part of what [gyms] offer, we offer the spiritual, the philosophical, the community…gyms focus on the physical.”

Staying healthy requires more than an impulsive New Year’s resolution and a spanking new gym membership. To nix bad habits for good and maintain positive changes to your body in 2012, fitness experts argue that the first and biggest change starts with the mind.

The philosophies behind yoga, Pilates and meditation share the idea of a mind-body connection. These exercises require a certain awareness of the body that differs from running on the treadmill or breaking a sweat in Zumba class. Instead of counting the calories burned, practitioners believe a mental shift and commitment to change yield the best results.

“We live in a fast-paced, results-oriented society,” said Allan Lokos, founder of the Upper West Side’s Community Meditation Center. “If you stick with certain exercises long enough, you realize one day that you can now handle difficult situations with greater ease than you could have before.”

According to Lokos, 71, newcomers flock to classes as holiday bells start ringing. He says the human body doesn’t know how to differentiate between negative stress and the good stress brought on by the holidays, like shopping, overeating and traveling. People turn to meditation for the pleasant feeling of calm and quiet, but Lokos insists the sessions can be far from carefree.

“When you’re left alone with your body and your mind, all kinds of stuff comes up—and some might not be pleasant,” said Lokos, a two-time author on the topic. “Do I really want to lose weight? Do I really want to quit smoking? You get that clarity and it creates motivation.”

Meditation can help spur positive change—whether it’s dropping a few pounds or throwing out the cigarettes for good—if people have genuine concern for their well-being and the desire to change for themselves, not just because the doctor said so.

Unfortunately, the weight won’t slip off just by sitting in lotus position with your legs crossed a few times a week. To reap the most benefit from meditation, proper activity should be incorporated between the hours spent in the office cubicle. Lokos agrees that exercises like yoga and Pilates maintain a similar philosophy—being attuned to your body, making long-term changes and clearing your mind.

“It’s about sculpting yourself from the inside out, changing your mind’s perspective so your body will fall into place,” said Marissa Antebi, who has been a yoga instructor in Midtown for 11 years. “With any body issues, it’s about how you’re seeing something. You need to become aware of the bad patterns and grow from there.”

For Antebi, 40, January is the busiest time of year. Despite the holiday rush, not all newcomers tap into the endurance needed to stick it out and see results. Antebi suggests starting with something as minor as a walk in the park once a week and building from there.

Attending group sessions provides the support system of fellow classmates, further encouragement to stick with it. Soon enough, you’ll learn how to maintain your health and weight instead of experiencing the fluctuations of fad diets and cleanses.

Pilates instructor Donna Singer, of the Upper East Side’s Center for Movement, said that’s the common ground between yoga and Pilates—it becomes a way of life, not just a method of exercise.

“You become aware of your posture and alignment and understand that you don’t need intense exercise to feel limber, supple and stronger,” said Singer, 42, who opened her first studio with cousin Elle Jardim in 1998. “We don’t play music—we want you to keep your mind on what you’re doing. It encourages you to make positive steps to a healthy lifestyle and continue on that journey outside of the class.”

Pilates helps create strength without the bulk that comes along with weight training. Sessions at Center for Movement, on the Upper East Side and in Scarsdale, focus on flexibility and elongating the body though breathing. The goal is to do the movements correctly, increasing efficiency so fewer repetitions are required.

“As opposed to a spinning class, where you feel sore or you sweat, we teach a method,” said Singer. “After six sessions, you start to see subtle differences, like a flatter stomach and more flexibility. We want to help people meet their resolutions.”

Antebi agrees that sticking to your New Year’s resolution through mid-February can be long enough to earn a pat on the back.

“People get caught up in their goals for the year,” said Antebi. “If you put it on the back burner and just commit to becoming aware of your mind and body, positive changes will come from that.”

By Ashley Welch

After Dr. Allison Stern Rosen was diagnosed with breast cancer over 10 years ago, there were some constants she could count on in her life. Fatigue, muscle and bone pain and overall difficulty in moving plagued her on a daily basis.

Depressed by her physical ailments, Rosen turned to the one thing that still brought her great joy—music. One day she began dancing, swaying and rocking her hips gently.

“I was exhausted all the time from the chemo,” she said, “but even though it hurt to walk, I found it exhilarating that I could move to the music without pain.”

Rosen, a psychologist and psychoanalyst, looked into existing research and found studies suggesting exercise was an important part of the rehabilitation of breast cancer patients. However, there were no classes or exercise DVDs tailored to people with cancer.

Rosen decided to change that. She approached her friends, Jan Albert and exercise physiologist Martha Eddy, about creating a dance class specifically for cancer patients. That’s when Moving On Aerobics was born.

Eddy designed the class based on the symptoms many cancer patients experience, including fatigue, pain and loss of range of motion.

“Only when you push your body will you strengthen it,” Eddy said.

However, participants of the class are allowed to go at their own pace.

Today, Moving On Aerobics offers free classes to cancer patients at community centers and hospitals throughout the city, including the JCC on the Upper West Side.

Such exercise classes are part of the growing number of doctor-recommended complementary treatments for cancer patients—treatments in addition to existing methods like radiation and chemotherapy. As more research emerges proving the benefits of these supplemental treatments, they have gained a much wider acceptance from the medical field.

Dr. Alyson Moadel of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has been researching the effects of yoga on breast cancer patients since 2007.

“We’ve found that breast cancer patients participating in a 12-week yoga program show a significant increase in mood, spiritual well-being and overall quality of life,” she said.

In addition, she said, other forms of exercise can “improve energy levels and decrease fatigue and stress in cancer patients before and after treatment.”

Other, less traditional treatments are also being integrated into overall treatment plans for cancer patients.

Dr. Pamela Yee, integrative internist at the Continuum Center for Health and Healing affiliated with Beth Israel Medical Center, sees patients both before and after radiation and chemotherapy treatments and surgeries.

“Patients come to me before traditional treatments to find ways to reduce side effects, increase their immune system and do anything to strengthen their bodies to receive the treatment,”  Yee said.

After patients undergo the radiation or chemotherapy, Yee will also suggest ways they can rebuild their strength and remain healthy.

One of the methods she recommends is diet change.

“Though during treatment is not the time to make sweeping dietary changes, there are some alterations that can be made,” she said.

Yee suggests patients try to avoid sugar, as studies suggest it may feed cancer. She also said introducing anti-cancer food like cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage and brussels sprouts, can be helpful. These vegetables contain compounds that are believed to help prevent many types of cancer, especially breast cancer.

Many cancer patients also find comfort in energetic techniques like acupuncture, the insertion and manipulation of needles in the body to relieve pain and treat other ailments. According to Yee, acupuncture has been proven to reduce some side effects of chemotherapy like nausea and vomiting. However, many of her patients say they benefit from the traditional Chinese practice because it helps balance their whole body.

Yee recommends different herbs or supplements based on the type of chemotherapy a patient has undergone, but she said some are beneficial for most conditions. For example, medicinal mushrooms have been proven to help boost immunity.

While supplements are sometimes difficult to recommend because of the lack of scientific research available, Yee said she does so by analyzing the studies and making suggestions based on the most prevalent available evidence.

Though Yee said conventional methods of treating cancer have certainly proven to be effective, complementary treatments such as these can only help the process.

“When you think of the treatment of cancer, you think about chemo and radiation essentially blasting everything away,” she said. “It’s sort of like a war tactic, bombing and hitting as much as you can. The reason I use other unconventional methods is to attack the cancer in other ways—using other methods that can potentially get a hold on the cancer.

By Laura Shin

Yoga and Pilates classes have become increasingly popular in the fitness world in recent years. Now, experts say that if practiced in a modified way, these exercises could prevent—and even treat—osteoporosis.

“When you stimulate the bones, it builds up bone density. If you start out with good bone density you’ll be better off when you start losing it—and everyone loses it as they get older,” said Ellen Saltonstall, a certified Anusara yoga teacher and co-author of the book Yoga for Osteoporosis.

Yoga is beneficial because it puts specific stress on critical areas such as the hips and lower back, Saltonstall said. Good alignment is also emphasized, which is crucial. But not all types of yoga are safe for those who already have osteoporosis.

“Harmful positions are the forward bend, when the spine rounds forward,” she said. “That’s dangerous for people with osteoporosis because fractures tend to occur, so you want to avoid that if you know you have it.”

Osteoporosis is a common bone disease that is estimated to affect one out of five American women over the age of 50.

Gusti Ratliff, a yoga therapist in Dallas, was diagnosed with osteoporosis five years ago. She said the type of yoga she was practicing was actually hurting her back.

“I developed osteoporosis and I was fracturing my back doing yoga,” Ratliff said. “The type of yoga I was doing was a flowing yoga and it was working against me.”

Flowing yoga consists of many forward-bending positions. Ratliff switched to a weight-bearing yoga, which incorporates more standing positions.

After two years of practicing weight-bearing yoga, along with increasing her calcium intake, Ratliff’s bone density improved and her osteoporosis was downgraded to osteopenia.

Saltonstall agrees that in order for yoga to treat osteoporosis, it must be a vigorous yoga that uses muscles.

“Relaxing yoga won’t change the bones,” she said. “For example, Anusara yoga is excellent because it invigorates muscle strength.”

In addition to seeing bone density scores improve, Saltonstall said she has seen clients become stronger and more confident. When looking for the right kind of yoga class, Saltonstall says students should look for a good teacher who has experience working with different levels of fitness, age and experience.

“I recommend talking to the teacher. Tell them, ‘I have osteoporosis and I can’t bend forward,’” Saltonstall said.

Many of these recommendations also apply when considering Pilates for the treatment of osteoporosis, said Rebekah Rotstein, a certified Pilates instructor and creator of the Pilates for Buff Bones workout.

Though there is little research on how much Pilates can actually prevent or treat osteoporosis, it can definitely prevent excessive bone loss, said Rotstein, who became even more interested in the topic when she was diagnosed with osteoporosis at age 28.

“If a class is modified for people with osteoporosis, one of the things it should do is emphasize stability through the spine and through the shoulders—working the back as well as working through standing and weight bearing,” Rotstein said.

Working the back works the muscles that pull against the bone, which ultimately strengthens the bone, she said.

But, like yoga, it is important to avoid any positions that involve bending forward to avoid the risk of a fracture. Finding a Pilates class modified to be safe for those with osteoporosis might be challenging.

Aside from the classes she teaches and those by instructors she certifies, Rotstein said she doesn’t know of any Pilates classes in New York City that are designed specifically for those with osteoporosis.

When considering a regular Pilates class, Rotstein recommends asking the instructor if they’ve had osteoporosis training and if they’re familiar with exercises they should modify or avoid.

Rotstein said she has witnessed many success stories where clients conditions have improved.

“Most everybody I’ve worked with, there’s always some kind of improvement—not just the score of their bone density but also their overall strength and their overall emotional state,” she said.

One of the most critical things Pilates does is emphasize proper alignment and good posture, which is great for everyone but especially those looking to prevent or treat osteoporosis, Rotstein said.

While Pilates can help improve bone density, other treatments should not be avoided. Rotstein said it is important for patients to follow their doctor’s orders and practice other exercises as a complement to the Pilates workout.