When it comes to spinning, “no pain, no gain” seems to be the operative mantra. But taking a spin class at your gym often means enduring the barks of an instructor channeling a drill-sergeant while migraine-inducing techno pounds from the speakers. Enter Recycle Studio, Boston’s first dedicated indoor cycling facility, now open in the South End. Owner Cate Dwyer offers calorie-torching spin sessions in a space that’s more yoga studio than boot camp – what Daily Candy referred to as a “holistic environment.” The studio is decorated with images of bicycles and cheery fabrics from a New York–based textile company Dwyer used to work for. Even more intriguing, all the classes are taught by candlelight. “We want you to enter this space mentally and feel the mind-body connection,” she explains. “The candlelight transports you so you have a different mentality toward workouts, where you’re able to get into it and push yourself physically.”
Continue reading “Store Opening: Recycle Studio” »
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 New year, new you, right? Maybe for some of us. When the ball drops, the inevitable question is raised: What’s your New Year’s resolution? I heckled our staff until they ‘fessed up, and one thing is certain: We’re all dedicated to feeling happier and healthier, whether it’s by burning more calories or torching our clothes.
Continue reading “Editors’ Picks: New Year’s Resolutions” »
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By: Sarah Burns
Our city’s winter weather can lead to a major case of the stir-crazies. If you’re literally ready to bounce off the walls, hit up Sky Zone Boston, the Northeast’s first indoor trampoline park.
Owner Stella Downie teamed up with the Las Vegas-based Sky Zone franchise two years ago to bring their patented court design-10,000 square feet of interconnected grid tramps-to the 20,000 square-foot Hyde Park warehouse facility. The secret to the bounce, says Downie, who also opened Stellabella Toys in Cambridge, is the system of cables and chains that support the walled trampoline bed. The trampolines are built without traditional steel bars (which have less give and can pose a safety hazard) to allow for higher jumps.
Continue reading “Total Recoil!” »
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 By Aviva Shen
As soon as we get comfortable with one workout trend, something comes around to make it more complicated. Take your Downward Facing Dog, just add water and voila! You get Adventure Chatham’s new yoga-on-paddleboards class.
Those of you who are tired of solid ground will love this class. Who needs a mat when you’ve got a paddleboard floating down the waterways of the Cape?
Continue reading “Because Yoga Wasn’t Hard Enough Already” »
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 It’s not quite fall, not quite winter (and, unbelievably, almost 2009). Foliage is over, skiing has yet to begin. So, faithful readers, I’m sure you’re wondering what Bostonista was doing in Vermont this weekend. The answer: A whole lotta nothing… in the best possible way.
Overstressed and overtired, we drove up to the Stowe area late Friday night, in good company. After a quick fish & chips fix at apres-ski mainstay the Shed, it was up the road to the newborn Stowe Mountain Lodge. Though we’d taken a hard-hat tour of the property last year, we never imagined it’d look like this. Continue reading “Bostonista Stowes Away” »
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 Since we’re the first to admit when we’re slow on the upswing, we’re also allowed to brag when we come in way ahead of the curve, right?
Right.
Our latest visionary moment involves…water.
Because Bostonista HQ houses a fervent environmentalist, a couple of germaphobes, someone raised by a cancer survivor, and a devoted reader of the most insane health column ever, we were all over the bisphenol/toxic plastic/Nalgene problem well before BPA-free water bottles started popping up at Target.
Continue reading “Bostonista Does Not Love: That Dirty Water” »
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 EquiFit owner Alexandra Cherubini has fused two of her passions—riding and yoga—with the AgSilver CleanMat, a yoga mat that incorporates AgSilver, a powerful antimicrobial ingredient used on horses (yes, horses) to rid them of infection and rash.
Woven throughout the entire mat, and not just on the surface, the CleanMat is guaranteed to withstand even the most rigorous power yoga-going routine, and prevent the growth of bacteria from your sweat or any one else’s. Unsavory image, sure, but that’s the facts. Hot rooms breed bacteria. This way, you don’t have to take it home with you. Continue reading “Bostonista Sweats It” »
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 From lighting and flowers to table cloths and martinis, Sara Campbell‘s Dress for a Cause fashion show at the Boston Harbor Hotel on Tuesday night was brimming with pink (and sass) for a very charitable reason: breast cancer research.
Campbell paired up with The Breast Cancer Research Foundation to raise funds for the clinical and genetic research for breast cancer. Part of their effort was a collaboration on four preppy products (a silk scarf, ruffle tote, pattern bag, and a long-sleeved tee), which will be sold at her design studio with 100 percent profits benefiting BCRF.
Contrary to your typical bone-thin model ridden fashion shows, an uplifting and unlifted group of breast cancer survivors strutted down the runway in Sara Campbell’s new Fall ’08 collection. The group exuded high spirits and poise and kept the good humor alive: Laughter ensued when describing their cancer experiences, with one cheeky speaker noting her newfound pair of “ta-tas.” Continue reading “A Very Pink Fashion Show: Sara Campbell” »
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 The next time Bostonista accepts an invitation from Chowder for an evening on the town, you can bet your bile duct it won’t be a weeknight. Especially if said evening involves the bar at Eastern Standard. More specifically, an evening at Eastern Standard that entails a flight of cocktails numbering in the double digits.
(To review: Chowder, weeknight, Eastern Standard, double-digit cocktail flight, not happening again. Any. Time. Soon. Or at least not until August.)
Here’s how it happened. Continue reading “Night Lines, Chowder-Style: Cheers! It’s a Twelve Drink Minimum!” »
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 You’ve always had a mean downward dog (and super cute yoga pants), but this summer there are even more options around town for getting in touch with your inner yogi.
On Wednesday afternoons throughout July, from noon to 1 p.m., perfect your pyramid pose at free outdoor classes in Copley Square. Weather permitting, all are welcome to slap down a mat in front of Trinity Church. Plus, participants can enter to win a year’s supply of SmartWater, a $100 Shaw’s gift card, and a $100 gift card to Back Bay Yoga Studio. (To sign up for this week’s class, drop a line to laura.smartwater@yahoo.com.) Continue reading “Bostonista Loves: Yoga Mania!” »
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