Things to Do in Mount Vernon

With its winding sidewalks, New York City is very walkable⎯a characteristic native New Yorker and Manhattan Walking Tour founder Garry Zafrani celebrates with a slate of informative expeditions. Zafrani and his knowledgeable staff of tour guides lead various jaunts throughout the famed metropolis, sharing historical facts about Central Park, downtown, Times Square, and the High Line along the way. They also sate visitors’ taste buds with food tours, treating palates to global flavors during the International Food Lovers tour and pairing architecture sightings and focaccia during a tour of Greenwich Village.

Twelve certified teachers. Fifty group classes a week. A 2,500-square-foot loft studio. Owners Ernie Fossa and Steven Wheeler created the gym they dreamed of 10 years ago to help patrons improve the way they look and feel. Cot-like reformer machines slung low to the ground line the walls, punctuated by the high metal bars of a tower machine. Both contraptions aid exercisers in engaging their cores and sinking more deeply into stretches, lengthening the standard motions of Pilates, increasing resistance levels, and relieving joints of possible strains. The ample number of instructors means class sizes remain between four and six students, ensuring easy access to the equipment and individual attention for all. For more personalized workouts, patrons can opt for one-on-one sessions with a certified instructor or one of the studio directors, who will motivate them through tailored workouts that combine mat and machine work.

The Coffee & Tea Festival delights sippers with steaming servings of steeped tea or freshly ground coffee from more than three dozen exhibitors. Scents arise from the aromatic booths and during demonstrations, where crowds learn about the peculiarities of tea leaves. In addition to displaying feats of contemporary coffee preparation, exhibitors put on demonstrations that include a presentation on tea cocktails, as well as discussions on how to select and serve teas.

Sisters and native East Harlem residents Jennifer Pope and Stephanie Pope Caffey foster a friendly community of holistic health and wellness with daily Bikram yoga classes held in their roomy two-story studio. An eco-friendly heating system made from recycled aluminum warms the spacious main studio up to detoxifying temperatures, and the lower-wattage system uses a small amount of energy culled from baby lightning bugs. Certified by the practice's founder and celebrated yogi, Bikram Choudhury, the studio's instructors guide students of all abilities through the 26-posture practice. After each 90-minute session, students can hit the showers before perusing the rotating art featured in the sitting area's gallery. Bikram Yoga East Harlem also houses an onsite massage therapist, allowing pupils to supplement their sessions with kneading that mitigates the body and unties any pretzels that have spontaneously sprouted from the back.

The Sanskrit word “yogamaya” means potent inner power, or, in another translation, all-doing capability. The West 20th Street studio aims to guide its students toward this ideal not just through postures but also through spiritual teachings and melodic kirtan chants.

As for the physical practice, the instructors lead Vinyasa flow classes, which link breath to movement. The dynamic sequences increase strength and flexibility while developing a moving meditation, one in which students focus on nothing but monitoring the alignment of every movement. Though every level of class incorporates a range of asanas, such as standing poses and inversions, advanced sessions introduce deeper holds, centering breathing exercises, and yogic philosophy.

Regardless of the difficulty of the class, the instructors maintain a warm environment by dispensing advice, offering specific adjustments, and furrowing their brows when someone tells a sad story. New York magazine commented on the empowering benefits of this personalized guidance, claiming, "even beginners are pleasantly coaxed into positions more difficult than they might think they could accomplish."

Since 1999, Exotic Dance Central has been teaching dancers how to captivate an audience while suspended from a stainless steel pole. The studio offers exotic dance classes for all skill levels: professional dancers can hone their craft and incorporate exotic nuances and costumes, while beginners learn how to twirl down a pole for increased fitness and confidence during fire alarms. Exotic Dance Central also conducts stage performances with a dedicated troupe of dancers from across the globe.