Staying well--body, mind, & soul--with yoga

Divya Todai teaches fellow NYLC students some basic concepts of yoga before starting the session with her daughter, Sweta.

When NYLC student Divya Todai suffered from back pain 27 years ago, she decided to heed advice from her doctor and took up Yoga as an alternative to surgery. Her back pain gradually dissipated as she gained increased awareness of her body, mind and breath, improved body alignment through specific Yoga postures for backache, and developed more physical strength and mental peace. Her belief in Yoga is so strong that for the last 25 years, she has been teaching Yoga in India and the U.S. and wishes to enlighten as many people as possible to the positive effects of Yoga on the mind and body.

• HEED - pay attention; listen
• TAKE UP - begin doing as a hobby
• DISSIPATE - decrease; lose energy
• ENLIGHTEN - inform

"Yoga is a way of life," Divya says to a group of NYLC students sitting on their personal mats in room 10. "It is deep like the ocean, and its benefits cannot be measured." She means that Yoga's positive effects on the body physically, mentally, and emotionally are unlimited. Yoga postures are meant to strengthen isolated areas of the body to reduce fat and relax the muscles. Conscious and focused deep breathing not only helps hold the poses for extended periods of time, it also teaches the participant to focus on the present, and in addition to strengthening the body, it teaches positive thinking, relieves stress and has been known to help cure illnesses that have been declared incurable by traditional medicine.

Cheap Ways to Spend Your weekend!

Additional ways for you to explore and enjoy New York City without having to spend a lot of money, provided by Time Out New York.

Go ice-skating
Once the ice rink at Rockefeller Center (30 Rockefeller Plaza between 49th and 50th Sts; 212-332-7654, therinkatrockcenter.com) opens, on October 9, visit during lunchtime to take advantage of preholiday skating for $5 (+ $8 for skate rentals). Mon–Thu 11:30am–1pm; through Nov 4

See great theater for under a buck
On Sundays, shows at Soho Rep (46 Walker St between Broadway and Church St; 212-352-3101, sohorep.org), one of our favorite Off Broadway theaters, cost 99¢. Just make sure you stay up to speed on when they go on sale; considering that performances are typically $30, these tix understandably disappear fast.

Stretch it out
The price of yoga in NYC can cause more stress then the practice relieves, but weekly Community Classes at Integral Yoga Institute of New York (227 W 13th St between Seventh and Eighth Aves; 212-929-0585, iyiny.org; $5) won’t break the bank. A beginners’ class is offered on Saturdays (6:15–7:45pm), with experienced beginners catered to on Tuesdays (9:15–10:45am) and advanced stretchers on Wednesdays (6:15–7:45pm), all for the same price. The institute will even provide you with a mat, and there’s no need to preregister.
 

Catch live music in Williamsburg

Every night, lively crowds and worldly grooves turn Zebulon (258 Wythe Ave between Metropolitan Ave and North 3rd St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-218-6934, zebuloncafeconcert.com; 9pm; by donation) into a sophisticated party spot, where you can expect everything from indie’s finest doing a solo gig to a dude bashing a drum while careening through the crowd.