Namaste! Thanks to a mind-bending number of quirky yoga classes around the city, there are plenty of ways to channel your inner warrior and perfect your pigeon pose. Whether you’re hiking the trails of Central Park, bouncing on a trampoline or hanging from a hammock, you’ll leave these hybrid classes feeling refreshed and flexible.
Hiking Yoga in Central Park
Become one with nature without leaving Manhattan at this hybrid hiking-meets-yoga jaunt. The “hike,” which winds through the trails of Central Park, is more akin to a brisk walk, beginning at the park’s southern end and finishing near 82nd Street on the west side. You’ll stop at four off-the-beaten-path stations — including a group of rocks overlooking the ice-skating rink — to perfect your sun salutations (literally under the sun!), pose in your best warrior stance and break a sweat in the pulsing summer heat.
Hiking Yoga founder Eric Kipp trekked through Central Park for 50 hours over the course of two weeks to chart the perfect path. He says the blend of hiking and yoga appeals to all types of athletes.
“It’s good for the yoga queen who feels her cardio is lacking, and runners and cyclists desperate to get the lengthening and stretching,” he says.
Plus, this group of nature nuts — mostly women — enjoys the serenity the park offers.
The class meets near the José Martí statue on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Central Park South, hikingyoga.com. 10 a.m., Saturdays and Sundays, $20.
AntiGravity Flying Fitness at YogaWorks
Slinky neon-green hammocks hang from the ceiling of this sunlight-filled Upper West Side studio, making you wonder exactly what you’ve gotten yourself into. And indeed, this class, which launched last month, moves through unconventional asanas such as the “bat pose,” a position that involves hanging upside down.
But even those usually averse to headstands and handstands will be able to glide into them without too much difficulty, thanks to the hammocks. The silky contraptions are restorative for the worn-and-torn body, too, claims Christopher Harrison, the founder of AntiGravity Flying Fitness. “Our bodies were beat up from so many years of pounding, so I decided to take it into the air,” says Harrison, a former dancer and gymnast who felt years of injuries catching up with him.
The savasana — the yoga nap at the end of class — is dubbed “cocoon pose,” and is so peaceful you just might fall asleep in the hammock, suspended in midair.
37 W. 65th St., fourth floor; 212-769-9642, yogaworks.com. Schedule varies; membership required.
Caponyasa at Pure Yoga
Taking the idea of channeling one’s inner warrior one step further, this fast-paced, vinyasa class incorporates capoeira — a Brazilian martial arts/dance combo. It’s also heavy on lunges, sun salutations and core-strengthening Pilates moves such as scissors and bicycle-leg movements. Toward the middle of the hourlong session, Caponyasa creator Carlos Rodriguez introduces variations of ginga, a basic capoeira move that involves lunging back and forth while swaying one’s arms from side to side.
“The [capoeira] incorporates cardio into the vinyasa,” Rodriguez says. “You use your whole body, and primarily from the hip and core.”
And if you can’t take the heat, stay out of the studio — it’s warmed to a detoxifying, sweat-drenching 104 degrees. Perspiration will ooze out of every pore of your body, but you’ll feel like you earned a Shake Shack burger (one avenue away).
Pure Yoga, 204 W. 77th St.; 212-877-2025, pureyoga.com. Schedule varies; membership required.
Trampoline Yoga at Shen Tao Studio
What on earth does bouncing up and down on a trampoline have to do with yoga? A lot, apparently.
“Trampolines provide an opportunity to be a little more playful,” says soft-spoken instructor Emily Rubin. “The bounce and forgiving quality allow for new ways to use your body.”
The small classes at Shen Tao Yoga studio in Gramercy provide ample opportunity for individual attention and hands-on adjustment. The session kicks off with floor stretches, followed by spinal twists and hip openers on the trampoline, all while moving the upper body in circular motions.
Then, you’ll spring into action with arm stretches and leg work — including sweeping leg circles, bicycle movements and shoulder stands — with weighted pulleys hooked up to an angled ladder.
You’ll leave feeling stretched and Zen.
303 Park Ave. South, Suite 312; 212-260-6816, shentaostudio.com; $15.