Lisa Johnson

Autumn/Winter 2015: Free Yoga Classes in Boston

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duo yoga poseSummer is indeed over. But not the free yoga classes! There are many free yoga classes to choose from now that we are into fall and headed toward winter. This is the first year that I have noticed so many. Enough for me to compile a new list. I’ll be trying some of these classes too! There are Meetups in the area to check out.

Hands To Heart Center Yoga – Yoga for the People provides free yoga classes for people living with poverty and trauma in Boston. Check out their website and Twitter for class schedule.

Plus, free pop-up classes seem to be the rage! As this trend continues, I’ll add those classes as I find them to the Facebook page. New posts and listings go up there several times a day, so make sure you keep up!

Like the summer list, and Facebook page, this list will be a work in progress and there will be updates, so keep checking back. Namaste!

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MONDAY

Troops for Fitness Yoga
Ronan Park (Dorchester)
6:15pm

As part of the Coca-Cola Troops for Fitness program, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department is offering free yoga classes with U.S. Army Veteran Roxanne Hope Randall. Classes started at the beginning of October and go through November 30th.

TUESDAY

BPL Yoga: Intelligence for Body, Mind, & Soul
Boston Public Library (Central Library, Copley Square)
12pm – 1pm

Acclaimed yoga teacher, author, and entrepreneur Rebecca Pacheco will lead these yoga classes for an all-levels class to unplug and recharge body, mind, and spirit. You will be surrounded by books, history, and the library’s peaceful hush in the historic Abbey Room of the McKim Building. Classes start on January 12 and are held weekly until February 16. What a great way to start the new year!

Yoga Classes at Boston Medical Center
Moakley Building (830 Harrison Avenue, Boston)
6pm – 7:15pm

These yoga classes are not just during the summer and are open to community members in addition to BMC patients and staff. They are held indoors and part of the Program for Integrative Medicine & Health Care Disparities. Take the elevator or stairs down to the basement. The classes are free, but there is a suggested donation of $5.00. Currently there is a flyer online [click here], but it is old. If the online flyer is updated, I will link to it here.

Complete Candlelight Flow
8pm – 9pm
Pop Allston (89 Brighton Ave, Boston)

Yoga Hub, founded by Ali Singer, is offering this class designed for yogis to advance their practice through building a comprehensive understanding of yoga techniques and philosophy. Upon arrival, each student receives a candle as a symbolic token of union with the Self and with others. No experience is necessary. Free mat rental is available. While the class is free, there is a suggested $5 donation.

WEDNESDAY

NTC Yoga
Nike Boston (200 Newbury Street, Boston)
7:04am – 8:04am

Nike+ Training Club offers this athletic vinyasa-style class taught by yoga and Pilates instructor Jacqui Mimno to target often overlooked elements of training. You’ll improve joint mobility, while simultaneously working on upper body and core strength. You need to register each week for the class on their online calendar, which updates on Sunday at 3pm. These classes are held indoors year round, so you can enjoy them even when summer ends!

Troops for Fitness Yoga
Ronan Park (Dorchester)
6:15pm

As part of the Coca-Cola Troops for Fitness program, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department is offering  free yoga classes with U.S. Army Veteran Roxanne Hope Randall. Classes started at the beginning of October and go through November 30th.

THURSDAY

Yoga Classes at Boston Medical Center
Moakley Building (830 Harrison Avenue, Boston)
4:30pm – 6pm

These yoga classes are not just during the summer and are open to community members in addition to BMC patients and staff. They are held indoors and part of the Program for Integrative Medicine & Health Care Disparities. Take the elevator or stairs down to the basement. The classes are free, but there is a suggested donation of $5.00. Currently there is a flyer online [click here], but it is old. The Thursday class starts at 4:30pm. If the online flyer is updated, I will link to it here.

FRIDAY

Troops for Fitness Yoga
Ronan Park (Dorchester)
6:15pm

As part of the Coca-Cola Troops for Fitness program, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department is offering  free yoga classes with U.S. Army Veteran Roxanne Hope Randall. Classes started at the beginning of October and go through November 30th.

SATURDAY

Winter Workout
The Liberty Hotel (Charles Street, Beacon Hill, Boston)
10am

Back in 2009, The Liberty was one of the first hotels in Boston, or anyplace in the area for that matter, to start offering free yoga classes in the summer. They set the trend and still offer free classes in collaboration with Equinox. Guests of the hotel and members of the community are welcome to take the class for free. Classes are year round. In the summer, classes are outside in the courtyard. In the cooler months, they are indoors. Check with the concierge to find the exact class location, since it appears to change.

  SUNDAY

Reggae Flow
9:30am – 10:30am
Pop Allston (89 Brighton Ave, Boston)

Yoga Hub, founded by Ali Singer, is offering this reggae-inspired yoga class. No experience is necessary for this class, where postures build through a progressive sequence, designed to cultivate total harmony in body and mind. Free mat rental is available. While the class is free, there is a suggested $5 donation.

Yoga & Beer; the Key to Happiness
Night Shift Brewing (87 Santilli Highway, Everett)
11am – 12pm

These yoga classes take place at the brewery every so often and there is one coming up on October 18th. Take a look at their event calendar for confirmation before you go.  Kat O’Leary from CorePower Yoga teaches the vinyasa classes.

Yoga For Runners
Boston Marathon adidas Runbase (855 Boylston Street, Boston)
6:30pm

These free vinyasa yoga classes are taught by Liz Vail. A customized yoga flow will bring balance to overworked muscles used when running and will also provide strength to the areas of the body that are needed in order to run more efficiently. All levels of yoga experience are welcome, but it looks like you need to register each week.

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Image Credit: “Yoga Pose” courtesy of lobster20 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

{You Pick Six} An Interview with News Reporter: Susan Tran

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News Reporter Susan TranMost of us in the Boston area have probably watched Susan Tran reporting with 7News on WHDH. Now she reports news at NBC10Boston.

She also was the emcee for All Aboard The Arc! this past May and helped spread the word about disability acceptance and inclusion.

But did you know that she’s a serious foodie too? If you follow her on Twitter and Instagram, in addition to the news, you’ll often catch a glimpse of what she’s eating.

Just recently, she was shopping at Boston Public Market for some fresh fish and pastrami. Not only did she share pictures of the food, but she ran into our very own Senator Warren and got a selfie! How cool is that?

So now, let’s turn the tables for the sixth part of the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite snack?
I love Cape Cod Chips with Heluva Good dip. I would eat an entire bag of chips if you let me so I only have it on vacation.

What brings you peace every day?
When my husband brings me my first cup of coffee and I get to say good morning to my pup Margaret. Those two moments remind me of what’s good in my life.

What inspires you?
I’m inspired by all the good in the world. For every awful person I encounter in the world through work or life there are always dozens more who are kind, thoughtful and generous.

What is a favorite cookbook?
Cook’s Illustrated – Best Recipes.

How did food become an important part of your life?
Food always meant family and friends to me. My parents worked 7 days a week but we always had dinner together. My husband is Italian-Irish-German, food is how he shows his affection. Some of my fondest memories with family and friends have happened around a dinner table.

Tell me about your book.
I wrote a long format story while I was in between jobs to occupy myself. It was good at the time. I tried to get it published but I didn’t have any takers. When I read it now, 6 years later, I think it’s crap and I’m glad nothing ever came of it. Some day I’ll look upon it as a failure I will glean lessons from.

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Thank you so much for participating Susan!

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Photo credit: Trung Dang

Apples 2 Apples: Spencer + Mutsu

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applesNot only do I love the board game, but over the past few years, I’ve found my love for apples increasing.

Back in 2009, I blogged an apple taste test, Macoun v. Braebern. They were both good, but I chose the Braebern and it was my apple of choice for several years, even though I ate, cooked and baked with other apples too.

A couple of years later, I attended TECHmunch in Boston and heard Amy Traverso speaking as part of a panel discussion. This may have been the first time that I learned about her book,The Apple Lover’s Cookbook. I planned to get it right away, but didn’t and now find myself thinking that this book is becoming a necessity.

There are so many different types of apples and this is supposed to be a very good season here in New England. I want to learn more about apples and of course eat them too. Chronicle, a local lifestyle television program, recently had a wonderful show all about apples.

They mentioned some urban orchards that allow apple picking and talked about the Roxbury Russett, which originated in the Roxbury section of Boston, where I was born. My parents, who grew up in Roxbury, talk about how when they were young, they could just randomly pick apples and other fruits on trees that were around the city.

When my brother and I were little, my parents would take us apple picking in the fall. By then we had moved out of the city to the suburbs. My father loved taking us on long drives and we’d go all over New England. We’d get fresh apple cider and my mom would make apple sauce, apple pie and buckwheat pancakes with apples. Just the memory of the scent of apples cooking, usually with cinnamon, makes me smile.

When I was at the farmers market at Dewey Square last week, I saw so many new to me varieties of apples. I decided to try the Spencer and Mutsu. Below are descriptions of both from the New England Apple Association’s blog.

Ripening in mid- to late September, Spencer is a conical apple, nearly solid red-pink in color, with green highlights. Its flesh is crisp, juicy, and more sweet than tart, though less sweet than its Golden Delicious parent (Spencer’s other parent — surprise! — is McIntosh). Spencer is an all-purpose apple, especially good in pies and sauce. It does not have a lengthy storage life.

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They make outstanding sauce and cider. Also known as Crispin, Mutsus have a sweet, light flavor when cooked, and hold their shape well. An excellent dessert apple, they are also especially good in salads.

Mutsus are a late-season apple ranging in color from greenish to yellow, with an orange blush. Their firm, juicy flesh is creamy white to pale yellow. They can grow quite large (a pie made with Mutsus may require as few as three apples).

Mutsu has its origins in Japan, from a Golden Delicious crossed with an Indo, a Japanese seedling, in 1930. It was introduced in the United States in 1948.

I ate these apples raw and loved them both. There was no side-by-side comparison, so I can’t describe them that way, but they were sweet enough for me and super juicy.

The plan is to make Apples 2 Apples a continuing series of posts about apples, so we’ll see how it plays out. Plus, there may be a surprise announcement to come!

{You Pick Six} An Interview with Food Blogger: El from Fresh New England

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Image of woman holding a madeleine, from website Fresh New EnglandAs a lifelong New Englander and someone with a serious sweet tooth, finding El’s blog was like finding the holy grail.

First, take a look at her Instagram feed. See what I mean? Some of you may have been swept away for more than a few minutes. You’re probably hungry now too!

Her baking skills, photography and love for New England are self-evident. Plus, her writing is not only about food. She always has a takeaway message that will leave you thinking.

I can’t speak highly enough about El. So I’ll let her do the rest of the “talking” and share some thoughts with us for the fifth part of the interview series, You Pick Six.

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What is a favorite simple recipe to prepare at home?
It’s more of a snack but it can be eaten any time of the day. Lightly toast a big, thick slice of crusty bread, smear it with soft goat cheese and top with spreadable jam. It tastes best when you use good quality New England made ingredients.

What is a favorite quote?
“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
-William Morris

What is a favorite food movie?
Babette’s Feast. It’s a Danish story that portrays the centrality and meaning of food in our lives. It explores the notions of bringing people together over a meal and creating a meal for the sake of the meal. It also has strong themes of selflessness and generosity, which are typically present when we make food for others.

What is a favorite cookbook?
I love Bo Friberg’s Professional Pastry Chef. It’s well-researched and well-written. It addresses the fact that most desserts are made up of core, classic components. If you can master the components, your dessert repertoire is only limited by your imagination.

What do you think that most people don’t understand about food?
That local food isn’t necessarily more expensive than supermarket food. I spent a day visiting and recording prices at supermarket chains, organic farms and regular farms in the Greater Boston area. Do you know what I found? Almost consistently, per pound, the food from local farms – including organic farms- was cheaper than the food from the chain stores. Add that to the fact that local food is more nutritious, saves our beautiful and historic New England landscape, and supports the local economy and it’s easy to see that buying local food is the way to go.

Tell me about what you’re working on now.
As you know, Fresh New England has always been a great place to find information about New England’s culinary treasures. Now there’s a brand new companion site called Fresh New England Eats. The site is beautiful, searchable and has geolocation built in so can find the best local food in New England no matter where you are or what you’re doing. There are already over a thousand businesses listed on the site and we’re just getting started. The food community is really excited about it.

Basically, I’m on a mission to unite the New England food system into a single digital space. We have some of the best local food in the world and it’s time to give it the recognition it deserves.

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Thank you so much for participating El!

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Photo of Lemon Madeleines Dipped in White Chocolate provided by El.