Zen Came Tulum

 
CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: YOUR EDITOR, IN A JOYOUS MORNING STRETCH, WEARING LULULEMON STUDIO RACERBACK TOP AND PRISMSPORT DAISY CAPRI LEGGINGS; POST YOGA BREAKFAST; TWO HALVES OF A WHOLE: HALLE BECKER AND LOREN BASSETT; VIEW FROM THE DECK AT AMANSALA; ROBERTA ROLLER RABBIT ETOILE PAJAMA SHIRT; BEACHFRONT ACCOMMODATIONS AND LOUNGE OPTIONS AT AMANSALA

 
There are not a lot of people who could convince this non-yogi to go on a yoga retreat but when Halle Becker — one of the things I wrote I did not hate in “The Six Things I Hate About Yoga”– told me she was leading one with Loren Basset in Tulum, Mexico, I booked my spot before you could say “ohm”.

Past the line-up of all-inclusive resort complexes on the Mayan Riviera is the still unspoiled stretch of beach of Tulum Mexico, an eco-chic holiday destination that has long been a mecca for yoga retreats. The resorts there are made up of beachfront thatched roofed huts and open air palapa studios that are the dream settings for any yoga class. Our retreat would be at the Amansala, a longstanding favorite and home of the “Bikini Bootcamp“. A yoga vacation would be a better description than retreat, because although the meals were filled with deliciously fresh and healthy offerings, we would not be retreating from such guilty pleasures as chips, guacamole and margaritas. And while there was a 2 hour yoga class in the morning and 1 1/2 hour class in the afternoon, I opted for my own one class a day plan, which for 5 days in a row was more yoga than I practice in a month.

Halle Becker and Loren Basset have been friends for 8 years. Halle was originally Loren’s student at a studio called “Some Like it Hot.” I know them both from Pure Yoga. On a whim, they decided to organize a retreat 4 years ago. The first year had 16 people who they begged to come and they hosted it at the remote Holbox Island resort in Mexico. Their second retreat was at Amansala, where it has been ever since, and by chance that year Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, Reece Witherspoon, and Demi Moore happened to be staying. They joined Halle and Loren’s classes for fun, which you can only imagine was off the hook. The retreats have grown in size each year and been sold out ever since. Read More

 

Sporting Spring

 

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CLICK AND SHOP ABOVE 

It’s hard to tell the sport from the fashion brands this spring, with designers labels like Miu Miu, Cynthia Rowley, DKNY and Roksanda Ilincic taking their inspiration from the playing fields, and luxe athletic brands like Monreal London, Lacoste, and Lucas Hugh finding theirs on the runways. Cross genre the look is sporty with bold stripes, graphic cut-outs and geometric patterns as the common thread. Whether surfing, playing tennis, working out or just running around, with these chic and sporty spring styles you’ll be ready for action whatever the day may bring.

LEFT COLUMN: CYNTHIA ROWLEY ATHLETIC STRIPE WETSUIT $210; MIU MIU HOODED SHELL PARKA $595; FLAGPOLE SWIM JOELLEN COLORBLOCK CUT-OUT SUIT $398; TEVA FLATFORM SANDAL $50; CENTER COLUMN: ROKSANDA ILINCIC POLKA-DOT CREPE DRESS $1350; MONREAL LONDON STRETCH JERSEY MESH PLAYSUIT $530; RIGHT COLUMN: LACOSTE FASHION SHOW ASYMMETRICAL PRINTED SWEATER $295; LUCAS HUGH PARAGON CAPRI $275; BOAST COURT ZIP-UP $128; NIKE MARIA SHARAPOVA TENNIS SKIRT $65

 

A Decade of Adidas by Stella McCartney

 
ADIDAS BY STELLA MCCARTNEY STORE, AVENTURA MALL, MIAMI

 
Just opened in Miami’s Aventura Mall is the new Adidas by Stella McCartney store, their second stand alone store in the US. It features the new Spring/Summer 2015 capsule collection which marks the ten-year anniversary of the collaboration between Stella McCartney and Adidas. The brand has become synonymous with the “Ath-Leisure” category of the fashion market, and the booming 35.1 billion activewear industry that now represents 17% of all apparel sales.

From Run to Yoga to Swim, Stella McCartney calls the new line “a combination of strong design aesthetic with true performance technologies”. It utilizes Adidas’s trademark fabrics like Techfit (bands which offer compression and stability,) Climachill and Climacool (temperature control to ensure maximum performance) and BOOST footwear (an innovative foam storing thousands of energy capsules for reactive cushioning.)

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RAVEN STUDIO PERFORMANCE T-SHIRT; ESSENTIALS SHORTS, PERFORMANCE TANK, ADIPURE RUNNING SHOES; WEEKENDER PALM PRINTED PULLOVER

 
Along with the endurance and performance technology, the Spring/Summer 2015 collection is filled with vibrant colors, graphic prints and sleek lines, designed to compliment the female physique with a combination of compression fit, flattering cuts, and high fashion styling. In the crowded space that has become fashion athletic wear, this collaboration continues to push the boundaries of that intersection of sport and style for which it has become recognized, and to define all day workout chic.

Additional reporting by Danielle Braha
 

From the Ski Runs to the Runways

 
CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH KARLIE KLOSS IN ACTION

 
Last week we were in Vail/Beaver Creek, Colorado for the World Ski Championships. This week we are back in our home turf of NYC for New York Fashion Week. A video popped into our email feed from Vogue this morning, filmed with a GoPro, and capturing an action packed day in the life of supermodel Karlie Kloss. It shows this gorgeous model, at the top of her game, from dawn til dusk, on a typical NY Fashion Week day.

GoPro cameras are noted as hi-def action cams, usually employed by adrenaline junkies, looking to immortalize their extreme pursuits. We thought we’d share a more typical Go Pro video we saw last week of skier Julie Mancuso, a supermodel in her own right, on her typical day, capturing a different kind of action. Julie was at Vail at the World Championships competing in both the speed and slalom events, and “modeling” her new signature line of POC goggles, sunglasses and helmet in competition. A decorated Olympian, she has won the most medals of any female alpine skier, with a gold in the giant slalom at the 2006 Winter Olympics, a silver in both downhill and combined (downhill & slalom) in 2010, and a bronze in the combined in 2014. When she’s not on the slopes, Julie is on the waves paddling and surfing, splitting her time between Squaw valley and Hawaii. Check out this “Wonder Woman” in action.
 

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CLICK ABOVE TO WATCH JULIE MANCUSO IN ACTION
 

Be My Sporty Valentine

 

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Happy Valentine’s Day! We are celebrating our love of all things sporty with red hearted, kiss covered, lip smacking gear and accessories we think you’ll love too!

 

 CLICK ABOVE TO SHOP

CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: PHILIPP PLEIN PARADISE DRESS $625. Smack dab on the kisser, you’ll be feeling the love of this sleeveless graphic lips print dress with its sporty racerback style. NIKE TECH CAPE $130. The Nike Tech Women’s Cape, with its scuba hood and drop-tail hem, is made with a thermal construction for lightweight warmth in red Valentine’s style. GIRO ASPECT BIKE HELMET $170. This hot red helmet goes beyond simple protection with its sleek look and top-notch technology. PLAY CDG X CONVERSE $135. Commes Des Garcons and Converse hooked up and gave birth to this love child, a heart covered classic Pro Leather sneaker. J.CREW VINTAGE COTTON KISS KISS TEE $39.50. It’s twice the love with this double kiss tee. Made with soft vintage cotton, its heathered texture has that cozy worn-in feel. JENNIFER FISHER LARGE HEART GOLD PLATED NECKLACE $340. Cupid’s arrow hit the target straight through the heart with this gold plated pendent necklace.

BOGS URBAN FARMER 2-EYE LACE BATIK BOOTS $95. Stay dry and comfortable with these durable garden and rain boots. They are 100% waterproof with a Max-Wick™ lining to absorb and evaporate any moisture. MARKUS LUPFER JEWELED BEANIE $225. This knit merino wool jewel beanie features crystal embellishments along the brim to keep you warm with some extra sizzle and shine. ELECTRIC ED01 – T NATO WATCH $120. “Be Cool Man” with this digital tide predictor watch, with moon phase, calendar, alarm, countdown and chronograph that let’s you know when surf’s up. The velcro wrap band makes waves too with its graphic style. ELECTRA INDY 5 3I $879.99. It’s old-school cool redefined with this hot red Electra cruiser. You gotta love the spring seat, swept-back handlebars, and painted-to-match fenders for extra style. Three gears add a little push up any hills, with front disc and rear coaster brakes to let you stop on a dime.

CENTER: RAY-BAN AVIATOR SUNGLASSES $170. It’s the classic Ray-Ban aviator, red hot for Valentines Day. ADIDAS BY STELLA MCCARTNEY SLIDES $100. A chic and sporty poolside sandal, these slides feature a minimal two strap design, comfortable shaped footbed and grooved rubber outsole.

 

Confirmed & Snkr

 
NIKE SNKRS STATION: INTERACTIVE  POP-UP SHOP AT BOWERY & GREAT JONES ST. IN NYC

 
Within a week of each other, timed with two major style and sport events in NYC, New York Fashion Week and the NBA All-Star Game, Nike and Adidas have released shopping apps for those who must have the newest sneakers drop at their fingertips. Nike’s new shopping app, SNKRS, features a calendar of both upcoming and recently launched sneakers, and allows users to set notifications for upcoming releases so they can grab the new drops within minutes of their release. It allows users to curate and customize the sneakers featured, and also saves the user’s billing, shipping and sizing information for speedy in-app checkout. To announce and promote the app, a pop-up shop at the corner of Bowery and Great Jones St. in lower Manhattan has been set up for NBA All Star Weekend, showcasing the apps features in a giant interactive shoebox.
 
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 ADIDAS CONFIRMED APP

 

Adidas also just released “Confirmed” in advance of Kanye West’s Yeezy Boost sneakers going on sale in New York this Saturday and timed with his New York Fashion Week presentation. Its primary function is allowing users to reserve their coveted drops for in-store pick-up, although this user was not quick enough to snag a pair of those Yeezy Boosts herself.
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Vail 2015: Julia Ford

 
 JULIA FORD AT BEAVER CREEK THIS WEEK

 
Earlier this week we got a chance to hang out with, Julia Ford, 24, a multi-disciplined U.S. Ski Team racer, as impressive off the course as on. We wanted to gain some insight into the events at the World Ski Championships here at Vail/Beaver Creek and who best to hear from but a pro!

Julia competed in Sochi at the 2014 Winter Olympics, and was a self-professed dark horse to make the team. “I had a great season leading up to the games”, she told us, “and earned enough World Cup points to be named to the Olympic Team. But I still had to fight for a spot and didn’t even know in which events I would be competing.” Primarily a Downhill skier, her east coast upbringing in Vermont gave her the technical skills strong enough to make the team as a Slalom skier, but with just three weeks to prepare.

Julia isn’t competing here, but is using this high level competition to train for upcoming World Cup events. She was the “forerunner” of the Ladies Downhill event on Friday — the first one down the course, racing it full speed to make sure it was good to go. Both speed events of the Ladies Downhill and Super-G were won by hundreths of second, and we asked her about these razor thin margins of victory, which can literally come down to which way the wind blows. “Sometimes it blows in your direction, sometimes not. It’s part of the ups and downs of the sport, and one of the variables you can’t do anything about. You just hope it blows your way on the bigger events.”

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JULIA ON THE SLALOM COURSE IN SOCHI 2014; POST DOWNHILL TRAINING THURSDAY IN BEAVER CREEK

 
Julia embodies so many of the qualities you hope to see in a professional athlete – a great competitor and also a role model. As one of four kids in a ski racing family, the road to the U.S. Ski Team was pretty clear for Julia, who was ripping around Vermont’s Okemo Mountain at age three. A graduate of the Holderness School in New Hampshire, she served as the school’s president, and was the captain of both the varsity soccer and lacrosse teams — all while being a member of the U.S. Development Ski Team. Julia continues to be involved with the school as an ambassador. Her mom is a coach on the ski team, and Julia still goes back to ski with the kids and share her experiences.

Julia is also involved with YES in Boston which stands for Youth Enrichment Services. Their “Operation SnowSports” program gives urban youth the opportunity to gain new experiences in the great outdoors, interact with positive role models, and learn to ski and snowboard. Most recently she attended “Sisters On The Slope”, hanging out with the girls and teaching them to ski.  “Skiing has had a huge impact on who I am and the dreams I strive to achieve,” Julia says. “I hope to help others discover the power of belief, confidence, and possibility that I’ve learned through skiing, but can also be applied to all aspects of life.”

 

Vail 2015: World Ski Championships

 
LINDSAY VONN FINISHING A DOWNHILL TRAINING RUN

 
We’re coming to you live this week from Vail/Beaver Creek, Colorado where the 2015 Alpine World Ski Championships are under way. Next to the Olympics, this is skiing’s premier event, with the Downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, and Slalom races all happening from February 2-15. The last time the World Championships were held in the US was also right here back in 1999. Every major champion skier is in town like Americans Lindsay Vonn (home town favorite), Bode Miller, Mikaela Shiffrin and Ted Ligety, along with Austrians Marcel Hirscher and Anna Fenninger, Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud, and Frenchman Alexis Pinturault, among many more of the world’s best.

The town is buzzing with excitement, filling the stands of Red Tail stadium, constructed at the finishes of the legendary “Birds of Prey”, where the men are racing, and “Raptor”, making its World Championship debut as the new women’s speed course. There are free concerts every night at the Solaris in Vail, where the medals, opening, and closing ceremonies are taking place. It’s one big party! Spectating at all events is free and open to the public.

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CLOCKWISE TOP LEFT: CANADIAN PRO RACER MARIE MICHELE GAGNON; HAVING FUN CHECKING OUT MY NEW SMITH I/O 7 GOGGLES & VANTAGE HELMET; TIGER WOODS IN THE CROWD CHEERING ON GIRLFRIEND LINDSAY VONN; SAFETY NETS LINING THE COURSE; BODE MILLER’S CRASH IN THE MENS SUPER-G; A PACKED HOUSE AT RED TAIL STADIUM

 
THE RACES: The Womens Super-G was raced on Tuesday and won in thrilling style by .03 seconds on a course shortened at the last minute by 650 feet due to winds and snowfall. 2014 Olympic Champion Anna Fenninger of Austria took gold, Tina Maze of Slovenia won the silver by .15 seconds, and Lindsay Vonn took the bronze.

The Men’s Super-G was no less dramatic Thursday, with a gut wrenching crash by American Bode Miller, who was making his first appearance after back surgery. Laying down a run which was the fastest of the day up until that point, he nipped a gate and was sent spinning and sliding down the course, severing his right hamstring tendon. While possibly career ending, he tweeted after surgery “Feeling lucky since things could have been way worse.” Austria’s Hannes Reichelt was the fastest of the day, followed by Canada’s Dustin Cook, and Adrien Theaux of France.
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Cryotherapy

 
 C’MON IN… IT’S FREEZING INSIDE!

 
Last week, on the snow day that was the Blizzard of 2015, I trekked over to another frozen tundra called KryoLife on West 57th St, to try “Cryotherapy”, where I stood naked in the cold in 240F below zero temperatures.

The translation of Cryotherapy is literally cold therapy. You enter what is called a Cryosauna (a bit of an oxymoron) and for 3 minutes are exposed to arctic temperatures that have been chilled by liquid nitrogen gas. Because the air has no moisture and there are no air currents, you actually don’t perceive the cold to be as extreme as it is.

Whole Body Cryotherapy is a popular rehabilatation tool in leading medical centers, health spas, and Olympic centers in Europe, and is becoming more widely used here in the US. It has been clinically proven to alleviate pain in those suffering with musculoskeletal, degenerative and joint diseases, as well as autoimmune diseases. It has also proven effective as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory on athletes and in sport performance, for post workout recovery and injury prevention.

Cryotherapy was first invented in 1978 by a doctor in Japan to reduce pain and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis patients. He discovered benefits of cold therapy — not as it related to chilling the underlying tissue, but the nerves known as thermoreceptors that perceive temperature change. In other words, the perception of cold was optimal, as opposed to actual cold. His goal became to find a method to cool the greatest amount of skin in the shortest amount of time, without allowing the cold to penetrate the body.

For athletes, the ice bath has been the go to recovery treatment for traumatic injuries, chronic overuse, and preventative measures. Cryotherapy offers those same therapeutic benefits, and more, with rapid short term freezing, as compared to the gradual, uncomfortable and deep cooling of an ice bath. World champion sprinter, Usain Bolt had a mobile Cryotherapy unit at the 2012 London Olympic games for relief from back injury; Alberto Salazar used it coaching runners Galen Rupp & Mo Farah for the Olympic games; and soccer star Christiano Ronaldo has his own private cryochamber installed at his home. Read More

 
 

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