• Yoga Vida

  666 Broadway, at Bond St.; 212-845-9973

  While yoga facilities with a roster of big-ticket instructors like Elena Brower (Virayoga) and Schulyer Grant (Kula Yoga) still reign, some stretch-seekers find many studios’ postures to come with an off-putting air of, well, posturing. One new yoga studio, however, dominates those giants when it comes to competence without self-conscious flash. Opened in Union Square by ex–Bear Stearns trader Mike Patton last summer, this one doesn’t take itself too seriously (more joking, less om-ing), holds a wealth of excellent and affordable classes ($12 a pop, $6 for students), and offers appealingly spacious digs (8,000 square feet).

From the 2012 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine