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In 1989, I think California was ahead on New York in the health and wellness department, but I think that New York may have the edge over California now.
There was a yoga studio back in the 1980s in Park Slope. I did join it and believe it was called Solar Yoga. Way back in the 1950s, a daily newspaper called the Journal American ran a series of articles on yoga, authored by a man named Jess Stern (I’m fuzzy on the name). His articles started me on yoga.
In 1977, I belonged to a midtown Manhattan exercise studio called “Pretty Body.” Some of the teachers were aspiring dancers. There was a large floor for exercises, but in the corner there were a few exercise machines — the kind with belts, that jiggled the exerciser. I think they were used mainly to warm up. I believe people, mainly women, wore ballet leotards, tights and ballet slippers to class.
Many people also attended open adult ballet classes, which tended to be offered in studios on Broadway, not far from Lincoln Center.
In the 1960s, there was a daily early morning yoga show on TV. It was probably Hatha Yoga.
“[O]ur current devotion to fitness, nutrition, juicing, yoga, and overall wellness is nothing short of revolutionary.”
Actually, it isn’t. I experienced all of the above in the ’60s and ’70s. Then, as now, only a fairly elite group had the interest and ability to pursue these interests, although the group may be somewhat bigger today. If it were truly revolutionary, we wouldn’t have an obesity problem in America today.