Clark Park Thursday Farmers’ Market resumes today at 43rd and Baltimore, along with a new program that offers yoga classes at farmers’ markets throughout the city. Yoga at the Market kicks off tonight in Clark Park and will continue weekly through the month of September. Classes are from 6 – 7 p.m. and are suitable for all levels, ages and abilities.

Yoga at the Market is donation-based and has no set fee. The program is entirely supported by the students, and cash donation is greatly accepted to support the teachers, insurance costs, and the administration of the program. You can show up with your mat or practice on the grass! Beginners and families are most welcome.

This is a joint program of Yoga on the Banks, The Food Trust, Farm to City, and the parks’ Friends groups.

A West Philly yoga instructor, Erin Gautsche, will be teaching the class.

“I’ve lived in West Philly for 12 years, and am excited to bring donation-based, outdoor  yoga to the neighborhood!” she wrote us in an email.

Clark Park Thursday Farmers’ Market will be open from 3 – 7 p.m. every Thursday until Thanksgiving.

Clark Park Youth Soccer coach Jean-Marie with one of his students, October 2015. (Photo courtesy of CPYSL)

A great and affordable local outdoor youth soccer program, Clark Park Youth Soccer League (CPYSL), will be back next month for its Spring 2016 season and is currently recruiting kids and volunteer coaches.

The spring season will start on Saturday, April 2 and end on May 21.

The program provides soccer instruction and intramural games for children ages 5-11 on Saturdays each spring and fall at Clark Park and emphasizes enjoying the game of soccer while learning soccer skills. Each 90-minute session includes both skills training and a game.

Children are assigned to teams by age:

– Mornings (10:30-Noon): ages 5 to 6.5 and ages 6.5 to 7
– Afternoons (Noon-1:30 pm): ages 8 to 9 and ages 10 to 11

Families can fill out an online application and submit their payment online at this link; register and pay by mail (download registration form here and mail it to CPYSL by March 28); or register in person at walk-in registration on April 2.

The all-volunteer-run program is also currently seeking volunteer coaches. If you like soccer and enjoy working with kids, email clarkparksoccer@yahoo.com  Continue Reading

A community meeting is scheduled for Wednesday that could go a long way to determining the future of the upstart youth baseball league that has operated for the past two years at the 48th and Woodland Playground.

Local politicians and PAYSA organizers on last year’s opening day for the league (Photo from PAYSA Facebook page).

The Department of Parks and Recreation called the meeting following a request by the league, called the Philadelphia Athletics Youth Sports Association (PAYSA), to improve field conditions and begin work on a long-term master plan for the playground. The request reportedly triggered questions about whether the baseball league is “primarily run by and for members of the community served by the 48th & Woodland Playground,” PAYSA president and co-founder Steve Walicki wrote in a letter to league parents and supporters.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at the 48th and Woodland Playground. Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell is scheduled to be on hand, and community members who live in the area are invited. The organizers are requesting that those attending bring proof of residence, like a driver’s license with your local address on it.

Founded in 2013, PAYSA’s first opening day was in April 2014.

– Mike Lyons

Delaila Aryee (left) and Lyndsay Brown (right) with former Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter.

A new fitness and physical therapy private practice with a focus on affordable physical therapy and rehab, fitness classes and open gym options, has recently opened at 5008 Baltimore Avenue. Vital Step Physical Therapy and Fitness co-owners Delaila Aryee and Lyndsay Brown, both Doctors of Physical Therapy, are young entrepreneurs who were featured on A Woman’s Nation in September 2015. Their dream then was to open their own, compassionate practice that would serve their community.

“We are very passionate about making an impact in our local community because we have spent many years here as clinicians, residents and graduates from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (also located in West Philly),” Aryee and Brown told A Woman’s Nation.

Thanks to the women’s passion and a little help from KIVA Zip, which provided a microloan allowing to renovate the space and to purchase necessary equipment and supplies, Vital Step opened its doors in November.

At Vital Step, you can get physical therapy services for various neurological conditions, including stroke, brain/spinal injury, Parkinson’s disorder, Multiple Sclerosis and more; orthopedic conditions, including joint replacement therapy, arthritis/joint pain, lower back/neck pain, sports injuries and more. The facility also offers balance and fall prevention programs, CHF and COPD management, postpartum therapy, diabetes and high blood pressure management, and other services.

Rehabbing an ankle injury at Vital Step.

As concerns fitness and health education, Vital Step offers general and specialized fitness programs, including yoga, low impact aerobics and Zumba/dance, and nutrition education.

Vital Step Physical Therapy & Fitness is located at 5008 Baltimore Ave., on the 2nd floor of the Mercy wellness center (it is not affiliated with Mercy).

For more information, visit: http://www.vitalsteppt.com/. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

(Photos from Vital Step’s Facebook page).

                            Click to enlarge

The annual Philadelphia Marathon will be held this Sunday (Nov. 22), starting at 7 a.m. at 22nd Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The City and SEPTA announced street closure and detour information ahead of the marathon. Street closures and detours will affect parts of Center City along the course of the marathon (see map), and also some areas in West Philadelphia. Also, check out the information out below on cheer zones in University City/West Philadelphia. Good luck to all West Philly folks who are running this Sunday!

The following streets will be affected across the city on November 22:

• 18th Street, from Arch to Callowhill streets
• 19th Street, from Arch to Callowhill streets
• 20th Street, from Arch to Callowhill streets
• 21st Street, from Spring Garden to Arch streets
• 22nd Street, from Spring Garden to Arch streets
• Benjamin Franklin Parkway, from 22nd to 16th streets
• Arch Street, between 16th to 4th streets
• 4th Street Arch to Vine streets
• Race Street, from 4th Street to Columbus Boulevard  Continue Reading

Bikram Yoga West Philly opens this weekend at 42nd and Chestnut.

The Bikram Yoga studio at 4145 Chestnut St. is reopening this weekend after being closed for remodeling since late September. A full schedule of 26 hot yoga classes a week is starting this weekend, according to studio co-owner Bob Casey, with the first class being held at 9 a.m. this Saturday.

As was reported last month, the studio has a new management team and changed its name from Bikram Yoga University City to Bikram Yoga West Philly. Here’s what Casey, the only person who is still there from the original team (Bikram Yoga University City opened in 2012), says about the new team and their decision to change the name of the studio:

“Bikram West Philly is not just under new management but also new ownership. Leo Eisenstein, new co-director, is a Philadelphia native (his father graduated from West Catholic High); he lives in Philly… and he is thrilled to be part of owning and operating a business in West Philadelphia… not just University City but all of West Philly.”

Casey says that his new partner feels that the studio can be more than just a yoga “studio”; it can be a yoga community center for all of West Philly. Eisenstein is excited about the partnerships they can form with civic associations as well as businesses.

Speaking of similarities and differences between Bikram University City and Bikram West Philly, Casey adds that Bikram West Philly will be a yoga studio in the same way Bikram Yoga University City was when it first opened, but Bikram will be the only style of yoga that will be offered there. “Other than that I would say that almost everything will be different.”

For information about the grand opening weekend class schedule, visit the Bikram Yoga West Philly Facebook page.