Box + Flow is NYCʼs new boxing/yoga studio where you “flow through the fight, and fight through the flow”. The studio is a girly but tough space where you can beat your aggression out on the bag, then level your mind with a vinyasa cool down.
The barefoot workout warms you up before the bag work and a cool down on your mat. You’ll definitely get a great workout every time you come to Box + Flow, but the workouts themselves will vary a little depending on the instructor (some come from a boxing background and some focus on yoga). Be prepared to sweattttt.
The workout begins with an intense 8-minute warm up: think dynamic stretches, squat jumps, high knees, and shadow boxing. Then you hit the bags. The meaty middle chunk of the workout (roughly 32 minutes) is bag work mixed with some interval training.
The coaches have you alternate simple boxing sequences with spurts of speed/power punches. If the class is small enough, this is also when you will get a little one-on-one mitt work. Overall, this section is suitable for boxing newbies.
The last part of the workout is a 15 minute flow, though they often donʼt directly refer to this section as yoga. Not all of the instructors are yoga-certified, so some will cue you throughout the flow with the English translations of all the postures. The flow portion can be vigorous at times and ends in savasana, which is a great cool down.
Like any individual sport workout, you’ll get out of this class whatever you put into it. So, we get our ass kicked every time we go 🙂
Kirra begins each class by really getting to know each fighter/yogi and makes you feel so welcome. Kirra comes from a yoga background – she has the asana vocab down and does hands-on adjustments during the flow portion – but she ALSO handles the boxing part of class like a pro. She is a badass blonde Australian with a sleeve tattoo who will kick your ass during part one. But what we love about Kirra is that during the yoga portion, she’ll cool you down and stretch you out, and she also helps her class connect to the mental side of the practice. She asked us throughout the hour why we were there. We set intentions. We reminded ourselves why we love ourselves. We all walked out of class with dead arms and a light soul.
The studio is on Bond Street (arguably one of the most beautiful blocks in NYC). You may run into Bella and Gigi looking fly on the street on the way in, but the studio itself is no frills. There’s no lobby, so if a sweaty class happened right before, youʼre going to be hit with their heat the second you walk in the door. The temperature of the room can be uncomfortably high … it was almost like bikram boxing.
The space is simple but the decor is cute. There is a single bathroom (no shower) with lotions, body wipes, dry shampoo, etc. They’re definitely doing the best they can with what theyʼve got … but itʼs hot as hell in there, youʼre going to sweat, and showering isnʼt an option. Prob not the best studio choice for before work or during a heat wave.
55 Bond St, New York, NY 10012 SoHo Yoga $$$$
Box + Flow
SoHo Boxing, Yoga $$$$
55 Bond St, New York, NY 10012
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Box + FlowBoxing, Yoga
This actress with the textured voice (she seriously must do some voiceover work, itʼs so good) will have you beating the $*** of the bag. She comes from a boxing background but has gotten a really good feel for coaching her fighters through the yoga portion of class. Her “hits of ʼ04” playlist had our blood pumping and her upbeat enthusiasm kept us fired up. She consistently made sure everyone was turning over their hands and using their hips with each punch (aka her boxing coaching really came through). She worked us out so that we were READY for that juicy savasana.
Box + FlowBoxing, Yoga
Marsena was super friendly, welcoming, and helpful. She will make sure you have a positive experience regardless of your fitness level. She definitely put us through a workout that had us sweating our butts off and our hearts beating, but the technical side of both the boxing and the yoga wasnʼt as strong as some of the other coaches at Box + Flow. We weren’t challenged during the one-on-one mitt work (note: most coaches donʼt even work with you one-on-one, so we were still grateful!), and the flow section was definitely a memorized script. That being said, Marsenaʼs upbeat attitude and overall challenging workout will definitely have us coming back.
