Canoes in Prospect Park. Flickr photo by Megnyc.

Visit every bowling alley in Brooklyn, compete in the Punderdome, hit every spot on our Brooklyn brunch list– these are the Brooklyn things I resolve to do this year. Also: find a viable alternative to the Park Slope Food Coop, go to one workshop at Etsy labs and one weird meetup. I will bike that path along the Belt Parkway, wherever it starts. I will kayak on the Gowanus Canal. Maybe. I will canoe at Prospect Park. I will do as much free yoga as I can get to. This is the year I finally set foot inside the River Café, if only for a drink, get my butt to Roberta’s, eat a Peter Pan red velvet donut and go to Bed-Stuy to try doubles, a Trinidadian spicy chickpea sandwich of sorts. This summer I will trek out to Rockaway Taco and that truck in Sunset Park. I’m going to judge for myself whether Montreal bagel from Mile End deserve the hype. even if the Brokavore wasn’t impressed. I am going to volunteer in Brooklyn.

What are your Brooklyn resolutions for 2012?

The guide, put together by “wellness wire service” Well+Good and sponsored by BluePrintCleanse, covers the gamut of free and low-cost classes, “epic yoga events,” road races, running clubs, plus tips for traveling to the Hampton and summer-only fitness events such as volleyball and kayaking. The guide gets further Brokelyn points for its skin-care price-check for your summer beauty essentials and its roundup of healthy outdoor dining with some of our favorites, including Flatbush Farm!

Download yours today, and you may never have to see Nate Berkus while you work out again.

Check Plaza Wellness’s website for the full schedule of classes and descriptions. The fitness center is located at 36 Plaza St. in Prospect Heights near Grand Army Plaza. The yoga classes offered vary in style from gentle hatha to vigorous vinyasa. All are open-level and suitable for beginners and advanced students.

You know your budget is beat.

Yoga is a beloved pastime for many Brooklynites, but making it a habit could quickly break the bank. How are you supposed to clear your mind when you’re thinking of the week of groceries you could’ve bought with that membership you just paid for, or that $20 you dropped on a single class? Luckily, you have plenty of chances to participate in donations-based classes around the borough; you can thank the concepts of karma and dharma for that! The highly trained yogis who run these classes are all motivated by sharing what they love with as many people as possible. Take a look at the studios that have the most opportunities to pay what you wish to be a part of a growing community.

Brooklyn Yoga School
82 Sixth Ave., Park Slope
Type of Yoga: Classical
Suggested Donation: What you can afford
The Brooklyn Yoga School encourages everyone from beginners to the advanced yogi to take part in their classes based around the vinyasa flow. Their classes are offered every day and range from gentle movement or chanting sessions to invigorating advanced sessions. The space has a strong focus on the philosophy behind yoga as well as the physical aspect of it.  All classes include breathing exercises, chanting, meditation and philosophical discussion.

So Hum Studios
Greene Avenue (yes, that is really the only address info listed), Bed-Stuy
Type of Yoga: Hatha
Suggested Donation: $10
So Hum (which means “that I am” in Sanskrit) offers small classes of up to seven people in its studio, or private or group sessions in your home, office or school. Their classes are held on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and reservations are required. Sundays and Wednesdays focus on asanas and creative movement, while Thursdays are reserved for a more intense experience that’s meant to get you sweating. All classes are open level, and the environment is welcoming.

Boutique YOGA Brooklyn
1089 Broadway, Bushwick
Type of Yoga: Hatha and Kundalini
Suggested Donation: What you can afford
On a few evenings a week, Boutique Studios opens its photo studio for yoga classes for the community. Mondays focus on Hatha yoga, a calming and healing session, and Wednesdays are for Kundalini yoga, with a strong focus on breathing techniques and physical exercise. This is a very personable, community-oriented space. There are also musical opportunities, like transcendental drumming on Wednesdays.

Namaste Yoga and Tranquility Center
336 Grand St., Williamsburg
Type of Yoga: Classical
Suggested Donation: What you can afford
Classes here are normally $17, which includes access to their steam room, but there are a few classes per week that are open to drop-ins by donation. These classes are targeted to a wide range of experiences, offering suggestions on how to alter each pose depending on your level. This peaceful studio is the perfect place to unwind.

Hosh Yoga
55 Nassau Ave., Greenpoint
Type of Yoga: Classical
Suggested Donation: What you can afford
Hosh Yoga has a great range of experiences to choose from throughout its schedule. Depending on what day you drop in, you could work on the fundamentals, explore vinyasa sequences, melt away tension or restore your body through heating exercises. There is also guided meditation and prenatal classes.

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The best part is: the likelihood that yoga studios will give you ‘tude as you shyly slip a fiver their way is slim to none, unlike other institutions around the city who claim to have suggested donations. But remember: most of these are nonprofit organizations or the personal efforts of people bringing you into their home, so be kind when evaluating what it is you can afford.

If you’re a bit sheepish about others seeing you in plow pose, try following along with podcasts in the comfort of your own home. Yoga Journal has a great series of twenty minute classes that you can mix and match to create a session that works best for you.

via Jai Yoga Arts website

Reader Jessica Garro passed on this tip: new yoga studio in Jai Yoga Arts at 47 Thames Street in Bushwick (near the Morgan L) is offering unlimited free yoga through the end of the month. “We just opened and want to get to know everyone in the neighborhood!” the studio says on its website. Ten-year yoga teacher Ella Luckett opened the space last month. Check the full week’s schedule of events before you unroll that yoga mat.

The inner & outer benefits of backbends, on Yoga Today

Summer has long departed and with it went all the free outdoor workout opportunities, from Zumba in the park to Pilates under the bridge. Winter has far fewer options, which is why it’s tempting to stay inside hoarding cookies like a hibernating bear. If you can’t afford a gym (or fancy insulated running clothes), what do you do for a structured workout? We found a whole world of free online workout videos, perfect for the broke but healthy among us. Don’t worry: Buffed, Beautiful, and Bitchin’ on YouTube isn’t the only game in town.

Hulu
In Hulu’s Health and Wellness section, Denise Austin has her own channel, but being the Rachael Ray of fitness, her voice can be pretty annoying. So if you want that personal experience, try out Kathy Smith. For a relaxing session of yoga or Pilates, there’s Yoga Fusion or Exercise TV’s Yoga & Pilates Channel. For stretch over stretch: Bikini Body Makeover for chicks and Rock Hard Body for dudes. Exercise TV has its own channel and the more specific New Year, New You and Resolution Solution, among others. Also, Self Magazine has a channel full of different types of workouts, and there’s Six Pack Abs for that specific area. And then, of course, there’s The Envy Girls (aka Carmen Electra’s stripper friends) which is just for… kicks?

The downside of Hulu is the ads. Be warned: While some, like Lean Cuisine, are tailored to the health-conscious, others are for chocolate chip cookies. It’s just mean.

Yoga Today
With over 200 classes available, Yoga Today offers one free class a week, streamed right to your computer. You can’t choose which class you can take, but you’ll have variety each week. And the scenery’s hard to beat. You have to become a member (so you can only use the class once), but it’s simple and free.

Women Workout Routines
These very at-home, slightly unprofessional workouts are made by a woman who… sweats a lot. While it’s more realistic (seriously, how many times have you had to pause a video to wipe the sweat off?), she doesn’t give a lot of step-by-step instruction as she goes, so watch the whole video first and then go back to do it. The workouts are a quick 10-ish minutes and on YouTube, and don’t require any gym equipment for the most part. And despite the title, this website works for men too.

Workoutz
This site offers quick tutorials on different workout routines rather than full length videos, with no registration required. While some require gym equipment, there are some you can easily do in your home. As a warning though, there’s no voiceover instruction. So this site should really be used more for a “Am I doing that right?” type of thing.

Exercise TV
Separate from Hulu, Exercise TV has its own website full of additional videos. Streaming the videos is free, but in order to download , it can get costly (cheaper than a gym, but not quite worth it if it’s streaming for free). They also have free downloadable workout plans available on the website, for those of you who are goal-oriented. Some equipment might be required, and as with Hulu, watch out for those blame ads. If you have an iPhone, you can download the app for free, full of tips and free full length workout videos.

Netflix
Yes, Netflix costs per month. But if you’re a user, there are a ton of free workouts available through the ‘Watch Instantly’ feature, from Dance off the Inches to Crunch Gym videos to Self Magazine. These all have established, professional instructors, which might make you feel a little better as you’re working out. Of course, there is the occasional movie or documentary in the wrong section, so don’t get roped-in by a yoga documentary when you’re supposed to actually be doing yoga.

This... is Nia

Human@Ease, the Greenpoint fitness and wellness center that puts your mind and body… at ease, is offering a last chance to bend and stretch outside before the cold completely takes over. This Saturday, Oct. 23, at McCarren Park, Human@Ease is holding its free Community Class Day. Head over to the NW field for free classes in Kundalini Yoga, Pilates, the always fun Zumba, Nia (“a sensory based movement lifestyle,” not the National Institute on Aging), kid’s Nia and prenatal belly-dancing. There’ll also be some massage tables set up, a few other special promotions and a raffle for deals on massage, strength training, reiki, sauna and other classes at the center.

Human@Ease Community Class Day, Saturday, Oct. 23, 1 to 4 p.m., McCarren Park on the NW field along Bedford and Lorimer Sts., Williamsburg

Photo by sporkist.

Maybe you’re a first-time yogi, maybe you’ve posed in the past and just need a little push back into your old transcendent ways. Whichever, there’s no time like the present to touch your toes and feel that surge of spiritual energy that leads straight to stress-free well-being. And forget the fancy studio with blasting A/C. Do it in nature, under the trees, with Yoga Sole‘s free Sunday-morning yoga classes in Prospect Park.

The Windsor Terrace studio is offering the hour-long classes this Sunday, Jul. 25 and again on Aug. 1. In the words of Yoga Sole’s Evalena V. Leedy:

“Students will explore their strength and flexibility through a flow series of postures that incorporates twists, balancing, and some inversion. We will exploring the body’s subtleties, celebrate and honor our connection to the natural world. Build your endurance through breath, deepen your stretches, and increase self-awareness.”

Bring your lungs, your spine, and, of course, your mat. Meet at 10 a.m. under the big Oak trees at the right of the Bartel Pritchard lot (across from the Pavilion Theater). Here for more info.

The Greenpoint studio, called goodpoint, is in a sunlit, open-air studio—what Foster calls an Ashram. “I’m sure someone would love to turn this space into their own private McMansion,” she says. “But it was built by artists and I’d like to see artists continue to benefit from it.”

Aside from Foster’s guidance—she’s been lauded by first-timers and veteran yogis alike—Goodpoint also provides a slew of holistic services including massage, Reiki, life coaching and alternative medicine. Kids’ yoga and kung-fu programs are in the works, as is an international yogic retreat program called goodtrip. Foster’s even at work on goodskin, a line of Ayurvedic cosmetics. Maybe you’ll be around for that.

The First Annual Brokelyn Charity Ball will be held June 10 from 7 to 11 at at Night Owl in Williamsburg, 160 N. 4th St. at Bedford Ave.