The Yoga Teacher Mobile | 10 WAYS Citi BikE can improve your quality of life

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By Evelyn Hoelscher

Recruiting Manager & Full-time Yoga Teacher

Citi Bike has completely changed my living experience in New York City. Its helped me fall more in love with this crazy city that never sleeps. 

I’ve frequently been told by my hOMies (aka coworkers from hOM) that I need to be a Citi Bike ambassador for how much I LOVE it.
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While we get PTO, a salary, health insurance and a 401K, as the Recruiting Manager I get most excited explaining to new hires that hOM pays for our Citi Bike memberships.

Citi Bike has taken me on some of the best dates I’ve had since I’ve moved here.

Last summer, after teaching my Saturday CORE classes at some of hOM’s buildings in midtown, my husband, James, and I hopped on a Citi Bike, intending to head home to Astoria, when Citi Bike swept us off our feet.

Casually biking toward the East Side down 38th St, we roll our eyes as we approach a blocked off Park Ave.  

​Thinking it was more of the constant construction going on, we in fact discovered that Citi Streets had taken over all of Park Ave for bikers and pedestrians only!

50% of Fitness Instructors spend
​2-3 hours commuting per day

Put into a trance by all of its happenings, we shifted gears to go downtown on Park Ave!
We docked our bikes to get a free snow cone. Hopped back on.   
Then docked it again to watch a live performance.    
Hopped back on and continued with the festivities all the way down to Brooklyn Bridge.
We looked at each other realizing we hadn’t walked over the bridge since before we moved from Texas. So, hand-in-hand we crossed as the skyline and lady liberty enchanted our hearts.
Once in Brooklyn, we hopped on another bike and rode all the way to the green escape of Prospect Park.
We figured we made it this far and James had never been to Coney Island, so we got on a train for the last leg of the trip.  
We laid on the beach and rode our first roller coaster as a couple.

To this day, it is one of my favorite memories of New York, which would have never happened if it wasn’t for Citi Bike and hOM’s employee benefits.

It may sound over the top, but it has changed my life.

I am here to tell you
10 ways Citi Bike can improve your quality of life.

1. Cause spontaneous adventures! ​Just like the Coney Island adventure, Citi Bike has been the catalyst for wonderful trips to breweries in Brooklyn, bars on the lower east side or parks in Astoria.
2. Best way to access the hard-to-reach parts of the city. There are so many hidden gems in the city that are hard to get to by train, but Citi Bike makes it really quick and convenient. You won’t have to wait forever for a bus to go from the east side to west side.
3. No waiting on the hot, smelly platforms for the subway. We have all been impacted by train delays, but with Citi Bike there is no wait time! New Yorkers collectively spend 35000 hrs/day waiting on trains. Citi Bike has no delay!
4. Get your Vitamin D.  You can get your daily dose of this Sunshine Vitamin by switching your commute to a bike ride! Vitamin D helps support our immune system, maintain healthy bones and insulin levels.
5. Reduce stress. Biking even for only 15 minutes can lower your cortisol levels, which is the hormone that contributes to your “fight or flight” response.
6. No hauling your personal bike up and down the stairs of your 5 stories walk-up! There are docks EVERYWHERE. You can even use the handy dandy Citi Bike app to check where the closest dock is and how many bikes are still available.
7. Good for your heart! Biking has been proven to prevent high cholesterol AND it can be your warm-up for the class you are about to teach!
8. Save some d@$gh!  Citi Bike could save you over $1K per year! Citi Bike only costs $169/year, while metrocards cost $121/month, which equates to $1452/year.
9. It makes you smarter. Biking can improve cognitive functions like memory, reasoning and planning….so you won’t need that 2nd cup of coffee to teach your 7 am yoga class!
10. Smell the fresh springtime air! While the average New Yorker spends over 6 hours of time commuting each work week, most fitness instructors spend at 12-15 hrs per week. That’s more than double the average New Yorker spends underground! Imagine if that time was instead spent soaking up your Vitamin D, getting a work out in and exploring the city.

So if you haven’t already...go sign-up for Citi Bike TODAY or apply at iamhom.com/hiring to reap one of the many amazing benefits that come from working with hOM.

Pro Tip... Wear a helmet.

WE ARE HIRING!