CITY Issue 56

MELLOW YELO That mid-day slump hits and a brief escape to recharge would be all you really need. CITY’s Renee Lucas takes a power nap test drive. It was just one of those days where I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I regretted my post-midnight bedtime and although I got through the morning with a large cup of coffee, at 3 p.m. I was beginning to crash. This situation is all too familiar to most workaholics, and it certainly was for Yelo founder Nicolas Ronco. After years of long hours at the ofﬁce along with business travel–induced exhaustion, he decided to do something about it. Ronco opened Yelo, a different kind of wellness center, offering 20-minute naps and reﬂexology massage treatments intended as an escape from the busy work day. Yelo combines puriﬁed air with aromatherapy, light therapy, and a chair that reclines to a position that evokes weightlessness, allowing your heart rate to slow down so you can get some rest. I read all the literature, and still couldn’t help but be skeptical. Even in my own bed on the weekend I have a hard time sleeping, so how in the middle of a busy weekday, with so much on my mind, was I expected to just let it all go and fall asleep? I needed to ﬁnd out. Making my way to Midtown Manhattan from SoHo, I first realized that this whole experience would be considerably more enticing if my ofﬁce were within walking distance. Something about traversing the subway to get some rest wasn’t exactly making sense. But even from the street, the space is very visually appealing. The yellow and pink hues resemble a sunrise — the name Yelo is meant to conjure associations with the sun’s life-giving force. Once inside, I was invited to take a seat in the lobby and offered a cup of tea by a woman who also handed me a clipboard. “Do you have a hard time falling asleep?” a form asked. I checked the Yes box. The other questions were more fun. I choose what I wanted to listen to during my nap (“Ocean Waves”), and picked the scent (Mimosa Flower over ﬁg, or was it blackberry?) for my aromatherapy. Soon I was led down a hall of booths, and then things started to get a little bit blurry . . . Once you walk into the booth, or what they call the YeloCab, everything changes. The air is crisp and the lighting enthralling. In the center of the room is a large white leather recliner. Because the nap is all about time efficiency, you remain completely dressed during your Yelo nap (shoes, though, are optional). The dim lights made it hard to see, but the therapist led me to the chair and hit the button that made me recline. It began to go back — way back. I began to wonder if I was going to end up completely upside down. Once it stopped I felt weightless. The chair is designed to recline so that the legs are above the heart, allowing the heart rate to decrease. The therapist tucked me in with a soft blanket and left me alone to sleep. It was stranger, if less invasive, than I thought it would be. I expected to be hooked up to some kind of machine, or hypnotized in some way, but I realized when the YeloCab door was shut that this was all in my hands — I had to decide to relax. I ﬁdgeted around a bit, opening my eyes and looking around, letting curiosity get the best of me. As I listened to the soundtrack of crashing ocean waves, I couldn’t help but think that maybe medieval chants or the option of no music at all would have been better. I stared up at the hexagonal ceiling until my eyelids became heavy. Within minutes, the sounds of the waves were distant and I felt more comfortable in the room and drifted off. I was shocked when the lights suddenly but gradually began to turn on. Had I really been there for 20 minutes? The soundproof, airtight space left me with such little distraction, and in such a comfortable position, that I had, in fact, taken a nap. It was a good break from the world, but sadly, it left ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// me wanting to press snooze for ﬁve more minutes. The whole experience made me a bit groggy; I allowed my eyes to adjust to the light before manually bringing my chair back to the upright position. I took a few moments to stretch out before leaving my calm, secluded room. When I opened the cab door, light poured in and with eyes half open I made my way past reception and out onto the busy street. I can’t say that I felt completely rejuvenated, but it was certainly a much-needed break from the ofﬁce grind. The thought of all the work I had to get back to woke me up in a snap — that, and my noisy commute back downtown. $15 for 20 minutes. 315 W. 57th St., New York. Go to www.yelonyc.com Bent out of Shape BAG: CHLOÉ FREJA CLUTCH What happens when a designer at Chloé does origami with Alligator calfskin? You get the Freja clutch, a creative new handbag available in apricot, purple, or teal at Neiman Marcus. $1,575. Go to www.chloe.com CITY TY 21 http://www.yelonyc.com http://www.chloe.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CITY Issue 56

City Issue 56 Contents Letter from City: Re: Design Our Friends: The Faces Behind the Stories Action: What's New, What's Hot, What's Now Wanted: Olympic Bound? Button Up City Moment: The Writing’s on the Wall How We Live: Concrete Jungle Fast Food: Bites of Spring The Amused Bouche: Blueprint Special In Rouge: Hero Worship Fashion: Welcome to the Boys’ Club Travel: My Pod Architecture: Out of the Blue Design: Home Remedies Tokyo Rising Zen and the Art of Catholicism Think Big Face Value Runaways Intimate Relations Where to Buy It: Store Locations Icon: The Infinity Pool

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