Anxiety-prone exercisers will feel at ease when they try out Lithe Method Therapy Melt. The program takes the studio’s combination of cheerleading and dance, intensive barre work, strength training, and cardio and adds in a simultaneous massage. (Why didn’t we think of that?)
Lithe Method, 1030 North Second Street, number 501, Liberties Walk (215-545-5144 or lithemethod.com).
Leave it to the Sculpere workout — a medley of ballet, Pilates, and yoga created by former professional dancer Cristina Espaillat — to get you back on your toes.
Sculpere, 209 Poplar Street, at North Second Street (215-592-1200 or sculpere.com).
The basics class teaches moves like the butterfly, weave, and buzz saw. Slip on 3-D glasses in the dark studio to experience the bright swaths of light in full effect. It’s tricky, but we got the hang of it after a few sessions (bonus: no one saw us look silly).
Ploome, 1040 North American Street, at Liberties Walk, suite 1001 (215-238-0200 or ploomephilly.com).
Whether back to school means anything to you these days, here’s a class to look forward to. Held on the playground, CoreFitness sessions swap reading and ’rithmatic for the best part of the day — recess.
More information at core-fit.com.
Schedule an appointment for an ayurvedic treatment at Temple of the Lotus or just drop by for a yoga class — and a peek at the airy space where the botanically infused line of Aromabliss products is made.
Temple of the Lotus, 1527 South Street, second floor (215-605-3415 or templeofthelotus.com).
Owner Steffi Freedman uses her more than ten years of experience to create personal workouts for private sessions.
Corps Pilates, 123 Chestnut Street, suite 204 (610-574-2749 or corpspilatesphilly.com).
So a pilgrimage to an ashram isn’t in the budget. Check out Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki in South Philly instead: Dedicated to making the healing arts more affordable, the studio uses a sliding scale ($5-$15/class), so you pay what you can afford.
Hawthorne Yoga & Reiki, 1241 Carpenter Street (267-593-4962 or hawthorneyoga.com).
Practice Yoga’s one-on-one sessions and workshops feature guest instructors from around the country.
Practice Yoga Studio, 804 South Fourth Street (215-755-3268 or practiceyogastudio.com).
Co-owner Dan Johnson focuses on therapeutic and deep-tissue massage, craniosacral therapy (easing nerve passages in the spine and skull), and myofascial release (restoring flexibility to muscular connective tissue). The Still Waters team also offers acupuncture, Thai yoga, and prenatal massage (that miraculously takes place facedown).
Still Waters Holistic Health Therapies, 2428 Brown Street (215-769-1496 or stillwaterstherapies.com).
There are plenty of innovative classes to get your heart racing at Fusion Cross-Training. And things get started at 6:30 a.m. weekdays, so there’s no excuse for not hitting the gym before heading to the office.
Fusion Cross-Training, 105 South 12th Street, mezzanine level, entrance on Sansom Street (215-733-0633 or fusioncrosstraining.com).
Jennifer Kries gives personal training sessions in physical standbys Pilates and yoga, as well as in the mind-body discipline called waking energy. A combination of qigong and the Five Tibetans (longevity exercises), the workout stimulates your chi and aligns your chakras.
The Healing Arts Center of Philadelphia, 123 Chestnut Street, suite 204 (917-518-1607 or jenniferkries.com).
Get in gear with personal trainer Jerome Robinson at The Daily Grind Fitness. A former elementary school teacher, he approaches sessions with a lesson plan, so you’ll know if you’re hitting your goals. Stretch on stadium-grade AstroTurf in one room; do yoga on one-inch-thick floors in another. New areas in the expanded studio are ideal for weight lifting, resistance training, and cardio workouts.
The Daily Grind Fitness, 4 East First Street, suite 101, Conshohocken (877-774-7463 or dailygrindfitness.com).
Sweat it out to help others with local dude Matt Sgro’s Boot Camps with a Purpose. Meet up with a participating trainer anywhere from Philly to Coatsville, pay a small fee, and the instructor will donate all the money from the session to the charity of his or her choice.
To find a boot camp, go to bootcampswithapurpose.com.
Attune the mind, body, and spirit at this breezy holistic health center in Rittenhouse Square. Practice yoga (vinyasa, saraswati, restorative, power) one on one with an instructor, in a group, or with your toddler.
Balance Health Center, 112 South 20th Street (215-751-0344 or balancehealthcenter.com).
Put some pep in your step with Philly Runners. The free group meets at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, runs three times a week, and welcomes all skill levels.
More information at phillyrunners.org.
Get in shape with the former military man’s twelve-week boot camp. His ever-changing combinations of intense drills include grueling lunges, push-ups, and some exercises we bet you’ve never heard of.
To find a location, go to sgtnate.com.
Located in Rittenhouse Square, Urbanfront Pilates stretches beyond the mat. The Xtend barre workout blends traditional Pilates with ballet-inspired exercises to increase core strength and improve total body tone.
Urbanfront Pilates, 1700 Sansom Street, second floor (215-564-4410 or urbanfrontpilates.com).
Head to Kip Martin’s Symmetry Dance Wellness studio for Bale’ates, an ass-kicking hybrid of ballet and Pilates. Each class works to strengthen the muscles in your abdomen and lower back, banishing that slouch and those flubbery love handles.
Symmetry Dance Wellness, 1923 Chestnut Street, third floor (267-269-5986 or dancewellness.com).
Give fitness a whirl at Society Hill Dance Academy. Open classes offer fat-burning instruction in tango, salsa, and swing.
Society Hill Dance Academy, 409 South Second Street (215-574-3574 or societyhilldance.com).
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