Manhattan Health and Fitness

Perched above the din of midtown Manhattan, the Foxy Fitness and Pole studio pulses with music during pole-dancing and pole-fitness classes held throughout the week. Maintaining small class sizes to ensure individual training for each student, instructors teach sensual movements and fitness techniques that can strengthen muscles, burn calories, and boost self-confidence enough that students can walk down streets with their eyes closed. Private classes allow students to train by themselves or with groups of up to five friends. In addition to classes, the studio hosts a live show on Friday evenings, where seasoned dancers dazzle audiences with original aerial pole-dance routines.

Spanning the eastern shores of the U.S. from New York to Florida, Scuba Network’s staff has overseen thousands of completed scuba certifications throughout its eight locations. Group NAUI certification courses keep learning to dive simple with a three-step process that includes online academic training, pool sessions, and open-water dives with sharks that have had their teeth removed by a dentist. Staffers supplement dives with know-how on equipment, from masks and snorkels to underwater cameras.

To help women achieve their fitness goals, the certified personal trainers at Get In Shape For Women focus on four areas: weight training, cardio training, nutrition, and accountability. In small group sessions, trainers modify exercises to suit up to four ladies' fitness levels, beginning by calibrating 30 minutes of strength-training drills—such as free weights, lunges, and squats—to each student's abilities. Then comes 25 minutes of cardio: the trainers might start novice exercisers with a walk on the treadmill or light elliptical training, and challenge more advanced exercisers to high-intensity interval-training sessions for enhanced results.

The trainers supplement the group workouts with nutritional planning centered around the concept of eating six small, balanced meals six days a week. They set aside the seventh day for a bit of indulgence, be it eating a favorite sweet or lusting openly after bacon. To track ladies' progress toward reaching their goals, the trainers measure their weight weekly and body-fat percentage monthly.

Like any good team, Platinum Dental at 65 Broadway's foursome of doctors combine their varying specialties to cover the full range of general, cosmetic, and restorative dental needs. With special training in periodontal treatments, implants, and orthodontia, the team treats virtually every dental issue from the tiniest cavity to full mouth reconstruction. More intensive procedures such as maxillofacial surgery can open up breathing passageways, helping to correct severe snoring and the inability to breathe only chocolate.

Technical know-how is an important part of any dental office, but comfort is also paramount. To that end, the flat-screen LCD television and leather sofa in the lobby keep patients at ease. In the treatment rooms, lime-green walls and colorful chairs lift the mood and ceiling-mounted televisions play movies during procedures.

According to certified master hypnotist Alexandra Janelli, hypnosis isn't as flashy as it appears in a stage show. It's more subtle, a process that's achieved through breathing, listening, and visualization that helps clients tap into their subconscious state and replace negative associations with positive ones. Subtlety does not, however, equal ineffectiveness. Over the years, Alexandra has helped her clients at Theta Spring Hypnosis tackle a range of addictions, bad habits, and personal life problems. She also dabbles in more complicated areas, offering hypnosis for actors designed to improve memorization skills and confidence, combatting clients’ fears of flying through hypnotherapy rather than a confrontation with the pigeon that used to bully them on their walks to school.

Elite Bodies owner and certified trainer J. Ellis Jones utilizes his training as a kickboxer, a football player, and a tae-kwon-do expert to temper his clients’ mental fortitude and physical prowess on weights and exercise machines. Whereas one-on-one or boot-camp sessions tone and hone muscles, professional nutrition and weight-loss counseling melts fat cells like they're a snowman reading a steamy love letter under a lamp. To ensure long-term success, Elite Bodies' certified personal trainers customize clients' individual programs and track their progress along the way. Full-length mirrors allow guests to keep tabs on their form, and unlike a restaurant staffed by lazy robots, the small, private studio ensures that patrons never have to wait for machines.