Nashville Health and Fitness

Lilac Healing Center is staffed by a diverse group of trained therapists who improve their clients’ physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Founded by licensed massage therapist Kathryn McDaniel, Lilac Healing Center slowly grew out of a series of other businesses—what began simply in 2002 as a place where people went to get a massage became a destination for all kinds of healing services. Today, the staffers not only perform bodywork and therapeutic yodeling, but they also provide acupuncture, energy work, and custom vitamin programs. In addition, the center hosts a multitude of both private and group yoga, Pilates, and meditation classes.

Created by fitness trainer and life coach Dr. John Spencer Ellis, and conducted by ISSA certified trainer Josh Allen, the Nashville Adventure Boot Camp program shepherds women to physical fitness with motivational workout regimens and nutritional counseling. Before the camp starts, trainers take your measurements and body-fat percentage before hopping into a curious pod, leaping into the future, and comparing them to those of the trimmer post-camp you. In the interim, the four-week workout regimen cycles through circuit training, jogging, kickboxing, and yoga to surprise and challenge muscles. During inclement weather and unforeseen renaissance festivals, sessions move into a 10,000-square-foot heated and air-conditioned facility, complete with showers and bathrooms.

At the age of three, an age when most kids are honing their recipe for Play-Doh spaghetti, Danika Miles was perfecting her dance moves. She competed with the River Cities Dance Company, minored in dance at Marshall University, and went on to earn an MBA so that she could share her passion with others. Finally, she founded BareFeet Studios, a facility with two dance spaces and sprung-wood floors. Within BareFeet, Danika and fellow instructors lead student—as young as three to adults—in dance forms such as ballet, hip-hop, and tap. They also offer open-level yoga, Zumba, Pilates, and fitness boot camps.

Students with years of experience can audition for BareFeet Studios' senior company, which performs at benefits, charity events, and conventions with other professional dance companies. The studio additionally hosts an annual spring concert, birthday parties, and private lessons.

Koko FitClub’s automated personal-training system rockets both men and women toward fitness goals with 30-minute custom workouts that incorporate cardio and strength training. An initial consultation determines fitness level and baseline measurements, which Koko’s computerized equipment uses to design a tailored workout plan that precisely measures the weight, pace, and rest time appropriate for each exerciser.

The patented Smartraining machines guide exercisers through each workout and adapt as the user’s fitness needs change, to constantly challenge the body. Exercisers can track their results and body composition measurements online and even compare individual fitness levels to others in the Koko FitClub community.

Dr. Clayton C. Cummings, DDS, wants his patients to smile when they leave Advanced Dental Health Center, whether it is because they feel relaxed, confident about their teeth, or both. He specializes in cosmetic dentistry and has bolstered his degree from the University of Tennessee’s College of Dentistry with more than 850 hours of continuing education, including training in orthodontics, geriatric dental care, implant dentistry, and dental crowns. In addition to offering their expertise, he and his staff try to make their office feel so accommodating and enjoyable that patients might even forget they're at the dentist—a dedication to hospitality that conjures the image of a concierge cleaning a guest's teeth in a posh hotel lobby. To accomplish this pervasively welcoming atmosphere, the naturally lit treatment rooms are furnished with flat-screen TVs and warm wall decor, and the waiting area features cushy lounge chairs near an end table topped with homey lamps.

The founders of Fahrenheit Yoga Studio know that heat is a powerful agent of change. Here, layers of stress and self-doubt melt away as students stretch and balance in temperatures of 100 degrees or higher. Instead of warming the air with the fumes of a docile dragon, the studio uses far-infrared rays to heat the body directly. In addition to deepening stretches, the torrid temperature helps students to sweat out toxins. An air-exchange system refreshes the room with fresh oxygen, which is pumped through the body during yoga exercises to promote health and vitality. To help to prevent injuries, eco-friendly cork floors cushion joints during carefully crafted pose sequences that are taught by certified instructors with a focus on proper alignment. Suitable for yogis of all levels, the routines can boost flexibility and make the mind sharper than a nettle wearing a diamond tiara.