Things to Do in Nashville

Minty-green and cool-blue walls set off by polished hardwood floors create a serene setting for reformer- and mat-based workouts led by Pilates instructor Shana Wilson Doyle, who spent nearly a decade honing her Stott Pilates skills. Group mat classes vary in difficulty to help practitioners of all fitness levels protect their precious caramel centers by building tough abdominal shells. Specialty Pilates equipment, such as the reformer and the tower, enhance private and semi-private sessions, where Shana guides students through efficient resistance moves and can provide clients with more personalized attention.

Inflated structures, slides, and games fill the climate-controlled environs of BounceU of Nashville's location. Staff members closely monitor all activities as little ones traverse obstacle courses or pull on oversized inflatable boxing gloves. The crew also invites parents to join in on the fun, letting them bounce alongside their kids or make sweeping edicts from atop a bouncy-castle throne.

In addition to open sessions, the indoor play haven sets the stage for Daily Create and Bounce Summer Camps programs that teach art lessons and group activities. Special events include parent's night out, which lets parents spend an evening away from their kids, and cosmic bounce, which turns the facility into a black-lit arena to illuminate any lost socks.

Xtend Barre's founder, Andrea Rogers, has traveled the world as a professional dancer, sharing the stage with celebrities such as Enrique Iglesias and Aaron Carter along the way. Once she slowed her pace a bit, a second career path emerged: fitness instruction. As a certified Pilates teacher, she witnessed how focused, floor-based isometrics could sculpt muscles as long and flexible as a dachshund doing a gymnastics routine. However, these exercises didn't always raise the heart rate enough to provide a cardiovascular workout. Disappointed, she began to experiment. Lo and behold, when the moves were flipped upright, she could pair them with dance elements, which solved the heart-rate problem and added a dose of excitement. Barre exercises from her ballet training became a staple of the routine, helping to stretch and strengthen the body from the inside out. In addition to burning calories and enhancing coordination, the music-fueled workouts can be tailored to suit new exercisers, injured athletes, and moms-to-be.

Fairways on Spencer Creek's player-friendly course takes duffers careening across 2,632 yards of water-kissed fairways for a nine-hole pin-hunting exhibition. The petite par 33 caters to players working on their short game with four par 3s and four par 4s, and the 463-yard par 5 fifth hole ensures drivers and 3-woods don’t consider collectively bargaining for more shifts out of the bag. PGA-certified aces shake rust off swings with private and small-group lessons, and a putting green helps putters calibrate their strokes before rounds.

Course at a Glance:

• Nine-hole, par 33 course
• Length of 2,632 yards from the farthest tees
• Course rating of 64.3 from the farthest tees (adjusted for 18-hole round)
• Slope rating of 112 from the farthest tees (adjusted for 18-hole round)

When walking into Glow Yoga & Wellness, the peaceful atmosphere is the first thing you notice. Leafy green plants and flowers blossom from planters, and the sun slants onto the walls, which are inscribed with inspirational quotes. This soothing exercise and wellness center is focused on helping its clients heal and rejuvenate from the inside out, and offers Vinyasa yoga, Zumba, and Pilates, as well as massage, facials, and red light therapy to stimulate collagen production. Within the soothing sanctuary, members gather to take yoga and painting workshops, receive Reikei energy treatments, and support and encourage each other along the journey to wellness.

Laughter fills the air as kids zip down slides and caper about a jungle of wall-to-wall inflatables and obstacle courses within Monkey Joe’s play center. Kids 12 and under romp throughout the air-conditioned playscape’s obstacles, and tykes 3 and under stretch their imaginations on the softer and smaller attractions in the toddler play area. An orchestra of electronic beeps fills the arcade, and the scents of savory pizza waft from a concessions stand. Colorful balloons and cakes pack party rooms, where birthday boys and girls unwrap presents and brand-new imaginary friends.

Safety is paramount to Monkey Joe’s. The play areas are always supervised by the trained staff, and as little ones frolic, a child security system tracks visitors through identity bracelets and video monitoring. These safety measures—combined with the use of FDA-certified cleaning solutions—put parents at ease as they relax in the adult lounge, where they can catch their favorite shows on flat-screen TVs or browse the Internet for ways to pimp their minivans.