Nebraska Guide and Deals

Since 1977, the Omaha Yoga School (OYS) has been molding clients into loose-limbed fitness fans, expanding its base of classical and Vinyasa flow classes to include Hyp-Yoga, which combines yoga with hypnosis to achieve top-notch results that won’t temporarily transform participants into clucking chickens. OYS recognizes that the body must be taken care of, but the mind and spirit are also important pieces of the complex long-division formula that is fitness. By teaching ancient yoga techniques in a non-competitive and intimate atmosphere, OYS produces practical results that improve daily living and snowball-dodging skills. Experienced instructors who were enamored with their Stretch Armstrongs at an early age lead small classes that strengthen the core and firm limbs, which will undoubtedly bait jealous glares from trees. Call ahead to schedule your first session at Omaha Yoga School.

When it was originally built as the Riviera in 1927, The Rose Theater played host to vaudeville skits, stage acts, and feature films in opulent surroundings of murals, oriental rugs, and a ceiling decorated with electric stars and clouds. However, the stock-market crash of 1929 forced the theater’s sale, bouncing it from owner to owner until Rose Blumkin and her family saved it from a giant wielding a wrecking ball as a mace. Renovated to its former glory, the theater is now a place where professional stage productions and drama courses give children the chance to enjoy and participate in the arts of the stage.

Nearly 50 years old and recognized as one of the Best Zoos for Kids by Parents magazine, the Lincoln Children's Zoo continues to foster an exciting educational atmosphere that encourages kids to interact firsthand with their furry, scaly, and leafy neighbors. There's already an ample, varied herd of animals that will be joined by the rare Humboldt penguins—the zoo is one of only 16 zoos nationwide to feature the warm-climate tuxedoed birds—and the mischievous squirrel monkeys. Curious kids and professional petters will want to flock to the hands-on exhibits. Feed a llama from your hand and listen closely for his penny-stock tips at the Firsthand Farm, or watch a friendly ZooCrew handler parade small creatures before youngsters at Critter Encounter. Because plants and animals are still reconciling creative differences, you can visit bodacious buds separately at the nearby botanical gardens, where a wide variety of plant species bedeck their expansive green areas.

Sempeck's Bowling & Entertainment throws open its doors and beckons fun seekers inside an expansive facility to steer go-karts down an indoor track, bob and weave in a two-story laser-tag arena, and bowl on lanes that transform into cosmic-themed extravaganzas every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday night. Inside the fun factory lies a video-game arcade equipped with skee-ball, crane games, and prizes for anyone who can slay the three-headed prize guard. After fierce competitions, high-definition TVs and frosty beverages await players in the Sparetime Sports Bar & Restaurant, an in-house eatery that hosts karaoke every Friday night.

With one foot planted in traditional martial-arts pedagogy and the other roundhouse-kicking modern sports science, Tiger Rock Academy schools limbs with fast-paced, total-body fitness classes. The health-and-fitness program consists of YogaFit and Kisado, which blends martial arts, yoga, and nutritional counseling to build up the whole body and tone each strand of hair on the head. Martial arts classes for adults and kids cover counter aggressive forms such as taekwondo, jiu-jitsu and hanmudo, a style based on grappling and takedowns.

Owners Tataya and Thomas Radtke originally began Yoga Body & Balance in the living room of their home. Since then, they have expanded to new location with enough space to host the studio's eclectic assortment of yoga classes and bodywork treatments. Having studied Hatha, Ashtanga, and Anusara yoga, Tataya supervises varied sessions for a range of ages and skill levels, from gentle, introspective styles to vigorous, athletically based classes. This extensive range of opportunities allows students of various flexibilities to pursue a style that corresponds with the desired realism of their Gumby Halloween costume.

In addition to yoga, the center also treats visitors with various types of bodywork, such as Thai massage, Lakota raindrop technique, and sustained bear hugs. Alongside acupuncture sessions with a licensed therapist, these treatments work to target the symptoms of physical pain while also addressing the energetic imbalances believed to cause them.