New Providence, NJ Health and Fitness

Arthur Murray Dance Studio has been a leading name in franchise dance since 1912, when the entrepreneur began selling mail-order dance lessons. Expanding his reach, he enlisted teachers to spread his signature dance lessons on first-class steamships and skyrocketed to fame in the '30s after introducing the public to such dances as the Lambeth Walk and the Big Apple. By the 1950s, Arthur and his wife, Kathryn, were hosting their own highly popular TV show on ABC, the Arthur Murray Dance Party, which ran for 12 years. Today, Arthur Murray's team prepares students for rug cutting at special events and weekend nightclub jaunts. Clients who arrive to lessons partnerless will be paired up with other classmates as the instructors assess their current skill level and make recommendations on the most appropriate program. Throughout lessons, instructors teach the foundations of two to four dances from a long list of styles that range from Latin to country-western, helping students to learn basic step patterns, timing, and the ability to lead or follow.

Winner of more than 100 mixed-martial-arts competitions, Tiger Schulmann shares his pride and love for fighting and self-defense with both adults and children in gyms across five states. From first-time grapplers to expert muay thai fighters, students of all fitness and experience levels are welcome to dive into a class at Schulmann’s. At more than 47 locations, adults can take classes in kickboxing, MMA, and jujitsu—the last of which instills students with the skill and confidence to take down opponents of any size, strength, or telekinetic ability. Kids, meanwhile, can learn martial arts for fun, or gain useful experience in bully prevention; the kids’ classes help victims immediately identify and safely diffuse situations when pitted against an aggressor.

Within the salt caves at Respira Salt Wellness Center, clients sit back on recliners and read as a dry mist of rich salt minerals helps clear the airways in customizable environments. In addition to relaxation sessions, the center also offers other restorative services inside the salt rooms, including Swedish, deep tissue, and Thai massages, reiki treatments, and guided meditation. Their private yoga sessions combine slow stretches and deep breaths with modified poses such as downward-facing sugar cube. Respira Salt Wellness Center also maintains a salt room for children, where kids up to 10 years old play with toys like they're at a beach made of salt. Parents observe as children take in the salt-infused air, helping mitigate sinus inflammation, congestion, and allergies.

Enlightenment means many things to many people. To some, an epiphany can be learning a new Vulcan word, and then using it in a sentence. But to Buddhists, enlightenment is a constant state of being. Dakini—the tantric deity for whom this Warren-based dance studio is named—is typically considered to be the female manifestation of just that perpetual enlightened energy. In Sanskrit, the word Dakini can also mean "sky dancer."

Dakini Movement founder Jeanine Caparoso trained as a yoga instructor before learning of the Dakini deity. Her studies on this emblem of femininity inspired her to explore pole dancing as a mode of empowerment. Today, Jeanine joins a team of similarly passionate instructors in leading classes that inspire women of all shapes to feel sensual in their given skin.

Visitors to Pearly Whites enjoy a departure from the staid interior of traditional dentists. Mint-green walls add a cheery tone to a waiting room decked out with flat-screen televisions and bean bag–style seats. Drs. Michael Skolnick and Brooke Skolnick also have pleasantly unorthodox ideas about dental technology. The husband-and-wife team corrects conditions with a Waterlase dental laser and a single-tooth anesthesia system, allowing them to completely avoid needles and drills. In each treatment room, televisions serve as pleasant distraction during cleanings. Ornate, sea-urchin-like chandeliers cast a glow across dark-stained hardwood floors and a gaming room.

The Summit Area YMCA with its Berkeley Heights location and the Madison Area YMCA serve as community gathering places where principles are put into practice. The cause-driven organizations focus on healthy living, social responsibility, and youth development. The Learning Circle (Summit Area) and the F.M. Kirby Children's Center (Madison Area) take care of babies as young as 6 weeks old, and babysitting services afford parents the opportunity to explore the Y while childcare professionals watch little ones.

The Y also aims to keep kids and their families healthy with sports leagues, youth sports clinics, group fitness classes, and a fitness center equipped with a climbing wall, Olympic free-weight room, and a pool. All of the Y’s programs are accessible to everyone, regardless of their ability to pay or perform a back handspring.