Oxford, CT Health and Fitness

Wendy Traskos's career as a pole-dancing icon began with one fateful spin. Impressed by the strength of self-expression she glimpsed in accomplished pole-dancers, she tried the art for herself and was hooked immediately, so much so she has been honing her spinning skills for 16 years. Now a self-taught professional, she channels her background as a certified personal trainer and gymnast to enhance her routines. Wendy’s fitness knowledge landed her celebrity clients, including Montel Williams and Mary J. Blige, and her proficiency on the pole led Germany's version of America's Next Top Model to feature her as a dancing expert.

At NY Pole studios, Wendy passes on her spiraling prowess through her original Climb and Spin method. She believes that students should build a foundation of muscle and a repertoire of techniques as they progress to more advanced pole tricks, which require them to shed all rock-climbing gear. Her classes accommodate varying skill levels with choreographed routines, motivating participants to practice recently learned grips, climbs, and transitions. The studios also offer fitness classes, private parties, and workshops led by guest instructors such as Cleo “The Hurricane,” also known as Miss Pole Dance Australia.

Along with providing classy urbanites with a pastoral setting of forested hills, treacherous water traps, and the scenic Moosup River, the Foster Country Club offers a full 18-hole, par 72 course for your golf-cart-rampaging pleasure. Players of all skill levels can get in on the action, but every golfer should beware of the approach to the elevated green on hole 6, the double dogleg on hole 12, and the resident troll beneath the covered bridge.

NYC Dental Associates calms canines and mellows molars with its gentle and effective cleaning services. Get mouth-soldiers in line with an exam from one of NYC Dental Associates' experienced dentists. Chompers are examined for hygiene and alignment, and then scraped and hosed down during a rigorous cleaning. To ensure that no dental lice are hiding under the bedsheets of your enamel, NYC Dental Associates will conduct a full-mouth x-ray exam, as well as a cosmetic consultation to determine if your bite-bullets would benefit from cosmetic bonding, implants, fillings, veneers, whitening, inlays, or onlays. At the end of your visit, you and your teeth will be left refreshed, revitalized, and ready to take on whatever hard candy life throws at you.

The professionals at Xpert Dental focus on cosmetic dentistry, helping clients put their best face forward with blazingly bright smiles. Before faces are fitted for a mouth-enhancing shine, a comprehensive oral exam is given to make sure morsel manglers are in top condition, while giving gums and other oral tissues a thorough checkup ($150). After the thorough glancing, the dentist will take plastic molds of your teeth, which are then filled with Nite White whitening agent before insertion ($525). Like the superstitious socks of hockey players, the molds need to be worn for an hour a day for three or more days, depending on the dentist's recommendation and the desired level of whitening. In a few moons, patients are likely to notice a lightening of staining resultant from medicines; smoking; drinking wine, tea, and coffee; and normal darkening through wear and tear. As an added bonus, Groupon purchasers will receive 25% off any additional cosmetic dental work.

Self-improvement is a highly personalized goal that can take any number of approaches to achieve. Satya Yoga & Pilates attempts to incorporate as many of these approaches as possible, giving students the means to relieve stress, become more physically fit, or bolster their holistic well-being. There, students can design their own well-rounded workout regimen that emphasizes physical as well as mental health through yoga, dance, and Pilates instruction.

The yoga classes exemplify this flexibility through dynamic Vinyasa lessons that link poses to create seamlessly flowing sequences as well as gentler workouts that emphasize deeper, controlled stretching. Regardless of style, advanced yoga lessons continue to challenge attendees by introducing inverted poses, breathing techniques, and sudden-death overtime. The dance classes adopt a similarly broad approach, using belly dance and Zumba choreography to create cardio-intensive workouts or guiding students through the basic steps of international ballroom styles. Although Pilates focuses a bit more on building core strength, the sessions also emphasize the importance of measured breathing and controlled, mindful movements.

To earn a black belt in Krav Maga—the official self-defense system of the Israeli defense forces—Dr. Michael Blitz studied under the style's foremost experts, including Grandmaster Haim Zut and U.S. Chief Instructor Darren Levine. After more than 16 years of practice and 500 hours of instructor training, he was eager and willing to pass on the techniques to others. He has trained elite security personnel in New Zealand, taught at multiple correctional facilities. Under his supervision, only nationally and internationally certified instructors helm Krav Maga classes at KMLI (Kombat Masters of Long Island). Dr. Blitz's impressive resumé underscores the real-life relevancy of his class curriculum. Grouped by skill level, the Krav Maga lessons condition physiques as they impart self-defense strategies, emphasizing explosive and decisive maneuvers. The techniques are meant to guard against single, multiple, armed, and unarmed assailants, a goal that rallies Blitz and his team to raise the empowering cry, "Refuse to be a victim."