San Antonio Indoor Activities

Professional bobsled teams shave seconds off their time by breathing in unison and leveraging flexibility during turns. Master the techniques necessary for defeating hardened gangs of bobsled criminals with today's deal for new clients: $40 for a five-class pass ($85 value) plus two free classes (given to every new client at the studio) at Nydia's Yoga Therapy, a studio that specializes in merging yoga with physical therapy for wellness and preventing future injuries sustained at American Gladiators auditions.

Students of all skill and experience levels flock to the tranquil Alamo Heights studio to stretch, sweat, and strengthen together under the influence of highly-skilled teachers. Studio A: Pilates offers low-impact core-conditioning classes in the Fletcher style of Pilates to help workouteers reach healthy fitness levels, tone and lengthen their muscles, increase their flexibility, and twist away their tension. During the four-week introductory series, students learn the fundamentals of Fletcher alignment techniques, Percussive Breathing™, basic mat work, and Fletcher Towelwork®, with each class introducing new challenging moves to keep workouts fresh and fun. Class sizes are kept small to ensure that all students—even middle children wearing hand-me-down capris—receive individualized attention.

Greek immigrant Louis Santikos founded his first movie theater in San Antonio in 1911, when silent moving pictures of train robberies and slapstick comedy were an exciting novelty. Today, the thriving regional theater empire continues the family tradition of dazzling audiences with attractions such as IMAX sensory journeys.

Santikos's expansive theaters house up to 19 screens of first-run cinematic entertainment at some locations. Equipped with popcorn and sodas, moviegoers can nervously munch and sip their way through every pulse-pounding car chase, tragic missed connection, or gripping montage of drying paint. Screenings in 3-D of select films are brought to life by the gloriously immersive illuminations of Xpand 3-D projectors.

Before rushing into full-fledged competition, players at Oak Hills Lanes hone their craft with pay-as-you-go practice shots. By detecting which pins need to topple, pinsetters enable patrons to score tricky spares as they rehearse for real games or when they must knock down a neighbor's tacky lawn ornaments. Once they've warmed their throwing arms, they face off against comrades during open hours. In addition to bites such as pizza and burgers, the snack bar's cooks sling tacos, enchiladas, and even pancakes. Such noshes fuel bowlers of all ages and skill levels at various fall leagues, but soda and ice cream serve as the main power source during all-inclusive parties.

Judo is one of the grappling arts, which means that it has no strikes and uses no weapons, unlike karate or tae kwon do. Judo was developed in 1882 by Jigoro Kano as a comprehensive method of physical education, and it continues to provide exercise, entertainment, and self-defense knowledge today. For fun or competition, Universal Judo provides instruction and enjoyment to practitioners of all skill levels and ages. Call ahead to schedule your first visit.

Bikram Yoga San Antonio's instructors like to remind their students that for every expert yogi, there was a first class. They hold on to this humble philosophy at three studios, where high temperatures help both old hands and newcomers stay limber. The staff cautions their students against aiming for perfection during the 90-minute courses; instead maintaining that, by simply trying each of the 26 postures and two breathing exercises, bodies and minds achieve the maximum benefit.

To highlight the value of consistent practice, they encourage visitors to take the 60-day challenge, which charges students to attend one class every day for 60 days. Those who accomplish this task are immortalized by writing their name on the Challenge Wall, which doubles as the police force's superhero directory. The studios also honor individuals in their class community with the yogi of the month feature, a series of interviews with students about their Bikram yoga practice.