White Plains, NY Indoor Activities

When sensei Thomas Torpey threw his first kick 20 years ago, it was really the first step to becoming head instructor of Team Bullshark’s two martial arts schools. He began studying shotokan karate, but quickly expanded his repertoire into the realm of mixed martial arts, learning various other forms of striking and grappling. He found particular clarity in the psychological side of martial arts, and now teaches students not just exercise methods and self-defense, but also the ability to hone attitude, behavior, character, and x-ray vision.

Professor Erick Tavares—a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiujitsu—and his protégé Sensei Marcus also help students in Sensei Torpey’s classes. With all the classes that the schools offer, students can construct a comprehensive mixed martial arts curriculum that will prepare them to strike, grapple, and blend smoothies with a flurry of punches.

Like mounting an HDTV on a terra-cotta warrior, Excel Yoga blends the ancient and the modern, shepherding students of all experience levels through serene yoga sessions, sultry belly-dancing lessons, and high-energy kickboxing and boot-camp fitness classes. A sense of community weaves throughout the studio, from the eco-friendly bamboo flooring to courses that bring families into the fitness fold, such as Kids Yoga and Mommy & Me Yoga.

Beyond its slate of exercise classes, workshops deepen yogis’ relationship with various aspects of yoga. The Anatomy Workshop, for example, blends discussion and practice to explore how certain poses can relieve physical disorders. Excel Yoga even cultivates its own fleet of enthusiastic instructors through intensive teacher training that outfits prospective pedagogues with the knowledge, poses, and sweat-proof grade books they need to lead classes.

Psychic Botanica Anais draws on a wide range of tools for accessing the spiritual realm. The tidy shop's white walls frame shelves of more than 10,000 different botanical products, from candles bearing images of saints to holy water, perfumes, and love potions; they're physical manifestations of a realm where the will can be astoundingly powerful, the future can be known, and the magic 8-ball can be forced to speak its secrets aloud. Staff members, who speak English and Spanish, are versed in Afro-Caribbean traditions including Santeria and voodoo, and professional clairvoyant Belkis uses palm reading, tarot cards, and crystal balls to peer into clients' questions on love, money, family, and even past lives.

Harnessing a minimum of 500 hours of Yoga Alliance training, YogaWorks's expert instructors build lean muscles with traditional Ashtanga, Iyengar, and Vinyasa flows enhanced by inspiring music, ambient candlelight, meditation, and props. Their fitness classes further the body-shaping results of yoga, strengthening core muscles with Pilates, calming tense energies with tai chi, and building stamina with resistance-based SculptWorks. Instructors also host exotic yoga retreats, which marry the excitement of travel to far-away locales with the benefits of yoga to bestow students with the confident grace required to approach a foreign yoga mat without startling it.

The Yoga House's team of six certified yoga instructors strive to do more than just help their students achieve stronger, leaner bodies. Beyond the bodily health they work toward helping their clients cultivate, the staff emphasizes that the physical aspect of yoga is only one of the practice's benefits, and infuse their classes with meditation techniques to strengthen mindsets as well as muscles. Their studio further inspires this psyche-soothing notion, enveloping guests in dove gray tones, sparkling hardwood floors, and soft lighting, helping even the most distracted downward dogs center themselves during flowing Vinyasa sequences or while playing dead in savasana—easily the best way to earn a treat from a yoga partner.

For sensei Vanessa Solis, martial arts teaches more than just kicks and jabs––it opens a pathway for self-improvement. Through traditional Japanese shotokan karate, practitioners balance their mental and physical selves by practicing deep, strong stances; correct posture and alignment; stretching; sparring; and respecting their opponent. Solis not only enjoys practicing shotokan karate's linear movements but also teaching them to children, adults, and families in daily classes, organized by age and favorite Bruce Lee movie. Fitness-based cardio kickboxing and core-strength training sessions round out the class roster, tightening abs and inspiring a healthy sweat.