5 Valley Workouts & a Wellness Sanctuary Go Under the Microscope

Spinergy’s marketing declares that the audiovisual setup for its indoor cycling and yoga classes is designed by the same engineers who commissioned Sphere in Las Vegas. Suffice it to say I had high expectations when I walked into the Sherman Oaks studio.

I signed up for a yoga class at what turned out to be an amply sized, dimly lit room with an overhead projector that flashed large naturescape images (sunset, forest, etc.) onto the wall that participants faced during class. Over the course of the hourlong class, five different images were displayed while relaxing music played in the background. (A couple of classmates informed me that the cycling classes are more visually entertaining. They take riders on scenic journeys all over the world via fast-moving HD footage.)

While the tech component was a bit of a letdown, the class was not—largely due to the excellent instructor. In many, if not most, yoga classes, the instructor sits and watches participants in formations even if they are wildly—and sometimes dangerously—off-kilter. The instructor at Spinergy not only demonstrated everything at the front of the class, but he also interacted with participants, gently offering corrections. He also had a fun sense of humor. The scented cool towels available at the end of class were another positive.

I’m generally not a fan of hot yoga. Yoga is hard enough. Why introduce an uncomfortable amount of heat? That said, I really like YogaSix in Studio City. Don’t get me wrong—I avoid the classes that are 100°. The heat makes me feel like I am going to pass out. Plus I just don’t see the benefit. But YogaSix also offers classes where the heat is at a more tolerable level. The Restore class is set at 88°; it’s also slower moving with longer holds on poses. The more challenging Restore & Sculpt class is set between 90° and 95°, depending on teacher preference. In that class, participants exercise with hand weights.

A big positive here—I’ve had six different instructors, and all are top-notch, offering thoughtful pacing, good music and ample corrections. In our post-COVID world, one rarely experiences hands-on adjustments from instructors. Yet some still do at YogaSix—they always ask permission first—and I like it. Instructors are engaged and—with the kind of thoughtful yogaspeak that teachers tend to do—engaging.

One note: The space can be tight when classes are full. On those occasions I avoid setting up near shirtless men. In my experience they tend to inadvertently flick sweat. A final positive: Underground parking is easy.

The F45 fitness franchise offers 45-minute high-intensity interval training with barbells, ropes, rowing machines and more. In-studio trainers guide the workouts, while flat screens demonstrate the various activities. Actor Mark Wahlberg owns a minority stake in the company and is promoted as the face of the brand.

That is precisely why, when my husband joined F45 during the height of COVID, I was reluctant to accompany him. Although I’m in decent shape, I couldn’t imagine that a workout espoused by the muscular actor would work for me. But I wanted to get out of the house, so I capitulated.

I ended up liking F45—and went regularly for about two years. I’d estimate that most of the participants are under 40, with heavy attendance by the under-30 crowd. I was intimidated at first, but after a while I simply committed to going at my own pace with a weight level that worked for me. When I couldn’t do, say, 30 burpees in a row, or jump onto and off a 3-foot high box for an 8-minute interval, I just modified the move.

I like the brevity of a class that is under an hour, and I could see a distinct difference in my muscle tone after a few months. Some advice: Bring earbuds to drown out the painfully loud random sounds on their playlists that are blasted throughout. You don’t get too much from the trainers. (How could you with all the noise?) While friendly, they mostly walk around the gym and shout generic encouragement. “You are killing it, Linda!” A final word: Because you don’t get much in the way of corrections, proceed with caution. Unless you know what you are doing, as with all of these communal box gym high-intensity workouts, you could put yourself at risk of injury.

Salt therapy, which has been known to reduce stress, anxiety and inflammation and to improve sleep, has been around for ages. Halotherapy, offered by Valley Salt Cave in Woodland Hills, takes traditional salt therapy up a notch. During the treatment you recline on a “zero-gravity” chair in a dimly lit communal room. The walls are made from bricks of Himalayan salt; pebble-size salt covers the floor. As you kick back, for the first 10 minutes a guided meditation plays on the sound system, followed by instrumental music. All the while ground salt is aerialized with a machine called a “halo generator.” The equipment breaks down salt into fine particles to create a dry salt therapy environment. Valley Salt Cave co-owner Kari Shulman describes the miniscule particles as acting like a “toothbrush to the lungs,” helping with health issues like asthma, bronchitis and cough.

Treatments are also available in a private room or a massage room. You can request the add-on of having a sound therapist in on your session. Sound therapy uses sound frequencies and vibrations to promote physical, mental and emotional well-being. In fact, a sound therapist was there the day I had my treatment. She was conducting a session in the communal salt room for a family that was coping with a loved one’s death.

I found my entire 45-minute experience calming and relaxing. However, regardless of the health issue you are trying to address, more than one session is recommended to reap maximum health benefits.

After experiencing pain in my hip joints while sleeping, I started going to a physical therapy center in Encino. The facility does not allow patients to request a specific therapist, so each session started with a therapist asking the same generic question: “So what can we help you with today?” We’d then waste the first five minutes talking. Out of five sessions, only one PT actually touched me. Most of my half hour was spent with an electrical stimulation device taped to my hip and a hand massage gun—another waste; I have my own at home. The final 10 minutes were spent doing exercises with a PT trainee.

StretchLab, on the other hand, is all about physical contact. Choosing from a 25- or 50- minute session, you work with a stretch practitioner, or “flexologist,” in an attractively appointed communal room on a low, padded table. All of the practitioners have completed an accredited in-house training program, and had prior experience as a credentialed fitness or wellness practitioner. At the Encino outpost where I go (there are also branches in Studio City and Woodland Hills), the terrific flexologist I work with is studying for his doctorate in physical therapy; half of the practitioners there have a BS in kinesiology. Bottom line: It is evident from “hello” that they know what they are doing.

Flexologists customize routines for each session depending on a person’s goals. You’ll find patients who want to increase mobility and flexibility, decrease muscle aches, improve posture, and reduce recovery time. One lady I recently spoke to at StretchLab is just a firm believer in the health benefits of stretching—from better balance to sleep. Speaking of sleep, I’ve been going once a week for about three months (I’ve also committed to daily exercises recommended by my flexologist), and I’ve noticed a reduction in night pain as well as an additional bonus: an uptick in my ability to stretch during yoga.