SWE AT BETTER

SOULCYCLE

The low-lit environment makes riders feel less self-conscious, says Adam Hildebrand, an instructor at Toronto’s King Street location, which allows them to focus inward. “The mental component comes from pushing yourself through challenging resistance and complicated choreography.” There is also a location in Vancouver’s Yaletown.

2.0 TORONTO

This organization holds conferences that founder Julian Ho calls the “TED Talks of fitness.” “The physical and mental are inseparable,” he says, referencing mechanotransduction—how cells translate mechanical movement into electro- and biochemical activity—as evidence of this approach.

SCHULLHOUSE ROWING

The Toronto studio offers a Row & Flow class, which combines rowing with Vinyasa yoga. “Any repetitive motion can be meditative,” says studio owner Kristin Jeffery. “The added element of the group dynamic limits the mental pressure of counting strokes. The group (and the instructor) pulls the individual along; you can just turn off the brain.”