He purchased a massage clinic 3 years ago and now he’s opening 2 new businesses to improve your health
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AMMON – With school back in session, cooler temperatures are coming and that means less time spent being active outdoors. But a new business opening in Ammon wants to help you remain fit all year round.
Yoga London and Flip & Twist are two separate businesses opening inside the old Dress Barn store.
Yoga London is a yoga studio offering a variety of classes for people of all ages. Flip & Twist is a gymnastics facility focusing on ninja warrior classes and other recreational classes for the entire family.
Yoga London
“We’re the first hot studio to come to the area. So that means we’ll have hot yoga. It’ll be about 95 degrees, 40 percent humidity,” Yoga London Manager Zila Hillgrove tells EastIdahoNews.com. “Twenty-six poses and two breathing techniques will be done in a 75-minute hot class.”
The purpose of hot yoga is to increase your sweat, which boosts the body’s detoxification process, says Hillgrove.
“The heat also helps to warm up your muscles so that you can go into deeper stretches and bigger range of movement,” she says.
The studio offers other yoga classes, including kids and teen yoga, family yoga and a specialty prenatal class for expectant mothers.
“Yoga helps with stress and anxiety — just being able to calm down. Linking your breath with the movement is what makes yoga different than any other exercise because you’re not only giving your body a workout, but your mind is also getting the relaxation and rest it needs, too,” Hillgrove says.
Yoga London is partnering with Flip & Twist next door to bring activities the whole family can do year-round.
Flip & Twist
Unlike many gymnastics facilities, Flip & Twist will offer recreational gymnastics that focuses on a style of gymnastics called parkour.
Parkour training was developed in France in the early 1900s during World War I to train soldiers to get across streams, trees and other obstacles in the most efficient way possible.
“A gymnast has to do things the way the judges say or they get deductions (in points),” Flip & Twist Manager Ted Wadley says. “In ninja warrior and parkour activities, there are other styles of obstacles that really require a lot of the same strength and coordination, but in just a little more interesting, creative way of moving that gives them license to invent their own skills.”
But Flip & Twist is not training athletes to compete.
“Our passion is to help kids learn to be active and do healthy activities with their family,” Wadley says. “Almost every active, young family with children has watched the show ‘American Ninja Warrior’ and knows the obstacles. We’ll have those kinds of obstacles in our gym that we can train them on.”
Flip & Twist will offer about 45 different types of gymnastics classes, but for the first three weeks of operation will be heavily focused on just two: a beginning level ninja warrior program called Ninja Green and a beginning level recreational gymnastics program called Gymnastics all around.
Getting the business started
Favad Malik, the owner of the two businesses, currently resides in Park City, Utah. He moved there from London, England when he and his wife purchased Massage Envy in Ammon around the corner in 2016.
He says opening the exercise places seemed like a natural extension of the massage and skin care services provided at Massage Envy.
“Today, it’s all about looking after yourself and your family and loved ones,” Malik says. “I have people who come into Massage Envy who don’t (take advantage of our services) because they have nowhere to drop off their kids. So it’s always been an idea in my mind to provide (a place for those kids to go) at a location nearby.”
Malik says they also instruct clients at Massage Envy to go home and stretch to help their body heal. Having a yoga studio gives them a place that’s close to put that into practice.
“It all came together about 18 months ago and luckily the location is ideal. It’s the same landlord I have at Massage Envy. It just made business sense to do something very close,” he says.
The three businesses will work together in enhancing wellness in the community, Malik says, and if everything goes well he’d like to expand the business to other locations.
“The main thing is just having a place that can showcase the talent in town, be that a yoga instructor or a coach,” says Malik. “My focus is trying to get the right people to be a part of this business and liberate them to provide the service that we know all clients here deserve.”
Yoga London and Flip & Twist share an entrance and will both be offering free demo classes to the public during a soft opening Thursday, Sept. 5.
Yoga London will be open seven days a week with classes beginning at 5:30 a.m. daily. The last class will begin at 8:30 p.m. Cost of a membership will be $75 a month for the first 100 customers and $99 a month for every customer thereafter.
Flip & Twist will offer classes from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. They’re currently offering a pre-opening family rate for $99 a month or $125 a month, depending on what services you want. The $99 membership gives every member of your family one class a week. The $125 membership is unlimited.
A grand opening for both places will take place on Saturday, Sept. 21.
“Come in. See the equipment. See the coaches. See what kinds of programs we’re offering and ask questions,” Wadley says.
Yoga London and Flip & Twist is at 3019 South 25th East in Ammon. To learn more, visit Yoga London and Flip & Twist online.