Don't sweat it
New fitness studio stretches hot workout trend to Dallas' Victory Park

A new workout studio that extols the benefits of "passive" rather than "active" exercise has opened in Dallas' Victory Park. Kika Stretch Studios debuted May 11 inside WeWork at 3090 Olive St., in front of the American Airlines Center.
The studio is home to the Kika Method, "a form of passive stretching in which an external force exerts upon the limb to move it into the new position," the company explains in a release. It is operated by franchisees Erin and Whitney Youngblood — practitioners themselves.
“The benefits of the Kika Method are mental clarity, improved posture, decreased stress, enhanced performance, improved flexibility, and much more,” the owners say in the release.
At the studio, stretch coaches are highly trained in special techniques of unlocking flexibility. Each client is measured and receives a “stretch age” that tells them how old they are in Kika’s stretch years, which is tracked over time as they achieve more flexibility.
Sessions last 24, 45, or 60 minutes. Even in a 25-minute session, most of the body's major muscles can be stretched, they say. And there are specialized workouts for women, men, and athletes.
Unlike high-impact exercises, assisted stretching and muscle relaxation is a slow and deliberate process designed to help people move with ease, reduce stress, improve flexibility, or release tension, they say.
Stretching is an emerging workout trend, different from Pilates and Yoga practices. A few other fitness studios devoted to stretching have opened around Dallas-Fort Worth recently, including Stretch Zone, with locations in Dallas, Plano, Southlake, and Fort Worth.
Kika was created and founded by dancer-actress Hakika Wise, who, in 2011, used her $500 tax return to start the business. It took $350 to rent a shared space in a gym and $150 to print marketing materials to spread the word. "Without the funds to hire help, she stood solo on the street, handing out fliers and offering one free stretching session to everyone she spoke with," the company says.
There now are seven Kika studios in New Jersey and New York. The Dallas location is the first in Texas.
“We are so excited to expand Kika Stretch Studio’s footprint in the town of Dallas, and the state of Texas, as a whole,” the owners say.
Workouts are done by appointment only; for more information on pricing and booking a session, visit the website.