Deep Breaths to Success

Kika Stretch Studios teaches people how to "just be." But its founder, Kika Wise, was running herself ragged. That's when she decided to try franchising.

- MADELINE GARFINKLE

A professional dancer by  trade, Kika Wise has always been a believer in the importance of releasing tension while not asking your body to "do anything." But in the fitness industry, that made her an outlier. "Everyone's putting their bodies through so much, trying to get toned, but not thinking, How can I reset my body so that I can continue being active for the rest of my life?" So in 2008, with $500 in capital, she started her own practice in Bloomfield, New Jersey. She took a dancer's approach to stretching, with a twist, and dubbed it the "Kika Method."