Shy children: What’s normal and what you can do

Children’s birthday parties typically offer a bird’s-eye view of the broad spectrum of human temperaments. You’ll likely see socially bold kids, vying to be first in line for the piñata; socially comfortable yet milder-mannered kids, who prefer to exuberantly observe the piñata mayhem; and socially reticent children, who hang way back and mutely shake their […]

Raising the barre: New downtown studio aims to make fitness more approachable

It’s easy to make assumptions about boutique fitness studios. And before she moved to Charlottesville from D.C., barre.[d] studio owner Hanna Dobbels found a lot of those assumptions to be true—workout classes were pricey and exclusive, and not entirely welcoming environments for anyone who wasn’t a size two with an extensive Lululemon wardrobe. “My whole […]

Seeing fit: From 28 to 76, six locals living healthy

As you age, maintaining your health becomes more and more like a game of Whac-A-Mole: Exit the footloose and fancy-free 20s and suddenly you’re worried about your reproductive health and abnormal sleep patterns. Get past menopause and then it’s time to concentrate on the threat of high blood pressure or diabetes. In other words, there’s […]