orget the brow-knitting grimness of the traditional feel-the-burn, hurt-so-good approach to fitness. As American exercisers work longer hours, with less free time, the fitness industry has noticed that its clients are more than just bodies in need of overhaul; they're also minds in need of relief.

Enter what the American Council on Exercise calls "the mind-body connection." The theory is to soothe the modern mind while healing the often-neglected body--a trend evidenced by the soaring popularity of yoga and martial arts.

But while fitness professionals deliver on the council's prediction that they "will focus more on the whole person, coaching their clients on overall wellness and stress reduction," everyone's got a different idea of how to do it. For Crunch Fitness, whose core clientele from New York to Los Angeles consists of young, fit, affluent urban professionals, the new word in fitness is fun. A roster of "silly" classes, from Circus Trapeze to Urban Stick Fighting, seeks to entertain minds while toning bodies.

For the older set, whose time is precious and whose entertainment needs are less, facilities like California's Club One strive to serve 40-something members with "serious" trainers who have multidisciplinary certifications in fitness, nutrition, and wellness.

And those who want to tone their minds when their bodies can't leave the cubicle can go to the Web sites of popular health clubs, like 24-Hour Fitness, whose interactive question-and-answer section facilitates distance learning for members.

Visually, health clubs might still display studios and rows of exercise machines. But behind the scenes is a bold new philosophy with ancient roots.

"Bringing the mental, emotional, and physical aspects of the individual into harmony," says renowned yoga instructor Rodney Yee, is the way to "liberate the human being." It's not a bad way to get a killer bod, either.

--Jordana Willner is a writer in San Francisco