If you’re new to Pilates or the reformer, we recommend beginning with our Balance class. It’s designed to introduce you to Pilates principles, reformer basics, and safe movement patterns.

If you’ve taken Pilates before or feel confident on the reformer, you may be ready for Build. Your instructor can help guide you to the best fit based on your experience and goals.

Most likely—YES!

Pilates is incredibly adaptable, which means the same movement can often be supported, modified, or progressed depending on the person doing it. You might come to Pilates wanting to build strength, move with less discomfort, improve balance and mobility, support an active lifestyle, reconnect with your body, or simply find a form of movement you actually enjoy.

At Pure Balance, you’ll find people of different ages, body sizes, experience levels, and physical abilities practicing alongside one another. You’re not expected to keep up with the person next to you or arrive already knowing what you’re doing.

You just have to start where you are. We’ll meet you there.

Not at all. And if we’re being technical, you already have a body—so you’re already in a shape.

We know what people usually mean when they ask this, though: Do I need to be strong, flexible, coordinated, or physically fit before I walk through the door? Absolutely not.

You don’t need to prepare for Pilates by getting better at Pilates first. You come as you are, and things like strength, mobility, balance, coordination, and confidence are things we build together over time.

You may not be able to do every exercise the first time you try it—and no one expects you to. There will always be options, opportunities to rest, and plenty of room to learn.

Your body doesn’t need to meet a certain standard before it deserves to move.

Private sessions are great if you’re completely new, have injuries, or are feeling nervous about class.

They allow for one-on-one attention and can help you build confidence before joining group classes.

You’re still welcome here! Many of our clients come to Pilates while navigating injuries, chronic pain, hypermobility, joint replacements, or other physical considerations.

Please let your instructor know about anything that may affect your movement before class begins. Our instructors are trained to offer options and modifications to help you find movements that feel appropriate for your body, and you’re always encouraged to rest, modify, or skip anything that doesn’t feel right.

If you’re returning to movement after an injury, have more complex needs, or simply feel more comfortable getting some individualized support before joining a group class, we may recommend starting with a private session. This gives us time to learn more about you, explore helpful modifications, and help you feel more confident transitioning into classes.

For some injuries or medical concerns, we may also ask that you receive clearance from your healthcare provider before participating.

Not sure where to start? Reach out to us! We’re always happy to talk through your needs and help you choose the best starting point.

Absolutely! Our regulars include a wide range of sizes, ages, abilities, and experience levels. Our Reformers and other apparatus have a weight capacity of up to 350 lbs.

Take it from Kat, one of our members and front desk staff:

Absolutely not! While we love having college students as part of our community, they make up only about 10% of our clientele. Our community spans a wide range of ages, with the majority of our clients between 30 and 75. You’ll regularly find people in their 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and beyond moving alongside one another in our classes.

One of our favorite things about the Pure Balance community is the range of ages, bodies, backgrounds, and experience levels represented in the studio. We believe movement is for every stage of life, and our instructors are skilled at offering options so you can find the right level of challenge for you!

So if you’ve been worried that you’ll walk into a room where everyone is 20 years old, we hope we can put that fear to rest.

Whether you’re 35, 55, or 75, you absolutely belong here.

Pilates is a full-body movement practice that builds strength, mobility, balance, coordination, and body awareness. Rather than simply moving through exercises, Pilates encourages you to pay attention to how you move—using breath, control, and intentional movement to help you feel stronger and more connected to your body.

It’s low-impact and highly adaptable, which means it can offer a meaningful challenge while still being supportive of your joints and individual needs.

And while Pilates has a reputation for being all about your “core,” it’s really about so much more! Expect to use your whole body, move in lots of different positions and directions, and discover muscles you may not have known you had.

Pilates—originally called Contrology—was developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century. Born in Germany in 1883, Joseph became deeply interested in physical fitness and studied a variety of movement and training methods, including gymnastics, martial arts, and other forms of physical conditioning.

During World War I, while living in England, Joe was interned as a German national and eventually sent to an internment camp on the Isle of Man. During this period, he continued developing and teaching his approach to exercise and movement among fellow internees.

After moving to the United States in 1926, Joseph and his wife, Clara, opened a studio in New York City. Their method became especially popular within the dance community, where dancers embraced Pilates as a way to build strength, improve movement, and support their bodies through the physical demands of their work.

Joseph also developed specialized equipment—including the Reformer, Cadillac, and Chair—using springs and resistance to support, challenge, and adapt movement for different bodies and needs.

Over the decades, his students carried the method forward, and Pilates has continued to grow and evolve. Today, it is practiced around the world by people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities as a way to build strength, mobility, body awareness, and confidence in movement.

The Reformer is a piece of Pilates equipment with a sliding carriage, adjustable springs, straps for your hands and feet, and a footbar. Together, these components allow you to move through a huge variety of exercises in different positions—lying down, seated, kneeling, standing, and more.

We know the Reformer can look a little intimidating at first (there are a lot of moving parts!), but it’s actually an incredibly supportive and adaptable piece of equipment. The springs provide both resistance and assistance, which means they can make an exercise more challenging or help support you as you learn a movement, build strength, or work on balance and control.

The Reformer allows us to adapt exercises for different bodies, experience levels, and needs while building full-body strength, mobility, coordination, balance, and body awareness.

And don’t worry—you’re not expected to know how any of it works before your first class! Your instructor will introduce you to the equipment and guide you through everything you need to know as you go.

Pilates is about much more than building a strong core! Research has shown that a regular Pilates practice can support many aspects of physical health and function, including:

• Full-body strength and muscular endurance
• Balance and stability
• Mobility and flexibility
• Coordination and body awareness
• Functional movement—the strength and control that help you move confidently in everyday life
• Mental well-being, including improvements in mood, stress, and overall quality of life
• Increased energy and reduced feelings of fatigue through regular physical activity

And the benefits aren't limited to what happens during class. Building strength, balance, coordination, and confidence in your movement can support the things you want to keep doing outside the studio—from getting up and down from the floor and carrying groceries to gardening, traveling, dancing, playing with your kids or grandkids, or simply feeling more capable in your body.

Like any form of exercise, the benefits of Pilates come with consistent practice over time—and they can look a little different for every body.

For most clients, attending 2–3 times per week is a great way to build consistency, improve strength, and feel results.

Even once a week is helpful, especially if you’re just starting out or using Pilates to supplement your current routine.

Our class schedule opens for booking 4 weeks in advance. If you’re looking further ahead and don’t see any classes listed yet, don’t worry—they just haven’t opened for registration! New class dates will automatically appear on the schedule as they enter the 4-week booking window.

If a class is full, we highly recommend joining the waitlist—spots open up often! Until 60 minutes before class, available spots are automatically given to the next person on the waitlist, and you can check your position at any time.

Within 60 minutes of class, if a spot opens up, everyone remaining on the waitlist will receive a text and the first person to accept gets the spot.

If you’re added from the waitlist but can no longer attend, just let us know as soon as possible. We’ll remove you at no charge, return your credit, and offer the spot to someone else.

Wear comfortable athletic clothing that allows you to move freely.

We recommend avoiding loose shorts. Men may prefer compression shorts for added comfort.

Just yourself and a water bottle—everything else is provided.

Nope! Pilates is done barefoot or with grippy socks (optional).

1075 Baxter St., Baxter Street Lofts—Around the front of the building, between Scope Lighting and Thomas Eye Center.

You can park anywhere in the lot behind the building.

Please avoid parking at Thomas Eye Center, as they do tow.