{"id":281224,"date":"2026-02-12T23:11:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T23:11:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/281224\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T23:11:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T23:11:06","slug":"local-studio-owners-weigh-in-on-the-reasons-why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/281224\/","title":{"rendered":"Local Studio Owners Weigh In on the Reasons Why"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A full class at PIVOT Pilates. Photo by Scott Etkin.<\/p>\n

By Scott Etkin<\/p>\n

\u201cPilates Addiction\u201d is the name of a new exercise studio opening on West 72nd Street, but it also appears to be the name of a condition \u2013 \u201cPilates addiction\u201d \u2013 that has spread throughout the Upper West Side.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am kind of obsessed with it. I go about six days a week to different classes,\u201d said Kathy Henken, an Upper West Sider of 25 years who used to be a member of Equinox and New York Sports Club.<\/p>\n

Over the past year, at least 12 gyms offering Pilates have either opened or announced plans to open soon in the neighborhood. Research shows that the UWS is not alone. Pilates is the fastest-growing form of exercise in the U.S., according to a report<\/a> published last year.<\/p>\n

The proliferation of Pilates studios in the neighborhood speaks to the importance of convenience. Henken works from home and UpDog Studios, where she takes mat Pilates classes, is just a block away from her apartment. \u201cIf I find myself with a free hour and there\u2019s a class or something in the middle of the day, I can just pop out and take a class,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Despite its recent rise in popularity, Pilates is not new. German-born Joseph Pilates invented it to rehab his own health, and then applied the method to soldiers injured during World War I. He opened his first and only New York City studio in 1926, just south of the UWS between West 56th and 57th streets.<\/p>\n

To find out more about what\u2019s driving today\u2019s Pilates boom, the Rag spoke with several local studio owners. Many of them said their clients are seeking out Pilates not just for the physical benefits, but also because it\u2019s a way for women \u2013 it is mostly women who are taking Pilates \u2013 to find IRL community in an increasingly digital world.<\/p>\n

Pilates is mostly taught in small group classes, and local studio owners talked about how social connection, especially for people who work from home, plays a role in the success of their gyms.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important for us to create that community feel,\u201d said Maayan Irvine, who is opening Craft Pilates at 644 Amsterdam Avenue between West 91st and 92nd streets and currently runs a studio in Brooklyn. \u201cPeople that come here to the Park Slope location, they come here because they find it as a place for them to meet new people, maybe, and gather.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pilates may also be gaining popularity due to growing awareness that resistance training is essential for bone health, particularly among women and older adults. Pilates can be done on a mat, which is more traditional, or on various machines, such as the reformer, which uses springs and pulleys to create resistance. All Pilates methods offer endurance-based strength training and stretching.<\/p>\n

Ashley Culver, who owns two Pilates studios, both called Lift Pilates, and a strength-training gym on the Upper West Side, described how Pilates studios can be more approachable than conventional gyms for many women.<\/p>\n

A Pilates studio is \u201cnot this male-dominated, gym-bro space that you need to walk into,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very woman- inclusive space, where women can go and get stronger and feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n

From a physical standpoint, Pilates is generally considered less of an injury risk than traditional weight training. \u201cIt\u2019s an awesome full body workout that\u2019s not hard on your joints and body,\u201d Carla Lewis, owner of Studio Pilates International Harlem at 301 West 110th Street near Frederick Douglass Boulevard, said in a message to the Rag. \u201cIt strengthens and tones without heavy weights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some Pilates studios, like Solidcore, play loud music. But many boutique Pilates studios are serene spaces, making them gentler on the mind, too. \u201cI think that [people are] sick of being burnt out,\u201d said Shannon McGinn, owner of Aura Yoga + Pilates at 239 West 72nd Street between Broadway and West End Avenue. \u201cI think people\u2019s nervous systems, with everything that\u2019s going on in the world, really need more low-impact movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

The popularity of Pilates is particularly notable because classes aren\u2019t cheap. Purchasing a single class is in the range of $40 to $50, though many studios offer packages and introductory deals that lower the cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you compare pricing between, say, Barry\u2019s [a high intensity interval training gym] and my studio, I think Barry\u2019s is slightly higher, but Barry\u2019s has up to 50 people per class at a time,\u201d said Katerina Ross, founder of PIVOT Pilates at 1995 Broadway between West 67th and 68th streets. \u201cSo that\u2019s a completely different business model. Here we have up to 10 [people], and so it\u2019s not incredibly profitable, but it does well.\u201d<\/p>\n

One major expense for Pilates studios is the price of reformer machines. A commercial-grade reformer can cost upwards of $10,000.<\/p>\n

The fitness industry tends to go through cycles \u2013 it wasn\u2019t that long ago that CrossFit and spinning were all the rage. But the Pilates studio owners that WSR spoke with did not express much concern that the Pilates bubble might burst, in part because Pilates already has a long track record.<\/p>\n

One risk is that as the number of studios goes up, the quality of instruction could go down. \u201cWith the rise of popularity and Pilates, there\u2019s been the rise of weekend certifications [for teachers],\u201d said McGinn of Aura Pilates. \u201cYou cannot learn anatomy and physiology in a 12-hour weekend course. It\u2019s very important that you choose an instructor that actually has done training.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nicole Pavone, who runs UpDog Studios at 2672 Broadway between West 101st and 102nd streets, as well as a studio in Harlem, dismissed concerns about Pilates being oversaturated because of the dedication she sees from her students in the neighborhood. \u201cThey were trekking through that snowstorm to get to class,\u201d said Pavone. \u201cIt was still a 10-person wait list.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information is listed below about the newest Pilates studios in the neighborhood, with links to more details from the Rag\u2019s Openings & Closings column.<\/p>\n

Aura Yoga + Pilates<\/a>: 239 West 72nd Street (between Broadway and West End Avenue, on the second floor)
Aura has two separate studios at this location for yoga and mat Pilates. Owner Shannon McGinn has been a private yoga and Pilates instructor and wellness coach for 10 years, working one-on-one with clients at various studios or in their homes. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Craft Pilates<\/a>: 644 Amsterdam Avenue between West 91st and 92nd streets\u00a0
Craft is planning to open this February and will have nine reformer machines. This will be the second studio for Craft Pilates; the original is in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lift Pilates<\/a>: 171 West 80th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus avenues and 2091 Broadway between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues on the second floor
Ashley Culver, a trainer and UWS local, owns three boutique gyms on the Upper West Side. 171 West 80th Street is a small Pilates studio with four reformer machines. 20191 Broadway has spaces dedicated to Pilates and strength training. She also runs a strength-training gym, Lift NYC, offering personal training and group classes at 2212 Broadway. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Natural Pilates<\/a>: 2091 Broadway between 72nd and 73rd streets, on the third and fourth floors
Natural Pilates was founded in Los Angeles in 2005 and has several studios in LA, Florida, and NYC. It offers both reformer and mat Pilates. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pilates Addiction<\/a>: 117 West 72nd Street between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues
Pilates Addiction is a franchise that uses the \u201cWundaFormer,\u201d an apparatus that \u201ccombines the reformer, wunda chair, ballet bar and jump board into one patented machine,\u201d according to the company\u2019s website. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pilatibodi<\/a>: 969 Columbus Avenue between West 107th and 108th streets
Pilatibodi\u2019s new studio offers group classes that it describes as \u201ccontemporary [\u2026] with a heavy foundation in Pilates fundamental technique.\u201d It also has a studio for private and duet sessions on West 93rd Street and Amsterdam and a studio for group classes at 2758 Broadway at West 108th Street. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

PIVOT Pilates<\/a>: 1995 Broadway between West 67th and 68th streets, on the eighth floor
PIVOT Pilates is owned by Katerina Ross, a longtime Pilates client who formerly worked in finance. The studio holds reformer Pilates classes and offers private instruction. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

SLT<\/a>: 610 Columbus Avenue between West 89th and 90th streets
Founded in 2011, SLT (which stands for Strengthen, Lengthen, Tone), now has more than 20 locations. SLT group classes use a Megaformer, a machine that generally offers more resistance than a traditional Pilates reformer. SLT\u2019s existing UWS location is at 2109 Broadway #208 (at West 73rd Street). Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Solidcore<\/a>: 2201 Broadway at West 78th Street\u00a0
Solidcore is a chain with many locations that offers high-intensity Pilates group classes with an emphasis on strength training. Its machine, the \u201cSweatlana,\u201d has eight springs with varied resistance levels. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Studio Pilates<\/a>: 301 West 110th Street off of Frederick Douglass Boulevard
Studio Pilates is a chain that was started in Australia in 2002 and now has more than 100 locations globally. This franchise location is owned by Carla Lewis, a former media executive, who was introduced to Pilates after having hip surgery and is now a certified Pilates instructor. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

UpDog Studios<\/a>: 2672 Broadway #2 between West 101st and 102nd streets
UpDog has a variety of exercise classes, including vinyasa yoga, mat pilates, and barre. The studio is owned by husband-and-wife Jordan McLaughlin and Nicole Pavone, former dancers and musical theater performers, who also run a location in Harlem at 145th Street. Read more \u2013 HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to West Side Rag\u2019s FREE email newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>. And you can Support the Rag\u00a0here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A full class at PIVOT Pilates. Photo by Scott Etkin. By Scott Etkin \u201cPilates Addiction\u201d is the name…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":281225,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[3248,565,134,111,139,69,34259,5611],"class_list":{"0":"post-281224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-exercise","9":"tag-fitness","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-pilates","15":"tag-small-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/281225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}