Why a small studio could be better.

I often find I’m being drawn into conversations comparing large studios with 10 or more reformers with a boutique studio offering the full suite of Pilates apparatus and method, and what is better.  And honestly, I think it comes down to what the client is after.

What I will say is a reformer studio utilises just one of the pieces of apparatus and there is so so much more to the Pilates method – it is a system that has been around for 100, combining Mat work with apparatus including the reformer, Trapeze Table, Wunda Chair, Barrels and Spine correctors. There is a lot to it!

If a client wants to delve into the method, then often a boutique studio will be the right fit.  Smaller studios have less clients in a class, Instructors that are comprehensively qualified and due to a small group, are able to meet clients where they are at, adding valuable insight to their practice – think modifications for ailments/injuries, use of different apparatus that would be more suited for particular clients making exercises achievable.  Small studios often have only a few instructors that know their clients, so you will find greater education, greater awareness & greater gains in your movement.

I’m not saying a large reformer room isn’t great, it’s probably a workout on a reformer, but it’s not a comprehensive Pilates workout, it can’t be.  Some clients like to be smashed on a reformer and that’s ok, they are moving. Other clients want the full Pilates method that cant be done just on a reformer, you need the other apparatus to be Pilates in its true form.

What I have done is stopped comparing Pointe to other large studio’s. It’s not what we are and not what I want our clients to experience. I want to give our clients the knowledge & guidance to improve their movement. Meaning what we do in the studio should make them better outside of it, perhaps walking a little taller, a little freer in their bodies, run more smoothly, less aches and pains. Daily activities done with greater ease, like getting on/off the floor with grandkids or planting the flower bed. Athletes will find correct movement patterns that create space for those small gains that mean so much. 

Changes are afoot at Pointe and I cannot wait to show you.