The Accessibility Problem of Pilates Classes

Tight budgets and Pilates classes don’t mix. Why not DIY?

There’s a Pilates studio that recently opened just down my street. After months of wondering what would go in that space that has windows for front walls, I was really excited when I saw the sign. Pilates, steps from my front door. Please and thank you! But when I looked up their class prices, I was thoroughly disheartened: $122 for 4x per month. Quick math: that’s $30+ per class. You’re kidding. I was so turned off, which was worsened by the pure Inatagramyness (how is that not a word in the dictionary yet?) of their website and studio décor. And their messaging, painted on their walls and stickered on their doors, that their studio is an inclusive space for all is inaccurate. They say they support you, no matter your experience, age, level of fitness, or body composition, but they missed something: finances. You can’t call yourself inclusive if you exclude a large part of the population that can’t afford such high-priced membership. Herein lies the accessibility problem.

Obviously, they aren’t the only Pilates studio charging high prices for a practice that is inherently “for everybody.” Yoga studio membership, on average, is hardly accessible either. As Jordan Rosenfield notes in The Atlantic, monthly yoga studio memberships generally run…