Zoe: A Pilates Studio

Great trainers! I work on computers all day so my posture and core were terribly out of shape. But after working with the trainers at Zoe’s, I’ve got my posture back! People have actually said to me that I seem taller! :-) The trainer I worked with the most was Mildraide, but I worked with most of the others too. They were all great. They are trained in true Pilates, and are knowledgeable.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a fan of exercise, I’m one of those people who only runs when they are being chased. But since I happen to be in a wedding this year I figured it would be a good plan to find some form of fitness for myself. I’ve heard good things about pilates so hey… why not give it a shot?
Another thing about me is that I cannot stand overcrowded and stinky gyms. I prefer warm welcoming places where people actually remember you and the thought of vying for a free machine at a gym did not paint an inspiring picture for myself. And frankly, gyms gross me out.
I went with Zoe Pilates in Pasadena and I am very pleased with my decision. I immediately felt very comfortable working out here. Even though I didn’t know anything about pilates when I started here the instructors put me at ease and I have been doing great!
One of the first things I noticed was that there are people of all ages coming through here and I made a plan for myself to talk with my fellow patrons. Initially it was to find out if this whole pilates working out business get easier and what I did find out is that a lot of the clients here have been coming here for a good long
while…impressive! Personally, I have floated in and out of exercise programs but these folks actually stick. I can understand why too, in the time I have been coming here I have had some massive improvements in my health, posture and overall feeling good.
So I’m patting myself on the back for my dedication AND for finding a great pilates studio that is near me AND I can work out any day of the week! Go ME!

I have used various exercise programs in the past but pilates is a favorite. I initially started the program eager to tone specific parts of my body.
What I appreciated about this studio is that in addition to my personal goals, the knowledge of the instructor also helped me find the weak spots in my posture as well as other areas that I was over looking. It’s great when I can collaborate with someone else who is just as concerned as I am about my health and fitness.
I have found that my body responds best to the traditional pilates method and I am GOOD with that because the results are Fantastic!
Another big plus is that you can book and Pay for your sessions online. All I have to be concerned with when I walk into this studio is being focused for my work out.

This is one of the finest studios in the country. Zoe is phenomenal. She changed my body and helped me to live a life pain-​free. After five years as her client, I became a teacher under her tutelage. She is the real deal.
I noticed that the other reviewers complained about cleaning the equipment. This is standard in most quality studios. We do this to ensure that everything will be clean and ready for the next client, which is appreciated by most people.
Zoe is a master and teaches real Pilates. She is worth every penny.

Outstanding trainers and environment make Zoe Pilates the best classical pilates studio in the Pasadena area, possibly the San Gabriel Valley. They really know what they’re doing at Zoe, and you will not find better pilates teachers in the Pasadena area.
I have been a client here for 7+ years and a student of classical pilates for 12 years and am so glad to have found Zoe and her many capable instructors here in Pasadena. The teachers have helped me work through minor injuries and pains and have recently helped me rehab a devastating broken leg. Each time the trainers helped me get stronger, improve alignment. My doctors and PT have been astounded by the speed of my recovery from the broken leg, and I credit Zoe’s teachers for my rapid recovery. At each stage of my recovery, my pilates teachers have provided modified exercises to challenge and strengthen me while accommodating my injury. I would leave most pilates sessions feeling nearly back to my uninjured state.
Zoe Hagler Marcus is highly respected in the classical pilates field and among Power Pilates instructors. She and her studio have trained many pilates instructors, and Zoe and several of her other teachers such as Eric Valdez are all teacher-​trainers, meaning that they teach and mentor other pilates teachers. Zoe has very high standards and demands the best from her instructors. You will not find any model/​actress/​part-​time pilates instructors who got certified in a single weekend and teach pilates instead of waitressing or bartending. The teachers here have been through over 600+ hours’ instruction, and all have been teaching pilates for many years. Zoe herself and several instructors are highly coveted, second generation pilates instructors directly trained by Romana Kryzanowska, who is Joseph Pilates’ designated heir to carry on classical pilates.
The studio is very clean, and I have been utterly spoiled by the caring teachers, calm atmosphere to ever return to a gym (noisy, stinky, crowded). Even before we realized that skin infections could be transmitted through common exercise equipment, we have all been cleaning off the equipment with disinfectant spray after use. Zoe herself has cleaned the equipment for her more elderly clients.
For the high quality and tremendous competence of the teachers here, this place is actually very well-​priced, especially compared to the westside of LA. The going rate for private pilates 1:1 instruction in W LA and NYC is $ 100+/session, and the instructors may not be as competent, knowledgeable as the teachers at Zoe. Currently if you purchase sessions in bulk, you can pay $ 65-​$ 70/​private 1:1 session here. I’ve always gotten a full hour of training and sometimes a few extra minutes from the teachers here.
You can also get started with pilates in the affordable, group mat classes, which are $ 15−25/class. You will get a lot of attention from the amazing teacher in these small classes (often 2 – 4 students).
Overall, I couldn’t be happier with Zoe and her teachers and studio. They are a real gem right here in my hometown. I would highly recommend Zoe Pilates to anyone who would like to learn classical pilates from the best available instructors.

For real ladies? A one star? Were you hoping that the lesson would come with tea and crumpets and maid service?
I started at the studio 3 years ago after suffering from a serious back injury (one that left me unable to walk for several days and unable to leave the house for 3 weeks). The instructors have always been kind, courteous and knowledgeable. They have always adjusted my work out and personalized my exercises to accommodate how my back is feeling that day, and have set goals with me to not only keep the work outs interesting but to help get (and keep) my body in a good place.
As for wiping down the equipment after you use it. I have never been to a gym that didn’t have you clean the equipment after you have just sweated all over it. I sweat quite a bit when I do Pilates (read «buckets») and would never want someone to lie down in a pool of my sweat nor myself lie down in someone else’s. That’s just called hygiene, and I question the sanity of anyone who has a problem with thoroughly wiping down surfaces that their bare feet and sweat have been on.
As for the instructors… Although the instructors that I work with on a regular basis are my favorites, I have at one time or another worked with every instructor at the studio and have found them all to be equally qualified and knowledgeable and honestly quite fun. The only people I have ever seen in the studio complaining are clients who just didn’t want to do the work or who came from other studios that don’t practice traditional, well-​rounded Pilates workouts. (One woman got pissed when she had to get off the reformer only to apologize later.)
In terms of price… Any physical activity that requires a trained instructor to work with you one on one is going to be expensive. (Duh!) But the prices at this studio are the same if not a little cheaper than other studios I have been to, yet at some of those studios I knew more than the instructor and at one I actually hurt myself.
(Still reeling from the fact that 2 separate people complained about having to wipe down equipment they used. Kinnnnda gross.)
p. s. If you want the air on they’ll turn it on. If you want the doors open they’ll open them. Or if you are like me and you like the doors open, the air off, the left bank of lights on but not the right and the overhead fans a-​swirlin’, they’ll do that for ya too! You just have to ask… out loud.

mmmm… where do I start?
This place is VERY VERY PRICEY! You pay $ 75 for 60 minutes of pilates. However, that normally cuts down to 45 minutes. When I got there, I would have to wait for the previous student to finish. They literally pack students back to back. After, I would have to wait for my trainer to finish eating… yeaaaa VERY PROFESSIONAL. The trainer would eat while telling me what to do. Don’t get me wrong, I still get a very good workout, but I am expecting a little more because EVERY MINUTE is over a dollar!
WE HAVE TO WIPE DOWN AFTER WE DO EVERYTHING! After we sit on the mat, we would have to spray and wipe it down before we went onto the next machine. I wish we would just do our workouts and then at the end, wipe everything down. It wastes so much time!
Also, I feel that this place is more about the money than the students. My sister and I bought packages here and she totally milked BOTH OF US! My sister would tell the trainer herself that she was going to cancel next week’s appointment, however, the trainer DID NOT TELL ZOE anddd sooo my sister was charged full amount still. EVEN THOUGH it was not her fault, she was still blamed for not getting the message to Zoe herself. yeaaaa… We still had money leftover and she pretty much just kept it.
If money is not an issue, SURE! go for it. Pilates is a really good workout and it really helps your posture. I know that my core felt stronger and my back pains were not as bad. However, I definitely would not be going back here again.

Zoe is very experienced and professional. This is a classic Pilates studio. It’s probably one of the best Pilates studios that you will be able to find in the area.
Nevertheless, there are some drawbacks which probably have more to do with the management than Zoe or the trainers.
This should be a great place to workout because Zoe is very experienced, it costs a fortune, there are very few clients at any given time. But it’s not. If you don’t workout with Zoe who is very hard to get into, the other teachers are hit and miss. You pay a fortune, but they make you carry a little bottle of disinfectant and paper towels around and clean each piece of equipment yourself after you use it regardless of whether or not there is a drop of sweat, while they watch you and inspect afterward. Seriously. At 1.25 per minute, you end up spending a lot of your own money to a) learn how to clean their furniture, b) clean their furniture and c) have your cleaning inspected and d) redo your cleaning if you are not clean enough.
There is no parking. If you go after dark, you have to walk down a dark alley to a public parking lot a block away and be sure to have change or you will get a parking ticket.
Very snobby. If you don’t spend a fortune don’t expect to be welcome or have a regular time.
If an exercise doesn’t work out for you due to a physical problem, most of the teachers will not or perhaps do not know enough to adjust your workout.
If you like to be treated like a loser, clean gym furniture that does not need cleaning, drive around looking for parking, walk down dark alleys, pay top dollar for exercise programs that are not customized to you, find your hour being gradually whittled down to 45 minutes less 5 or 10 minutes of time spent cleaning furniture, and in short spend a lot of money to be miserable, then try Zoe Pilates studio. But I don’t recommend it.
PROS:
Zoe is well trained and experienced
Studio is not crowded
CONS
Teacher quality is hit and miss
No parking
Overpriced
Obsessive over making clients clean their furniture
Cut your time short if they are running late
Snobbish: Treat non-​big spenders poorly and Will not give you a standing appointment
They will freely cancel your appointment at the last minute without apology or rescheduling. Have been canceled as close as 30 minutes before an appointment.
Often will not turn on the air conditioner in the summer and you will have to workout in over 100 degree temperatures
This kind of atmosphere where they will discourteously cancel appointments up to the last minute, I would be inclined to be forgiving of their faults if they were forgiving of mine, but they hold the customers to a much higher standard than they hold themselves. I felt enormous relief when I stopped going to Zoe Studio.
Find another pilates studio. One that actually wants your business, and treats people courteously. Zoe is certainly very knowledgeable — find someone she trained who works at a less snobby and rigid studio.