Questions, answered properly.
These are the questions actually asked at reception and on the phone, with the answers we actually give. Where the honest answer is “that depends, come and talk to us,” it says that instead of pretending otherwise.
Not here? Call0117 456 0192 orsend a message. A person reads it.
Before you come
- I have never done reformer pilates. Which class do I book?
- Foundations, almost always. It runs four times a week and everybody in it is in their first six weeks. If you have a back or a neck that is currently bothering you, Rehab & Recovery is the better room because it holds six people rather than twelve. The three-question router on this site will tell you which of those two, in about thirty seconds.
- Am I too unfit, too old, too stiff or too heavy for this?
- No. The reformer takes your body weight through springs, which is exactly why it works for people who find floor-based exercise hard. The oldest person on our timetable is seventy-eight and the least flexible is a forty-one-year-old cyclist who cannot touch his knees, let alone his toes. Nobody is asked to do anything they cannot do.
- Do I need to sign up, download an app, or make an account?
- No. There is no app, no account and no password anywhere in this. You book by phone, by email, or at reception, and we hold your name in a diary like it is 1997.
- Do I have to commit to a block or a membership?
- No. Your first class is £15 and there is nothing to cancel afterwards. Drop-ins are £26 and packs never auto-renew.
Safety, injury and pregnancy
- I am pregnant. Can I book a class?
- Not directly, and this is the one thing on this website we will not let you skip. Every place in Prenatal & Postnatal is booked after a private hour with Nadia rather than before it, because "pregnant" covers fifty different situations and a booking form cannot tell them apart. Sometimes the honest answer from that hour is that you should see a women's health physiotherapist before you see us.
- I have a bad back. Is reformer safe?
- Very often yes, and that is not a promise. It depends entirely on what "bad back" means in your case — which is why the answer to this question comes from a person rather than from a web page. If your pain is severe, worsening, waking you at night, or comes with numbness or weakness in an arm or leg, see a GP or physiotherapist first. We are not qualified for that and we will say so.
- Is this the same as physiotherapy?
- No, and we would rather be blunt about it. Halcyon is a pilates studio. Nobody here is a physiotherapist, an osteopath or a doctor. We do not diagnose, treat or cure anything. Several times a month we send somebody to a physio instead of selling them a class pack, and we keep a list of three local practices at reception that pay us nothing.
- I am recovering from an injury. Where do I start?
- With an hour with Ruth, £68. She will watch how you move, tell you which class fits, and tell you honestly if the answer is to finish with your physiotherapist first.
In the studio
- Do I need grip socks?
- Yes — the carriage is slippery and bare feet slide. £12 from reception, or we lend you a clean pair free if you forget. Nobody has ever been turned away over socks.
- What if I am late?
- If the class has started we cannot let you in, because the first five minutes set the spring load and the shape of the session. Come to the next one and we will not charge you twice.
- Is there parking?
- No car park. Picton Street is residents-only 9am–6pm. Nearest pay-and-display is Ashley Road, four minutes away; Stokes Croft is free after 6pm. Eight bike hoops directly outside.
- Will there be music?
- Only in Jump Board, where there is a lot of it and it is loud on purpose. Everything else is quiet.
- Is the studio accessible?
- Step-free from the street to both studios and to an accessible toilet, with a 900mm front door and no threshold. The corridor is narrower than we would like at 1100mm. There is no hearing induction loop, which is a real gap we intend to fix.
Booking, packs and money
- When does a pack of ten actually start counting down?
- From the day you take the first class, not the day you buy it. Buy a pack in November, use it in February, and your four months run from February.
- What happens if it expires with classes left?
- Email us and we will extend it. Once, for any reason, no explanation needed, no fee. We do not think a credit you paid for should evaporate because January was hard.
- And if I am ill, injured or pregnant?
- We freeze the pack for as long as you need, including indefinitely, and there is no limit on how often. Just tell us. This is not a concession we make reluctantly — it is most of the reason people trust us with a pack at all.
- Does anything auto-renew?
- Packs never auto-renew. Unlimited memberships do renew monthly, because that is what a monthly membership is, and we email you three days before each one.
- Can I get a refund on an unused pack?
- Yes, within 14 days of purchase if you have not used any of it, in full. After that we will refund the unused classes at the drop-in rate you effectively paid, minus nothing.
- What if I cancel a class late?
- Twelve hours notice and the credit goes back. Less than that and you lose it, because somebody on the waiting list needed those twelve hours. Twice a year we will wave that through — say so and we will not make you explain.
Still deciding which class?
There are 48 classes a week and six names to choose between. Three questions is quicker than reading all six pages.