1138 E. 6th Ave, Denver. Across from the Esquire Theatre.
A boutique reformer, Tower and mat studio on 6th and Downing, where an instructor watches how you actually move and builds the session from there.
Six clients max on the main floor, four downstairs
Open 7 days a week, more than 60 class times
Every new client starts one to one
Tell us your goals and an Axis instructor gets in touch.
Rated 5.0 stars across 77 Google reviews.
Karen K.
“I love the studio and 6 max reformers, it gives the instructors great opportunity to correct form and explain the desired movement. Plus the main studio has great light, you don't feel like you're in a cave like many other Pilates studios.”
Verified client review
Rich Watts
“I have been going to Axis for 10+ years. Great staff, clean and welcoming studio, easy to pay and book sessions, and centrally located.”
Google review
Leah B.
“Excellent teachers, focus on fitness NOT body size. Focus on correct alignment and safety.”
Verified client review
Mary Cothren
“Dianna and Abby are very talented and skilled instructors. They thoroughly communicated my needs, injuries, and goals to ensure that I received continuity between private sessions.”
Google review
Catherine Layden
“Axis Pilates is a beautiful, welcoming, clean studio. I am taking private Pilates with Diana to heal multiple injuries and I appreciate her very much.”
Google review
Scott O'Sullivan
“Axis has great equipment, instructors, and classes. Heather, the owner, has put together a wide array of classes that fit any level of experience.”
Google review
Colleen M.
“Great experiences at Axis, well educated and motivated instructors, thoughtful and well choreographed classes. Good correction cues.”
Verified client review
Thalita Carrico
“I have been going here for a year! Rachel and Lexy are awesome and very knowledgeable!!”
Google review
Boutique Pilates on 6th and Downing
Every class is capped. Six clients on the main floor, four in the downstairs studio. Small enough that an instructor corrects your form mid-movement rather than after it.
Spring tension, foot placement, where your ribs sit. Every body compensates in its own way over time, and the work is choosing the exercises that undo yours.
The main floor is street level with tall windows onto 6th Ave. In one client's words: you don't feel like you're in a cave like many other Pilates studios.
Open every day of the week with more than sixty class times on the schedule, first class at 6.30am. Free street parking right outside.
The basics
New to it? Here's the short version, no jargon and no prior knowledge assumed.
A sprung sliding bed. The springs add resistance or support, so the same exercise can be loaded up for an athlete or lightened right down for someone rehabbing a back.
A wall-mounted spring frame with a roll-down bar, worked standing, seated or lying. It reaches shoulders, spine and hips in ways the reformer alone doesn't.
Low impact, controlled, and slower than most people expect. It is strength work without load crashing through your joints, and it may feel awkward before it feels good.
Every body compensates in its own way over time. We assess your posture and movement patterns before prescribing anything, which is why everyone new starts with three private sessions.
Mat Pilates is the original method on the floor, bodyweight and small props. The reformer adds springs, so movements can be loaded or assisted. The Tower adds a fixed spring frame for standing and lying work. Axis runs reformer and Tower classes seven days a week, plus mat work inside workshops and events.
Pilates classes
Seven days a week, more than sixty class times. Six clients on the main floor, four downstairs.
Slower pace, more setup time.
Reformer work at a slower tempo with longer transitions between exercises. The usual starting point if you're rebuilding after an injury or surgery, managing a chronic condition, or coming back to movement after a while away. Main floor, six clients.
The class most members build their week around.
The studio's core class, and the one that fills the schedule. Runs on the main floor with six clients and downstairs with four. It assumes you already know the equipment and the cueing, which is exactly what the intro sessions give you.
Springs on the wall, standing and lying.
Runs downstairs with four clients on the wall-mounted Tower units. Different loading to the reformer, with more standing and overhead work, and the strongest option for shoulders, spine and hip mobility.
Suspension straps, Pilates control.
The one class on the schedule that isn't pure Pilates: TRX suspension work combined with reformer and mat exercises. Main floor, six clients, and the most demanding thing we run.
The Axis team
Almost everyone here came to Pilates because something in their own body needed fixing. Between them they cover post-surgical rehab, pre and postnatal, MS, chronic pain, exercise physiology and athletic conditioning.
Owner and Pilates instructor, NCPT
Certified 2008, over a decade teaching
Heather came to Pilates in 2003 through dance and was drawn in by the intelligent philosophy and feel of the practice. She trained through an apprenticeship in Los Angeles and works across pre and postnatal, chronic pain, athletic conditioning and rehabilitation.
Studio manager and Pilates instructor, NCPT
480-hour Classical certification, Pilates Place LA
Rachel teaches challenging, well-rounded sessions with an athletic edge, out of a dance and cheer background. Pilates cleared her back pain through pregnancy and was the only thing she could keep doing in the final weeks, which shapes how she works with pre and postnatal clients.
Pilates instructor, Pink Ribbon CPT
BASI comprehensive certification
Suzie came back to Pilates as a college student after abdominal surgery, on a doctor's recommendation. She holds Pink Ribbon certification for post breast-cancer-surgery recovery plus pre and postnatal training, and works with clients across MS, rehab and competitive sport.
Pilates instructor
Lab Contemporary certified, dances professionally in Denver and Boulder
Diana found Pilates in college and fell for its ability to build strength physically and mentally. She works with all levels and abilities and is named repeatedly in reviews for private injury work.
Pilates instructor
BASI comprehensive certification
Kelly was a celebrity hairstylist in New York before Pilates changed her posture and her head, and she changed career to teach it. Her classes blend classical and contemporary, athletic and upbeat, with room to advance or modify every movement.
Pilates instructor
Lab Contemporary certified, BFA Modern Dance
Lexy came to Pilates through a dance degree and now also works as a physical therapy aide, which shows in how carefully she sets people up. She loves working with clients of every age and ability.
Pilates instructor, ACSM Exercise Physiologist
Health Sciences degree, Northern Arizona University
Abi was heading for occupational therapy school until a chronic health diagnosis changed her direction, and she found she could rehab bodies through movement instead. Building body awareness and offering modifications so movement is comfortable are the intentions in every class she teaches.
1138 E. 6th Ave
Street level on the corner of 6th and Downing, across from the Esquire Theatre. Wood floors, tall windows, and six reformers in a single row.
Inside the studio, and beyond the timetable
Click a photo to view it full screen
Two studios
Street level with tall windows onto 6th Ave and wall-mounted Tower units behind every reformer. Home to Gentle, Intermediate and the TRX class.
The quieter, smaller room. Four clients only, and where the Tower classes and the small-group Intermediate sessions run.
Good to know
Ample free street parking on 6th and Downing, right outside the door.
A small retail rail in the studio, plus branded grip socks if you've forgotten yours.
Tower and foam-roller workshops, pelvic floor and perimenopause sessions, Sip & Sculpt at Carboy Winery, paddleboard-and-Pilates mornings, and a yearly trip to Costa Rica.
Location
Axis Pilates
1138 E. 6th Ave
Denver, CO 80218
On the corner of 6th and Downing, across from the Esquire Theatre. Ample free street parking.
Get directionsBe our next success story
Jennifer has been coming to Axis since the beginning. Other Pilates studios have opened closer to her home since then, and she has tried them.
“I still love this studio, I've been coming here since the beginning, and even after trying other studios in other locations that are now closer to me I keep coming back here! It is such a supportive, kind, and inclusive environment and I truly enjoy it.”
- Jennifer H., Google review
Your first session begins with an assessment of your posture and movement patterns, and the exercises get chosen from there. As the studio puts it: we're not questioning your fitness ability, it's just important that you're familiar with the equipment and the cueing, and that we've seen how you move, before you're in a group setting.
Ongoing private sessions are available after the intro. Ask us for current rates.
Intro offer and memberships
Everyone new starts with the intro offer. Memberships follow, priced by how often you come.
Flexible & Strong Intro Offer
The starting point for everyone new to Axis, whatever your fitness level.
4 Classes a Month
One class a week, for a routine that fits around everything else.
8 Classes a Month
The middle tier, and the one most members settle into.
12 Classes a Month
Three a week, at the lowest per-class rate the studio offers.
There is no drop-in rate. The Flexible & Strong intro is the starting point for everyone new to Axis. Memberships auto-renew monthly on the date you purchase.
Looking for a gift card? Any amount, buyable online or in the studio.
Before you get in touch
Straight answers. Anything not covered here, call the studio on 303.322.4567.
Ready to start?
Your Flexible & Strong intro is three private sessions, $225. Pick a time that works and leave your details, and an Axis instructor will get in touch to confirm it and talk through what's going on with your body.
This is a request, not a locked-in slot. An Axis instructor confirms it with you.
Select a date
Preferred time on Mon 3 Aug
The studio runs 6:30am to 7:20pm, seven days a week.
Prefer email? Send us a message
