The Unity Pilates Studio
Unique to Lewes, our fully equipped Pilates Studio provides Pilates benefits not found elsewhere
NEW: £15 TASTER CLASS
Classical Studio Pilates is an amazing form of Pilates that can’t be found anywhere else – not on a mat, not in a typical Reformer class. Try it for yourself in a private one-to-one taster lesson for just £15. Scroll down or click here for details.
The Unity Pilates Studio
Welcome to the Unity Pilates Studio, the only classical Pilates Studio in Lewes.
Studio Pilates is much more than floor Pilates or Reformer Pilates. Our range of specialised equipment, all designed by the pioneering Joseph Pilates himself, offers more than 150 exercise variations that use sprung resistance to strengthen and improve flexibility in ways that floor work or Reformer alone cannot.
It’s said that 60 minutes on studio Pilates equipment like ours is equivalent to 180-240 minutes of Pilates mat work. Its effect is around four times more intense than mat work because of the resistance provided by the equipment’s spring systems .
Classes in the Unity Pilates Studio are taught and guided by Patrick Morrison, the highly respected specialist teacher. The Unity Pilates Studio is a partnership between The Unity Centre and Patrick’s I Feel Good Pilates.
Scroll down to see the benefits of studio Pilates and the classes we offer. Or go straight to the timetable and bookings section.
THE REFORMER
One of four pieces of authentic Joseph Pilates equipment installed in the Unity Pilates Studio
“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old. If it is completely flexible at 60, you are young.” – Joseph Pilates
TRAPEZE TABLE
Wonderfully flexible equipment, often known as a Cadillac
Benefits of the Pilates Studio
The studio method
Joseph Pilates developed his method in New York during the 1920s, creating a precise system of controlled movements that target core strength, flexibility and body awareness. Studio Pilates offers numerous benefits that distinguish it from other exercise forms.
The controlled, low-impact movements improve posture by strengthening deep stabilising muscles, particularly around the spine and pelvis. This focus on alignment helps alleviate back pain and reduces injury risk. The emphasis on breath coordination enhances mind-body connection while promoting relaxation and stress reduction.
Studio Pilates builds lean muscle tone without bulk, creating long, strong muscles that support daily activities. The method’s precision also develops better balance, coordination, and proprioception (awareness of the body’s position and movement). Regular practice increases flexibility and joint mobility while maintaining strength.
The individualised attention possible in our studio setting allows for proper form correction and personalised adjustments. This makes Pilates accessible for rehabilitation, athletic performance enhancement or general fitness. The mental concentration required develops focus and body awareness that extend beyond the studio into daily life.
The teaching
Patrick says:
“I programme a challenge in every class to get progression with Feel Good movements as well as the ones which often aren’t so enjoyable but which produce huge benefits.
“I give clients a movement improvement within the class, which I confirm and ask them to self-prove by observing a change by the end of the session.
“My objective is that the Feel Good factor builds in the class and is lasting.”
What’s in the studio
The Unity Pilates Studio is a studio room dedicated just to studio Pilates. Classes revolve around four pieces of substantial equipment, unique to a traditional Pilates Studio and to Lewes:
Invented and used by Joseph Pilates in the 1940s, the ‘universal reformer’ is the most well-known piece of Pilates equipment, consisting of a sliding platform that moves back and forth on wheels, with adjustable springs, pulleys, straps and a foot bar....
Sometimes called a Cadillac, this was first piece of apparatus designed by Joseph Pilates and is the biggest. It’s a full-frame table with a rectangular, adjustable trapeze bar above a mat platform....
Reputedly starting life as a beer barrel cut in half and covered in upholstery, Joseph Pilates invented this primarily for spinal flexibility and extension. It can also be used for ab exercises and oblique movements....
Sometimes just called a Pilates chair (and for Joseph Pilates it was originally the ‘Wunda chair’), this can be used for seated and standing work, from various positions....
TRAPEZE TABLE AND (foreground) REFORMER
seen in a private one-to-one class with Patrick Morrison
“In 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference, in 20 you’ll see the difference, and in 30 you’ll have a new body” – Joseph Pilates
Reserve your class
Week at-a-glance
This gives you a view of what’s available throughout the week. To book a class, head to the live timetable to make a booking. All classes are 55 minutes except the 25-minute taster class.
Every 2 weeks
Key
- Taster class: 25-minute class for beginners, introducing studio Pilates and what’s in it for you. This is a private class just for you.
- Private class: 55-minute class just for you – or you plus one friend or family member. If this is your first ever Pilates Studio class, or you’ve only done the £15 taster class, select ‘Intro’ at payment and save £15.
- Open class: book your own place in a 55-minute shared class. Max class size: 3 people including you.
Scroll down for full details of class options and prices.
Live timetable for bookings
Choose your day, then your time and class type, then ‘Book’. If you haven’t yet paid, you’ll be offered the choice of buying a single class or discounted block of classes. If you want an Introductory class, choose a Private class and the special introductory price will be offered to you at checkout (only one purchase per person).
Please note that Pilates Studio classes cannot be booked less than 24 hours before they start and will show as ‘Unavailable’.
When booking multiple classes, allow 2-3 days between each session to let your body assimilate the progression.
Class options, prices and ‘buy now’
We offer Private classes, Open classes, a full Introductory class and a £15 Taster class.
How to buy
- To book a class and pay for it, head up to the live timetable and choose your class: you’ll be offered payment options as part of your checkout
- To pay for a class now and then decide later on a time, choose from the options below
- To pay for more than one class at once, or a block of classes, choose from the options below
- Once you’ve paid, you can book classes above without being asked to pay again
All of these options are also available at Unity reception, where you can also ask for help or advice, and you can book further classes on the Unity Centre app
Private classes
Single solo class £65
Class for 2 £37.50/person
Buy in blocks from £32.50/class
A 55 minute class where you have your own, exclusive use of the studio, with Patrick’s undivided attention to your needs, goals and Pilates practice.
If you’re recovering from injury or dealing with a specific physical issue, this session is particularly suitable.
You may book a Private class for yourself, solo, or with one other person: maybe a friend, a family member or as a couple. Enjoy Pilates together and save money!
Single solo class: £65
4 solo classes: £240
(that’s £60 a class)
8 solo classes: £440
(that’s £55 a class)
(share the cost: £37.50 each)
Class for two: £75
4 shared classes: £280
(that’s £70 a class or £35 each)
8 shared classes: £520
(that’s £65 a class or £32.50 each)
Open classes
Single class £28
Block prices from £22
A 55 minute class you share with two others.
Unlike regular mat Pilates classes, this is a small, intimate class, with a maximum of just three students (you and two others) at a time.
The small class size means
- you’ll have the benefit of Patrick’s close attention to your needs, goals and Pilates development
- Patrick can accommodate your individual requirements, including different levels of experience within the class
Single class place: £28
6 open classes: £150
(that’s £25 a class)
8 open classes: £176
(that’s £22 a class)
Introductory class
Just £65 £50
A 55-minute private class for one, designed to give you a complete introduction to studio Pilates, with
- an exploration of the unique, specialised equipment, designed by Joseph Pilates, that lies at the heart of the studio Pilates experience
- a comprehensive discussion about your goals and how the Pilates system can work for you, then
- a full assessment of your movement: spinal flexibility, main joints, hips and shoulders – this is done using the Pilates assessment process (where you complete up to 10 different Pilates movements), then
- selected movements on each piece of equipment to show you what moving on the equipment can bring to you, and what it feels like
This is a much more thorough introduction than can be achieved in a 25 minute taster. Because we highly recommend this class for all newcomers to studio Pilates, we offer it at the reduced price of £50.
(save £15)
An introductory class may only be taken once and is only available if you haven’t already had a Unity Pilates Studio session or have only had a £15 taster session.
£15 taster class
£15 for 25 minutes
A 25 minute private class for one that introduces you to the unique experience of studio Pilates. Get to know what studio Pilates can do for you, explore the equipment that’s at heart of a Pilates studio and discuss your needs, goals and experience, plus any particular concerns you have, perhaps around injury, health or mobility.
During the taster, you’ll experience
- a movement “check in” of core strength and spinal flexibility and a discussion about their goals and Pilates
- a discussion and evaluation of your flexibility/ core strength/ mobility of key joints – hips / spine/ shoulders
- one exercise on each of two or three pieces of equipment
For a limited period this is just £15.
A taster class may only be taken once and is only available if you haven’t already had a Unity Pilates Studio session.
“Above all, learn to breathe correctly.” – Joseph Pilates
Benefits of I Feel Good Pilates
Take Control! Change your body: rebel against gravity and time.
Joseph Pilates believed that health and happiness comes from movement. He thought you couldn’t have one without the other and that movement unlocks the potential.
We wholeheartedly agree and, recognising how he put that into practice, we’ve created a studio he would recognise and use authentic movement as close as possible to his original choreography.
We all fight gravity
Unfold : unfurl : extend – we will identify, develop and progress your movement potential. We’ll help you move away from the forces of gravity by decompressing the spine, lengthening and strengthening your muscles and fascia, increasing your joint mobility and joint health and improving your core strength.
People walk into the studio ‘small’ … and walk back out tall.
We also welcome people with mobility issues and neurological conditions because Pilates movements can often benefit them. People who come into the studio with mobility issues may be able to challenge and expand their movement possibility and range.
In Pilates we constantly remind the body of our movement potential. By doing so we open up neurological plasticity which improves everybody’s movement possibility.
LADDER BARREL
We all challenge time
Pilates is a longevity practice available to anybody … whether you’re 15 or 95+.
Help yourself to achieve the optimal movement available to you at this moment and to turn back the clock to realise your potential.
Throw away your calender timeline age and work to the rhythm of your biological clock.
We will move every day !
“Movement heals and change happens through movement” – Josef Pilates
Pilates movement can change your life: to move away from pain or limitations by taking control of the body instead of being controlled by it.
We all need to move more. Our bodies are built for outdoor activity, working in fields, physically labouring. Joseph Pilates complained about the effects modern life in his 1936 book “Return to Life”! and, since then, exercise levels and physical exertion have dropped even more. We have become sedentary, with not much movement and shallow breathing, while ultra-processed food and takeaways, delivered to the home without effort, outsell raw and natural ingredients.
An hour of Pilates will reset all that and some of our physical human potential can be restored effectively. And with the improved physical wellbeing comes mental wellbeing.
STEP CHAIR
REFORMER SPRINGS
The number of springs used is adjusted class by class, to fit your individual needs
The secret’s in the springs …
What makes a session on the Pilates Studio equipment so powerful is the combination of Pilates choregraphy working with springs. The core to Joseph Pilates’ designs for all four pieces of studio equipment is their arrays of springs. The springs activate your energies and fascia, creating a feeling that lasts into the evening, facilitating improved sleep, and into the next day when you can still feel their power.
Over time, your movement patterns become realigned, centred, more effective and with the optimal range of movement.
And patterns picked up from injury, perhaps from avoiding pain (in your foot, ankle, knee, hip, spine, shoulder , neck … creating a particular walking or running gait, or postural patterns) and stuck fascia can be addressed and progressed.