Kenkō Studios.

Kenkō Studios in Eden Terrace is our overall pick for yoga and pilates in Auckland. We like the teaching, the calm room and the choice of classes. It’s a good option if you want both yoga and pilates in the same place.

Kenkō (健康) means health in Japanese. The studio is at 40 St Benedict’s Street, with yoga and pilates upstairs and other health services below.

The building

The building dates back to 1982, when tai chi teacher Patrick Kelly built it as a studio. Kelly and his students made the concrete spiral staircase that still leads up to the Move Studio.

Rod Snodgrass bought the building in 2024 to keep it as a wellness space. Founder Jess Hunt had been working in film and television hair and makeup before starting the studio.

Jade Hurst of Good_Space designed the interior. It mixes pale timber, concrete and plants, with west-facing windows that catch the afternoon sun. There’s a courtyard below and an apartment upstairs, bookable as the Kenkō Urban Retreat. The Move Studio has space for up to fifty mats.

What it feels like

You walk down St Benedict’s Street past Cobalt Club and a few warehouses and you almost miss it. The entrance is through a glass door into the courtyard. The ground floor is the Well Studios: eight individual rooms for chiropractors, massage therapists, a holistic facialist, a nutritionist, an acupuncturist. The yoga and pilates classes are up the spiral staircase in the Move Studio. The room is spacious and quiet, with tea on a low table. Mats, blocks, bolsters and other props are provided, so you don’t need to bring your own.

The classes

The current timetable runs daily and includes Flow Yoga, Vinyasa Flow, Dynamic Vinyasa Flow, Pilates Sculpt (45 min), Pilates Sculpt Extended (60 min), Pilates Strength, Yin, Candlelight Yin, Candlelight Yin with Yoga Nidra, Candlelight Yin with Sound Bath, Reiki-Infused Sound Bath, Sound Bath and Tea Ceremony, Conscious Connected Breathwork (60 min) and a Conscious Connected Breathwork Immersion (two hours), Mums & Babies Pilates Restore, and Mums & Babies Yoga Restore. There is also a beginner-friendly Ashtanga, a meditation with tarot and reiki, HIIT Pilates and barre.

The studio has a broad teaching team. Pooja Jagpal, who taught in London for years, runs the dynamic vinyasa and brings creative anatomically-led sequencing. Sarah Stockton’s Friday morning Flow is precise, breath-led, and the right place to send a complete beginner. Jess Pearson’s Reiki-Infused Sound Bath on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays uses crystal singing bowls, gong and Koshi chimes. Kyrsta Lynn and Anna Birchall now lead the yin work, with the slow, generous holds the room is built for. Hailey Fuertes runs the breathwork (Sacred Breath Method, with cacao and sound to finish). The pilates programme is anchored by Taina Gavelle and Becky Clements (mat and reformer). Eridani Baker, Dani Goodall, Sam Moody, Iris Bellve (who teaches the beginner Ashtanga), Vik Levenberg, Gen Ali and Esmeralda Tikao round out a sixteen-strong roster.

The studio runs a profit-share model for teachers, which is unusual in Auckland. As Jess puts it: “The studio takes a capped amount to keep things running and then the teacher makes the profits on top. It is flipping the normal studio way and it works for everyone.” Teachers have a direct stake in how their classes do.

Pricing

• Drop-in: $30 (member pricing varies by class — shown on the timetable)
• Intro offer (Wellness Welcome Pass): $50 for two weeks unlimited
• First class free on signup (valid for one month, not for all classes)
• 5-class pack: $90 (valid two months)
• 10-class pack: $150 (valid four months)
• Weekly Trio Pass: $149 a month (any three classes a week)
• All Access Pass: $199 a month (up to thirty classes a month, every class type)

What students consistently say

ClassPass and Airbnb reviews often mention welcoming teachers and a calm room. Those are also the things we liked about visiting.

What to expect on your first visit

Arrive ten minutes early. Sign in via the Kenkō app or at the door. Leave your shoes on the rack at the bottom of the spiral staircase. Grab tea. Find a mat (provided). Settle. The classes start on time and the doors close. Wear what you would for any yoga or pilates class. The studio is unscented, so heavy perfume is discouraged.

Parking

On-street parking to the right of the studio is free; on the left it is paid during business hours. Several paid parking buildings sit within a 200-metre walk for the busier weekday slots, so there is always an option even when the kerbside is full. After 6 pm and on weekends, parking is free almost everywhere in the Eden Terrace block. The K Road bus stop is a five-minute walk down the hill.

Things to consider

The upstairs Move Studio is generous — it holds up to 50 mats — but the most popular sessions still book out a day or two ahead, and the candlelight yin slots fill by Friday lunchtime. The room warms quickly with a full class, which is lovely in July and a little intense in February. Weekday on-street parking on St Benedict’s Street fills up during work hours; the upside is there are several paid parking buildings within a 200-metre walk and the K Road bus stop is a short walk down the hill, so getting to a 6:30 am or 12:15 pm class without a car is straightforward. If you live on the North Shore the drive will still be a stretch for a five-times-a-week habit.

Who it suits

Kenkō suits people who want a calm room and a choice of yoga and pilates classes. It’s convenient for Eden Terrace, Mt Eden, Newton and the CBD. There’s also accommodation upstairs if you’re visiting Auckland.

It’s our overall pick, especially if you want to try a few class styles without changing studios.

Address: 40 St Benedict’s Street, Eden Terrace, Auckland 1010 Website: kenko.studio Instagram: @kenkostudios ClassPass: Yes Pillars: Movement · Connection · Upgrade · Glow · Slow

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