KSHB 41 reporter Marlon Martinez covers Platte and Clay counties in Missouri. Share your story idea with Marlon.
—
A former Kansas City gymnast is transforming the fitness world by bringing adaptive Pilates to wheelchair users, creating inclusive spaces where many previously felt unwelcome.
Anna Sarol suffered a spinal cord injury in a sports-related accident in 2015. She said she noticed an absence inside the Pilates studios: disabled people, particularly wheelchair users.
"One thing that kept coming up was that I never saw a disabled person—let alone a wheelchair user—in this space," Sarol said.
After her accident, the former gymnast assumed spaces like Pilates studios weren't welcoming to someone like her. But instead of staying away, she decided to lean in.
"I noticed again that there wasn't representation, especially considering that Pilates isn't promoted as the most accessible form of exercise," Sarol said.
Sarol learned to adapt to the Pilates environment and eventually became an instructor herself—a role she never expected to fill.
"Not in my wildest dreams that I think I would be in so many different hats and rules and a Pilates instructor, that being something that I can now say I am is incredible in itself," Sarol said.
Now Sarol is hosting the studio's first fully adaptive Pilates class, welcoming 14 wheelchair users into a space many never thought was meant for them.
"I want others in the disability community to see that we can take up space in this space too, and we can do so and thrive and accomplish these goals," Sarol said.
For BODYBAR Pilates Studio Manager Emma Sharpton, the decision to host the class was straightforward.
"Pilates, in and of itself, is just really intimidating for anybody going into it. So especially for people doing adaptive Pilates, it's gonna be intimidating, but they should know that it's meant for them too," Sharpton said.
For Sarol, the goal extends beyond exercise—it's about representation, confidence, and opening doors that were once closed.
"We don't need someone to have all the answers for us. We just need someone to say yes and to take us on and to get creative with us, to problem solve something that isn't the norm," Sarol said.
The class filled up quickly, and Sarol is looking to host more adaptive Pilates events in the future.
—
