How do you decide whether Pilates or Yoga is right for you? Is one considered better than the other?
Pilates and Yoga are low-impact exercises suitable for nearly anyone, regardless of their ability or need. Pilates and Yoga may appear to be the same to the untrained eye, but they are actually two separate practices: one based on movement with or without equipment, and the other focuses on poses and positions.
In this article, we’ll help you understand the differences so you can choose the one that is right for you.
What is Pilates?
The first Pilates studio opened in New York City in 1928 and was popular amongst the city’s elite, circus performers, gymnasts, and dancers. Today nearly anyone can enjoy this practice.
In Pilates , you move through various simple positions in sequences, working your entire body. It is designed to help the student increase strength and flexibility. Pilates is popular due to its effectiveness in helping strengthen your body, increase your mobility, and improve balance. It can also be adjusted or amended to meet your ability or need.
Pilates supports six basic foundations of your health:
- Precision: By focusing on the details and finer nuances of each exercise, you increase the specificity of the movement.
- Flow: Focus on the flow in every movement and between positions and movements to keep your muscles engaged between reps.
- Control: Learning how to control your movements, giving them the right amount of physical and mental energy.
- Breath: Pilates movements are queued on breaths, helping you understand the importance of breathing for core stability and calm.
- Concentration: By concentrating on the nuances of every movement, you strengthen your concentration skills and mind-body awareness.
- Centring: Pilates helps you align your physical body to improve function and center your mental wellness to enhance your focus and overall psychological well being.
Choose Pilates if your health goals include increasing strength and flexibility, improving your posture, or rehabilitating from an injury. It is particularly beneficial for improving core strength and balance.
What is Yoga?
Yoga is a more spiritual practice rooted in India. It combines poses and breathing to emphasize mindfulness while building strength and stability.
Yoga has evolved to include different branches that focus on different characteristics:
- Hatha Yoga: Priming your body and mind
- Raja Yoga: Meditation and the “eight limbs of Yoga”
- Karma Yoga: The path of service and doing good
- Bhaki Yoga: Path to devotion, acceptance, and tolerance
- Jnana Yoga: The heart, wisdom, and intellect
- Tantra Yoga: Inner enlightenment and sexuality
Those who choose Yoga often choose it to improve their overall wellbeing, including reducing stress and anxiety, improving their balance and supporting positive mental wellness. Many Yoga students also claim it helps them sleep better and relieves side effects and pain from osteoporosis and high blood pressure.
Top 4 reasons Pilates is awesome!
- Accessibility and inclusivity: Pilates equipment is inclusive and accessible for nearly everybody, regardless of age or mobility. It can accommodate most pre-existing conditions and fitness levels.
- Variety and flexibility: The variety and flexibility in Pilates workouts allow students to regress or progress at their own speed and ability.
- Eccentric and concentric muscle strength: Pilates exercises are done with spring resistance equipment. These springs place emphasis on both eccentric (lengthening) and concentric (shortening) muscle strength. This combination helps support joint health, range of motion, muscle balance, strength, body alignment, and posture.
- Coordination: The precise movements in a Pilates workout don’t focus on speed but steadiness and flow. This helps increase coordination and stability. When doing a Pilates workout, consider quality over quantity to get the best results.
Which is better: Pilates or Yoga?
Pilates and Yoga are both powerhouses for mind-body exercises. If you mindfully practice them, you’re more likely to experience the benefits of these workouts.
(Regardless of which practice you choose, it’s important to consult your doctor if you are pregnant or have any preexisting conditions or risk factors that may impact if or how you can perform these exercises.)
If you’re interested in teaching Pilates, you’ll find my Pilates Resource Catalogue helpful. This online resource captures my tried and true approach to teaching Pilates so you can up-level your Pilates practice.
I invite you to sign up for a 14-day free trial to get access to my endless Pilates programming concepts, workout ideas and other tools in the Pilates Resource Catalogue.