Pilates And Yoga: Which Is Right For You?
How do I know if I should do Pilates or yoga?
Which is better: Pilates or yoga?
Aren’t Pilates and yoga the same thing?
How do I know if I should do Pilates or yoga?
If you’ve asked yourself these questions, stick around. I’m here to walk you through the similarities, differences, and benefits of Pilates and yoga.
From the outside, Pilates and yoga look freakishly similar as they are both low-impact workouts that increase flexibility with breathwork and strange-looking poses. However, when you get down to the nitty-gritty, Pilates and yoga are two completely different forms of exercise.
So, how do you know which one is right for you? Lucky for you, I’m here to help you figure that out!`
Pilates And Yoga Similarities
Let’s start with the obvious: Pilates and yoga DO have many similarities. To say they are as different as apples and chocolate cake would be wrong. In fact, you could say yoga and Pilates could be compared to chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream: each very unique while using many of the same techniques and ideals.
Mindfulness
Another similarity between Pilates and yoga is the benefit of destressing and relaxation. Both yoga and Pilates highlight similar techniques that allow your brain to tap into a calming mode and increase your level of peace through mindfulness and mind-body awareness. Both emphasize a body and mind connection, specifically paying attention to and being aware of how your body moves and feels and which muscles you are using. Without awareness of the body, neither Pilates or yoga is possible.
Breathing
On top of that, yoga and Pilates have a similar basic principle of breathing. While yoga and Pilates may use breathing techniques in different ways, they both share the same philosophy of breathing through exercise and diaphragm breathing (AKA deep breathing that moves through the entire body). During both exercises, you’ll find yourself being instructed to breathe and focus your breath into each movement. Both Pilates and yoga emphasize feeling your breath and using it to deepen your stretches and movements.
Differences In Pilates And Yoga
While yoga and Pilates have a few similarities, they have many more differences. In fact, once you get about 5 minutes into the class, you’ll realize Pilates and yoga are two completely different exercises.
So what ARE the main differences in Pilates and yoga? Let’s get into it!
The Purpose
To begin, the purpose of Pilates is vastly different from the purpose of yoga. Yoga can be traced back to ancient times as a form of meditation/spirituality. Nowadays, yoga keeps that basic foundation of meditation and spirituality as its main purpose. At its core, yoga is an exercise in mental strength, mindfulness and body/mind connection. Because of this, yoga is a practice that can be integrated into everyday life while Pilates is a practice that is done on its own time. Although yoga can be used as an exercise, exercise is not the only form of yoga. Yoga’s main purpose is strengthening the mind and becoming aware of your body.
On the other hand, Pilates is a specific form of exercise with its main purpose being to strengthen muscles, build core strength, and increase flexibility. While Pilates does incorporate mind-body connection and has the benefit of mindfulness or meditation, Pilates focuses on more typical workout goals and practices.
Benefits
Another huge difference between yoga and Pilates is the benefits that come from practicing them. Although yoga and Pilates do result in some similar benefits, when looking at what each one is created to bring you, you can see the distinct differences between the two. In yoga, the emphasis is on flexibility and posture more than muscle work. Although Pilates can increase your flexibility, flexibility is not the main point of Pilates. In Pilates, you focus more on toning muscles and building strength. Pilates also has an emphasis on stabilizing your core and using it to find balance. Overall, the core benefits of yoga and Pilates can be summarized as: yoga is mind and flexibility focused and Pilates is strengthening and muscle-building focused.
Movement
When it comes to the actual movements, Pilates and yoga couldn’t be more different. Sure, you may see some of the same poses, but what is done in those poses is completely different depending on whether you are doing Pilates or yoga. In yoga, you’re instructed to hit a pose and hold it, focusing on balance and mindfulness. In Pilates, you hit a pose and then move other parts of your body while in the same post in order to strengthen certain muscles and muscle groups. Because of this, Pilates becomes a full-body exercise while yoga is a mind-centered and focused exercise.
Equipment
When you walk into a Pilates or yoga class, you’ll find very different equipment. While yogis use a mat and light equipment such as a block or a blanket, Pilates classes in a Pilates studio like Citizen Pilates use a Pilates reformer machine. Pilates is characterized by slow and controlled movements that make your muscles toned, long and lean. Reformer Pilates involves balancing and doing exercises on a customized machine, using various pulleys to slowly tone muscles. The setup can be intimidating for newcomers, but Citizen’s custom reformers are meant to accommodate people of all sizes, those with injuries or physical limitations.
Benefits of Pilates
Pilates has an enormous amount of possible benefits, and while you may experience some of the following benefits, you may not experience all of them.
- Increases core strength
- Tones muscles
- Relieves back pain
- Increases energy
- Improves mood
- Decreases depression/anxiety
- Increases body awareness
- Improves mobility and flexibility
- Strengthens mind and cognitive functioning
- Stress relief
- Strengthens bones
Benefits of Yoga
Similarly, yoga has an enormous amount of possible benefits, and while you may experience some of the following benefits, you may not experience all of them.
- Increased Flexibility
- Stress relief
- Decreases depression/anxiety
- Boost immunity
- Improves quality of life
- Improves balance
- Improves bone health
- Improve cardiovascular health
- Improves posture and body awareness
- Improves mobiltiy and flexibility
Pilates And Yoga: Which Is Better?
NEITHER! Both Pilates and yoga are decorated with extreme physical and mental health benefits. Choosing between the two is like choosing between steak and chicken: both are fabulous, but you have to decide what you’re looking to do IN your workout class and what results you want to get OUT of your workout class.
Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with either. Participating in both Pilates and yoga will lead you in a positive direction and increase your quality of life both physically and mentally.
Pilates Or Yoga: Which Should YOU choose?
With any exercise, it’s essential to understand what your goals are before going in. When choosing between Pilates and yoga, that statement couldn’t be more true. Because Pilates and yoga are often misunderstood as being the same workout and lumped together, I encourage you to do your research and understand the differences between Pilates and yoga before choosing one over the other.
What results do you want to get from your exercise?
What are your fitness goals?
For mindfulness, flexibility, and balance, go with yoga.
For muscle toning, core strength, and flexibility, go with Pilates.
In fact, why not try both and see what happens?
CLICK HERE to try out Pilates with us!
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