Pilates Vs Yoga

What is Pilates?

Pilates is an innovative system of mind-body exercise evolved from the principles of Joseph Pilates.  It teaches body awareness, good posture and easy, graceful movement. Pilates improves flexibility, agility and economy of motion. It can also help alleviate back pain.

Pilates is a system of over 500 controlled exercises that engage the mind and condition the total body. It is a balanced blend of strength and flexibility training that improves posture, reduces stress and creates long, lean muscles.

What is Yoga?

Yoga is a system of exercises, originating in India, practiced as part of the Hindu discipline to promote control of the body and mind.  The history of yoga dates back to almost five thousand years.  Yoga incorporates various poses, breathing techniques, and meditation to achieve improved circulation, muscle tone, and spiritual well-being. There are six branches of yoga: Hatha, Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, Raja, and Tantra.

The Differences

*In general, Pilates is more about how you move, whereas Yoga is more about how you feel. 
*There are increases in strength and flexibility for both; Yoga will increase flexibility more than strength, Pilates will increase strength more than flexibility.
* In Yoga, bodyweight is used for resistance and a great deal of focus is given to the flow from one posture into the other, whereas in Pilates specialized equipment is incorporated into the routines to further challenge muscles and balance.
* Pilates usually encourages inhaling via nose and exhaling through the mouth, whereas yoga concentrates on utilizing the nose for both inhaling and exhaling.
* Yoga is often considered therapeutic, when compared to Pilates, as it helps people find harmony and release stress.
* Yoga offers strengthening in the form of holding static poses whereas Pilates uses dynamic controlled movements to strengthen muscles and the core

The similarities?

* Both the forms of exercises focus on the whole body - the muscles of the arms, legs, abdomen and back.
* Both Pilates and yoga focus on breathing and concentration through all movements and encourage mind-body connection.
*Both increase body awareness, and will improve your sitting and standing posture.
*Both forms of exercises are unlikely to provide significant weight loss


If after reading the above information you’re still undecided, why not try both!  The nature and many similarities in principles and movements make it easy for them to complement each other.  And which is better? That depends on your goals i.e. what you want to achieve from your chosen regimen.  In general, if you're looking for a rejuvenating workout that will provide an equal lift for your mind body, and you're not too concerned about strengthening and toning muscle, choose Yoga. If you're interested in increasing muscle strength and conditioning, and want more physical results, choose Pilates.
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