Even though yoga is an ancient practice, the exercise is so hot right now, be it for relaxation, improving your fitness or losing weight. Yoga’s cousin, Pilates, is similarly bang on trend, but what’s the difference between them? And which one is best for your wellbeing?
Yoga Basics
Yoga is a life philosophy, combining ethical and spiritual values with a series of poses or asanas. Yoga holistically works to build the connection between your body and mind, which, in turn, improves your overall wellness. The poses were invented to enable practitioners to hold their bodies in place for long periods while meditating, but as they rely on holding muscle tension, they can help to strengthen your muscles.
Pilates Basics
In the early 1900s, a man named Joseph Pilates created a series of exercises for injured World War I soldiers, in order to help them recover from battle injuries. This became known as Pilates, and today remains popular with ballet dancers as it helps you to maintain strong, lean muscles. Where it differs from yoga is that Pilates isn’t based in any philosophy, but rather it is an out-and-out exercise regime aiming to improve your core muscle strength.
Health Benefits of Yoga
Enthusiasts reckon there’s no end to the health benefits of yoga, but let’s take a look at a few. Yoga can help you to become more flexible (which can be no bad thing for your sex life), increase your strength, raise your energy levels, strengthen your immune system and circulation, help to strengthen and tone your muscles, improve your balance and help you to lose weight more effectively. Yoga is also said to be good for your mental health, helping to improve your concentration and focus while reducing your stress and anxiety levels. Plus, this practise may be able to aid in your management of chronic diseases, including asthma, carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.
Health Benefits of Pilates
Again, this exercise practise is praised for its many health benefits. Pilates can help you to maintain a strong, flexible spine, give you a greater awareness of your posture and restore your postural alignment, build and tone your muscles so that they’re longer and leaner, provide strength to your deep abdominal muscles, and promote recovery from a strain or injury. Plus, as Pilates engages your mind and enhances your awareness of your body, this can help with motivation, stress reduction, tension relief, and increased energy. Moreover, you can increase the range of motion of your joints with Pilates, and find relief from back pain and joint stress. Pilates also enhances your circulation, improves the way your body looks and feels and can help you to return to your pre-pregnancy figure after giving birth.
Similarities
Yoga and Pilates are both considered to be mind-body exercises, which means you need the right balance of mindfulness, correct postures and concentrated breathing to enjoy all the benefits they have to offer. Unlike the automatic movement involved in walking or jogging, these exercises require you to be completely focused on what your body is doing, which takes time and practice.
Differences
Yoga is designed to push you towards objective and transcendental knowledge, while the health and fitness benefits are essentially by-products of practicing Yoga. Pilates differs in the way that it’s geared towards fitness; in strengthening your core stability muscles to improve the way you function in your daily life. Also, yoga involves poses that challenge almost every muscle in your body. Pilates, on the other hand, focuses on the deep core stabiliser muscles around your stomach and hips.
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