What is the difference between Pilates and Yoga?

Question

I am looking for a non-fussy exercise that I can do at home. I would like to sweat a little from it, but the main thing is that I exercise my muscles safely (not interested in muscle building). I have tried a little bit of yoga, and I really liked how I felt afterwards. I really like the stretching, and breathing aspects. But, I am a Christian, and the spiritual aspect of yoga;the fact that it's leaning toward Eastern religion, bothers me (no offense to those who believe it). Thanks for your answers!

Answer 1

Pilates and yoga are actually very different disciplines, although a glut of gym instructors who have taken weekend certifications in both have helped create a confusion between the two.

Yoga is an ancient discipline that has been practiced in various forms for millenia. What we know as "yoga" is actually hatha yoga, or the physical manifestation of a vast system of meditation and spirituality associated with several of the world's largest religions. The premise of yoga is simple yet difficult: to find stillness even in movement by focusing on the breath. The traditional goals of yoga are not on the physical body so much as the mind and spirit, but practitioners of yoga find that they gain strength and flexibility throughout their entire body. There are many different types of yoga currently being practiced, many of them based on the personal experiences, preferences, influences, and beliefs of their teachers. These include vinyasa, ashtanga, power / athletic, Iyengar, restorative, Bikram, Forrest, Anusara, Jivamukti, Viniyoga, yin yoga, kundalini, and fusion, to just name a few. They vary widely in their focus and pace, although all ultimately derive from a very similar set of exercises.

If you decide to pursue yoga (and I hope you do continue to give it a chance), you should look for "athletic yoga" or "power yoga." Teachers of those types of yoga tend to be very Western in their approach, focusing on the physical aspects over any other. Power or athletic yoga also tends to be vigorious and sweaty. Additionally, you may be interested in Christian alternatives to yoga, such as PraiseMoves and Fr. Thomas Ryan's Yoga Prayer.

Pilates is, in comparison to yoga, a "young" discipline, having been developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century as a means to rehabilitate others and himself. The Pilates repertoire includes series of exercises done without equipment (the matwork) as well as various series done on numerous types of equipment, including the reformer machine. The premise of Pilates is that all movement is initiated from the powerhouse or core, that is, from your abdominals and lower back. Thus, strengthening those muscles affects the entire way you move. There are many types of Pilates currently out there. A few people, including Romana K and Classical Pilates, do only "pure" Pilates, as taught by the discipline's founder, while others, like Stott Pilates, Winsor Pilates, and others tweak the exercises and sequences based on the personal experiences, preferences, influences, and knowledge. They vary slightly in their focus, pace, and sometimes even form, although all ultimately derive from the same set of exercises.

Certain Pilates programs will give you a workout similar to yoga workouts without the Eastern religious pedigree. (Despite popular belief, Pilates is NOT based on yoga; Joseph Pilates drew from many different exercise systems, many of whom happened to share or even, in a few cases, be inspired by exercises also found in yoga.) You will gain strength and flexibility throughout your body with Pilates, but most likely the majority of the improvement will be at your center rather than in your limbs, if that makes sense.

Another option you may want to consider are fusion workouts. These combine exercises from yoga, Pilates, dance, calisthenics, and even sometimes more traditional gym exercises like squats into a form of exercise that will help you gain strength, increase your flexibility, and relax. Because the exercises have been lifted out of their contexts, primarily for their physical nature, they retain little of any of their backgrounds. You might enjoy videos by Kari Anderson, for example.

For additional information on yoga, Pilates, and fusion videos that you can do at home, I highly recommend CollageVideo.com, where you can see previews of the videos they have in stock and read customer reviews; VideoFitness.com, where you can read consumer reviews of a ton of videos and ask questions on their forum; and YourExerciseDVDs.com, where you can read professional reviews of a number of videos.

Good luck with your at home exercising! I've been doing Pilates and yoga at home for 3-4 years now and love being able to work out how I want to when I want to.

Answer 2

Personally I believe Yoga is more focused on breathing and flexibility while Pilates is more about toning and loosing weight.

Answer 3

i practise yoga but completely ignore the spiritual part. i haven't looked into pilates. it looks like ashtanga yoga to me, plus a little aerobics. perhaps they have added something. but yoga is already pretty comprehensive. don't be afraid of yoga just because of the spiritual baggage. just study the hatha part.

(it is right to learn, even from the enemy - can't remember who said that)

i might add that I think your religion is bs and i would totally love it if you were helped so much by yoga that you started to question your religion (which has no such systems of self-improvement) but don't pay any attention to that.

Answer 4

m not 100% sure, but i think pilates is more intence. more focused on muscles and gettign stronger/losing weight. yoga has all kinds of special moves that help with different things. ie: Yoga for P. M. focuses on relaxing and calming your mind, Yoga AM is energizing, theres yoga for stregnth and flexibility and all kinds of other stuff.

Answer 5

they are not the same. Pilates is more repetitive than yoga, and i think it's better for your physical strength.

Answer 6

i think they are same things. the way you perform is lil different.