If you’re wondering what exercise to do when it comes between yoga and pilates, you have to consider the benefits that best suit you; they are very similar but have very important differences. Both types of exercise improve your strength, flexibility, balance and are good for your overall health and well-being. Many individuals do yoga or pilates as a hobby or stress reliever because the low-impact exercises tend to be very relaxing.

What is Pilates?

Pilates is a type of mind-body exercise that strengthens your body by focusing mainly on your core while using your arms and legs to perform a series of exercises. It was originally called “Contrology” by Joseph Pilates, who invented this exercise method for himself back in the early 20th century in Germany. When doing pilates, it is important to focus on the mind-body connection because you have to focus on your breathing when performing the exercises for it to be effective.

Benefits

Some of the benefits that come with doing pilates include:

  • Strengthen core which improves your stability
  • Improve posture 
  • Strengthen muscles all over the body
  • Increase your flexibility
  • Ease back pain from poor posture
  • Improve balance

What is Yoga?

Yoga is a spiritual practice that originated in India that involves physical poses and breathing techniques that puts you in a meditative state. There are many types of yoga and poses that range from beginners to those who practice more. Instructors tend to modify poses that suit everyone and their experience with doing yoga. The difficult poses tend to involve a lot of focus on your breathing because they tend to hurt a bit. 

Benefits

Easy, moderate, or difficult yoga poses can:

  • Enhance sleep
  • Help with weight loss
  • Ease stress
  • Relieve headaches
  • Ease back pain by fixing posture

However, if you have any of the below health conditions, it is best to consult your doctor before doing any demanding poses which can lead to complications:

  • High blood pressure
  • Osteoporosis
  • Frequent or risk of blood clots
  • Spinal issues
  • Balance difficulty

Which should you do?

It may be hard to choose which method of exercise best suits you because both have positive benefits. Making a decision depends on your health conditions that restrict you from doing certain poses. To make it a bit easier for you, Pilates is great for core strength and flexibility, while yoga is great for your overall health and well-being. 

Contact Us:

At H&D, our programs are meant to help you find the ideal physical treatment that will speed up your recovery while also improving your health.