The Other Mat Class

It’s a common misconception that Pilates and Yoga are one in the same. There is a joke that says: “The difference between Pilates and Yoga is that in yoga you close your eyes and think of God and in Pilates you keep your eyes open and think of your abs!” While both practices hold similarities and polarities, lumping them together is just plain inaccurate. Here are the facts, let’s get educated!

Yoga, an ancient practice developed by the Hindus in India, is more than 5,000 years old. While there are hundreds of different styles of yoga all practices embody the 3 main principles of exercise, breath, and meditation. Yoga came to the west in the early 1900’s, but became most popular in the 1960’s. Yoga has many benefits including increased flexibility and strength, improved posture and lung capacity, improved concentration, and can alleviate back pain, arthritis, and insomnia.

Pilates, created by Joseph Pilates during WWI, was intended to strengthen the body and mind. Ahead of his time, Mr. Pilates (who was riddled with various ailments), developed this system of movement based on his experiences with gymnastics, boxing, and diving. He believed his system was not merely a collection of exercises and instead a method of healing the body and mind. Pilates will increase your strength (especially your core strength), flexibility, and range of motion- as well as improve your posture and can decrease back, neck, and joint pain.

There is no proof that Joe Pilates studied yoga himself. Many of the exercises in his method that resemble yogic asanas. So while they are similar in many ways, there are still intrinsic differences. Yoga is most useful for opening up the body and increasing flexibility. Pilates, on the other hand is more focused on bringing everything together and creating more stability and strength. All you need to practice Yoga is a mat and maybe a couple small props like a block or a yoga strap. Pilates is a series of mat exercises as well but also involves work on specialized apparatus using springs to create resistance.