Yoga and pilates: two complete exercise methods

Today we are going to talk about two exercise disciplines that, although very different, are often confused and mixed with each other: yoga and Pilates.

We really cannot understand this confusion, since both are extremely different. We believe that, after knowing a little more about them, you will be able to see it too.

Yoga

Yoga , far from being just a physical exercise, is a tradition that brings together physical, mental and spiritual practices. This is not a single practice either, but is divided into several schools that are very different from each other.

Either way, yoga emerged a couple of thousand years ago in what is now modern India . Since then, it has remained in force, undergoing many changes and modifications over time. Over the centuries, this practice would adopt elements of Hinduism, Buddhism , and various other Asian religions.

The physical aspect of yoga

As for the physical part of yoga, the most sought after in the Western world, this consists of exercising the body by taking different postures called asanas . On a now-classic yoga mat , practitioners attempt positions that exercise various parts of the body.

Although for a viewer without much information on the subject this may seem like a fairly brief exercise, reaching each posture and holding it requires working several muscle groups at the same time.

In fact, many of the most advanced ones can only be achieved after years of discipline and practice on the yoga mat . In general, the complexity of the different poses increases as one becomes stronger and more flexible.

Since we mentioned it, flexibility and balance are some of the parts most worked on with yoga. Although muscular strength is also important, flexibility and balance remain key to becoming an expert.

The mental aspect of yoga

Beyond the physical benefits, yoga is an excellent mental exercise. By using postures, this practice leaves a lot of room for contemplation and silent meditation. Since we only have to use our body, without having to depend on elastic bands or equipment of any kind, yoga can be done without interruption, allowing us to focus on it.

On the other hand, breathing control (or pranayama) is one of the pillars of this ancient practice. As you may already know, breathing control is used in both sports and meditation to achieve firmer control of the mind and body.

In the case of the mind, having something constant to focus our attention on is a good way to stay focused. As for the body, good breathing management allows our body to have more efficient control of the air. This complete exercise contributed to the practice spreading in several countries around the world and local provinces .

The spiritual aspect of yoga

Finally, although this is the least practiced in the West, yoga is part of several Eastern religions, which puts it in a very intimate union with spirituality. Although it is not necessary to share them and it is perfectly possible to do yoga without any, there are many people who take parts of them.

The idea of ancient and ancient spirituality has always attracted the attention of Westerners. This had several booms throughout history, the first being around the 19th century and again in the late 1900s and early 2000s. In this last period yoga , along with others, spread increasingly throughout length and breadth of the Western world.

Nowadays, yoga has managed to generally establish itself as an exercise without too much spiritual connotation, although we can still find people who try to unite both parts.

Pilates

On the other hand, moving to a more modern practice, we have Pilates . Unlike yoga, which has a rich history of several thousand years and does not have a specific author, Pilates is less than a hundred years old and has a creator, Joseph Pilates .

Joseph Pilates was born in the second half of the 19th century, in Monchengladbach, Germany. Son of a gymnast and a healer, both exercise and physical care will accompany him from the first years of his life.

Also an athlete himself, Joseph was intimately familiar with a wide variety of physical training techniques, as well as knowledgeable about the latest exercise apparatus of his time.

Although it may seem like a common instrument now, the use of instruments such as elastic bands for exercise was quite new for its time.

After four years of study and after going through several modifications, Pilates managed to invent “pilates”. This uses a combination of 50 different exercises to exercise various parts of the body effectively .

modern pilates

Pilates evolves and changes as both technology and our knowledge of the body increases. From classic exercise bands to the most complex instruments, Pilates continues to be modified and updated.

This is perfectly understandable if we consider that today, Pilates is practiced by more than 12 million people throughout the world.

In general, the more a practice grows, the more variations and reforms increase, although most still retain the classic ball and elastic bands so associated with Pilates.

However, although the equipment used may change, the practice still revolves around the 50 movements originally designed by Joseph Pilates. This means that despite all the variations we can continue talking about a single practice.

With the latter we come to the end of our article. Whether you've been looking to learn more about yoga, with its spirituality and lightness, or Pilates, with its various tools, such as elastic bands , we believe we've given you a complete introduction.

In one way or another, we believe that both disciplines remain great options for anyone looking to add more exercise to their life.