Pilates or Yoga?
Updated: 2 days ago
What's the difference?
Pilates + Yoga
Thank you for joining me today. Michelle Rae Sobi here to talk a little bit about our ever-changing industry.
You may have noticed or have heard that Pilates is certainly having a minute. That’s a wonderful thing. Pilates is a really beautiful discipline and actually doesn’t compete at all when approached the right way, or when approached in a way where yoga and Pilates can complement one another.
So, if you think about it in that way, Pilates can open up a new audience of people, invite and hold space for new students, or even give your existing students something new that they can take at your facility.
BONUS THE PILATES TEN
The first ten exercises in Joseph Pilates’ original mat sequence are:
The Hundred
Roll Up
Roll Over
One Leg Circle
Rolling Back (Rolling Like a Ball)
One Leg Stretch (Single Leg Stretch)
Double Leg Stretch
Spine Stretch
Rocker with Open Legs (Open Leg Rocker)
Corkscrew
I actually started, even before yoga, with Pilates back in 2008. I studied in Chicago at Body Endeavors, and it was an amazing experience. I remember after that training, and it was a workout, I went home and told a friend, “I found my people.” I loved it.
The Pilates people were upbeat, friendly, driven, hard-working, and had a really nice sense of encouragement and community. These are things that I really like.
It wasn’t long, however, before yoga stole my heart. But my foundation in my teaching, even many of my programs and my manual, still has the essence of that Pilates spirit.
So, what’s the difference between Pilates and yoga, you might ask? Well, in some cases, one picture might look exactly like another picture.
Let’s say, as an example, you take a still photo of somebody in Boat. That same photo could be used for a Pilates class or for a yoga class. The essence of the why behind it, though, is actually very different.
That’s what I’m going to take just a few minutes today in this lesson to talk about: where Pilates and yoga are similar and where they differ.
So, let’s hear about where they’re similar. When we look at some of these postures, it might be called Boat in yoga, or Boat in Pilates, or something else. A movement sequence, though, the kinesiology behind it, when we start to find the movements and the breath patterns that go with the movements of coming into and out of Boat, begins to look much different.
You might find that if you’re in a yoga class, the teacher’s more centered on cues that are around the breath, moving with the breath, into or out of the breath. Whereas Pilates, however, is more about a strong core being a strong body.
I’ll talk about that just to share that with you, in case you don’t already know, or maybe just to jog your memory if it’s been a minute for you.
The idea with yoga, when we inhale through the nose, let’s do it. You can exhale however you like, whatever technique speaks to you, whatever work you like. I want you to do that.
But as we inhale through the nose, what we’re doing is we’re filtering the air, warming the air, and also calming the nervous system. So, this starts to happen a little more if we exhale as well. If it feels good for you, let’s do it together three times.
I don’t know what kind of day you had, but I hope that helped provide a nice little reset.
Pilates, however, is a little different. It is more athletic in nature. It is about a strong core equals a strong body, and that’s the teaching of Joseph Pilates. Pilates helped injured soldiers rehab. That’s where this came from.
So, the idea is to inhale through the nose and out through the mouth so that we can get the next breath in, more oxygen, more readily, more quickly. It’s from a different point of view. Both breaths serve the practitioner, but in different ways.
So, let’s try a few breaths that way, if it feels good for you. If not, do something else. Inhaling gently, put some rhythm into it.
It’s a little more invigorating, right? This is a breath that really works when we’re doing that core work and we want to deliver that oxygen to the cells as soon as we possibly can.
Consider it this way: whether you’re breathing for the relaxing, calming effects oftentimes seen in breathwork in yoga, or you’re breathing with the purpose of getting oxygen more readily, both of them will serve you.
However, an athletic practice in Pilates might more readily exhale. Keep in mind, and here’s where they’re more alike than they are different, the same goes for our yoga class or a strong vinyasa flow.
You might find the breath technique that your students exhale through the mouth, or, as I often do, just prompt them to exhale.
So, inhaling through the nose, warm, filter. Exhale, let that breath go. Next time, with power. Nice deep breath. Exhale. One more time, gentle or strong breath. What are you feeling?
So, if you’ve been considering getting Pilates on your schedule and you are a yoga studio, you’re a little unsure, especially for my yogis out there who feel aligned with having a purist nature, know that finding some yoga in the athleticism found in Pilates can really be a beautiful thing.
After all, both practices, while in comparison Pilates is a much newer one, can serve people in ways that will serve for many days to come.
I do love a nice hybrid class. Check out my coreXyoga class, which is a little bit of both. It was actually nominated best program at the convention in the city, that fitness convention. That was kind of exciting.
Pilates and yoga can serve each other and I love it. I hope that I can help you. I hope that this little bit of time serves you in some way.
If you’re not sure, come check it out. If you need a little bit more direction than that, send me a chat on my website.
If you’re just trying to see, “I don’t know what this is all about,” come to one of my activities. Tap me on the shoulder after. We can have some tea and chat about it.
So, with that being said, in love and light, namaste.
Ready for next steps? Send me a CHAT to begin a conversation about your next Pilates Mat training.
