Pilates and Yoga have both been around a long time

People often confuse Pilates and Yoga with one another. Pilates was developed in the early 1900’s by German-born Joseph Pilates, whose approach to fitness involved a focus on body awareness, posture, and flexibility as well as core strengthening. In the early days of Pilates, some of its first students were dancers in the New York City Ballet. and in fact, it was dancers who really popularized Pilates. In the late 1980’s, Pilates started to become included in mainstream fitness studios and today, is practiced by millions of people in the U. S. and is even a crucial part in the training programs of many sports teams.

Yoga began in India over 5,000 years ago as a way to explore one’s spirituality, especially through the practice of meditation. Over the course of many centuries, many types of yoga have evolved such as Bikram, Ashtanga, and Vineyasa. The type of yoga that you choose depends upon the fitness and health goals that you set for yourself.

How Yoga compares to Pilates: Similarities and differences

Pilates and yoga are similar in that they both focus on a connection between the mind and the body, and they both work towards increasing your flexibility and core strength while at the same time working to improve your posture and overall body fitness. Both Pilates and yoga help to relieve stress and to build endurance, and, combined with a healthy diet, Pilates and yoga can help you to achieve weight loss.

Yoga focuses more on a mind-body-spiritual connection through deep breathing exercises as well as meditation. It helps with balance and focuses on broad muscle groups. Yoga blends breathing with movement and helps to increase your feeling of well-being and promotes relaxation.

Pilates, on the other hand, is a more structured type of workout that can be done on mats or on any of the Pilates machines such as the Reformer, the Cadillac/Trapeze table, and the BOSU balance trainer. Pilates is a mind-body discipline that teaches you body awareness and ease of movement. It focuses on muscle strength and core toning, especially of the abdomen and back.

Health issues that Pilates can help with

Pilates may be beneficial if you are suffering from a number of medical conditions such as fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, back pain, pelvic floor atrophy, Parkinsons, and scoliosis. In general, these conditions negatively affect balance, strength, and ease of movement. People with these conditions can benefit from Pilates exercises that help to improve muscle strength and flexibility, range of motion and balance while helping to decrease stress levels.

If Pilates sounds like a good fit for you, check out Propel Pilates and Fitness Studio. Located in Rancho Bernardo, our studio is one of the largest and best equipped in North County San Diego. We have a team to top-notch, fully-certified instructors who offer a variety of classes as well as private sessions for all of your fitness needs. Visit our website to learn about our classes.