The differences between yoga and pilates

Yoga and Pilates are gentle sports 

yoga is a centuries-old tradition of mental and physical exercises that originated in India. Yoga serves as one of the role models for Pilates. This sport was developed as holistic physical training in the 1920s by the German body trainer Joseph Hubertus Pilates.

• Yoga and Pilates are both based on different exercises in which you use targeted breathing techniques to bring body, mind and soul into harmony. A sporty effect is achieved through the sometimes quite difficult postures. This strengthens the muscles throughout the body.
• Breathing plays a very important role in both sports. It's a great way to find yourself while exercising. Even breaths have a meditative character. They are the clearest indicator of a vital life function - because no human being would be able to exist without breath. This conscious feeling of breathing should bring body and mind into harmony.
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• Yoga and Pilates are referred to as gentle sports, though that is training - especially in Pilates - you can be physically exhausting. They don't have to contradict each other. The training is carried out with great care and the exercises flow into one another. The focus is always on consciously feeling the body and mind.

Focus on body or mind - that's the difference

• Yoga is a sport in which breathing is practiced exclusively through the nose. This ensures a particularly conscious concentration on the current exercise. In Pilates, in contrast, you inhale through your nose and always exhale through your mouth. The exhalation is often very jerky due to the exertion of the practice.


Exercising the pelvic floor with yoga - an exercise

Yoga is a very gentle and recognized positive form of fitness and relaxation ...

• Basically, Pilates contains more sporting elements than yoga. The gymnastic exercises strengthen the muscles to a high degree. Particularly very deep muscles that can hardly be felt as existent in everyday life are addressed by the training. This ensures good posture and a toning of the whole body. Pilates can also improve back problems. The focus is on strengthening the so-called powerhouse. This means the abdominal muscles, back muscles, pelvic floor muscles and thigh muscles, i.e. the entire core of the body. In contrast, yoga focuses on relaxation and the inner balance of mind and psyche. Your own body awareness moves into the focus of the training. The training has a meditative character so that you can find your inner center.
• Yoga sees itself as part of one's own lifestyle. It is not only practiced physically, but the balance of the whole body is also transferred to the everyday world of thoughts. Pilates, on the other hand, sees itself primarily as a sports practice and not as an attitude towards life.
• Another difference lies in the way the exercises are performed. Yoga is practiced exclusively without equipment. You only train with your own body weight. Pilates knows both exercises without additional equipment and exercises with fitness bands, sports balls and the like.

Find the right sport for you 

• Would you like to work up a sweat and strengthen your muscles at the same time? Then Pilates is the ideal choice for you. Through the targeted training of the powerhouse with gymnastic exercises, this sport is perfect as a Strength training for the move. This is great if, for example, you work in the office and are tied to your desk all day. In Pilates you will find a sporty balance to your sedentary work and at the same time do something for your health and to prevent back pain.
• Are you very busy in everyday life and want a gentle sport with a high relaxation factor? Then it's best to choose yoga. There is hardly any other sport where you can find your inner center and pure deep relaxation after a strenuous day better. The gentle exercises simultaneously ensure stretching of your muscles and mental and physical well-being.
• Do you enjoy both yoga and Pilates? Then Yogilates is exactly the right sport for you. Yogilates combines exercises from both sports. This makes it the perfect choice for everyone who wants to work out, but at the same time attach great importance to a gentle and relaxing sport.