Since I started teaching Pilates as well as yoga, a lot of people have asked me: “What’s the difference between the two?”

Yoga…

… is a movement practice that connects the body, breath, and mind:

• The physical postures develop your strength and flexibility.
• Awareness of the breath encourages you to connect with your body and notice how you feel, physically and mentally.
• Relaxation and meditation exercises help you to release stress and feel calmer. At be:well we always finish with a ten-minute relaxation.

When you do yoga, you explore movement for the sake of movement, exploring shapes and seeing how your body responds. Often, we do flowing sequences, moving with the breath from one pose to the next. Some of the movements will be challenging, and some will simply feel good. An important aspect of yoga is learning to listen to your body and work at your own pace.

Yoga originates from ancient India and has its roots in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Nonetheless, it’s not a religious practice.

Pilates…

… is a low-impact exercise method that helps you to improve your alignment, muscle endurance, stability, and flexibility. The exercises engage the deep muscles of the core (your abdomen, back, and pelvis). The focus is on proper form and control, rather than fast or intense movements. It’s great for your strength and posture, and although it’s less stretchy than yoga, it does help with flexibility too.

We do sets of exercises, so you perform the same movement around 8-14 times – or more, if your teacher loses count! At be:well, you get lots of individual attention, helping you to understand how to align your body and target specific muscle groups.

Pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century and was originally called Contrology.

What’s the difference between yoga and Pilates, and which should I do?

Yoga and Pilates complement each other really well – why not do both? But if you have to choose, go with what feels most engaging and enjoyable for you. Here’s a summary of the differences.

Yoga

• stretchier
• often we do flowing sequences of movements
• more focus on relaxation, more meditation/mindfulness oriented

Pilates

• more focus on strengthening your core
• a strong emphasis on alignment and slow, controlled movements
• a clearly structured workout, and you do sets of exercises, repeating the same movement several times.

How do I book?

You’ll see that I have the class and events timetables listed on this website. You can then click through to book a course, an event, or a drop-in class.

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