Pilates vs. Yoga: 7 Workout Differences

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Pinterest

What’re the Differences Between a Pilates and Yoga Workout?

Pilates vs. Yoga – both are powerful workout methods that are so similar that it can sometimes be hard to differentiate between them. The two exercises are alike in their movement and core conditioning. At the same time, these two discipline styles are vastly different. There are some fundamental things to know before making a final decision on which one to become familiar with, as both will demand your body’s dedication. Doing both might completely overwork your body and burn you out, not to mention clash with your spiritual state already accomplished by one.

1. The Difference In Movements

Although both Pilates and Yoga movements focus on controlling your breathing, perfecting a technique, and aligning yourself – they vary in things like time and repetition. In Yoga, one would often hold the poses for a little bit longer than one would in Pilates. When it comes to the repetition of the poses, again Yoga continues for more extended and repeating the same poses more than once. Whereas Pilates only focuses on the precision of the current pose for a few seconds then moving on the next. Almost like practicing something compared to just doing it because you are already know how to.

2. The End Result On Your Body

One of the main differences between the two workouts is the parts of the body affected by both exercises individually. Which could have a substantial impact on your decision on whether to go with Yoga or Pilates. If you are looking to train your entire body and clear your mind of stress and anxiety, Yoga would be the better choice. However, if you are looking for a more physical exercise that targets only the powerhouse muscles like your thighs, back, and core, Pilates would be the way to go. Either way, whether you decided to do both or just one of them, you will come out looking substantially more lean and defined.

3. The Way It’s Done

The nature of these workouts has a lot to do with how you perform them. For instance, because a big part of Yoga is inner peace and personal spirituality, it has a calmer and more natural way of being exercised. Where Pilates uses gym equipment to boost and push your body’s functionality and ability to do something it isn’t used to to get to the next level. Yoga, on the other hand, uses one’s body for resistance and isometric training. In using our bodies for natural strength, it helps us increase our mental abilities and our confidence in our own body’s capabilities.

4. One Workout Is Spiritual – The Other Is Physical

Probably the most significant and most crucial difference between Yoga and Pilates is that Yoga has a spiritual element that Pilates doesn’t. Yoga is widely based on deep meditation during the workout, finding alignment, and calming lingering thoughts or worries that may still be causing you stress. When looking for a more physical activity like Pilates and getting stuck into something that moves at a drastically slower pace could turn out to be quite frustrating and could put you off of both. If you are, in fact, not looking for something to clear and calm the mind but push your body to new and surprising limits, the answer is Pilates.

5. There Are Many Different Types Of Yoga

Pilates is only one set of movements and poses, making it a pretty straight forward exercise. Yoga, however, has many different styles and even more different types. These types of Yoga target and affect many different parts of the body and mind. To name a few:

  • Hatha Yoga: This style of Yoga is the most basic of all and is most suitable for beginners. It involves exercises that require you to hold your poses and control your breath, calming your mind from the most basic of stress levels. They practice this style of Yoga mostly in commonly attended classes like at the gym.
  • Kundalini Yoga: The goal of this style of yoga is to achieve a higher level of self-awareness. It is more intense than your more basic forms of Yoga as it involves intense meditation, with the aid of singing and chanting to deepen the spiritual experience. This aggressive form is usually for the more experienced Yoga buffs.
  • Restorative Yoga: This gentle form of Yoga is the total opposite of Kundalini Yoga. It is tremendously calming and mellow. This form of Yoga is a method of bodily restoration. It requires you to hold the poses slightly longer than average to deepen the stretch and relaxation in the muscle tissue and joints.
  • Bikram Yoga: When practicing this form of Yoga, you’ll be in a studio usually heated to over 100 degrees and 40% humidity. This type of Yoga is best in detoxifying the body and losing water weight. It also helps to rid your muscle tissue of stress. It’s almost like combining a sauna session with a Yoga workout.

6. Pilates Can Affect Other Parts Of Our Health

In addition to being a fantastic physical workout, Pilates has also proven to work the body out from harmful toxins. This type of exercise naturally improves your digestive health. With your gut in good condition, your metabolic rate will increase. This increase gives your immune system the boost it needs to stay in a healthy, stable condition. Apart from the physical effects that Yoga has on the body, it is not able to detox the body like Pilates. Yoga can not affect things like your digestive health or the condition of your immune system the way Pilates can.

7. The Difference In Your Energy Levels

After a good, solid session of Yoga, one is left, feeling relax and calm. They will feel well stretched out from all the stress and tension building up in your muscle tissue. Whereas a good workout of Pilates will more often leave you feeling like you have even more energy than you did before you started the class. Pilates, although more physical, isn’t a very exhausting exercise. It is almost impossible for one to feel tired or worn out after a session.