5 Brilliant and Unexpected Benefits of Practicing Both Yoga & Pilates

As someone who teaches both Pilates and Yoga, I feel judged by both camps. Yogis tend to view Pilates as being overly focused, lacking in creativity and lack of spiritual connection. Pilates instructors can have a view that Yogi’s tend to think that this practice is the only way to live by and that Yoga asanas provide the body with too much stretching which can ultimately be dangerous.

As someone who began as a Yoga teacher before Pilates, I found that by introducing Pilates into my life and practicing both, I experienced surprising benefits in both mind and body.

You’ll physically understand the relationship between relaxation and movement.

Whilst Yoga (mostly) focuses on relaxation with mindful, meditative techniques and spiritual connection. Pilates focuses on relaxation (mostly) on a physical level. Pilates teaches that our bodies habitualise negative tendencies through improper regular movement, like sitting at our desks for most of the day.

When our bodies are stressed we are more likely to use bad movement patterns as a way to function in the easiest possible way. When we are able to relax, we gain the ability to work through those negative tendencies and learn better ones.

Learn how to build patterns of movement into your alignment

Any yoga teacher knows that cueing a new yogi into any basic pose requires deep explanation and many attempts before the correct alignment is found.

If the yogi already has a misaligned skeleton (which is extremely common for most of us) it can take years to find and understand precise alignment in a pose. With repetition, continuous cueing and adjustments given, Pilates shows us that the body can relearn and execute entire patterns of movement.

It’s important to be aware that when in a Yoga class, the sequence is something you are continuously working on to improve each pose and execute with grace and full mind and body awareness. Pilates can teach us how to understand our bodies movements and how we can connect deep to the core. This can then be applied to not only Yoga but any other form of physical exercise.

You won’t feel so sore

Feeling sore and perhaps over stretched from a Yoga class is a strange physical experience. Mentally, we assume that from “stretching” we are loosening the muscles and releasing tension therefore why do we still feel so sore afterwards?! It is ultimately deep muscle fatigue when we get that feeling of the joints struggling to hold our muscles together!

However, since becoming a Pilates instructor, I have found that I rarely ache or ever feel overstretched. Most of the time I finish practice feeling comfortably longer and an inch taller! I think this must be because Pilates focuses on strengthening small stabiliser muscles around the joints therefore you become less prone to overstretching and your body becomes more resilient.

You will feel stronger!!

As a Yoga teacher, I used to roll my eyes at anyone who said Pilates has transformed my body. I thought how is that possible when Yoga is the practice of ultimate mind and body connection and inner peace. Also, the thought of staying fairly low to the mat with minimal range movements, how could it possibly be?! But believe me, I can now say that I have experienced this transformation. I feel that my muscles are more secure on my frame, I can hold Yoga poses for longer and am able to control stability through transitional movement.

I feel much more energised and confident and my breath work has improved which leads me to say…

You will learn new breathing techniques

Breathing is one of the 5 principles of the classical Pilates sequence. By breathing “properly” we can engage the core and decrease the tension where it should not be.

In Yoga we predominantly breathe in and out of the nose during asana and it involves moving the prana (or energy) through the vital organs (energy systems) of the body. In Pilates we inhale through the nose and exhale through pursed lips and focus on bringing awareness to the dynamics of the lung space.

As an instructor of both practices, I want to remove the stigmatism that Yogi’s don’t just have to do Yoga and that ultimately we can gain incredible benefits by practicing multiple styles of fitness to gain greater understanding of ourselves. Taking care of the body and mind are equally as important to live a healthy lifestyle.

It’s extremely important to me to keep both practices fresh whilst honoring both their origins and to help support each other through this journey of life!

Want to join me on a journey?

LAUNCHING SOON.

The 7-DAY REBOOT. My 7-day Reboot program is a full-rounded mind and body experience, leading you into a transformative, sustainable and healthy relationship with exercise and self-connection. The program entails a series of practices: