PILATES OR YOGA?!

My reflections on the difference between Yoga and Pilates without slamming either modality as they are both brilliant!

Both Yoga (if you consider the asanas) and Pilates are a physical practise that challenges the body and contributes to overall fitness and wellness.

But Yoga does have a side to it that Pilates doesn’t- let me explain in a way that doesn’t shame Pilates, because there is no need!

I went to a Pilates class last night and it was a great work out- I found muscles in my abdominals that I did not know were there! And that is what the class was- a workout. I was challenged physically, I sweat, I swore (at yet another round of party pulses!), and I left feeling like I had really worked out. It was great.

What it wasn’t though, was a work-in, and here is where Yoga takes us somewhere else.

You see, first and foremost yoga is a spiritual practise. The physical aspect of yoga- the postures- are a way for us to move the energy so that we are ready to sit and receive the wisdom. The poses are not the end game, they are simply the start.

Yoga is like a movement modality with a 3,000 year old therapist in your back pocket! I have learnt more about myself on my yoga mat than any therapy I have ever done. Yoga asks us to learn about ourselves, to study the self. It offers us many texts to support that journey inward- no party pulse can give you that!

I like Pilates. I like being in a room taught by a teacher who is passionate about Pilates. But Pilates is a workout that contributes to my physical health, and Yoga is a practise that contributes to my physical health AND my mental health.

What I missed in last nights class was the chance to turn inward. In Yoga we call this concept Pratyahara. Yoga asks us to reflect on our behaviours, on our patterns, on our responses and on our blockages. You cannot take this journey of reflection without turning inwards first.

A good Yoga class gives you that opportunity to turn inward at the start of the class in the centring, and at the end of the class in a supported shavasana, and in the closing of the class when you are given a chance to come back to the theme and the learning. The philosophy is carefully chosen to frame the practise at the start via a dharma talk, and woven throughout the class at the perfect time to make you think.

There are moments of meditation, pranayama, and pause- it is in these times that we meet ourselves, if we are ready to.

I do not know any other movement modality that does this, and I am so grateful for the skills Yoga has taught me in how to navigate my life.

There is so much in this life that is set up to distract us. To take us away from ourselves so that we do not hear our own opinions. Yoga does the opposite. It asks us to turn in, to tune in, to work-in.

So if you are looking for a workout that will test the body, support the body, make you physically stronger and more flexible- go get in a decent Pilates class, it is so fun!

But if you want that AND a practise that will work on your mind, then roll out your Yoga mat.

It should not be a case of Yoga OR Pilates- there is room for both in this world and in your life. But be choosey who you practise with. Go to a Pilates teacher who loves the practise and fills the room with energy and knowledge. Go to a Yoga teacher who is as passionate about the philosophy as they are the asanas- because without the philosophy, you are just going to Pilates class that has postures with funny names.

Yoga IS the philosophy, everything else comes after that…