I am often asked what is the difference between Pilates and Yoga. And I tell them that the greatest difference is how they are taught. Both Yoga and Pilates create length and strength in muscles. Although Yoga focuses on a deeper stretch than Pilates at the beginner levels, they both provide similar benefits when taught and done correctly.
And that is the key, when taught and done correctly. At Functional Strength in Lone Tree Colorado, our classes are small and we require some private instruction for new clients. This ensures that when a client is doing the work, he or she is doing it correctly for what they have going on in their body. Because almost all Yoga is done in large classes, a client may not have any previous interaction with an instructor and the class may be so large that the client can get no personal attention. This means that a client may or may not be doing the exercise correctly. Moreover, the exercise may be contra-indicated for something that they have going on in their body. Meaning that the exercise may actually be hurting them. Bad Yoga and bad Pilates can injure you.
Another problem with some local Colorado Yoga studios is the level of training of their instructors. Just as with Pilates instructors, it is important to make sure that the people you are studying with know what they are doing and have more than a weekend course under their belt.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Yoga. I practice Yoga. But I take the principles that I have learned in Pilates into my Yoga practice and that is why I can do Yoga without injuring myself. Otherwise, I would be just like many other people in the class, going for the deepest stretch without engaging my core or stabilizing muscles to hold me in an extreme position.
In this circumstance, just as with other activities, Pilates can make you better understand what Yoga is really about and it can help you to excel at it. More to the point, studying Pilates and taking that knowledge with you into your Yoga study can help you NOT to get injured in a Yoga class with 30 other people in it.