We are so excited to be bringing another beautiful style of movement to the Soul Sanctuary in the form of Pilates. Often compared to yoga, this practice has many similarities, but is different in many respects. Keep reading to understand the comparisons and the benefits of embracing this amazing style of movement alongside your yoga practice.
Origins and Philosophy:
Yoga, an ancient practice that originated in India over 5,000 years ago, encompasses physical postures, (asanas), breath control, (pranayama), and meditation, aiming to unify the mind, body and spirit. Yoga is deeply rooted in spirituality and holistic health, promoting inner peace and balance.
Pilates, developed by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century, is a much more recent movement system. It focuses on strengthening the core body as a whole, improving posture and enhancing flexibility through a vast array of movements and exercises. Pilates emphasises precision, control and alignment with each movement designed to strengthen the entire body and improve a person’s quality of life.
"The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning develops the body uniformly, corrects posture, restores vitality, invigorates the mind and elevates the spirit."
- Joseph Pilates
Movement and Techniques:
Yoga encompasses a diverse range of practices, including traditional styles like Hatha, Ashtanga and Iyengar, as well as more modern styles such as Vinyasa, Jivamukti, Rocket, Yin and Restorative yoga. Each of these practices involves a wide variety of poses, each with its specific benefits. These poses range from gentle stretches to more vigorous and dynamic sequences, for example, flow-based practices like Vinyasa synchronise movements with breath, creating a seamless transition between poses.
Pilates, on the other hand, often centres around small, controlled movements and sequences that target specific muscle groups. It includes exercises performed on a mat or specialised equipment like the Reformer, designed to build strength, flexibility and endurance. Pilates exercises focus heavily on the core muscles, including the abdominals, lower back, hips and glutes. Joseph Pilates saw a strong connection between a person’s physical fitness and their quality of life. Hence 'Pilates' and Joseph's Contrology (the body, mind and spirit approach to movement) system was born. This method is designed to strengthen a person from the inside out, in order to enjoy one's life and health to the fullest.
The Benefits of Combining Pilates with Yoga
Incorporating Pilates into your yoga practice can provide a balanced approach to fitness, offering a comprehensive range of benefits:
✨ Enhanced Strength:
Whilst yoga does engage the whole body, Pilates offers a more targeted approach to strengthening certain muscles. A strong core and glutes supports better posture, balance and overall body stability, enhancing your performance in yoga poses and quality of life.
✨ Improved Flexibility and Balance:
Yoga is renowned for improving flexibility through its varied poses. Adding Pilates can further enhance flexibility, particularly in the spine and hips, while also boosting balance through controlled, precise movements. Whilst a supple body is important, it is arguably more important to have the strength to match and keep the body safe at its end range.
✨ Increased Body Awareness:
Both Pilates and yoga focus on mindfulness and body awareness. Practising both can deepen your understanding of your body mechanics, alignment and movement patterns, leading to more effective and safer workouts.
✨ Better Posture:
Pilates is exceptional for correcting postural imbalances and strengthening the muscles responsible for maintaining good posture. This is largely due to its diverse and balanced repertoire of movements, taking a 360 degree approach to strength. This can complement yoga’s focus on spinal alignment and assist with injury prevention. Your next posture is your best posture.' It is important that we continue to challenge the body in many different ways.
✨ Stress Reduction:
Both practices promote relaxation and stress relief, but they do so in different ways. Yoga's meditative aspects can calm the mind, while Pilates' focus on precise movements have a positive impact on the cardiovascular system and boosts endorphins, which can help reduce tension and improve mental clarity.
A few words from our Soul Sanctuary Pilates teacher, Ashley Freeman:
"Like Yoga, so much of what we do on the mat in Pilates benefits and improves our every day lives. Of course, we can see incredible improvements in our physical strength and mobility. But almost more importantly, we can feel the benefits of enhanced mental confidence, strength and resilience. To me, any kind of physical practice or workout has an equally important mental component. And as we build our ability to step outside of our comfort zone, magical things begin to happen.
I see Pilates as a modality that quite accurately translates over to and improves our daily lives. I think that most of us desire the ability to move through our days feeling strong, agile and free in our bodies. Mastering our bodyweight on the mat, gives us the confidence and freedom to do this. At the end of the day, I believe our training or movement practice should improve and boost the quality of our lives. And I have seen Pilates do this for many people, including myself.
I love teaching Pilates, as I find it such a beautifully light hearted way to connect with like minded people. I love that one minute we are having a little giggle, and the next we are gasping for air, covered in sweat. I am so excited for you to see what you are capable of, and to continue moving towards the best version of you. So take a deep breath, and let's get moving."
Head to the Soul Sanctuary to enjoy an incredible Pilates Foundations class with Ashley Freeman today.
