What is the difference between yoga, pilates and stretching and what to choose for yourself

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Depending on what goals you set for yourself, you should choose the types of training. Consider what yoga, Pilates and stretching are, and figure out which direction will bring you more pleasure and help you achieve your goals faster.

To get a deeper insight into the essence of each discipline, let's take turns examining what they are and how they differ. Let's start with yoga, which has its roots in the distant past.

Yoga for health, tranquility and harmony

Yoga is a combination of spiritual, physical and mental practices, with the help of which you can cleanse karma and achieve enlightenment by merging with the Absolute. Nobody knows exactly when yoga came into being. The first mention of it is found in the ancient collection of hymns "Rigveda". In a word, it was a very, very long time ago.

But we will not consider yoga as a spiritual practice, but as short meditations at the end of the lesson.

We take yoga, cleanse it of all spiritual practices, virtues and meditations and get a set of asanas and breathing exercises.

Asanas and breathing exercises

An asana is a static position of the body, a posture that you maintain for a certain time, usually 30-60 seconds. Accurate performance of asanas - with an extended spine, no creases in the neck, properly distributed load - helps to get rid of some health problems and strengthen the body.

In everyday life, we use strictly defined muscle groups, while others are rarely involved in work and lose their tone. This is a problem not only for sedentary people, but also for athletes involved in the same sport and who neglect stretching.

An equally common problem is muscle clamps. When you maintain an unnatural body position for a long time, such as sitting at a computer, some muscles are tense all the time. Constant muscle tension in the wrong position affects both bones (problems with joints, spine) and internal organs, creating pressure where it should not be.

During the performance of asanas (provided that they are done correctly), strictly defined muscle groups are strained, including those that are rarely involved in everyday life. The rest of the muscles that are not involved in a particular asana are relaxed, so you do not waste energy on them.

Correct performance of asanas helps to rebuild the body, bring it to a normal state, without clamps and "distortions".

In addition, some yoga postures work on the internal organs, stimulating their circulation and improving performance. Breathing exercises also stimulate the internal organs, help you relax and improve concentration.

The psychosomatic aspect is also important. By removing the clamps in the body, you can solve mental problems, for example, tightness, lack of self-confidence, get rid of restrictions in different areas of life.

Who is yoga for

You should choose yoga if:

• you are looking for an all-encompassing practice that will change your life through physical exercise, and are ready to work on yourself in all planes - physical, mental, spiritual;
• you have spinal problems and want to fix it;
• you have problems with the muscle corset, there are clamps and "distortions";
• you lack calmness;
• you want to feel your body better;
• you want to develop balance.

You shouldn't choose yoga if:

• you want to lose weight and decide to choose the "lesser evil" so that you do not strain too much and engage in physical activity;
• you need to stretch out quickly after training so that the muscles do not hurt;
• you do not agree to spend money on training and plan to train on your own.

I will explain the last point in more detail.

You need a mentor to study yoga

Based on my experience, I can say that mastering asanas without a coach will certainly lead to mistakes in their implementation.

Two years ago, I started doing yoga at home, drawing information from the Internet, asana applications and videos with the analysis of the technique. For six months I did a set of asanas I liked every morning. It disciplined, provided a good and proper morning feeling, and improved flexibility. However, I did not notice any effect on health, posture and mental state.

Recently I started going to group yoga classes at the fitness center and realized that many asanas were not performed correctly. Six months of daily improper exercise. Realizing this is unpleasant.

During the performance of asanas, there should be no tremors in the muscles and discomfort, but I, accustomed to some kind of sacrifice in sports, performed them for wear, with pressure, trembling and pain in the ligaments. At the same time, the positive effect of exercise was lost. As a result, six months of classes had no effect on thoracic kyphosis and scoliosis, which remained with me.

Therefore, if you decide to do yoga, look for a trainer. Only a coach will be able to explain your mistakes and give useful advice.

Pilates for strength and flexibility

Unlike yoga with a long history, dozens of directions, meditations and spiritual practices, Pilates is simpler and more understandable for a modern person.

This set of dynamic exercises for the development of the whole body was developed in the 20th century by Joseph Pilates.

The main emphasis is on the development of the abdominal muscles, the so-called "strength frame". In addition, a lot of attention is paid to stretching the spine during exercise. Together with the strengthening of the "strength frame", this allows you to get rid of posture disorders and consolidate the correct body position.

Breathing also matters, but unlike yoga, there is not a wide variety of breathing exercises. In Pilates, chest, or lateral, breathing is practiced to strengthen the intercostal muscles.

A similar feature of yoga and Pilates is focusing on the training process. During Pilates training, the athlete should concentrate on the position of his body, tension and relaxation of muscles, breathing. This feature, together with the smooth performance of the exercises, allows you to eliminate injuries during exercise.

Unlike yoga, Pilates has more dynamic movements with a certain number of repetitions. There are also static exercises, for example, the famous one, but most of the movements are still performed in dynamics.

In this case, the exercises are connected in one continuous chain - the end of one is the beginning of the other. All this happens smoothly and measuredly, with concentration on the position of the body.

Who is Pilates for?

You should try Pilates if:

• you are in the mood for regular exercise (a quick positive effect is observed with frequent training - from five times a week);
• you are looking for an exercise system that will not only stretch well but also strengthen your muscles;
• you have spinal problems and muscle clamps;
• you want to train on your own, according to information from the Internet and videos (unlike complex yoga asanas, smooth Pilates exercises will not cause injuries and sprains, although, of course, any lesson with a trainer is much more effective);
• you are overweight, you are looking for a system of exercises that will not make you fall exhausted or leave half the session;
• you are just getting ready to enter the world of sports and have poor physical fitness.

You shouldn't try Pilates if:

• you want to stretch without strenuous activity (for example, after strength training or running);
• you are annoyed by slow movements, you are looking for more active physical activity;
• you need not only a system of physical exercises, but also a philosophy.

Stretching for flexible body and injury prevention

In short, stretching is stretching. Stretching can be done as a warm-up and cool down, as well as separately from other loads, using it as an independent training to develop flexibility.

Stretching includes dynamic and static exercises aimed at increasing the elasticity of joints, muscles and ligaments. This includes stretches to strengthen the spine, splits, and exercises to increase joint mobility.

At the same time, stretching does not have a specific sequence of movements, as in Pilates, and poses that are difficult to perform, as in yoga. If you want to stretch specific muscle groups before a workout, there is nothing to prevent you from choosing four or five stretching exercises, and leaving the rest for a hitch or not doing it at all.

Also in stretching there is no particular emphasis on breathing. During stretching, it is important not to hold your breath, take smooth and deep breaths in and out. But this, as a rule, is where the breathing recommendations end.

And one more difference between stretching and yoga and Pilates is the presence of paired exercises, when several participants stretch each other.

Who is stretching suitable for?

You will enjoy stretching if:

• you want to improve the flexibility and mobility of your joints;
• You need a good post-workout stretch
• you don't want to spend a lot of time stretching.

You won't be impressed with stretching if:

• you are already doing yoga or pilates;
• you are looking for a comprehensive approach to developing flexibility, endurance, muscle strength;
• you want to lose weight and have chosen stretching for this.

It all depends on the coach

As a conclusion, I want to say that the discipline itself and your impression of it strongly depend on the coach.

A good stretching coach will certainly not teach you how to meditate, but it can do much more for your health than a layman taking a two-week course and teaching yoga. So choose your coach wisely.

If after training you feel very tired, stiff, or painful (with the exception of a little muscle pain from unusual exertion), then something went wrong. Either you do the exercises incorrectly, and the coach does not correct you, or he himself does not know how to do it correctly.