The Wonderful Benefits of Combining a Yoga and Pilates Practice.
Yoga and pilates are a natural fit. In our latest series of pilates blogs, we delve into exploring how these wonderful practices complement one another and the many benefits they bring to body, mind and spirit.
Build flexibility and core strength
Yoga places a focus on large, functional movements to increase our overall strength and flexibility in the spine and limbs. Core strength and stability is one of the many gains of practicing pilates. It tends to offer a more targeted approach to strengthening certain muscles than yoga. A strong core supports better posture, balance and stability, enhancing performance in yoga and life in general. Pilates can correct postural imbalances and strengthen the muscles responsible for good posture. This may complement spinal alignment in Yoga and general body alignment and most certainly assist with injury prevention. Pilates breathing techniques, inhaling through the nose and exhaling out through the mouth engaging the lower abdominals may be beneficial to yoga practitioners who are focusing on building core strength and stability. The emphasis on precise, controlled movement and core strength in Pilates may improve bodily awareness, core strength and overall stability of yoga practitioners. A regular pilates practice will enable Yoga Practitioners to explore and strengthen the core further through their practice.
Pilates tends to focus on the mind-body connection. Yoga expands on this with the mind, body and spiritual connection. Pilates practitioners may benefit from the more meditative, spiritual benefits that yoga brings.
They Promote Mental Wellbeing
Yoga and Pilates promote mindfulness and unique breathing techniques to help boost your mood, make you feel relaxed and stay focused. Mindfulness and relaxation can help to manage symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression.
Learn How to Breathe Properly
Mindful breathing, where we pay attention to our breath and learning how to change it is one of the most effective ways to improve everything from our mood to metabolism.
In yoga, the aim is to link movement to breath and various pranayama techniques are often used to clear the physical and emotional obstacles in our body to free the breath the flow of prana (life energy) Pilates encourages breathing in through the nose and out of the mouth to assist in engaging a deep abdominal connection.
Breathing in pilates is rejuvenating, detoxifying and is a means of enhancing awareness; as it is in yoga. How we breathe affects the depth we can go in each movement and it clarifies and calms the mind helping us to regulate our nervous system.
Pilates can Transform your Yoga Practice
As mentioned before, pilates increases stability, so you’ll find your ability in balancing postures improves. Yoga provides challenging postures. Pilates also strengthens our lower abdominal and psoas muscles, which help us to float and fly, and maintain control in inversions like handstands and headstands. Balance, flexibility and body proprioception in turn, can only improve your pilates practice.
A regular yoga practice such as Yin or Vinyasa helps stretch the muscles you’re using in Pilates, meaning you’ll be less sore afterwards.
Meridian Yoga and Pilates Studio, Glasgow is open 7 days a week and we offer a variety of yoga and pilates classes. You can view our schedule here
