Some of us are more likely to go to a yoga class, while some of us are usually found working it in a Pilates session. We are creatures of habit after all. But have you thought about combining the two into your regular schedule? The two together can be very powerful for the body and the mind. And if you look closely, there are a lot of shapes and movements that mirror each other. We offer both yoga and our Hot Cardio Pilates classes and love a balance between the strength and stability, plus the movement and flow of yoga. Here are just some of the reasons we think the two types of movement work wonderfully together.
Pilates strengthens the core in almost every movement
Yoga is a full body experience as are the specific shapes we make in class. It’s rare that a yoga pose targets one muscle group. Take a lunge for example. You’re working the legs, the glutes, the core, and the arms. Everything is engaged. When we move in this way, the stronger muscles in the body can take some of the strain off the weaker ones. Pilates leaves no room for this. Exercises are targeted and repeated until specific muscles are worked and fatigued. Creating strength. The core is one of these muscle groups. And when we have a stronger core, we can do more in our yoga practice. The core is also asked to keep us balanced and stable throughout most Pilates movements.
Yoga incorporates mindfulness into the movements and therefore into our lives
Pilates and yoga both work on the physical body. But yoga has the added element of mindfulness and meditation. This allows us to slow and calm the mind, helping to reduce stress, anxiety, and overthinking. It also teaches us to tune into and control the breath. This is one of the best ways to calm the mind. Bringing attention to the breath. Once we know how to do it in the yoga room we can take it with us off the mat.
Variety and constant challenge keeps the body fitter and stronger
Have you ever noticed that when you’ve been doing the same things for a long period of time, the benefits and results you once saw seem to diminish? Or you might notice things that were once hard are now easy. While this is a sign you’re getting stronger, your body needs challenge to improve. The body can easily become familiar with exercises and types of movement. So it’s been found that variety is one of the best ways to keep progress moving forward and keep the body strong and fit. When we combine Pilates and yoga together, we’re giving the body two different ways of moving and increase our chances of getting a more well rounded exercise regime.
Hot Cardio Pilates incorporates HIIT Training into your schedule
High Intensity Interval training is when you combine high intensity cardio movements with recovery periods, alternating in small bursts of time. This keeps the heart rate up and it’s one of the best-known ways to burn a lot of calories both in class and for hours after. Our Hot Cardio Pilates classes combine HIIT, weight training for strength, plus more traditional Pilates movements.
Moving the body in different ways keeps our mind open
When we stick to one way of doing things, we often start to think it’s the only way for it to be done. Often when we step outside that and try new and different things, we can look at poses and shapes in different ways. When we learn how to engage specific muscles in Pilates, we can use that to strengthen our yoga flows, and when we learn breathing and mindfulness in yoga, we can bring that into a challenging Pilates set.
We love hot yoga and pilates for the fact that it can enhance their anti-aging and health wholefood supplements, to assist in improving skin tone and texture, whilst reducing the physical signs of aging, i.e: wrinkles and saggy skin. The extra blood flow to the skin during hot yoga and pilates promotes oxygen and nutrient distribution, and when combined with their supplements, boosts collagen and elastin levels, to keep skin hydrated, plump and healthy. These anti-aging benefits are further enhanced by the fact that yoga and pilates help your digestive system process and eliminate toxins, via certain compress and release poses.
If you're breakout prone, is also an effective way in clearing the skin of excess toxins by allowing the body to sweat these toxins out. Ensure to shower straight after a session so the body does not reabsorb these toxins.
By Hannah Gillette, Jo Harvey, Robyn Hamilton
Yoga Tree Perth