The Benefits of Incorporating Pilates into Your Yoga Practice for Flexibility and Mobility

The Benefits of Integrating Pilates & Yoga as a Full-Body Exercise Routine

The popularity of both yoga and Pilates has grown over the last few years and many people are now realizing the numerous benefits of incorporating yoga and Pilates into their fitness routine. Both practices provide a great way to improve flexibility and mobility, but integrating the two into one full-body workout can provide additional fitness advantages.

First, let’s talk about the individual benefits each practice provides. Yoga promotes flexibility, muscle strength, and balance. Each yoga pose helps to lengthen the muscles and connective tissues that cover the bones and joint areas. This lengthening helps to improve posture and also reduces the chances of pain, joint stiffness, and injuries. Pilates, on the other hand, focuses on developing core strength, stability, and muscular endurance while using conscious breathing and awareness of body alignment. Combining these two forms of exercise is a great way to get the most out of your workout.

Benefits of the Pilates & Yoga Combo

When combined, Pilates and yoga can become a full-body exercise routine that offers numerous holistic benefits.

• The combination boosts the overall intensity level of a workout and allows both the upper and lower body muscles to be worked simultaneously.
• It allows for the stretching and lengthening of the yoga poses that focuses on flexibility, along with the additional strength training of Pilates.
• It encourages the practice of mindfulness, breathing, and body awareness.

Getting Started with Pilates & Yoga

If you’re new to either yoga or Pilates, it’s best to gradually work your way up to an integrated routine. Start by familiarizing yourself with the basic poses and movements of each. You can take classes specifically for each or sign up for an integrated yoga and Pilates class. Once you are comfortable with the movements of each, you can try to put them together in your own routine.

If you’re already an intermediate practitioner, you can more easily incorporate the two into one workout. If you’re a beginner, it’s important to gain familiarity with the movements and poses before linking the two together. Additionally, it’s important to understand that the combination of the two exercises will increase the intensity, so it’s important to listen to your body and don’t overexert yourself.

Who Could Benefit from this Combination?

Anyone with a basic level of fitness can benefit from integrating yoga and Pilates, from beginner level to more advanced. As mentioned earlier, it is important to start out slowly, so be sure to listen to your body and take regular breaks. This combined exercise can help those recovering from injuries by allowing the body to stretch and strengthen in a safe and controlled way.

Yoga and Pilates can also be beneficial for athletes and those looking to get into shape. The combination of the two exercises helps to evenly develop muscular strength and improves flexibility and core strength.

Integrating Pilates and Yoga

Incorporating Pilates and yoga into a single work out offers a wide range of holistic physical and mental health benefits. While you can easily find classes that offer both yoga and Pilates, integrating the two into one workout allows you to customize the workout to best fit your needs and goals.