Pilates and yoga are often grouped together – they’re both energizing forms of exercise that empower your body and mind.
If you want another reason to get motivated to exercise, understanding the difference between yoga and Pilates will help you discover which practice excites you – and aligns best with your fitness and wellbeing goals.
In this guide, explore what is Pilates vs yoga and how you can choose between the two.
What is Pilates? A quick overview
Pilates is a mindful movement system that focuses on strength, flexibility and body awareness. At its core, Pilates aims to enhance your mobility, by emphasizing body alignment and breathwork. Pilates workouts can be performed on a mat or using a reformer machine, which provides added resistance while supporting the body for more dynamic movement.
What is yoga? A quick overview
Yoga focuses on holding specific postures (or static poses), breath control and mindfulness to elevate your wellbeing. The aim here is to calm your mind, while improving body awareness and relaxation. Yoga is excellent for enhancing flexibility, and it also helps build strength as you’re constantly balancing against your bodyweight.
Pilates vs yoga: The differences
Both practices are effective, low-impact ways to support your body and mind. To understand the difference between yoga and Pilates, see how they compare below.
Pilates:
- Focuses on core strength and stability
- Uses controlled, repetitive movements to strengthen and tone muscles
- May include equipment like the Reformer or Pilates ring, as well as the mat
- Less emphasis on meditation or spiritual elements
- Designed to improve posture, mobility and functional strength
Yoga:
- Focuses on flexibility, balance, breath, and mindfulness
- Includes poses (asanas), breathwork (pranayama), and often meditation
- Typically mat-based without equipment (except props like blocks or straps)
- Rooted in spiritual and philosophical traditions
- Supports stress relief, relaxation, and flexibility
Which is right for you?
Any form of exercise you do should support what you’re working towards – whether that’s building strength, easing stress or transforming your sleep quality. And when it comes to comparing the Pilates body vs yoga body, each discipline shapes your body in its own unique way. Ahead, we’ll share recommendations to help you choose the best option for your needs.
- If you want to improve your strength, posture or mobility – Pilates is your best option.
- If your central focus is mindfulness, mental calm and flexibility – yoga is ideal.
Of course, many people – Vaura members included – prefer to enjoy both in their exercise routine. Combining the body enhancing benefits of Pilates with the grounding features of yoga.
The best part? They complement each other. For example, let’s take the Pilates vs yoga for flexibility conversation, yoga helps lengthen and release tight muscles – giving you greater range of motion in your Pilates practice. In return, Pilates strengthens your core and stabilizes, helping you stay grounded and balanced in yoga poses.
Answering your key questions: Pilates or Yoga
Now that you understand the benefits of each practice, it’s important to get into the details. It’s a tough choice, especially for beginners – so we’ve broken things down to help you make a confident decision.
Is Pilates the same as yoga?
Pilates and yoga slightly overlap, but they are unique in how they’re performed and practiced. Pilates involves dynamic movements and equipment that build your core strength and full-body mobility. While yoga focuses on holding static poses that develop your flexibility and mental calm.
Unlike slower paced and sometimes low-impact Pilates and yoga workouts. Vaura brings a higher intensity to each workout – blending the mindful elements of Pilates and yoga with powerful, full-body movement to drive results.
Is Pilates harder than yoga?
Both forms of exercise are challenging in unique ways.
Pilates – particularly high-energy classes – can bring your muscles to fatigue, requiring plenty of time for recovery and adaptation. Yoga, while calming, can be difficult when holding poses when your bodyweight is off center for sustained periods.
What’s harder will depend on your current strength, flexibility and experience with breathwork.
Which is better for weight loss: Pilates or yoga?
When it comes to Pilates vs yoga for weight loss, both can support your journey – but Pilates offers more potential for shaping your body composition.
High intensity Pilates burns calories and builds lean muscle. When performed consistently – along with a healthy diet – you can accelerate fat loss. Wondering how many times a week you should do Pilates? Aim for three to four sessions to see visible results. You will still lose weight with yoga, but the process will be slower.
Want to dive deeper? Explore our guide to reformer Pilates for weight loss.
What’s better for back pain: Pilates or yoga?
If you’re choosing between yoga vs Pilates for back pain, the best choice often depends on the root cause of your discomfort.
Pilates exercises can stabilize your spine – which is beneficial if your pain stems from poor posture or muscular imbalances. Yoga, meanwhile, focuses more on flexibility and gentle release, helping to stretch tight areas and improve overall mobility.
Both practices are helpful, but Pilates can enhance your structural support, while yoga can ease muscle tension.
Understanding the difference between yoga and Pilates is the first step towards choosing the right path for your body and lifestyle. And for your next step, discover how to elevate your practice in both modalities, with our guide to breathing techniques for Pilates.