Yoga and Pilates: What’s the Difference, and Which Might Suit You?
If you’ve ever wondered whether to try yoga or Pilates, you’re certainly not alone. From the outside, they can look quite similar: both may involve a mat, carefully considered movement and attention to your breathing.
But while they share some features, their origins and approaches are different. Understanding those differences can help you choose a class that suits what you need—and you may find there’s room for both.
What is yoga?
Yoga has its roots in Indian philosophy and is a much broader practice than the physical postures we often associate with it. Depending on the style and teacher, a class may bring together movement, breathing, concentration, meditation and relaxation.
The physical practice gives you an opportunity to explore strength, mobility and balance, while paying attention to how you feel. There is also space to notice your reactions: do you rush, hold your breath, compare yourself with others or push harder than you need to?
For me, this is one of the valuable things about yoga. What we notice on the mat can help us become more aware of how we approach everyday life.
What is Pilates?
Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates in the early twentieth century. It uses controlled movement to develop strength, mobility, balance and body awareness, with an emphasis on coordination and the quality of each movement.
You’ll often hear about the “core”, but Pilates involves the whole body. The aim is more than working the abdominal muscles: it includes learning how different parts of your body work together.
Mat Pilates uses body weight and sometimes small pieces of equipment. Apparatus-based Pilates, including reformer Pilates, uses specialist equipment with adjustable resistance and support. These classes can feel quite different, so it helps to know which type you’re booking.
What do yoga and Pilates have in common?
Both encourage you to pay attention to your movement rather than simply going through the motions. Both can challenge strength, mobility, balance and coordination, and both involve breathing and concentration.
Neither requires you to arrive with a particular body shape or level of flexibility. A suitable introductory class should help you learn gradually, with options appropriate to your experience and needs.
How do they differ?
In Pilates, the emphasis is usually on precise exercises, often repeated with attention to control, coordination and breathing.
In yoga, you may hold a posture, move between postures or explore a flowing sequence. Breathing practices, meditation and relaxation may also have their own place within the class, alongside yoga’s wider philosophical approach.
These are general differences rather than fixed rules. Pilates can feel calm and absorbing; yoga can be physically challenging. Neither label tells you everything about the experience.
Is yoga for flexibility and Pilates for strength?
This is a common assumption, but it misses much of what both offer.
Yoga postures can involve substantial muscular effort. Standing balances, weight-bearing through the arms and controlled transitions all ask the body to work. Pilates also explores mobility and range of movement, rather than focusing solely on strength.
It is more useful to ask what a particular class includes, how it progresses and whether it suits your goals than to assign one benefit to each practice.
What about breathing and mental wellbeing?
Breathing is part of both practices, although the instructions and techniques can differ.
In Pilates, breathing is commonly coordinated with movement. In yoga, breath may guide movement, but you may also spend time exploring breathing separately or using it as a focus for meditation.
Either class can provide time away from everyday distractions. Yoga may particularly appeal if you want a practice that explicitly includes reflection, meditation and relaxation; Pilates may appeal if you enjoy concentrating on the detail of movement.
Your experience will depend on the teacher and style.
How can yoga and Pilates support recovery?
“Recovery” can mean different things. Recovering from a busy week or a demanding workout is different from rebuilding movement after an injury or surgery.
Recovery after exercise
A gentle yoga session can provide an opportunity for comfortable movement, unhurried breathing and rest. Restorative yoga uses support from props to help you settle into comfortable positions with less muscular effort.
For someone who spends much of their week training hard, this can be a valuable change of pace. However, a strong flow class is another workout, and deep stretching is not automatically what tired muscles need. There is no need to force a stretch or assume yoga will prevent soreness.
A suitably light Pilates session can offer controlled movement and a chance to practise coordination without repeating the demands of your usual sport. But Pilates can also be strenuous: a challenging mat or reformer session adds to your training load.
Choose the intensity according to how you feel and what your body has already done. Sleep, adequate food, hydration and appropriate rest remain part of recovery; an extra class cannot replace them.
Returning after injury or surgery
Both practices may form part of a gradual return to movement when they are adapted to your condition and stage of healing.
Pilates exercises can be adjusted by changing the range, resistance, support and number of repetitions. In a rehabilitation setting, a physiotherapist may use Pilates-based exercises to help rebuild strength and movement control.
Yoga can also be adapted through supported positions, smaller movements and shorter holds. Breathing and relaxation can remain part of a practice when physical movement needs to be limited. Carefully chosen movements may help you rebuild confidence alongside your rehabilitation exercises.
A general group class is different from an individual rehabilitation programme. After surgery, a fracture or a significant injury, follow your treating clinician’s advice about when and how to return, and tell your teacher about any restrictions.
Neither practice should involve pushing through sharp or increasing pain.
What does the evidence tell us?
Research suggests yoga may offer small improvements in pain and function for some people with persistent non-specific lower back pain. Pilates may also help, although evidence does not establish it as consistently better than other exercise approaches.
Those findings do not mean either practice treats every injury or speeds tissue healing. The most helpful approach is one that suits your condition, can be adapted appropriately and is manageable enough to continue.
Why the type of class matters
Restorative yoga, Hatha yoga and a vigorous flow class can offer very different experiences. Likewise, Pilates classes vary in pace, equipment, difficulty and the amount of individual guidance.
Before booking, ask about the level, what the session involves and whether the teacher has experience supporting your particular needs.
If you are recovering from injury, you may need individual guidance before joining a group.
Can you practise both?
Yes. You might enjoy Pilates for its detailed movement work and yoga for its blend of postures, breath and relaxation. The two can sit alongside each other, provided the overall amount and intensity of activity suit you.
You also don’t have to do both. Finding a practice you enjoy and can attend regularly is a good place to start.
What does this mean in my yoga classes?
My Hatha-based flow classes offer time to explore movement, breathing and balance in a friendly, relaxed environment. We work with changing themes, giving you opportunities to develop awareness and revisit movements from different perspectives.
I offer posture options so you can explore a version that works for your body. You don’t need to arrive flexible, experienced or particularly “good” at yoga.
Whether you’re beginning, returning after a break or already practise yoga but are new to my classes, you’re welcome to get in touch.
If you have an injury or health condition, please let me know before booking so we can discuss suitability and whether you need more individual support.
You can explore my yoga classes and book here, or read my guide for beginners, returning students and people new to my classes.
Other useful links:
Yoga and health blog collection
Yoga flows to practise at home
A few common questions
Do I need to be flexible to start?
No. Choose a suitable class and begin with the movement available to you. You do not need to reach a particular shape to participate.
Which is better for a beginner?
Either may suit you. Look for an introductory class, a pace you feel comfortable with and a teacher who explains clearly and offers appropriate options.
Which is better for recovery?
That depends on what you are recovering from. For a restful session, gentle or restorative yoga may appeal. For specific rehabilitation goals, an individually prescribed programme may include Pilates-based or yoga-based movement.
The right adaptations and guidance matter more than the name.
Sources and further reading
- NCCIH: Yoga—Effectiveness and Safety
- Pilates Foundation: About Pilates
- Cochrane: Yoga for chronic non-specific low back pain, 2022
- Cochrane: Pilates for low back pain, 2015
Yoga classes in Exeter, book here
My yoga classes run in themes for five weeks. This allows for people to put in place adaptions to suit their body and learn the different options of each yoga flow that are right for them. After the five weeks you will find each yoga flow published on my blog, with a free interactive copy. You will find the yoga class for this theme below.
Want to try one of my yoga classes?
I run yoga classes in Exeter- Exminster & Topsham, Devon
My Exeter based yoga classes are suitable for most levels of yogis. There are flowing sequences, often using sun salutations and vinyasa to warm the body and move through the yoga postures.
The yoga classes include an element of all styles of yoga, to bring a fresh angle to yoga and will encourage the use of yoga props in a fun and informal environment to help you explore your practice. My styles include Hatha Yoga, Vinyasa Yoga, Flow Yoga, Yin Yoga & Restorative Yoga.
Variations to yoga postures will be given throughout the class allowing each person to adapt the class to their personal level of yoga practice. All equipment is provided.
Classes are available at Kiva & Zen Studios in Topsham, Exeter, Victory Hall in Exminster, Exeter.
Book a yoga class today and immerse yourself in the tranquil atmosphere of my Exeter yoga venues, while rejuvenating your mind and body through the practice of yoga.
Each session is designed to help you connect with your inner self, cultivate mindfulness, and improve flexibility, strength, and balance. Whether you're a beginner to yoga or an experienced practitioner, there's a class for you in my Exeter venues.
As a Yoga Teacher, I underwent my initial yoga training in India and am both qualified and registered with the Yoga Alliance. Since completing my initial yoga qualification, I have undertaken further yoga studies both here in Exeter and in locations around Europe.
