Article: - So what are Yoga and Pilates all about?
Come on! Its undeniably good to spend time exercising – the experts recommend an hour a day to keep you fit and healthy. However, it’s also good to try different ways to exercise each day. You don’t want to get bored, and it’s great for your body to go through a range of different exercises and activities using different parts of your body and even your mind!
You may not have considered it before, but Yoga and Pilates are forms of exercise – although not quite the same as you might be used to… and no it’s not just standing around pretending to be a tree and chanting.
Yoga
Yoga involves stretching and holding certain postures, known as asanas, in order to strengthen both body and mind. It’s basically a complete body workout and an all-round health-building exercise which can help you in loads of ways. At the same time as strengthening your muscles and improving physical flexibility, you are also learning the skills of relaxation and concentration, which makes you more able to manage stress.
Pilates
Pilates focuses more on resistance than yoga, using weights and other resistance tools. It builds strength in all of the muscle groups and is awesome for the core muscles of the trunk (no not another tree reference, your trunk is your abs) and your pelvis, thus giving you a great tummy! It is excellent for supporting and strengthening the back, which means its great for those who suffer from back pain. However, as well as being a physical exercise, it is also good for the mind, as you do need to concentrate!
Where can I learn Yoga or Pilates?
Yoga can be done either by yourself or as part of a class. It is good to start off as part of a class, as you will pick up loads of useful information from the teacher, but if you can’t afford it or there isn’t a class near you, a good yoga video will do just as well!
Pilates is more of a class-based activity for most people, especially beginners, as otherwise you have to buy the necessary equipment before you get started. You can either go to a Pilates Studio, which will have specialist machines for exercising, or a Pilates class, where you will perform on mats with the aid of some equipment.
Both of these activities have become really popular in recent years, and classes are now held all over the place.