Yoga or Pilates?

I had my first Pilates session last week and have my next one today. Although I had done some research it was nothing I have done before and I felt like a fish out of water. Even so I think when I get my breathing right it will be beneficial. My reasons for doing it are as others have said. Lower back and core strength. I am generally active and belong to a walking group.

HI there,
Pilates are core strength exercises focussing on your abdominal muscles and your back muscles.

Yoga... There are lots of different types of Yoga such as Hatha Yoga, Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga... find a class that suits you. As a rule Hatha Yoga is slower and more thoughtful, if that's what you want, whereas Ashtanga Yoga is faster and pushes your flexibility much more.
cmoths.cf

Swim or short walk = hot chocolate ?

Ah - I noticed the 'dormant thread warning just as I pressed to send ...sorry . Still true though .

Erm, I'm with the long walk being rewarded by chocolate camp .

I went to yoga classes years ago.
More recently I went to pilates. I now use some of a Pilates routine that the teacher wrote for me, and sometimes, not often enough, I workout to a yoga video.
I find accupressure good for specific parts of the body.

I did yoga for many years in my 30s and 40s. When I went back to it I found it very difficult as I had stiffened up considerably. I now do Pilates twice weekly when possible. Anyone can do it, and I am convinced it's helping me. I have arthritis in quite a few places and can modify the movements to suit me. I also found that I was able to do things that initially I couldnt, so my flexibility has in fact improved. I am 75 and not the oldest person in the class. The original poster is an active woman in early sixties so maybe yoga would suit her? Why not try both?

I'm a yoga person for many years and It really helped in getting rid of many physical and psychological like depression and anxiety. So always yoga for me.

Have done some yoga over the years but can't get my head around why I should aim to get into largely uncomfortable poses, and hold, eg the lotus position, where there is a likelihood of over-stretching knee ligaments. However, I am biased, as I am a Pilates instructor, and richardjohnson is quite right in his definition of Pilates. It is ideal for anyone at any stage of life, but dependent on a good instructor.

I recently re-located and attended 5 Pilates classes. Two were obviously Pilates, and they had trained through traditional Pilates schools: a longer more intensive (and expensive) training. The other three were totally and individually different, and they were all fitness instructors who had trained for two weekends with fitness training establishments. It was very apparent that they had spent insufficient time getting to grips with Pilates: one had abandoned all attempts at Pilates; another hadn't understood the basics, a little of which she tried to incorporate - and there are no Pilates police.

I emailed the ratifiers of the majority of fitness courses, which includes all the original established Pilates training establishments, and the response was that "no-one knows what Pilates really is." So I regret that that is why there is a huge discrepancy in the skill of the Pilates instructor.

Pilates underpins everything we do, and is about breaking down poor postural habits, replacing them with efficient movement patterns, so that we suffer less from injuries, aches, pains and wear-and-tear. It is an exercise system that adapts to your body, rather than being forced onto your body, as with other systems.

Pilates is a very good complementary exercise for golf, improving handicaps even for those who have back problems and are not highly skilled at Pilates practice. My DBH does it twice daily, and I do it daily, to manage the encroaching and painful osteoarthritis, for which Pilates is ideal.

Just wondered richardjohnson if you do Pilates yourself? Or do you have a different exercise regime?

The Pilates method is taught to suit each person and exercises are regularly re-evaluated to ensure they are appropriate for that person. Due to the individual attention, this method can suit everybody from elite athletes to people with limited mobility, pregnant women and people with low fitness levels.

Thank you "suzied". I must say that core strength is really the thing I need to develop most. Far to sedentary an existence currently.

I go to both Pilates and yoga, and love both, but find pilates more effective than yoga in building core strength, stability and flexibility. You have to go regularly, but you will really notice the difference. I could never do plank or press ups but I can now, and I am in my 60s. I can also do roll ups( sitting up from a laying position) and roll overs ( rolling over backwards) . I would never have believed I would be able to do any of this.

Good advice Lulu from Iam and tiggypiro about finding a well qualified teacher and a small class. I did Hatha yoga for many years until, like Iam, life and work got in the way. I have done a little bit of Pilates but that was at a local authority leisure centre where the instructor was more interested in her own development than anyone else's.

I think there is a difference in philosophy between the two, in that I think Pilates is a very good and thorough exercise system that works the whole body, whereas yoga is a complete physical/ spiritual system that addresses the mind as well - without the breathing exercises, 'joss sticks and mood music' () I don't think it's really yoga but just another stretching session. So if all that stuff isn't for you, and I know it's not for everyone, I think you might be happier with Pilates. Those who are more familiar with Pilates will be more informed on that than me.

I went to a hatha yoga class for several years in my 30's and 40's then work/life got in the way of a regular evening commitment.

I have inflammatory and osteo arthritis and I'm over 20 years older now, so wasn't surprised to find re-starting yoga 18 months ago a bit of a challenge. I'm doing a yin/yang class run by a woman who trained in Thailand and India. It's more active than other yoga I've done and some of the poses are similar to Tai Chi. I love it and started her pilates class 6 months ago. I have discovered muscles I genuinely didn't know I had and back pain has gone. I've missed 4 weeks due to a horrible chest infection, but I'm back tomorrow and expect to find it very difficult. LuluBeyond - find a good teacher and classes that aren't too big. I went to our local council run classes before I found the yin/yang yoga class and to be honest it wasn't great. The classes could be as big as 50 and we were all at different stages of ability. The class I go to now is never bigger than 8 - so we get lots of individual support. I find that's much more needed now for me than it was 20 years ago!

I tried Yoga a few tears ago but didn't like the burning joss sticks and 'mood music' at the end of the session. I know that that doesn't happen at all yoga sessions but it did put me off. I now go to Pilates and enjoy it. Our teacher is very well qualified and also a physiotherapist which is very important in my opinion as she understands all our ailments and alters the exercises to suit us. We are encouraged to do what we are able to do and not what some teachers think we should be doing and no-one finds it painful or unpleasant but it is a good workout. Whatever exercise you decide upon Lulu make sure you have a well qualified teacher and not one who has taken one or two short courses without having a good understanding of how the body works.

I like yoga, but basic stuff, absolutely no standing on head or anything of that sort. I tried Pilates a few years ago, but didn't get on with it awfully well with the positioning of the spine aspect if I remember rightly.

I have never been flexible, so haven't tried Yoga or Pilates. I prefer to jump about a bit, and do mainstream Body Attack, Legs Bums and Tums or Aerobics, choosing the low impact options if my joints hurt. I shall be 70 next year, but hope to continue walking and classes for as long as possible. As they say, use it or lose it!
I hope you find a class to suit, Lulu.

I enjoy yoga but find pilates painful and unpleasant.

Teetime, have you had to adjust your swing a great deal due to the arthritis?

I have done a lot of yoga and some Pilates but my arthritis means I'm not flexible enough for either so its walking and golf for me.

I did yoga years ago, much prefer to be outside so walking is my exercise, especially enjoyed if we go over to the Brecons or somewhere new.
I walk as much as I can.

I've done yoga years ago but I've always wanted to try Pilates but doesn't seem to be anywhere locally.