Pilates Home Workout

What is the difference between yoga and pilates?

I really know nothing of the two other than that they are similar in some ways and different in others. I would like to have some sort of exercise I can do at home since I won’t have as much free time to go to the gym anymore. I would like to do exercises that tone my body overall. Gaining strength would be nice but it’s not as important. I’ve heard that yoga is more about stress release and meditation but can it also be used as a workout? Thanks for the help!

– Yoga means union with your true nature.

– Pilates is the name of a guy called Joe.

YOGA

Yoga’s fundamentals are sourced to various ancient texts, among them Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, The Bhagavad Gita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika.

Yoga incorporates sustained mental focus, physical postures and breathing techniques to get the body and mind functioning perfectly. Regular practice allows the practitioner to transcend attachment to his body and mind, allowing his perfect true nature — divine consciousness — to fully emerge, so he might become one with it

There are as many styles and sequences of yoga posture practice as there are gurus. Among the more famous currently:

1. K. Patabhi Jois — athletic sequences combining yoga postures and gymnastic movements. Called “ashtanga,” which refers to the eight steps of yoga in the Yoga Sutras, so really any yoga practice combining yoga posture, breathing and meditation can accurately be described as ashtanga. (Beryl Bender Berch borrowed Jois’ style and sold it to the west as “Power Yoga.”)

2. B.K.S. Iyengar — precise, sustained poses, using bolsters and props if required. Can be strenuoous, or very gentle for elderly practice and like physical therapy. Iyengar and Jois had the same guru.

3. Satchidananda (“the Woodstock swami”) — a sequence of still poses interspersed with complete stillness in a “corpse” pose. Known as “Integral” yoga, combining the paths to self-realization expounded upon by 20th C. yoga philosopher Sri Aurobindo:
i. Raja, or Hatha Yoga: postures, breathing, meditation
ii. Bhakti Yoga: devotion to a concept of divine consciousness such as a deity, like the “Hare Krishna’s” for example
iii. Karma Yoga: selfless action, dissolving ego
iv. Jnana Yoga: using philosophy/science to distinguish between what is real and what is illusion.

4. Sivananda/Vishnu-Devananda – see above. Sivananda was guru to both Vishnu-Devananda and Satchidananda. Sivananda organization books are very good, and include endless possible variations in the postire sequences, along with proper yoga diet (balanced vegetarian with dairy).

5. Bikram Choudhury – a set sequence practiced in 105 degree heat, devised by a champion bodybuilder from India who settled in Beverly Hills. A team of lawyers protects his various copyrights. (Raquel Welch borrowed Bikram’s style for a 1970s exercise video.)

All of the above offer rigorous teacher training certification programs recognized internationally.

6. Beware of a class combining the word “Yoga” with another word, and sticks a trademark symbol next to it. It’s a marketing scheme, offering teacher certifications after a quickie weekend of expensive dumb-downed “training,” with predictable results.

PILATES

My shorthand for Pilates is “yoga with more ab work” but it’s really more than that.

According to legend, Joe Pilates was a sickly 19th C. German child who read everything he could on physical fitness: calisthenics, yoga postures, boxing, martial arts, body building, etc. He combined it all into a personal workout which made him something of a perfect athlete by age 14.

He moved to London in 1912 and became a boxer, gymnast and circus performer, and gave self-defense classes to Scotland Yard detectives. He began his overall training program while teaching fellow inmates in the internment camp he was placed in during WWI.

He moved to New York in 1925 and taught classes in his codified system called “Contrology.” Precision, focus, control, flow, deep breathing are all important components. The professional dance world discovered him, and all manner of dance warmups and strengthening exercises were added to the mix. There are Pilates mat classes which is just you and the mat, and Pilates Refomer, done on a contraption with ropes and pullies attached.

Beware – nobody owns the term “Pilates.” It can be legally used by anybody to mean anything. Ask your instructor’s training background and certification authority.

HAVE FUN !!

15 minute Pilates home workout

Caribbean Workout: Core Pilates - $5.99 Caribbean Workout: Core Pilates -

Pilates Mini-Ball Workout DVD with Leslee Bender $29.95 The Pilates Mini-Ball Workout from fitness and Pilates expert Leslee Bender is a challenging and effective way to improve strength, flexibility, and muscle tone. The mini-ball provides instability much like an exercise ball forcing you to engage your core muscles. The Pilates Mini-Ball Workout features over 20 mat and mini-ball exercises that are great for all fitness levels. This DVD can be used for a home exercise routine, group fitness routine, or by a personal trainer as a great reference tool. When you have mastered The Pilates Mini-Ball Workout, try the Pilates Mini-Ball Advanced DVD for a more challenging workout.

Pilates for Life: Pilates on the Ball - $6.99 Certified physical fitness expert Amy Brown hosts Pilates on the Ball, a volume in her successful Pilates for Life series of home workout videos. Per the original intention and principles of program founder Joseph Pilates, this volume in the series emphasizes shaping areas of the body with an apparatus – in this case, a large rubber ball. Brown invites at-home participants to join her in a number of routines with the ball that hone and define the hips, abs, butt, thighs, waist, and back . ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Home Workout $24.95 Five great 15 Minute Fitness titles- Everyday Pilates, Gentle Yoga, Better Back, Total Body Workout , and Abs Workout -are brought together in one bumper volume, providing a complete home-workout exercise package, total body, yoga, Pilates, back, and abs exercises. Featuring all four complete routines from each book, a total of twenty highly effective, superfast workouts, 15 Minute Home Workouts offers the home exerciser fantastic choice, expert guidance, and great results! Varied workouts are designed to tone your body and keep your heart healthy. Whether you want to focus on a body-sculpting regime of Pilates moves; fire up with an all-around program of strength-training exercises with cardio intervals to strengthen, tone, and burn calories; work on improving your back muscles and flattening your tummy; or relax and revive with beautiful sequenced yoga poses, 15-Minute Home Workouts has an exercise program for you. A brief introduction to the book is followed by five different styles of workouts, each one offering four super-fast exercise routines, a total of twenty 15-minute workouts. Contents: How to use this book Includes feature spreads on How healthy are you?, Test your Fitness, Clothing and Equipment, and Staying Motivated. Everyday Pilates Three introductory spreads prepare the reader for the routines to follow, with features on Pilates from the Inside Out, Pilates Concepts, and Pilates Head to Toe. The four workouts featured in Everyday Pilates follow. Total Body Workout Three introductory spreads cover your training program and the key muscles worked in the routines that follow. The four workouts featured in Total Body Workout follow. Better Back Three introductory spreads cover the parts of the back, protecting the back, and imagery and cues used in the routines. The four workouts featured in Better Back follow. Abs Workout Three introductory spreads cover the anatomy of your abs, and assessing your abs in preparation for the routines that follow. The four workouts featured in Abs Workout follow. Gentle Yoga Three introductory spreads cover advice for beginners, practicing safely, and where to practice and helpful props. The four workouts featured in Gentle Yoga follow. Resources