One Snarky Chica with Issues

When I first decided to take charge of my health I knew that I needed to develop a fitness regimen that I would stick with. You see, I am not a fan of going to a gym or doing something repetitive like using a treadmill. That is why I looked to yoga and pilates.

I had heard a lot of positive things about them and I had remembered reading that Madonna does both yoga and pilates and she has a great looking body. My initial research led me to believe that pilates was a bit out of my league as an out of shape beginner so I started with some yoga. And after a while I added pilates to my fitness routine.

To the naked eye, yoga and pilates look a lot alike. A lot of the poses are the same. They both focus on breathing and a connection between the mind and body. And they both can deliver up a pretty hardcore workout.

However, there are some differences that I have noticed.

In my experience, it seems that yoga focuses a bit more on flexibility than pilates. And pilates seems to do more work on your core (abs and whatnot) than yoga. After I do my yoga, my body feels great. Whenever I am having lower back pain or basically any back pain, I do about a half hour of yoga and end up feeling much better. However, doing yoga does not leave me feeling particularly toned. But when I do pilates, I do get the sense that my body is toning up. That being said, I sometimes to a ‘cardio yoga’ and a ‘yoga abs’ workout that is more toning.

I think the difference between yoga and pilates is pretty minimal. And I think they work best when you are doing them together as they compliment each other quite nicely. And if you are just starting out, I would suggest doing a little yoga before moving into pilates territory.

If you have a cable subscription that has Exercise on Demand, they have a lot of great yoga and pilates workouts available. And they mention what level they are so that you won’t have to worry about jumping right in with an advanced workout.

Before starting I definitely recommend that you get a good yoga mat. You can get one pretty much any place. I got mine at Wal-Mart. But you can get Yoga Mats at Yogaaccessories.com for a great price - in fact, the one I got at Wal-Mart is on the YogaAccessories.com website for cheaper! The mat that I have is the 3/8″ Aero Rollup Yoga Mat, which is a little thicker than most yoga mats but I love it. You can click on the link (disclosure: affiliate link) above or below to see what they have to offer. They honestly do have really good prices. If you have a Target near you, they sometimes have some good prices on their yoga stuff too.