Pilates

• Built around controlled, precise movement — often on equipment like the reformer

• Core-focused: strengthens deep stabilising muscles, improves posture and alignment

• More repetition-based, with a clear progression of exercises

• Goal: strength, control, muscular endurance, body mechanics

Yoga

• Rooted in breath-linked movement (asana) alongside a broader tradition that includes meditation and philosophy

• Emphasises flexibility, mobility, and mind-body awareness

• Poses are often held, with more variation in pace (from slow/restorative to dynamic flows)

• Goal: flexibility, balance, nervous system regulation, presence

Where they overlap

• Both build body awareness and breath control

• Both can be therapeutic and rehabilitative

• I blend principles from each — Pilates' precision with yoga's breath work

Where they diverge most

• Pilates is more bio-mechanical and strength-driven; yoga is more holistic and often spiritually rooted

• Pilates rarely involves stillness/meditation; yoga frequently does

• I emphasise compression work in Pilates to create inner strength and expansion in yoga to create space in your body.