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%26#039;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%26#039;s not as important. I%26#039;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%26#039;s fundamentals are sourced to various ancient texts, among them Patanjali%26#039;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 %26quot;ashtanga,%26quot; 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%26#039; style and sold it to the west as %26quot;Power Yoga.%26quot;)





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 (%26quot;the Woodstock swami%26quot;) -- a sequence of still poses interspersed with complete stillness in a %26quot;corpse%26quot; pose. Known as %26quot;Integral%26quot; 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 %26quot;Hare Krishna%26#039;s%26quot; 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%26#039;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 %26quot;Yoga%26quot; with another word, and sticks a trademark symbol next to it. It%26#039;s a marketing scheme, offering teacher certifications after a quickie weekend of expensive dumb-downed %26quot;training,%26quot; with predictable results.








PILATES





My shorthand for Pilates is %26quot;yoga with more ab work%26quot; but it%26#039;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 %26quot;Contrology.%26quot; 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 %26quot;Pilates.%26quot; It can be legally used by anybody to mean anything. Ask your instructor%26#039;s training background and certification authority.





HAVE FUN !!|||It depends what your expectation/results are.


There are many differnt types of Pilates and Yoga. Pilates type movements (which evolved from yoga movements) are now commonplace in rehab and used by elite athletes (core movements). Yoga may be difficult for those with joint pain, but can be done with modification.





Both are good for pain relief, although pilates is tailor made for my needs. Yoga causes some discomfort for me (long holds, more stress on joints, some inversions). I still do both, but have to do some pilates warm up before I do some yoga... lol...





Both are very good workouts - takes much more discipline than lifting weights and riding a bike for an hour. I stopped lifting weights (except dumbells and squats), but still hit the heavy bag - I feel much better now.|||They are totally different. Pilates is more about breathing and developing the core! It%26#039;s also about strengthening, flexibility and improving posture.





Yoga is more spiritual and is about meditation and poses.|||pilaties in more intense