BYOU Pilates

Pilates: what is it and why is it good for you?

Good resolution for next year: try a new hobby. Does yoga feel a little too floaty for you, but would still like to relax and strengthen your body?

Then BYOU pilates might be for you. Take the time for yourself to learn more about our BYOU Pilates exercises and how pilates will benefit your body and wellbeing.

What is pilates?
Pilates is a form of movement invented by Joseph Pilates during World War I. He himself called the series of exercises he developed "Contrology. After his death, the name was then changed to pilates. Practicing pilates focuses on six basic principles:

control
centering
concentration
precision
breath
flow

Pilates evenly relaxes and strengthens the entire body with exercises that start from the core muscles (the deep abdominal and back muscles that connect the spine, pelvis, and shoulders).

What different variations of pilates exist?
In the classic pilates variation, you have the difference between Mat Pilates and Reformer Pilates. The version on the mat is a series of exercises that you will see more often in group classes. You also have Reformer Pilates: here you do specific exercises on a kind of apparatus with springs, where the springs determine the resistance of the exercise.

Besides the classic form of pilates, there are many different pilates schools, each with their own system. Here, the classic exercises are supplemented and mixed with other fitness exercises. Nowadays, yogalates is also very popular on the Byou app: a fusion between yoga and pilates.

When do you do pilates?
Whether male or female, young or old, stiff or flexible, pilates is beneficial for everyone. In fact, it helps to strengthen your body, make it more flexible and is an ideal form of exercise for when you spend all day sitting at a computer. Pilates is great for improving your posture and for eliminating and preventing back and neck pain.

Pilates improves your posture and fixes and prevents back and neck pain.

The most important thing when you start pilates is to do it under the guidance of a certified pilates instructor. They give the right cues to perform the movement correctly: this way you stay injury and pain free and get the most out of each exercise.

What are the benefits of pilates?

Pilates improves your posture.
The spine and entire body becomes flexible and strong.
It prevents and resolves injuries.
It reduces stress as your mind focuses on how the body moves.
Your body awareness increases.
It is a super good support for other forms of movement, such as walking and strength training. Many elite athletes do pilates to support their workouts.

What do you need to do pilates?
If you practice Mat Pilates, you don't need much more than a mat. You don't even need shoes, just well-fitting clothing such as leggings and a breathable T-shirt.

BYOU Tip: if you attend a live class, it is recommended that you wear comfortable, but close-fitting clothing: that way the instructor can monitor your posture even better and correct it if necessary.

More advanced pilates classes do occasionally use equipment, such as a small medicine ball, hand weights, a pilates ring, and resistance bands. But actually, you can practice pilates perfectly well without all that extra equipment.

What is the difference between pilates and yoga?
Yoga and pilates are both low-intensity, low-impact forms of movement: which help you exercise injury-free.

Pilates is even more focused on core, strength and balance.
Yoga is more focused on flexibility and stability.
Yoga has also been around much longer than pilates, founded about 5,000 years ago.

In addition, the connection between body and mind is much stronger in yoga, the spiritual aspect is also very important here. With pilates, the emphasis is more on the physical activity, but because of the concentrated way of moving, it definitely helps to connect body and mind.

Both workouts can complement each other perfectly, and since there are so many different forms of both pilates and yoga, it also depends a bit on the version what the similarities and differences are.

Want to experience an holistic healing yourself?

Book your BYOU Therapist on the BYOU app for Android

Book your BYOU Therapist on the BYOU app for Apple.