Yoga Or Pilates For Weight Loss

Yoga and Pilates can help you create a toned physique, but weight loss is not their primary objective. And although they look similar, yoga and Pilates differ in many ways, including posture, breathing and philosophy. Adding one or both modes to a routine with aerobic exercise will help keep you engaged and healthy.

Yoga and Unity

The word "yoga" means "to join." Yoga uses a series of poses, or asanas, to comfort and challenge. Yoga aims to purify your circulatory, digestive, respiratory and hormonal systems. In yoga, you pay attention to the flow of energy through the body. Deep breathing brings calm and focus. Lunging poses, such as Warrior I, strengthen your legs. Postures like Bridge Pose stretch your back, shoulders and hips. Hatha yoga will usually emphasize flexibility and relaxation. Vinyasa yoga is active, moving through a sequence of poses. A heated room makes Bikram, or hot yoga, more vigorous.

Pilates and Flexibility

Founder Joseph Pilates developed his Pilates method during World War I to rehabilitate bedridden soldiers. Today, the Pilates workout still follows a strict form, with an emphasis on precise and controlled movement in smaller repetitions. Most exercises are done lying down. Pilates routines on the Reformer, the Cadillac and the Wunda Chair use springs to provide gentle resistance and support while the mat sequence uses body weight to build strength and flexibility. All exercises work the core muscle groups around the lower torso, buttocks and thighs, called the "powerhouse." Many of the exercises exert the muscles at the point of extension rather than at a point of contraction, building a long physique. Pilates requires close attention and builds body awareness.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise burns fat because it keeps your large muscle groups moving for an extended period of time. Swimming, walking, dancing and bicycling are all aerobic exercises where your heart rate stays elevated. You should be lightly winded while you exercise, enough so that you can still talk, but not sing. At times, yoga can be aerobic if you are moving through a series of postures, as in vinyasa style yoga, although that is not the aim of most yoga classes. Pilates will probably not elevate your heart rate, unless you are completing the advanced workout.

Anaerobic Exercise

Anaerobic exercise occurs when your heart is unable to pump freshly oxygenated blood to your working muscles fast enough to remove the buildup of lactic acid. The buildup causes the burning sensation in fatigued muscles. Weight lifting and interval training are anaerobic. Over time, your muscles will adjust to the higher workload, and you will build strength and more muscle tissue. While anaerobic exercise does not aim to burn fat during the workout, with more muscle tissue, you will burn more fat throughout the day, even while at rest. Pilates, with its use of springs and body weight for resistance, is more anaerobic than aerobic.

Benefits

Yoga brings your attention to the present moment. By being aware of your reactions as you hold still or move between challenging postures, you learn about yourself. A 2005 study at The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center led by Alan Kristal, Ph.D., linked weight loss and mindful eating with regular yoga practice among the 300 test participants. By eating mindfully, participants avoided eating to satisfy emotion instead of hunger. Likewise, Pilates teaches the importance of moving with intention, both during the workout and throughout the day. As you become more mindful of your body, you will be more aware of your food choices. Indirectly, yoga and Pilates help with weight loss.