All of us want to become more flexible. Improving your muscles’ flexibility can help you benefit from a better posture, fewer injuries, and enhanced well-being. Of course, we know that becoming more flexible is a marathon rather than a sprint, but which journey should we trust, Yoga or Pilates?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yoga is an ancient discipline developed into several types, each more suited for a specific goal. However, overall, yoga is better for flexibility as it accentuates stretching and holding\u00a0asanas\u00a0for several breath cycles. Pilates focuses on core strength, weight loss, and muscle building.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Both practices can yield excellent benefits to the body and mind, and combining them can indeed offer you all you need to live a healthy lifestyle. However, if you can only practice one of the two, find the best practice for you below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this post, we'll cover:<\/p>\n
Everybody exercises for different reasons, and having a clear goal when exercising is the key to success. Common goals include weight loss, muscle growth, and a lean core. However, flexibility is also a critical aspect that should not be relegated to a few minutes of stretches, lounges, and twists at the end of your workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Flexibility<\/a> refers to the ability we have to move our joints through their full range of motion. Most of us are born with this skill, but we often lose over time because of our sedentary and movement-wise restricted lifestyle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Focusing on flexibility can yield incredible benefits<\/a> and even support your training or daily exercise. You might just love running, cycling, or swimming in your free time, or you might be working towards being a professional athlete. In any case, you will need a high level of flexibility to have the range of motion necessary to elevate your performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yoga is an ancient practice that can be dated to over 5,000 years ago. It has been developing over time, and many new types of yoga – such as Power Yoga and Hot Yoga<\/a> – have been designed to meet the modern audience’s changing needs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In its purest form, yoga is a comprehensive practice that merges physical and psychological aspects. According to Pata\u00f1jali’s Yoga Sutra<\/a>, the religious text that laid the principles of yoga, there are eight limbs to this practice. However, modern yogis and yoginis focus primarily on the limbs of asana (postures) and pranayama (breathing).<\/p>\n\n\n\n