Fitness
Yoga vs Pilates: A fitness expert reveals which exercise is actually right for you
Looking after ourselves is no longer something we do out of obligation; it’s now a part of our everyday lives. We’ve learned that when we exercise, we feel much better, and being active influences not only our physical state but our mental one too.
There are many types of exercises we can do to achieve these benefits. Among the most recommended activities are yoga and Pilates – two disciplines that, although sharing certain benefits, have key differences that can help you decide which one best suits your needs.
As fitness expert Diego Moya, who holds a PhD in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences from the University of Valencia, explains, “Both disciplines bring together the power of connecting body, mind and breath.” This common element makes them highly effective tools for combating the tension accumulated in daily life.
With the fitness scholar’s help, we tell you how to incorporate them into your routine so you can choose which one you prefer – or maybe you’d like to give both a chance!
Breathwork and mindset: The shared foundations of yoga and Pilates
Yoga and Pilates share a fundamental pillar: conscious breathing. Focusing on breathwork not only helps to oxygenate the body but also encourages connection with the present moment, reducing stress and promoting a sense of inner calm.
“Both yoga and Pilates bring together the power of connecting body, mind and breath”
You can practise both yoga and Pilates at home, in a studio or outside (which is in line with current outdoor wellness trends). If you choose nature, the connection with the environment will undoubtedly enhance the experience. If you exercise indoors, meanwhile, listening to relaxing music can help create a space that’s conducive to concentration and serenity.
Why choose yoga? Benefits for stress relief and mental health
Yoga is an ancient discipline that combines physical postures (asanas), breathing exercises (pranayama), and meditation.
© Getty ImagesThe main goal of yoga is to achieve the union between body and mind, and its benefits go far beyond increasing flexibility. These include:
- Stress reduction: Regular yoga practice can decrease levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, and improve mood.
- Better sleep: Evening yoga sessions are ideal for relaxing the body and preparing the mind for a deep, restorative sleep.
- Strengthened immune system: By reducing stress, yoga can also strengthen the body’s natural defences.
- Increased self-esteem: The connection with the “inner self” helps to boost confidence and self-acceptance.
As Moya indicates, one of the key moments in yoga is Savasana, or the relaxation pose, performed at the end of each session. This pose allows the body to restore its energy balance and the mind to reach a state of deep peace. It is a simple yet powerful tool for eliminating accumulated tension.
Why choose Pilates? Benefits for core strength and posture
While yoga is about connecting the body and mind, Pilates focuses on strengthening the core and improving posture.
© Shutterstock / BearFotosThis discipline, created by Joseph Pilates, is ideal for those looking to tone their body, prevent injuries and strengthen their back. Its benefits include:
- Muscle strengthening: Pilates works all muscle groups in a balanced way, which improves physical strength and endurance.
- Postural correction: It is especially useful for people with back pain or posture problems, as it reinforces stabilising muscles.
- Greater flexibility: Although not its main focus, Pilates also contributes to improving muscle elasticity.
- Injury prevention: By strengthening the core, it reduces the risk of injuries in daily or sports activities.
Unlike yoga, Pilates is more dynamic and physical, making it an excellent option for those seeking a more intense activity without losing the mind-body connection.
Both disciplines are compatible and can complement each other, so you might not have to choose between one and the other.
Yoga vs. Pilates: How to choose based on your fitness goals
The choice between yoga and Pilates depends on your personal needs and goals.
- If you are looking for a comprehensive practice that encompasses the physical, mental, and spiritual, yoga might be the best option. It is especially recommended for those who need to reduce stress, improve flexibility, or work on their inner connection.
- If your priority is to strengthen your body, improve your posture, or complement a sports regimen, Pilates is an ideal choice.
© Getty ImagesKeep in mind, however, that both disciplines are compatible and can perfectly complement each other in a weekly routine.
Pro tips: How to start your yoga or Pilates journey
If you are keen to start practising yoga or Pilates, these practical tips can help you get the most out of them. For example, setting a fixed time for practice is key, as doing it first thing in the morning allows you to start the day with energy, while practising in the evening helps to release tension and relax before bed.
© Silke WoweriesIt is essential to disconnect from distractions by turning off your mobile and other electronic devices to focus fully on the activity without interruptions.
Furthermore, choosing an appropriate space is also important: look for a quiet place, preferably with natural light, and put on relaxing music if you are indoors. Finally, practising barefoot improves grip and stability in the postures, optimising the experience in both yoga and Pilates.
It never feels like there’s enough time in the day – after prioritising your kids, work and other commitments, simply finding an opportunity to get in the gym can prove tricky. But instead of obsessing over gym sessions, Lawrence Price – former professional rugby player, coach and recent guest on MH’s Built for Life podcast – says busy dads should instead prioritise three weekly pillars.
These pillars are less about creating a perfect environment and more about building consistency that works with your life. The idea is that if life gets hectic and one pillar drops off temporarily, the other two pillars keep progress moving.
‘If pillar one is out the window because we can’t train for a couple of weeks, we can still manipulate things by making sure we’re hit hitting pillar one and three by getting those things on point,’ Price tells MH.
The 3 Pillars Every Busy Dad Should Follow
1. Increase Your Daily Movement
Price is a big proponent of increasing your NEAT – non-exercise activity thermogenesis – which is the energy your body uses for daily, non-structured exercises. These include things like walking more, taking the stairs instead of the lift or escalators, and moving during phone calls.
‘If your training window for the day has gone, then the reality is you can still take phone calls on your feet, you can take the stairs. It’s just boring to talk about – it’s unsexy, it’s uncool. But if you get people into that mindset where, whatever your life looks like, you’re prioritising that need. It’s 15% of your total daily expenditure or more,’ Price says.
‘Even even when your training window is put on the back burner, because the hierarchy of needs outside of your own health needs is obviously undulating and sometimes it pulls us away, whatever circumstance you have during the week, just moving more is something you can go towards.’
2. Strength Training
There’s no such thing as training too little – if you’ve only got time for one gym session a week, then make the most of that time and incorporate some strength training. Compound movements help to stimulate muscle growth efficiently.
‘Resistance training is the second pillar. Even if you only get one or two sessions in a week and it’s a really targeted, simple, basic functional hypertrophy routine, you know that when you’re sitting at your desk or when you’re doing the school run, your body is trying to adapt to that stimulus.’
‘If pillars one and two are the energy output pillars, pillar three is the energy input pillar,’ Price concludes.
‘If we have a rough idea of eating in alignment with our energetic needs and body composition goals, even if the environment changes we can still embody the habits and actions that align with our goals and and our visions.’
This is crucial for when you might not have time to train as much as you’d like – adapting your nutrition will still keep you on track with your goals, even if you’re expending less daily energy.
If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.
Ready to build muscle, burn fat and come out the other side looking, feeling and performing better? Click here to get 14 days of free access to the plan via the Men’s Health app.
Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.
During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.
Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…
You can follow Ryan on Instagram or on X
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The latest NHS exercise guidance reinforces what we’ve been preaching for years: hitting that 150-minute weekly movement target isn’t necessarily a get-out-of-jail-free card. It states that prolonged sedentary time is independently harmful, even for those of us who diligently carve out time for the gym. Verbatim, it says ‘prolonged sitting is harmful, even in people who achieve the recommended levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity’.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Sir Chris Whitty has been especially vocal about how detrimental it could be, highlighting hybrid working as a potential health hazard. ‘Without wanting to exaggerate, I think it’s important people think through, for example, hybrid working means quite a lot of people could very easily do very little other than leave their homes, where previously people would be routinely going to work, and that often meant at least some physical [activity],’ he said at a briefing.
I understand his logic, but it’s pretty reductive. Working from home isn’t the villain here – working from one chair is.
When we label remote work as “bad for your health”, we risk throwing the baby out with the bath water. In reality, for many – certainly the whole of the Women’s Health office, but also my less-fitness-conscious sister and stepdad, plus my entire friendship group – working from home often means being more active. It means more time to fit in a lunchtime run, to get some steps in before work, or to run some errands on a quick break.
On the other hand, plenty of office workers are more sedentary than they are at home. They sit at a desk for nine hours straight before driving home, whether to be seen to work tirelessly in front of their manager, or simply because they’re pulled from pillar to post in an office setting. For those who do have an office commute, eliminating that often stressful period of the day allows for better sleep, and more time for the movement breaks we need to break up the dreaded sedentary time. Not to mention that many commutes are almost entirely sedentary on a train/tube/bus.
The potential problem, the advice suggests, is the lack of incidental movement – the walk to the train, the stroll to a meeting room, or heading out for lunch – that’s naturally baked into your day when you’re in the “official” office. Without a commute or a day in the office, the onus is on you to manufacture movement in.
Regular stretching counts as a movement break
Without sounding evangelical, I’ve made this a non-negotiable part of my day. On WFH days, I work out or walk every single morning before I log on, and walk again every evening, even if just a lap around the block. During the day, I have a personal rule: if I’m downstairs, I use the upstairs toilet (and vice versa). Sounds excessive, but it forces me to activate my muscles and add to my step count every few hours.
Beyond that, the options are endless if you’re intentional. Use a standing desk or put your laptop on a kitchen worktop during calls. Take every phone meeting on foot, pacing your hallway if necessary. Set a timer to stand up every 30 mins to stretch, grab a glass of water, or do a quick load of laundry.
We don’t need to return to the office to be healthy; we need to bring movement back into our homes. The goal: to stop being professional sitters.
As Women’s Health UK’s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.
After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine’s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!
Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner’s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as ‘Fit At Any Age’, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.
She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks – all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram.
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