Pilates and Yoga: Different Paths to the Same Place

Do you understand the difference between Pilates and yoga?

Both are mindful movement practices, both connect breath with body, and both build strength and awareness. Yet, while they share certain principles, they approach the body from slightly different angles - and when combined, they form a beautifully balanced partnership.

Yoga is one of the oldest movement practices we know. It’s steeped in philosophy, breath work, and stillness. The poses, or asanas, are designed to build flexibility, balance, and presence. A good yoga class will leave you feeling open, grounded, and calmer in both body and mind.

Pilates, by contrast, is a more modern method, developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates. It focuses on functional strength; how your body supports you through movement, posture, and daily life. Where yoga explores expansion, Pilates works on control. Where yoga lengthens, Pilates stabilises.

In practice, this means Pilates helps you build the deep strength and precision that makes yoga feel easier and more supported. It strengthens the muscles that hold your spine, pelvis, and shoulders in alignment, so you can move through yoga poses with more integrity and less strain. Likewise, yoga can enhance a Pilates practice by improving mobility, softening the breath, and inviting a deeper sense of stillness and connection.

I’ve found that clients who practise both develop a unique kind of strength - not just physical, but emotional too. The control and awareness from Pilates meet the openness and calm of yoga, creating a body that’s both stable and supple. One teaches you how to move with intelligence, the other teaches you how to be with what you feel. Together, they form a complete conversation.

In 2026, I’ll be introducing yoga into my Spain retreat, alongside daily Pilates sessions. The two practices will weave together across the week, perhaps with mornings spent in grounding movement and breath, and afternoons in focused Pilates work that refines and strengthens. It’s an opportunity to experience how these methods truly complement one another when practised with purpose and care.

If you already love yoga, Pilates can help you move with greater awareness and longevity. And if you’re a Pilates devotee, yoga can offer the softness and reflection that deepens your connection to movement. Both are, at heart, practices of attention and it’s through that attention that real change begins.

Are you a yoga practitioner who’d like to try Pilates?

Maybe the thought of attending a Pilates retreat with added yoga excites you?

Either way, I would love to welcome you in. Please explore the Timetable and the Retreats pages for more information, or reach out via email if you have questions - hello@bryonyspilates.co.uk