There are a growing number of health-conscious people trying out both Yoga and Pilates as an alternative form of physical activity or exercise. Aside from the fact that these exercise disciplines are les tiring to execute than the standard aerobic and weight training workouts, Yoga and Pilates provides a lot more benefits to its practitioners.
Aside from weight loss and obvious increase in strength, Yoga and Pilates center on the creation, development, and maintenance of flexibility, core strength, stability, and body-mind control. This is what makes these two low-impact exercise disciplines more popular among gym goers and beginners. The fact that you can achieve more than weight loss and improved muscle tone is what makes Yoga and Pilates appealing exercise disciplines for a lot of people who approach health in a holistic manner.
Winsor and Stott Pilates
It is a well-known fact that Joseph Pilates revolutionized the fitness world when he came out with his own set of exercise routines to improve body and mind connection. It was however popularized by second generation Pilates experts, Moira Meritthew and Mari Winsor.
Both Meritthew and Winsor trained under one of Joseph Pilates’ disciples, Romana Kryzanawska during the early 1980s. These two proteges were taught “True Pilates” as Kryzanawska pledged to the late Joseph and Clara Pilates that she will only teach the exercises that she was able to learn from them. Kryzanawska still continues to teach individuals True Pilates even at the age of 80.
Kryzanawska’s protégés however added their own twist to Pilates.
Stott Pilates that was founded by Meritthew is based on Joseph Pilates’main principles but are however modified by the introduction of many new exercise movements into the original teachings of Joseph Pilates.
Stott Pilates concentrates a lot on rehabilitation and spine alignment. It is an approach by which movements are directed towards the surrounding muscles of the spinal column so as to develop good posture and stability. Stott Pilates advocates believe that a balanced and straight spine will then result to more stability of the core as well. Stott Pilates is also popular for manufacturing top of the line apparatus that are designed by the company’s sports medicine experts and fitness experts as well. Their efforts are geared towards the awareness that proper body alignment is foremost to induce a leaner and more toned-up body.
Mari Winsor on the other hand concentrated on marketing Winsor Pilates as a Pilates style which is geared towards weight loss and flexibility. She opened her studio in L.A and her approach was definitely a hit for her celebrity clients. She concentrated on exercise movements developed by Joseph Pilates that burn more calories when they’re practiced on a regular basis. Winsor also emphasized the importance of doing cardiovascular exercises on a regular basis so a leaner, sculpted, and toned body is attained with successful weight loss results as well.
Hatha and AshtangaYoga
Nobody really knows who established Yoga as it was developed by the ancient Hindus a couple of hundred years ago. However it is established that all forms of Yoga exercises stemmed from Hatha Yoga. Ashtanga Yoga is classified just as one of the many subtypes of Hatha Yoga.
In recent times however, these two styles of Yoga exercise disciplines were split up according to people’s preferences. Hatha Yoga concentrates on both the Asanas or poses and the Pranayama or breathing. Hatha Yoga emphasizes that proper breathing in between poses is just as important as the poses themselves. Hatha Yoga then is obviously slower as practitioners of Hatha Yoga experience each and every second of their session through pose-breathing-pose and so on. This approach is ideal for people who are just beginners at Yoga. The slow flow of movements are surely low-impact, which in turn makes the students more relaxed and calm when they’re transitioning from one pose to another.
Ashtanga Yoga or Power Yoga is more fluid in its movements. Although considered a subtype of Hatha Yoga, Ashtanga Yoga is not slow in its transition and is relatively faster. If you are in search of a Yoga class that can help you burn more calories, Yoga teacher recommend the involving yourself with Ashtanga Yoga. This Yoga style is more intense, which induces calorie burning all throughout the whole Yoga session. This isn’t recommended for beginners and is only attempted by advanced Yoga practitioners.
