How Pilates Differs From Yoga

Interviewer: Can you describe how Pilates is different from something like yoga? Are there similarities or differences?

Tonka Cascais: They're both types of exercise. They're both movement scenarios. They're both exercises. I think there is almost this bias that's been created over the years that, "Oh well, yoga does this to your body and Pilates does this to your body." But the bottom line is, if you take the body that's in front of you and you evaluate it properly, anything that you apply to that body is going to have the desired outcome as long as what you are doing with that body is strategic. 

Definitely they are different because in Pilates we use equipment and in yoga it's mainly bodyweight and gravity-based resistance. As I mentioned earlier, in Pilates we use springs as resistance. A lot of times that will actually give us the opportunity to start somebody at the level that is not so advanced, because the springs will also provide assistance with certain movements, while if you have somebody using their own bodyweight as resistance, a lot of times people are not conditioned to do that right away. So that can actually create a little bit of inflammation in the body, when you push the body to that extent.