The truth about Pilates has become distort as Pilates has become more popular.

Articles are spreading Pilate’s myths from ear to ear like a game of Chinese whispers. Once and for all I am going to try to dispel some myths.

Is Pilates a derivative of Yoga?

In short no. Pilates is Pilates and Yoga is Yoga and anyone that practices both understands that. However, to look at the two disciplines it is understandable why people think that Pilates is a derivative of Yoga. A lot of exercises look similar to an untrained eye. The reality is that Yoga has had an influence on Pilates. Boat pose looking very similar to teaser for example. However the form, application, theory behind the exercises, and purpose is not the same.

Does Pilates give you a flat stomach?

The answer to this one is YES. If performed correctly Pilates does give you a flatter stomach. The reason why is that it works to inner muscles the traverse abdominis through the breathing technique tightening up the core and reducing volume. The method of keeping the belly “on” during the exercises and inhaling to fill the rib cage allows the core to stay active during the Pilates class.

All Pilate’s exercises activate the core therefore working the legs also trains the abs. In the same way a ballet dancer would train with the “core” muscles “on” when dancing.

Can anyone teach Pilates?

Pilates, like Yoga and other disciplines is not regulated and therefore YES anyone can claim to be a Pilate’s instructor with little or even no training. It is important to know in which school your Pilates teacher trained in and how much experience he or she has. There are weekend courses out there and courses that take almost a year for Mat Pilates alone.

The main Pilates schools, and generally providers of a complete Pilates education are; STOTT https://www.merrithew.com/ associated with YMCA and where I trained, Peak Pilates https://peakpilates.com/ and specific to Barcelona Orthos https://orthos.es/cursos/gimnasias-suaves/mat-pilates/. Even if your teacher has gone to one of these school experience is key.

For more information about our Pilates classes including Pregnancy, Mat, and Reformer, Clinical and Fusion Pilates classes click here.

Devorah, our lead teacher has taught over 10,000 Pilates classes. You will be in good hands