Has anyone got any advice on whether Yoga or Pilates is the best option for increasing flexibility? A recent running injury has led me to believe that I’ve got overly tight hamstrings and quads and poor posture, which I can only assume is from sitting in front of a PC all day combined with lots of cycling.
Any advice on what route to go down to increase flexibility and posture?
Thanks

Pilates will build your core strength and improve your posture, but could give you even tighter hip flexors (unless you’re careful to stretch them after/during class). Yoga will also work on core and posture but with a much greater emphasis on flexibility. At my yoga class last week we spent the best part of 30 minutes just stretching hamstrings, which was ace.

I’d do both if you can, but yoga if you can only do one.

EDIT: make sure you don’t end up at a floaty spiritual yoga class though, i’ve been to a few that – whilst lovely and relaxing – really were naff-all use from a sporting perspective.

Thanks. Is there a particular type / version of yoga that you’d recommend? Are some more focused on flexibility than others?

Sorry, i don’t actually know much about it. But basically – unsurprisingly – i’ve found classes in gyms to be more useful (to me) than ones at meditation/Buddhist centres.

Yoga for flexibility, Pilates for strength. Yoga isn’t (or wasn’t) about getting fit but these days there are millions of variations, many of which are just aerobics for chicks with small bottles of water. Iyengar yoga, or hatha yoga are two varieties that seem to mean “nothing too bonkers”. But as a long time yoga convert I’ve found that each teacher has a slightly different angle. Ashtanga yoga is the one if you want exercise/weight loss/skinny chicks.

Ive been doing some yoga postures for nearly a year now which I learned from a book, my flexibilty at the moment is the best it’s ever been. I spend about half an hour four times a week.

Kev

>but could give you even tighter hip flexors (unless you’re careful to stretch them after/during class)

The instructor really *ought* to be making sure there’s a stretch involved after working anything – part of Pilates is to keep the muscles lengthened, and not allow shortening.
As others had said, there’s more flexibility work in yoga, but Pilates ought to cover what you want/need anyway – I’ve been doing it for about 7+ years now, ‘cos the core stability stuff is more useful to me – plus every time my gym tries to schedule Ashtanga they cancel it ‘cos there’s not enough uptake 🙁 – otherwise I’d have tried it by now.

But either really depends on how good your instructor is.

You could, of course, do both 😉
You’ll probably need a course or two to get the basics sorted. Certainly with Pilates, the more flexible/stronger you get, your instructor should introduce harder versions of the same exercise.

(There’s also a machine element to Pilates but yer average gym’s only going to do matwork – for the former you’d be going to a studio)

Snake oil, most of it. Both are simply about stretching without placing too much strain on joints etc.

If you can learn some stretching techniques, and take the trendy name off, then you’ve got a decent system. Combine it with a fairly low impact sport, and you’ve got a healthy regime. Swimming is one of the best excercises you can do. The water helps to support your body weight, helps to take the strain off your body, and adds a bit of resistance to keep your heart rate up. TBH, a lot of this sitting around going ‘om’ is a load of bolleux. Several people I know do yoga or whatever, and they’ aren’t that fit. It’s the ones that combine it with a proper form of exercise, that are.

For something like Yoga to make a real difference, you need to be doing it on a regular basis, like an hour a day or something, not once a week at a class, and a few stretches for 5 minutes whenever you can be bothered. Yoga etc just suits people’s lazy lifestyles; something you can do in front of the telly, and still be fit. Rubbish.

Proper Yoga is something that involves the mind as well as the body. This takes dedication and belief. Those crazy kung-fu monks don’t get like that, through sitting about on a foam mat in a purple leotard.

Sorry for being so cynical, but all this Yoga, Pilates stuff is just part of the ‘lifestyle’ industry, designed to make you feel good about yourself, without really making much effort. A good part of it is about getting you to part with cash, too..

And don’t get me started on the ‘recommended’ foods, drinks, etc. More bullshit.

Don’t hold back there Rudeboy, let it all out.

I used to have a lot of problems with niggly injuries and back pain. I was doing half an hour in the mornings for a couple of years, just stretching and some basic pilates from a DVD. If you’re just looking for something relaxing to sort out your injuries do some stretchingat home with some good tunes on. It sorted out my posture and back pain, now I can keep it in check with some basic stretches and core work 3 times a week.

Chi Running by Danny Dreyer is good for getting a nice relaxed running posture with everything in line and reducing injuries. As somebody else said, swimming is good, but only if you know what you’re doing. Thrashing about/straining is going to make any postural problems worse. Total Immersion is a good swimming book.

Snake oil or not I’m a massive fan of women with yogacised bodies, the Mrs does Ashtanga twice a week and it’s all good.

Ok, sorry, a bit heavy there!

Yoga, Pilates and others can be very good forms of low-stress excercise, and can be very good for recovering from injuries/ilnesses etc.

What I object to, is the ‘lifestyle’ side of classes, where people are fooled into believing this is having a huge effect on them, when in fact it’s not. I’ve met too many people who’ve been duped by bullshit instructors.

As long as people have an open mind about it, then it can’t do any harm, and with a bit of dedication, surely can make a difference. But people shoon’t see it as a substitute for proper exercise.

I’ve been going to an Iyengar yoga class for ten years & love it. It’s good for strength & flexibility and make you aware of differences in each side. I would strongly suggest a class, not a book/DVD, to make sure you do it properly. It took me a couple of years to realise that trying to do the postures as well as I could rather than trying to go as far as I could in the general direction of the posture was the key – yoga is more about the process than a goal, even good teachers could do the most basic postures better & so still get something out of them. My class ranges in age from 80-30’s & everyone gets something out of it & isn’t bored.

I’ve just signed up for a beginner’s Ashtanga Yoga class which came with a warning that it will be physically demanding, especially on the upper body. I can’t wait. I like to think I’m in good shape but know that my posture & core need some work. An hour of class a week and guidance on home practice – should be good. Can’t compare it Pilates of course as I’ve never done either.

dicky — I’m attending Ashtanga yoga classes recommended to me by a fellow runner. I can’t comment on Pilates, but Ashtanga has certainly strengthened my core and helped my legs. I’m moderately fit (run 3/4 times a week, cycle every day, mountainbike at weekends) and the yoga class is without doubt the hardest 90 minutes of my week. Be ready to sweat profusely and have that ‘I’ve exercised’ feeling the next day.

You might want to check out Stretching by Bob Anderson, too. I’ve only skimmed through it, but there are plenty of postures similar to yoga, for about the price of a class.

Thanks all, yoga classes down at the local gym are the first option then. I’m expecting some pain 🙂