| Pilates mats fill certain requirements that regular old | | | | perform these movements on hard surfaces, mats for |
| exercise mats or yoga mats just don't handle very | | | | Pilates are suitably thick and cushiony. In fact, they're |
| well. Once you learn what to look for in a good Pilates | | | | significantly thicker than yoga mats, since yoga mats |
| mat, you won't be satisfied with other types. | | | | are designed for stability during standing poses. |
| Difference between Yoga and Pilates | | | | Features of interest |
| Pilates is an exercise system developed to give | | | | When you come right down to it, there are several |
| athletes what they need. Yoga, nice as it is, is more of | | | | features that matter: |
| an ideology. There are physiologically unsound | | | | - Thickness -- the mat should be thick enough to |
| principles in yoga that don't exist in Pilates. Pilates has | | | | cushion the tailbone, knees, and elbows during your |
| been developed with the limitations of the human body | | | | workouts, without allowing any bone bruising or skin |
| first and foremost among the list of considerations that | | | | abrasions like often happens when these exercises |
| have shaped it. Yoga, on the other hand, is designed to | | | | are performed on a typical yoga mat. |
| allow humans to transcend their physical limitations -- | | | | - Length -- the mat should be at least five feet in |
| and, unless you're a mystic, you have to agree that this | | | | length, with six feet being altogether more suitable for |
| is rarely possible. | | | | the majority of people. |
| Difference between Yoga mats and Pilates mats | | | | - Material -- these days, with manufacturers that are |
| Pilates includes a lot of movements in which the body | | | | basically unaccountable for their actions because |
| weight is resting on the knee(s) or tailbone. This is | | | | they're in far-off lands, it's important to get a mat that |
| necessary to fully strengthen and activate the core | | | | doesn't reek of chemicals or offgas noxious toxins. |
| musculature. | | | | - Durability -- The best Pilates mats last surprisingly |
| Since it can be painful and counterproductive to | | | | long. |