Yoga vs Reformer Pilates
The Benefits of Combining Yoga and Reformer Pilates
In the wellness world it’s common to feel like we have to choose a lane.
Are you a Yoga person? Or a Pilates person?
At Kula Studio, we don’t see it that way.
Yoga and Reformer Pilates are not competing practices — they are complementary systems that support the body in different, but equally important ways. When practiced together, they create a more balanced, resilient, and intelligent approach to movement.
If your goal is to build strength, mobility, and longevity in your body, combining Yoga and Reformer can be one of the most supportive things you do for your practice.
Let’s explore why.
What Yoga Gives Us
Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years not just as a form of movement, but as a practice of awareness. Through breath, movement, and stillness, Yoga invites us into a deeper relationship with our bodies and nervous systems.
Physically, Yoga is exceptional for developing:
Mobility and Flexibility
Many Yoga postures move joints through large ranges of motion, which helps maintain healthy connective tissue and joint mobility.
Coordination and Flow
Yoga sequences encourage fluid transitions and whole-body coordination, teaching the body to move with rhythm and continuity.
Nervous System Regulation
Breathwork and mindful movement support parasympathetic activity — the “rest and restore” side of the nervous system — helping reduce stress and cultivate mental clarity.
Presence and Mindfulness
Perhaps most importantly, Yoga teaches us how to pay attention.
The practice becomes less about achieving shapes and more about feeling what is happening in the body.
But as wonderful as Yoga is, it does have some limitations from a purely physical training perspective.
Where Yoga Can Fall Short
Traditional Yoga practice primarily uses bodyweight and gravity as resistance. While this has many benefits, it means there are certain types of strength stimulus the body does not regularly receive.
Limited Pulling Movements
Most Yoga poses involve pushing into the floor — through the hands in plank, chaturanga, or downward dog.
What we do much less of in Yoga are pulling actions. Pulling movements are essential for strengthening the upper back, lats, and posterior shoulder muscles, which support healthy posture and shoulder stability.
Without this balance, the body can become strong at pushing but underdeveloped in the muscles that stabilise the shoulders.
Minimal External Load
Yoga rarely exposes the body to external resistance, which is important for:
Building muscular strength
Supporting healthy bone density
Stimulating tissues to adapt and become more resilient
This becomes especially important as we age, when maintaining bone health and muscle mass plays a key role in long-term wellbeing.
Strength Through Range
While Yoga builds excellent end-range mobility, it does not always develop the same level of strength throughout the full range of motion.
This is where Reformer practice becomes incredibly valuable.
What Reformer Pilates Brings to the Table
Reformer Pilates introduces something Yoga traditionally does not: external resistance and precise mechanical feedback.
The spring system of the Reformer allows us to strengthen muscles through controlled movement while also creating a deeper awareness of how the body is working.
Deep Core Stabilisation
One of the greatest benefits of Reformer Pilates is the development of deep core stability.
Rather than just working the superficial abdominal muscles, Reformer exercises train the deeper stabilising system of the body — including the transverse abdominis, pelvic floor, diaphragm, and multifidus - a whole 360 degree support for your core.
These muscles create a supportive corset around the spine, helping the body move with greater control and stability. This deeper core strength translates directly into Yoga practice — providing more support in poses like:
Plank
Chaturanga
Arm balances
Inversions - hello handstands!
Strength With Support
The springs provide resistance that challenges the body while still offering support. This allows us to build strength in a way that is joint-friendly and highly controlled.
Balanced Muscle Development
Reformer programming often includes movements that strengthen the posterior chain — the muscles along the back body.
This includes:
Upper back muscles
Lats
Glutes
Hamstrings
These muscles are essential for postural support and spinal health.
When the back body becomes stronger, many Yoga postures begin to feel more accessible and stable.
For example, stronger lats and upper back muscles can make a significant difference in:
Handstands
Arm balances
Chaturanga strength
Shoulder stability
Quite often what people think is a “mobility limitation” in Yoga is actually a strength limitation.
Reformer helps fill that gap.
Endurance and Sustainable Strength
Strength training on the Reformer also helps build muscular endurance — meaning the body can sustain effort for longer without fatigue.
This can make longer Yoga sequences feel more sustainable and less physically taxing.
Precision and Mind-Body Connection
Although Reformer builds strength, it is far from mindless exercise.
The controlled nature of the equipment invites a deep focus on precision — where movement begins, how the body stabilises, and how force travels through the system.
In this way, Reformer develops a powerful mind-body connection, much like Yoga does, but through a different pathway.
Where Reformer Alone Can Fall Short
While Reformer Pilates is excellent for strength and control, it also has its limitations if practiced in isolation.
Reduced Mobility Exploration
Because the Reformer supports the body on a moving carriage, the range of motion explored can sometimes be more structured and contained than in Yoga.
Yoga invites the body into larger, more expressive ranges of motion.
Less Emphasis on Flow
Reformer movements tend to be precise and segmented.
Yoga brings a different quality — the ability to move through flowing sequences where breath and movement weave together continuously.
This flow state supports coordination, cardiovascular stimulation, and a sense of embodied rhythm.
The Meditative Component
Yoga has a deeply integrated mindfulness element.
Through breath awareness, longer holds, and moments of stillness, Yoga encourages introspection and a quieter relationship with the mind.
Reformer builds awareness too, but Yoga often goes further in cultivating meditative presence.
The Real Magic Happens When You Combine Them
When Yoga and Reformer Pilates are practiced together, their strengths begin to fill each other’s gaps.
Yoga offers:
Mobility
Fluidity
Nervous system regulation
Mindfulness
Reformer offers:
Strength
Resistance training
Bone support
Deep core stability
Precision
Together they create a practice that is:
Strong and supple
Stable and mobile
Focused and fluid
This balance is what allows the body to move well not just in the studio, but in everyday life.
A Practice for the Long Run
At Kula Studio, our goal is not just to help you move today.
It’s to help you build a practice that supports your body for decades to come.
A body that is:
Strong enough to support your joints
Mobile enough to move freely
Connected enough to move with awareness
Calm enough to navigate life’s stresses
Yoga and Reformer together create that foundation. Not one or the other. Both.
If you’ve only practiced yoga, reformer may be the missing strength component. If you’ve only practiced reformer, yoga may be the piece that restores balance and flow. Either way, the invitation is the same:
Move well. Practice consistently. And let your practice evolve with you.
Curious to Experience Both?
If you’ve been practicing Yoga and are curious about Reformer, or vice versa, we’d love to welcome you into the studio.
At Kula Studio, our classes are designed to help you build strength, improve mobility, and develop a deeper connection with your body.
Explore our Yoga and Reformer classes in Christchurch and discover how these practices can support each other.
Join our Reformer + Yoga + Mat Pilates Membership for $75 per week, including 2 Reformer classes each week plus unlimited Yoga and Mat Pilates.
Want just a taste? Try our March Promotion: 3 Reformer Classes for $65.