Just because we are getting older, have had kids and/or don’t have as much time any more to keep in shape, it does’nt mean we have to do a hectic, extra physical exercise program which requires more strain and harder movements, absolutely punishing our bodies in a smaller time frame, to get some truly amazing, well deserved and fast results.
When searching for the perfect workout, I came across PiYo by Chalene Johnson, which has become quite popular. I chose not to buy it and you can read why in my PiYo Review to see why I didn’t but for those wondering what Piyo actually is, I thought I would do a write up to help you understand what it’s all about..
In short, PiYo is a combination of Pilates and yoga. But before we look further into Chalene Johnson’s PiYo workout let’s look at the difference between Pilates and Yoga.
What is Pilates?
Pilates is one of the most popular physical fitness systems used today.
Pilates, developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, is a total body workout system which Joe formed during World War One, originally intended to help improve the rehabilitation programmes for the injured victims of the war.
Joe Pilates designed his unique exercise program to aid the injured soldiers in regaining their health, by stretching, strengthening, and stabilising key muscles in the body.
Joseph Pilates was even quoted as saying, “When I am dead, they’ll say “He was right”. I’m fifty years ahead of my time“. And you know what? He truly was.
Joe preferred more precise movements by the body, and he rathered less movements, instead he preferred more control over an increase in repetition.
He also believed that one’s mental health was just as important as their physical health, and that both were essential to one another, in turn this would create a method of total body conditioning.
To establish a perfect working body from the inside out, Pilates uses concentration, centering, correct alignment, control, precision, breathing, and a flowing movement (the Pilates principles).
With an emphasis on lengthening the body, and aligning the spine (rather than bulking and shortening the muscles), Pilates classes focus on not only building strength, but flexibility and lean muscle toning.
Our “Core” is classed by most as the most important part of our body when doing any type of workout. A complex series of muscles your core extends far beyond your abdominal muscles, and includes everything besides your arms and legs. So it’s the area between your Shoulders and Pelvis. So this all means that Your Core is incorporated in almost every single movement of the human body. Pilates focuses on our core, and helps to work all of the muscles within this area. The Transverse Abdominis, Pelvic Floor and Multifidus muscles are our essential intrinsic core muscles, and with the Pilates method we learn to train these areas of our body.
Focussing on improving postural awareness and the strengthening of the core, Pilates is now well known to aid in the prevention of neck, joint and back pain.
What is Yoga?
A lot of different people have a lot of different ideas when it comes to Yoga. It’s real meaning, where it came from, and how to practice Yoga in it’s true form is somewhat a silent debate, with so many different point of views.
The actual origins of yoga are said to be dated back to pre-Vedic Indian traditions, but it is believed that it was most likely developed sometime in the fifth or sixth centuries BCE, at the time of ancient India’s ascetic and śramaṇa movements. The actual chronology of the earliest texts describing the practises of Yoga is still unclear, but it is widely credited to the Hindu Upanishads and also Buddhist Pāli Canon, at around the third century BCE or a bit later.
Wherever and whenever the origin of Yoga, it is today recognised as an ancient system of practices, principles and philosophies, which were derived from the ancient Vedic tradition of India and the Himalayas, over 2500 years ago. Yoga is a training system that not only recognises the multi-dimensional nature of the human person, but also primarily relates to the nature and workings of the mind, using the bases of experiential practice and self-enquiry.
I’ve actually found an extremely good Yoga training program and it’s really changed my life. There is no hype like Chalene Johnson’s PiYo and my dear friend actually recommended I should try it. It’s called ShapeShifter Yoga and it’s been working wonders for me which is why I love yoga so much.
With Yoga, one’s breath, body and mind are seen as a union of the multidimensional aspects of each and every person to be brought into this earth. The well practised exercise system and the various techniques of Yoga cultivate the experience of that union, which then in turn help lead to much greater integration of being, internal peacefulness, wellness and clarity of the one’s mind and self. Yoga is a complete system which was designed to cultivate a person’s health and happiness, and a greater sense of self-awareness with a higher consciousness. Based on balance and harmony, Yoga is an approach to life that values appropriate effort, within each person and with each other.
So to put it as simple as possible, Yoga means to “Yoke” the spirit and physical body together.
Having evolved over thousands of years, to embrace a wide range of styles and disciplines, Yoga has become the ideal training method for so many people, of all ages and from all different types of people, including professional athletes, senior citizens and even young children.
Yoga is so versatile, that it can even be modified to suit all different levels of fitness, and this makes it one of the most popular and convenient ways to exercise in the world still to this day. Yoga can not only increases strength and flexibility, it energizes the body, calms the mind, and it has even been proven to lower blood pressure.
Ok, So What Is PiYo All About?
This is the original question you probably asked yourself – What is PiYo?
Chalene Johnson says, PiYo isn’t like standard Pilates and yoga classes with long, intense poses, dozens of repetitive, crazy core movements. PiYo speeds everything up and according to Chalene Johnson it even speeds up your results.
She also claims her PiYo workouts burn serious calories at the same time as they lengthen and tone your muscles and increase your flexibility.
So hopefully this gave you some kind of understanding what PiYo is and you now know more about it. I personally chose not to buy Chalene Johnson’s PiYo because it is expensive and if you read my PiYo review you will find out more..
Where Can You Buy Chalene Jonson’s PiYo workouts?
If you do want to buy the PiYo workouts, it includes a DVD package with charts, nutrition guide, more. In my opinion the price is way to high and there are better workouts that are a LOT cheaper!
