Yoga or Pilates for Scoliosis: Which One Is Best?

Nov 17

If you have scoliosis, you’ve probably heard quite often how important it is to incorporate movement and exercise into your daily routine. Exercise can help you reduce back pain, increase mobility, and improve your overall health. And most scoliosis doctors and other medical professionals will recommend either yoga or Pilates for scoliosis.

But which one is better for scoliosis? To answer that, it’s important to understand the similarities and differences between yoga and Pilates and how they can impact your spinal curve. And remember, whichever one you choose, it’s crucial to find an instructor who specializes in working with students who have scoliosis.

The History of Yoga and Pilates

Before we talk about which of these movement practices is better for scoliosis, let’s look at where they overlap and differ. And to do that, it’s important to understand the basic history of both of these practices.

A simplified history of yoga

Yoga has been practiced in some form for millennia (starting before 1500 BCE). It has roots in ancient Indian rituals and spiritual practices and evolved throughout history to become more organized, with clearly defined beliefs and practices. The foundations of yoga lie in spiritual and ritualistic practices, and many people who practice “traditional” yoga today still incorporate some of the spiritual components.

However, many Westernized classes downplay the spiritual aspects of yoga, making it a primarily physical practice and form of exercise. In general, yoga incorporates physical poses and movements along with breathwork and meditation. (If you’d like to learn more about yoga, I’d recommend the book The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice by T.K.V. Desikachar.)

A basic history of Pilates

Pilates, on the other hand, doesn’t have a history quite as long as yoga. It was developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, who studied yoga, gymnastics, and martial arts in an attempt to develop an exercise routine to combat his own physical health issues. He continued to develop his exercise methodology as a rehabilitation approach to help people with mobility challenges, including people recovering from injuries sustained in World War I.

Pilates has always been primarily focused on physical exercise — there’s not typically a spiritual component to it. It was designed to incorporate stretching, resistance training, and breathing exercises. Following the war, Joseph Pilates moved to New York, where his exercise/rehabilitation method became popular among dancers and stage performers. (For more information about Pilates, I’d recommend the book Pilates’ Return to Life Through Contrology by Joseph Pilates and William John Miller.)

Breathwork in Pilates and Yoga

Both yoga and Pilates incorporate intentional breathwork, which offers many benefits for scoliosis and overall health.

Yoga breath work

Yoga incorporates many different types of breathwork, and there are a couple that I find extremely beneficial for people with scoliosis:

Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing): Using your finger to close off one nostril at a time to breathe only through the other one. This method of breathwork makes it easier to direct the breath inside your body, so you can focus on inflating the lungs to expand the ribcage and help counteract the spinal curve.
Kapalabhati (Skull Shining Breath): A rapid, forceful exhalation followed by a passive inhalation. This type of breathing helps clear the lungs and energize the whole body, and the mechanics also work the diaphragm, which is hard to do with normal breathing when you have scoliosis.

If you want to learn more about breathwork in yoga, I’d recommend the book Light on Pranayama: The Yogic Art of Breathing by B.K.S. Iyengar.

Pilates breathing exercises

Pilates also places a focus on breathing, but it’s a different approach than yoga. In Pilates, the primary focus of breathwork is to engage the core and help you focus more on the exercise so you can move in a smooth, controlled way. Pilates-style breathwork also offers many benefits if you have scoliosis:

Lateral thoracic breathing: Side-to-side (right/left) breathing that focuses on expanding the sides of the ribcage. This practice can be extremely helpful if you have a kyphosis (overly rounded upper back) because expanding the sides of the ribcage draws the spine forward.
Diaphragmatic breathing: Focusing on the diaphragm to draw air deeper into the lungs. This allows you to take more full, controlled breaths.
Elongation breathing: Extending the inhalation to focus on elongating the spine. In scoliosis-specific Pilates, the goal is to try to maintain that spinal elongation through the exhale as well.

Practicing Pilates generally involves trying to coordinate your breath with your movements — inhaling to prepare for the movement and exhaling while performing the movement.

Yoga vs. Pilates for Scoliosis

Many of the poses and movements in yoga focus on holding poses for a certain length of time. While this practice can help you build strength, flexibility, and better posture, it isn’t always ideal if you have scoliosis because it doesn’t account for the unique nature of your spinal curve. You might improve flexibility in one aspect of your curve, but that can harm another area of your curve if you don’t intentionally modify the poses to account for your scoliosis.

Pilates, on the other hand, focuses more on core strength, alignment, and body awareness. Although practicing Pilates regularly can improve your mobility, increasing your range of motion isn’t a primary goal (like it sometimes is in yoga). When you’re practicing movements in a Pilates class, you’re encouraged to pay attention to what your whole body is doing, which builds awareness — something that’s extremely important if you have scoliosis.

Another difference to consider when you have scoliosis is the position you take when practicing the movements. Many yoga poses are done standing, and there are several sequences where you move through different poses in a standing position. However, it can be very hard to maintain your corrections when you’re moving through different positions in this manner.

Pilates doesn’t place as much emphasis on moving between poses seamlessly when standing. In other words, you have the time and opportunity to adjust your spine and make sure your corrections are there before you perform the movements. Additionally, many Pilates movements are performed while lying on your side, back, or stomach, which gives you a wide base of support and makes it easier to use wedges and other props to support your spine.

My Recommendation: Pilates for Scoliosis

It may already be clear from the differences I’ve covered, but for scoliosis, I prefer Pilates over yoga. Pilates was created specifically for rehabilitation, so it can be easier to modify the poses and movements to accommodate your unique curve. The breathwork component of Pilates offers many benefits for your spine. Finally, the way Pilates focuses on body awareness can make it easier to understand and adjust your posture and alignment.

If you want to see the benefits of scoliosis-specific Pilates for yourself, consider joining my online small-group scoliosis coaching program, The Scoliosis Strength Collective. You’ll get weekly Pilates classes along with additional movements and exercises designed to help you reduce pain and better support your curve. Plus, you’ll get access to educational resources and an online community of encouraging scolio-warriors who know what you’re going through. To see which of my coaching programs is right for you, schedule a free discovery call!

If you want to stay up-to-date on scoliosis topics and learn more about how to manage your condition, listen to my podcast, Ahead of the Curve. Subscribe to get every episode when it airs!