Yoga and Pilates have plenty of similarities, but a few key differences. For starters, yoga is a deeply cultural practice that originated thousands of years ago in India, whereas Pilates is a relatively new fitness method. What’s more, yoga is a spiritual practice that relies heavily on meditation and mindfulness. Pilates, on the other hand, was created by Joseph Pilates as a purely physical practice. It also has a focus more on posture and core than yoga. So while you might be doing similar poses like boat pose, plank, and cobra, the two methods have distinct differences.