How to Improve Flexibility with Yoga & Pilates 

Improving our flexibility is one of the most rewarding parts of FS8 workouts. Our body’s range of movement shapes our pilates skills and overall form. Learning how to increase flexibility will allow you to maximise the benefit of each workout and help you reach your full potential. 

FS8 classes combine reformer and mat pilates, and yoga for flexibility development. So, if you want to discover how to improve flexibility and tone your body in a supporting and empowering environment, find your nearest FS8 studio.  

Below, we’ll explore the importance of improving your flexibility to enhance each workout, walking you through a variety of common pilates and yoga exercises you can expect in your first pilates class. 

Why is flexibility important? 

At FS8, we blend pilates and yoga for strength and flexibility. Classes are designed to invigorate your body, elevating total body range of motion, comfort and connection.  

Feeling a little uncertain about why flexibility is important for pilates and yoga classes? Here are 5 reasons why working on your range of movement should be your priority. 

Better posture: Improving flexibility encourages your body to correct imbalances and alignments. You may also notice an improvement in your posture during daily activities.  

Improves strength building:  An improved range of motion will help you perform movements more effectively, allowing you to go deeper into each exercise. This will help develop your strength and sculpt your body.       

Reducing stiffness: Flexibility can help ​improve ​circulation in your muscles, reducing muscle stiffness after workouts. 

Feeling relaxed: Better flexibility encourages peace of mind when resting, recovering or carrying out everyday actions.   

Injury prevention: Increasing flexibility can help your body to feel less stressed, reducing muscle imbalances. This means during your workout the likelihood of injuring yourself while performing functional movements is significantly lowered. 

Don’t worry if this is all new to you – everyone has their own flexibility journey as each body is different. When it comes to working out, our trainers are here to help maximise results for each individual in a motivating, energising and supportive environment.

How to improve flexibility in 3 ways 

There are a variety of exercises you can perform when learning how to increase flexibility. Each exercise can benefit the other, whether it’s around stretching and warming your body to elevate your range of motion or encouraging correct form.  

Some of these movements will serve multiple purposes, helping you build muscles and tone your body. They can even be paired with light dumbbells for extra resistance. Ahead, discover 3 common flexibility poses or movements we use in FS8 workouts. 

Head to knee (yoga) 

This calming yoga for flexibility exercise stretches your hips, back and groin. It also can help stimulate digestion and relieve abdominal discomfort. 

How to:  

• Sit down with one leg stretched out ​​​​in front of you.
• Bend your resting leg and tuck it inwards so that your foot presses against the thigh of your outstretched leg.
• Inhale, ​​​relax ​and reach your arms above your head, straightening and lengthening your spine.
• Exhale and bend down towards your outstretched leg, wrapping your hands around your foot (if you can).
• Hold the pose for 5-10 seconds, then relax letting your upper body return to being upright.
• Switch legs and repeat. 

Low lunge (yoga) 

The low lunge is a beginner flexibility exercise. It’s a fundamental exercise used in our FS8 Original class, where we introduce yoga for strength and flexibility. 

How to: 

• ​​​Begin on your knees with your back straight.
• Inhale and shift your weight onto one leg, this leg will remain in place.
• Exhale and bring the other leg forward, planting your foot in front of you. Keep your resting knee on the ground.
• Focus on keeping your back straight and your weight centred in your hips.
• Extend your arms directly above you, with your palms facing inwards.
• Use your abs and glutes to keep balance and hold for 5-10 seconds.
• Relax your arms, switch legs and repeat. 

Plank position  

Planking is a foundational exercise when learning how to increase flexibility. This exercise is great for lengthening our hamstrings, calves and arches. It’s also an impactful core exercise and has more challenging variations that we use in our FS8 Blast and FS8 Remix classes. 

How to: 

• ​​​Begin by lying down on your stomach.
• Hold yourself up with your forearms and toes, ensuring your back and legs are as straight as possible. Squeeze your tummy and engage your core.
• Hold the position for as long as you’d like. You will feel the burn mostly in your abs, but ​you ​may also feel fatigue in your arms, back and legs. 

Which workout helps most with flexibility? 

When exploring how to improve flexibility, implementing elements of both yoga and pilates is highly beneficial.   

Understanding the difference will help you pinpoint the benefits of reformer pilates and yoga exercises and will help you set goals on your fitness journey. Let’s explore the difference below. 

• Yoga involves finding a specific posture and holding it. Each pose should be repeated on different sides of the body for even engagement. Each pose will almost always flow into the next position, encouraging full-body revitalisation. 
• Pilates typically involves adopting a position and then moving your body to create resistance, challenging your muscles to keep balance. Throughout the class, these movements are repeated for a short period, before moving to the next exercise.  

 In short, yoga for flexibility involves finding a posture and holding it. Whereas pilates involves finding a base position and moving from it.  

What limits flexibility? 

There are multiple factors outside of yoga or pilates for flexibility that can influence our range of motion. Some of these factors are genetic, whereas others may come from our lifestyle.

Muscle development: Having more strength in our muscles can help with flexibility, as we’re able to engage more of the muscle to flex or extend.  

Age: Flexibility can decrease with age but can be improved through regular exercise. 

Lifestyle: How often we exercise can affect how flexible we are. Sedentary jobs can also strain our bodies, reducing flexibility. 

Joint mobility: Joint flexibility can be improved by exercise. However, some of us may have different joint structures that limit our flexibility. 

Still wondering why you should join FS8? Our expert trainers deliver a variety of energising and support workouts that increase flexibility, and strength, toning your body so you can feel your best.

We hope you enjoyed learning how to improve flexibility. Next, read our guide to metabolic workouts.