You have a spare evening, a mat, and a vague urge to feel better in your body. Two beginner classes are running at the same time and both have a decent reputation. One is yoga, one is Pilates. Which do you book?

The honest answer is that both will help, and neither is the better one. But they reward different things, and they ask different things of you in the first few weeks. Here's how they compare when you're starting from scratch.

What a beginner yoga class actually involves

Most beginner yoga mixes standing poses, seated stretches, balance work and a few minutes of quiet breathing at the end. You hold shapes for anything from a few breaths to a minute or more, and you move slowly between them.

The emphasis is on length as well as strength. A teacher will talk about grounding through your feet, lengthening your spine, softening your jaw. If you can't touch your toes, that's fine — blocks and straps exist precisely for that.

Styles vary more than beginners expect. Hatha tends to move slowly and hold poses. Vinyasa links poses into a steady flow and will raise your heart rate. Restorative is almost entirely supported, restful positions. If a class is described as power or hot, save it for later.

What a beginner Pilates class actually involves

Pilates is more structured and more repetitious. A mat class usually starts with breathing and gentle spinal movement, then works through exercises targeting the deep abdominal muscles, back, hips and shoulders. Fewer shapes, more controlled repetitions of each.

Precision matters more than range. Ten careful repetitions of a small movement are the point; bigger isn't better. Teachers give a lot of technical cues — ribs down, tailbone heavy, shoulders away from your ears — and often come round to adjust alignment. If you've ever wondered whether your core is actually switching on, this is where you find out.

There's also reformer Pilates, done on a spring-loaded machine in a studio. It's excellent, but costs more and usually needs its own beginner course. Mat Pilates is the cheaper, more accessible starting point.

Benefits, side by side

Where yoga tends to help most

• Flexibility, particularly hips, hamstrings and shoulders
• Balance and body awareness
• Breathing and a calmer nervous system — plenty of people sleep better
• Strength in held poses, especially legs, core and upper body
• Stress relief, partly because the class ends slowly and quietly

Where Pilates tends to help most

• Core strength and control, including the deep abdominal and back muscles
• Posture, and the aches that come from desk work
• Coordination and stable joints — useful if you run, cycle or lift
• Rehab-style strength work, when adapted by a qualified instructor
• Building strength without much jumping or impact

Both improve general strength and flexibility if you practise consistently. Neither does much for cardiovascular fitness on its own, so if that's your goal you'll want brisk walking, cycling, swimming or a class that keeps you moving.

Which is harder for a beginner?

Neither, in the abstract — they're hard in different places. Your first yoga class may leave you wobbly in balance poses and surprised by how much a long lunge burns. Your first Pilates class may leave you lying down wondering why an exercise that looks like nothing is shaking your whole midsection.

• Yoga is harder on wrists, knees and shoulders if you carry a lot of tension or old injuries.
• Pilates is harder on concentration. You can't drift off — the movements are subtle and the cues come thick and fast.
• Yoga asks for range of motion. Pilates asks for control within the range you already have.
• Both are gentler than a HIIT class. Both can be quietly tough.

If you're very stiff, restorative or beginner Hatha yoga is a softer entry point. If you're already flexible but weak through the middle, Pilates will find the gaps.

Equipment and cost

Both are cheap to try. For mat yoga you need loose clothing you can move in; most studios lend mats and props, though owning your own mat is nicer once you're going weekly. A basic kit is a mat, two blocks, a strap and a folded blanket for under your knees.

Mat Pilates needs the same mat, sometimes a small ball or resistance band. Reformer classes happen in a studio with machines, so expect higher prices than a mat or yoga class, and booking systems that fill up quickly.

Skip the shopping for now. Attend three or four classes, decide whether you're sticking with it, then buy.

So which should you choose?

• Feeling calmer, more flexible and more at home in your body: start with yoga.
• Fixing a niggling back, improving posture or building core strength: start with Pilates.
• Recovering from injury or returning after a long break: Pilates with a qualified instructor, or restorative yoga — and check with a physiotherapist or GP first.
• Training for a sport: Pilates for control and stability, yoga for mobility and recovery. Many people do both.
• Wanting to move and sweat: choose vinyasa yoga or a reformer class rather than beginner Hatha.

How to start without wasting a month

Try one class of each within the same fortnight. Afterwards, note three things: whether your body felt better or worse the next morning, whether the teacher explained things in a way you understood, and whether you'd willingly go back.

Then commit to one practice twice a week for six weeks. Beginners see more change from showing up regularly than from hunting for the perfect class. Tell the teacher before class about anything that hurts, any recent injury or surgery, or if you're pregnant — they can offer alternatives on the spot.

Arrive early, sit near the front, and leave your ego at the door. Nobody is judging your downward dog or your hundred. And if a class leaves you in pain rather than pleasantly tired, say so and seek advice from a health professional before pushing on.

Photo: Yan Krukau / Pexels