What Bossy Cat (literally, he is our Boss) practises here is not yoga from India, but Pilates from Germany, which was founded by Joseph Pilates, who was born in Germany in 1880.
Joseph Pilates was born frail and sickly. At the age of 14, he overcame asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever through exercise, and even participated in more intense sports such as skiing, diving and gymnastics. As an adult, he went to Scotland Yard as a self-defense instructor for detective. But in World War I, as a German, he was accused of being a foreign enemy and detained in prison. But nothing stopped Joseph from developing his own idea of physical training and using his system to train his neighbors (other detainees).
In 1918, a large-scale infectious flu occurred in the United Kingdom. Although many people died, none of the people who exercised with Joseph died of the cold. He believed that his training system had a favorable effect upon their health. Returning to Germany after the war, Joseph used his training system to help wounded soldiers for rehabiliation. However, when the German army asked him to train the army with his system, he chose to leave Germany and moved to the United States. Very long story short, he preserved Pilates for posterity.
Compared with yoga, Pilates is more scientifically focused. Pilates adjusts posture by strengthening and stabilizing the core muscles, that is, the lumbar spine, abdomen and buttocks, as well as the spine and pelvic floor muscles that support the whole person.
Sometimes back pain may be caused by poor posture such as pelvic instability, standing or sitting for a long time. Pilates helps improving balance and flexibility, also relieving the pain caused by an imbalanced body. It is also especially suitable as a rehabilitation after injury to help restore muscles. Compared to other exercises, Pilates lengthens and balances the body rather than bulking up the muscles. And Pilates also has a specific breathing method. In order to promote muscle stability, take a deeper breath than usual to help stretch and decompress the spine.