Joseph Pilates, born in Prussia in 1883, was a sickly child. He achieved excellent health after being introduced to gymnastics and body building by his father, and thereafter devoted his life to physical wellbeing. In 1925, with his wife, he founded The Pilates Studio in New York, where he spent the next 40 years teaching students and developing his method, which he promoted through several books.  

Pilates believed that the "modern" lifestyle, bad posture, and inefficient breathing lay at the roots of poor health.  Pilates training focuses on strengthening the core (the group of muscles that promote good posture), targets the upper and lower body with resistance, and emphasises controlled breathing. Pilates can either be performed on a gym mat or using Pilates Reformers.

Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice that originated in ancient India. First codified by the sage Patanjali around 400 C.E, the practice was handed down from teacher to student. Since yoga became popular in the West in the 20th century, group classes have become the norm.

The practice aims to create union between body, mind and spirit, as well as between the individual self and universal consciousness. Such a union tends to neutralise ego-driven thoughts and behaviours, creating a sense of spiritual awakening.

Modern yoga, such as the Hatha yoga provided at Be Well, is most commonly associated with the physical practice of asana, a series of postures weaved together to build strength and stamina, improve flexibility, coordination and balance, and to relax the body through Prāṇāyāma (breath control) and meditation.

Come sunrise, parks and public areas across China,  and increasingly the rest of the world, fill up with people doing Tai Chi and Qigong. 

The history of Qigong extends back more than 4,000 years. Qigong involves coordinated movement, breath, and awareness used for health, meditation, and martial arts. Tai chi emerged in the 16th Century, often attributed to Chen Wangting (1580–1660).  Tai Chi is considered by many scholars to be a type of qigong, as the two practices are closely related. 

The practice involves performing short ‘forms’: a set of movements which may include up to a dozen movements.  These are taught to students by instructors and, once learned, can be performed anywhere and at any time. 

A form is a low-impact, slow-motion exercise. You go without pausing through a series of motions named for animal actions — for example, "white crane spreads its wings" — or martial arts moves, such as "box both ears." As you move, you breathe deeply and naturally, focusing your attention — as in some kinds of meditation — on your bodily sensations. The movements are usually circular and never forced, the muscles are relaxed rather than tensed, the joints are not fully extended or bent, and connective tissues are not stretched. Tai chi & Qigong can be easily adapted for anyone, from the most fit to people confined to wheelchairs or recovering from surgery.

No. Engaging in these practices provide their own reward. 

For interested people, there are some concepts that help make sense of the approach each take. 

In Tai Chi & Qigong, key concepts include:  

• Qi — an energy force thought to flow through the body; tai chi is said to unblock and encourage the proper flow of qi.
• Yin and yang — opposing elements thought to make up the universe that need to be kept in harmony. Tai chi is said to promote this balance.

The principal philosophical tenant of Yoga is that the mind, body, and spirit are all one and cannot be clearly separated. The ultimate goal of Yoga is a sustained state of pure awareness called Moksha or Samadhi, the state in which individual and universal consciousness unite in a blissful form of total meditative absorption. 

Pilates has no spiritual dimension, with the focus only on physical movements to secure physical benefits, though with a strong emphasis on concentration, which is meditative in effect, and breath control.