Yoga and Tai Chi

If you want to give a clear answer to "Are yoga and Tai Chi an either-or exercise choice?" it is that - both are essentially practice systems that harmonize body and mind. There is no absolute distinction between superior and inferior. It only depends on the needs of the practitioner, physical conditions and suitability for the practice scene.

Many people always like to pit these two against each other. The most outrageous stereotype I have ever heard is that "all those who practice yoga are little girls, and those who do Tai Chi are all old men." To be honest, this stereotype has not been updated for ten years.

When I was working as a teaching assistant at a community yoga center two years ago, I met 62-year-old Aunt Zhang, who had been practicing Chen-style Tai Chi for ten years. She used to follow the old master to learn old tricks, but she worked too hard and wore her meniscus. The doctor told her not to do explosive movements, so she reluctantly signed up for a yin yoga class. In the first class, she was arrogant and said, "I can't stretch my old bones, and I can't play with the things you young people do." However, after three classes, she touched her waist and muttered: "Don't tell me, this method of slowly relaxing your strength is a bit similar to our Tai Chi's heavy strength."

What’s interesting is that the “orthodox” factions in the two circles really look down on each other. Some practitioners who practice traditional yoga feel that Tai Chi is a "modified version of broadcast exercises without a spiritual core". Old masters who practice traditional Tai Chi feel that yoga "only knows how to stretch ligaments, but does not understand the movement of Qi at all." In fact, these words are a bit biased. If you dig deeper, yoga was originally a practice method of Brahmanism in ancient India, which emphasized the unity of "body, breath, and mind." Nowadays, Hatha yoga and flow yoga practiced by the public have long removed their religious attributes and become focused on joint mobility, A fitness program for core strength; Tai Chi was originally a martial arts method from Wudang Mountain, which emphasizes "leading the Qi with the mind and controlling the shape with the Qi." Now the simplified 24 postures practiced by the uncles and aunts in the park have long weakened the martial arts attributes and become a health and wellness program focusing on whole-body coordination and cardiopulmonary adjustment. In essence, the versions available to the public are content that has been improved to meet the survival needs of modern people. No one is "noble" than anyone else.

Oh, by the way, I met a young man who practices Ashtanga before, and later became obsessed with Tai Chi stances. He said that after standing for three moon stances, the jumping and crossing movements in yoga became much smoother, and the core was so stable that there was no need to exert special force. I have been practicing both for almost eight years. To put it bluntly, the complementarity between the two is actually far greater than the competition. I used to work in new media operations and sit in front of the computer every day. My shoulders and neck were as stiff as frozen slate. At first, I only practiced flow yoga. If I opened my shoulders too much, I would occasionally strain my back muscles. Later, I learned Tai Chi Cloud Hands and Zhan Zhuang from my dad for two months. Every time I practiced yoga, Do Tai Chi for 10 minutes beforehand to loosen your waist and hips. The tightness in your shoulders and neck will actually dissipate faster - yoga is like slowly tearing and kneading every adhering muscle, while Tai Chi is like stringing together the muscles and veins of the whole body and smoothing them out. The effect is really surprising.

Of course, it doesn’t mean that everyone has to practice together. It also depends on the situation. If you work a nine-to-five job, no one will think it's strange if you secretly do cat-cow pose or mountain pose at your workstation to adjust your posture. But if you do a horse step and cloud hand in the office, your colleagues might be possessed by you. If you are retired and wander around the community every day, playing Tai Chi with the old guys for half an hour, and getting enough exercise while talking and laughing, it will be much more convenient than carrying a yoga mat to level the floor alone.

Someone asked me before if yoga hurts the waist or Tai Chi hurts the knees? In fact, no matter what the problem is with exercise, it is all a problem of wrong training. I have seen many yoga novices forcefully bend their waists and do splits when they first start, and the lumbar vertebrae will of course hurt due to compensation. I have also seen many Tai Chi masters buckle their knees inward and over their toes when standing, and their menisci are worn out, blaming Tai Chi for their failure. This is because they have not found the right way to get started, and have nothing to do with the sport itself.

A few days ago, I met Aunt Zhang at the gate of the community. She was doing Tai Chi with a group of old sisters. When she finished, she straightened her back. When she saw me, she waved and said that she now follows the video for half an hour at home every day. The pain in her knees has been gone for almost half a year. A while ago, she went outdoors with her friends from the yoga studio to do a horse challenge. You see, there is no either/or choice? The exercise that makes you feel comfortable after practicing and is willing to persist for a long time is the best exercise for you.