The difference between yoga and tai chi

Yoga is a body, mind and soul practice system originated in ancient India. Its core logic is to explore the boundaries of consciousness inward through precise control of the body.； Tai Chi is a branch of traditional Chinese internal martial arts. Its core logic is to achieve the goal of health preservation and martial arts by integrating internal and external forces by adapting to the dynamic operation of force.

I was confused when I first came into contact with these two things at the same time. Aren't they all about posing slowly and paying attention to breathing coordination? It wasn’t until the experience of taking two classes in a row that it became clear to me. Last week, I was practicing downward dog pose in the yoga studio. The teacher squatted down and pushed my heels down little by little. He said, "Feel the stretch in your hamstring muscles. If it hurts, adjust your breathing. Don't strain to fight." Then I turned around and went to the club the next day. When I was practicing Cloud Hands at the District Tai Chi Club, the master saw my tight calves. He came over and pressed my legs softly with a "pop": "It's frozen like a stone. If someone pushes you, you will fly out. When you relax, the strength will go to the bottom of your feet." ”

You see, it’s the same posture adjustment, but the core appeal is completely different. All yoga movements ultimately point to "self-awareness." Even if you are practicing the sweaty Ashtanga vinyasa, the teacher's reminder is always to "pay attention to whether your breathing is disordered and whether any muscles are compensating." Tai Chi is different. All movements are "external". When doing single whipping, your eyes should follow your hands, and you should feel that there is an imaginary enemy in front of you trying to knock him out. When walking on a wild horse and parting your mane, your feet should feel like stepping on cotton. You can change direction at any time to catch the opponent's energy. In essence, you treat your body as a connected container filled with water. Holding one end and the other will bulge. Energy is channeled throughout the whole body, and it is not an isolated strength exercise for a certain muscle.

To talk about a misunderstanding that is easily confused, many people now think that the simplified 24-position Tai Chi practiced by adults in the community is no different from the basic Hatha yoga in the gym. They both move the muscles and bones and sweat a little. This is actually the result of the popularization and transformation of the two - the core cultivation and martial arts attributes have been removed, leaving only the superficial health-preserving functions. If you really go back to the source, the differences between the two branches are much greater than you think: in addition to the familiar Hatha and Ashtanga yoga practices that are familiar to the public, there are also devotional yoga that does not touch postures and only relies on meditation and chanting, and there is also Raja yoga that specializes in breathing control. There are even some ancient schools whose practice methods are completely unrelated to the yoga in public perception. ； Tai Chi is not all about slow motion. The vigorous movements in Chen Style Tai Chi are very crisp, with a set of cannons beating down and whistling in the wind. Competitive Tai Chi even adds jumps and somersaults, which is completely different from the slow Tai Chi you remember. The origin of Tai Chi is still controversial in the historical circles. Some say it was created by Zhang Sanfeng in the late Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and some say it was compiled by Chen Wangting in the Qing Dynasty. The training methods of different inheritances are very different and cannot be generalized.

I was undergoing rehabilitation after the acute phase of my lumbar prolapse. Two rehabilitation doctors recommended yoga and Tai Chi to me respectively. I personally tested that the recovery logic of the two is completely different: the cat-cow pose and baby pose of yoga first stretched my tense waist and abdominal muscles a little bit, and then strengthened the strength of the erector spinae muscles to bring the misplaced forces back on track.； Tai Chi's standing posture and silk-winding strength allow my entire waist and hips to rotate accordingly. Instead of a single muscle bearing force alone, the strength is transmitted from the feet through the waist to the hands, so the waist will naturally not compensate. After practicing for three months, my waist no longer hurts, and I have figured out some tricks: no one is better than anyone else, and the suitable scenarios are completely different. If you usually sit for a long time and your body feels tight, and you want to quietly feel where your body is blocked, find a reliable yoga studio to practice basics. It will definitely be comfortable. ； If you always feel that your whole body is lack of energy and your whole body is heavy, find a serious Tai Chi master to stand in the stance, and you will feel that the soles of your feet are very solid in half a month.

Of course, many friends in the practice circle feel that there is no need to make such a clear distinction. After all, both of them pursue the state of "unity of body and mind" at advanced levels. Nowadays, many yoga teachers will put Tai Chi stances in the warm-up before class to help students find a sense of grounding. Tai Chi masters will also use yoga hip-opening movements to help students loosen their hips. In essence, they are all about exploring the body, and there is no need to engage in sectarian opposition. Of course, if you encounter someone who tells you that practicing yoga can help you channel psychic energy or doing Tai Chi can help you release your energy, leave as soon as possible. That is a wrong path and has nothing to do with these two sports themselves.

To put it bluntly, there is no difference, it’s just exercise. If you are willing to practice yoga for an hour in the morning to break a sweat, and do two routines in the afternoon to relax, as long as you are comfortable, you can do it any way.