The Differences and Connections between Yoga and Tai Chi

Both yoga and Tai Chi are essentially "mind-body harmonization" movements nurtured by Eastern civilization. Their ultimate goal is to achieve the unity of consciousness and body through physical practice. The core difference between the two is rooted in the underlying cultural logic of ancient India and ancient China. The subdivisions and differences in exercise patterns and practice goals all originate from this.； The similarities between the two go far beyond the slow pace on the surface. They are highly overlapping in the underlying logic of breathing coordination, fascia activation, and emotional regulation. In recent years, many professional sports fields have even tried to integrate the two.

The year before last, I signed up for an advanced Iyengar yoga class and Master Chen's Chen-style Tai Chi charity class in the park downstairs from my home. I practiced a lot at the beginning. When I was doing downward dog pose in the yoga class, I unconsciously wanted to lower my shoulders and lower my elbows while walking vigorously in the Tai Chi stance.

Let’s talk about the differences in roots first. Yoga was born out of the ancient Indian practice system. No matter how the current commercial schools change, the fundamental goal is to control the body and breathing, and ultimately achieve the transcendent state of "the unity of Brahman and self." If you look at the most traditional Hatha yoga classic "Light of Hatha", many posture requirements in it are actually to lay the foundation for people to sit and meditate for a long time. Tai Chi is completely native to China. Its core is the Taoist concept of "unity of man and nature." It does not make you break away from the secular world, but requires you to follow the laws of heaven and earth. What you practice is "integration of strength", which is to combine the strength of the body with the strength of nature. Look at the names of Tai Chi movements, such as wild horses parting their manes and white cranes spreading their wings, they all come from nature and life, and there is no requirement to float in mid-air.

The difference is more obvious when it comes to the feelings of specific exercises. Yoga is all about "extension, confrontation, and alignment." When I practiced Warrior Pose before, the teacher would bend my knee to align it with the second toe. The hip should be straight, and the front of the thigh and hip flexor muscles should be felt to stretch. There is a relatively clear "standard posture". Even Yin Yoga, which pays most attention to personal feelings, has a clear boundary for exerting force in the posture. There are no absolute standard movements in Tai Chi. Master Chen always said that "no cloud hand is exactly the same." Fat people can use the cloud hand to be a little heavier, and thin people can float a little more. The core is that the strength should be smooth, and there is no need to pursue a certain posture. When you stand, even if the angle of your knee bend is smaller than others, as long as the force is transmitted from the feet to the waist and then to the hands, then it is right. Oh, and breathing, yoga’s breathing is “active control”. Abdominal breathing, chest breathing, holy light breathing, you take the initiative to adjust the rhythm to match the movements. Tai Chi’s breathing is “natural and easy to follow”. When you first start practicing, the master will not let you adjust your breathing specially. He tells you that your breathing will naturally follow you as you become familiar with the movements. If you adjust it deliberately, it will easily cause your breath to drift.

There has been debate in the sports circle about this. The Ashtanga faction in the yoga school believes that Tai Chi movements have no alignment requirements and are prone to joint compensation. However, many traditional inheritors of Tai Chi feel that the posture requirements of yoga are too rigid and violate the body's natural force-generating logic. Both views are actually reasonable. The essence is that their evaluation systems are different, and there is no absolute right or wrong.

But if you really practice for a long time, you will find that the two are not antagonistic at all, and have too many things in common. I had a lumbar protrusion last year, and the doctor did not allow me to do strenuous exercise, so I did 10 minutes of Tai Chi standing and 15 minutes of yoga in the Baby Pose and Cat-Cow Pose every day. My recovery was nearly half a month faster than just doing rehabilitation training in the hospital.

If you think about it, neither of them is like the iron lifting, which specifically trains a certain muscle in isolation. Both of them emphasize "body movement and mind calmness". When practicing, they require you to focus on your own body feelings and not be distracted. When I was doing yoga and doing tree pose, I couldn't stand still and I knew that my mind had just wandered off and wanted to work. When doing Tai Chi, if I hit the cloud hand incorrectly, my mind must have wandered. The essence is to practice your awareness of your body. There is also the activation of fascia. Sports science research has now confirmed that the silk-winding strength of Tai Chi and the twisting postures of yoga both affect the deep fascia and can improve muscle adhesion and body stiffness better than ordinary aerobics. I used to have extremely tight shoulders and neck, and whether I was doing the Cow Face Pose in yoga or the inverted hump curl in Tai Chi, I could feel comfortable for most of the day.

In fact, many professional coaches are now doing fusion. A yoga teacher I know has added Tai Chi stances to the warm-up before yoga class. He said that it can help students find the feeling of core strength faster, and will no longer have core weakness after practicing yoga for half a year.； In addition, coaches in Tai Chi studios will teach students to practice yoga hip-opening movements, which solves the problem that many people cannot open their hips and transmit strength when doing Tai Chi. The results are particularly good. Some friends asked me before whether I should choose yoga or Tai Chi. I always said that if you want to quickly improve your posture and increase body flexibility, choose yoga. If you want to regulate your energy and blood and improve your overall sense of strength, choose Tai Chi. If you have time to practice it, there is no conflict at all. There is no need to do it one by one.

I went to a yoga class a few days ago, and the teacher was saying that she had been learning the cloud hands of Tai Chi recently and wanted to add it to the flow yoga sequence. You see, good things are always the same. Whether it is yoga or Tai Chi, the essence is to help you understand your body better and live more comfortably. There is really no need to worry about who is better.