Which is better, yoga or tai chi?

In fact, there is no absolute "better" at all. It all depends on your own physical condition, practice needs, and even whether you can keep up with the rhythm and practice comfortably.

In the past two years, I signed up for a Tai Chi charity class in the community and a weekly yoga studio near my home. I practiced both intermittently for ten months. I have seen masters who have practiced Tai Chi for twenty years praise the stretching of yoga, and I have also seen teachers who have practiced yoga for seven or eight years specially come to me to learn how to stand and adjust their breath. There is really no either/or argument.

Uncle Wang, who used to take Tai Chi classes with me, is 68 years old and has suffered from degenerative disease in his knees for more than ten years. He was dragged by his daughter to try yoga. He couldn't help but lock his knees when doing downward dog pose. After the practice, it was so painful that he struggled to walk down the stairs. Later, he followed the teacher and started practicing Tai Chi from standing on the Wuji pole and practicing silk winding. His movements were slow and his strength was difficult to produce. It's loose but not slumped, and he won't force himself to bend his joints to make up for it. After half a year, the pain in his knees when going up and down stairs has been mostly eliminated. Now he does two sets of basic routines every morning in the small garden of the community. Everyone says that Tai Chi is friendly to us older people, and the problem of getting angry easily is reduced.

But if I tell this to my friend Xiao Xia, who is an Internet operator, she will definitely be the first to disagree. She used to have round shoulders and hunched back and suffered from migraines all year round. She went to Tai Chi with her mother twice. She said that it was so slow that she felt uncomfortable all over. She would go through the to-do list ten times in her mind after standing still for five minutes, and she couldn't calm down at all. Later, she switched to practicing yoga. She started with restorative classes to open her shoulders and regulate abdominal breathing, and then gradually added flow yoga to practice core. In just over two months, the problem of holding her breasts has improved a lot, and the number of migraine attacks has been reduced by half. She now uses Amway Yoga when meeting people, saying that there are many directions to choose from. If she wants to sweat and shape, there is Ashtanga, and if she wants to relax after working overtime, there is Yin Yoga, which is much more suitable for young people than the slow Tai Chi.

In fact, the underlying logic of the two is quite similar. They both emphasize movement and breathing, and do not pursue instantaneous explosive power. They all require you to draw your attention back to your own body. Don't compare the difficulty of the movements or the length of the stance with those around you. Do whatever is comfortable for you. I have also seen many senior enthusiasts practice both. Tai Chi for half an hour in the morning to activate qi and blood and open up muscles and bones, and 20 minutes of Yin Yoga at night to relax muscles and relieve stress. They complement each other very well. To put it bluntly, isn't it just like some people like to drink warm soy milk and others like to drink iced American style? There is no distinction between superior and inferior. If you have old joint injuries and can't bear too much stretching, try the introductory content of Tai Chi first. If you usually sit for a long time and your muscles are stiff, and you want to adjust your posture and shape your body, yoga may be more to your liking. As long as you can persist in practicing and feel that your whole body is stretched after every practice, then it is the best for you.