The Differences and Connections between Yoga and Tai Chi

The two are essentially physical and mental training methods that belong to two different cultural systems in China and India. The core differences are rooted in the cultural core, exercise logic and training goals. The core common point is that they both emphasize the coordinated regulation of "body-breath-mind" rather than simple body movements. Currently, there are many practical attempts at cross-border integration.

I have been practicing Ashtanga Yoga for 6 years and Chen-style Tai Chi for 3 years. I also have friends who open a gym and teach these two classes at the same time. The audience overlap of the two sports is actually much higher than many people think, and there is a lot of controversy.

Let’s talk about the difference that everyone is most curious about first. They are fundamentally different. Yoga originated from the Brahmanical practice system in ancient India. It was originally a means of assisting meditation. Nowadays, the mainstream domestic Hatha, flow yoga, Ashtanga, etc. are basically improved versions of fitness stripped of religious attributes. The core logic is "connection" - to return the distracted attention to the body itself and establish perceptual connections between the brain, muscles, and joints. Tai Chi was born out of the Chinese Taoist health philosophy. The core logic is "yin and yang". It emphasizes guiding the energy with the mind, combining hardness and softness. All movements follow an arc. The essence is to practice the habit of exerting force without competing.

I went to an evening yoga class last Tuesday. When the teacher was adjusting me to the downward dog pose, he still said: "Don't slump your waist, focus on the feeling of stepping down with your heels. It doesn't matter how good others do the splits." Two days later, I went to the park to practice Tai Chi. The master squeezed my tense shoulders and laughed: "How many times have I told you to relax your shoulders? If you hold your shoulders straight and do them all afternoon, it is not as effective as relaxing them for 10 minutes." You see, it also tells you not to compare yourself with others. The purpose of yoga is to perceive the boundaries of an individual's body inwardly, while the purpose of Tai Chi is to shed excess force and follow the rules.

The difference is even more obvious when it comes to specific movement patterns. The core of yoga is active stretching, which is either a static posture or a fixed sequence of flows. It is more like slowly pulling out and then holding a rubber band. It trains muscle endurance and joint mobility, and pursues the improvement of body control. The core of Tai Chi is continuous movement in a relaxed state without pauses. The energy is transmitted from the feet to the waist and then to the limbs, just like the water in a river running along the river bed. When it encounters stones, it will go around without hitting them hard. It trains the overall coordination and pursues "intention without force".

Of course, this difference is not absolute. For example, the intensity of vinyasa flow yoga and Ashtanga is no lower than that of jogging. The vigorous movements of Chen-style Tai Chi are also very crisp. The slow and slow movements are just the stereotype of Yang Style Tai Chi. Controversies in the industry have never stopped: Traditional yoga practitioners always complain that Tai Chi does not stretch enough and stimulates the muscles too weakly. Many people think that the lunging posture of Tai Chi can easily abrade the knees. ； Traditional Tai Chi inheritors also feel that many extreme yoga poses are anti-ergonomic, and forcing the hips and shoulders to open can easily leave chronic injuries. Both statements are supported by clinical cases. In fact, in the final analysis, they target different groups, and there is no absolute right or wrong.

Let me tell you something interesting. I attended a physical and mental healing salon before, and there was a Shengwang Yoga teacher from India who did Yang Style Tai Chi for two minutes. He said that he had been practicing Yang Style Tai Chi for three years and felt that the logic of meditation guidance was very similar to the one he learned. Several Tai Chi masters present were stunned, and later they chatted with him for half an hour.

This is the core common point between the two: it is never a fitness program to build muscles. The essence is to practice "concentration". When you are practicing Yoga Tree Pose and thinking about your work report in the afternoon, you will surely shake after standing for 3 seconds. ； When I’m doing Tai Chi and holding the tail of a sparrow, I’m thinking about what to eat for dinner. I’m sure I won’t be able to move smoothly. Both require abdominal breathing, and both require you to bring your wandering attention back to the present moment. As long as you practice it in the right way, you will feel a sense of relaxation that clears your mind after practice. It is not the feeling of muscle soreness after lifting iron, but the relaxation that makes even your breathing become heavier.

The "Tai Chi yoga" practiced in many gyms now is also modified based on this common point. I have experienced a session before, which combines the cloud hands of Tai Chi with the cat-cow flow of yoga. There is no need to maintain postures and hard breaks, and there is no need to memorize the complicated moves of Tai Chi. After practicing, you will feel that your shoulders and neck are stretched, and your arms will not be so tired the next day like pure Ashtanga practice. Of course, this kind of improvement is also controversial. Traditionalists think it is "four different" that does not touch both ends. Ordinary enthusiasts are more convinced. After all, most people do not practice this to become inheritors. It is comfortable and can relieve stress.

In the past, I always pursued the difficulty of postures when practicing yoga, and I developed a mild lumbar protrusion by opening my hips. Later, I practiced Tai Chi with my master, and gradually changed my bad habit of core strength. Now that I practice yoga alternately, my condition is much better than when I was obsessed with yoga.

In fact, in the final analysis, there is no need to worry about which one is higher-level and more healthy. Now I am in a hurry in the morning and practice Sun Salutations to open my shoulders for 15 minutes, and in the evening when I have time after dinner, I go to the park to play old school with my master for 20 minutes. Neither of them are magical exercises. To put it bluntly, they are just an excuse to put down the phone and stop and listen to the sound of your body.