What is the difference between yoga and tai chi

The core difference is actually that the cultural roots and practice logic of the two are completely different. Yoga is a physical, mental and spiritual practice system derived from the ancient Indian Vedic culture, while Tai Chi is a martial arts health-preserving exercise nourished by Chinese Taoist thought and using martial arts to enter the Tao.

I practiced Ashtanga yoga for three years in my early years, and then I studied with Master Zhang in the community for almost two years, who has been practicing Chen-style Tai Chi for forty years. When I first started practicing Tai Chi, I made a lot of jokes. The most typical one was that Zhanzhuang always subconsciously led the yoga practice. I'm used to stretching my back straight and pushing my sit bones upwards. Every time I get patted on the back by the master: "Relax, I don't want you to stretch your muscles, I want you to let your bones and joints hang loosely. The strength sinks to the soles of the feet, not to the two ends." It was then that I realized that the logic of exerting force between the two is completely opposite: whether it is vigorous flow yoga or soothing yin yoga, the core requirement of yoga is to actively stretch and open. For example, when doing downward dog pose, you must deliberately stretch the fascia of the back of the legs, spread the shoulders and back, and cooperate with Ujjayi breathing to stabilize the nerves. The design of many postures has the function of adjusting the posture in a targeted manner and activating isolated muscles. Tai Chi's movements are all in a circular trajectory. All the force is generated from the waist and hips, driving the whole body to move. It emphasizes "intention without force". Even the stance requires the muscles to be completely relaxed and to rely on the support of the skeleton to stand firm. It trains the overall coordination and the stability of the lower body.

Nowadays, many people on the Internet say that both are slow exercises and have similar health-preserving effects. In fact, there have always been different opinions in the enthusiast circle. Most friends who practice yoga often think that yoga is more targeted. I once took a little girl who worked in operations at a yoga studio. She had round shoulders, hunched back, forward head, and migraines. She practiced the shoulder and neck repair sequence three times a week. In less than a month, her neck was no longer stiff when she raised her head. The mindfulness meditation part of yoga has also become more systematic, and the feedback on its improvement in anxiety and insomnia has been good. However, the elders around me who insist on practicing Tai Chi recognize the universality of Tai Chi. Aunt Wang, who lives in the same community, is 72 years old. She has an old knee injury and cannot even do the sitting postures of yin yoga. After practicing with the master for six months, she has simplified the 24 poses. Now the pain in her knees when going up and down stairs has been mostly relieved, and she does not catch colds as often as before in winter.

In fact, there is no need to compete hard. There is also a trend of integration between the two sports. I went to a yoga workshop last month and saw a teacher offering a "Tai Chi Yoga" class, which combines the stances and silk wrapping of Tai Chi with the stretching and breathing of yoga. It requires higher core strength. After the exercise, the whole body is stretched, and there is no muscle soreness like after practicing Ashtanga alone before. It is also quite interesting.