The difference and connection between yoga and Tai Chi

The two are respectively rooted in the traditional physical and mental practice systems of ancient India and China. The core differences are reflected in the underlying design of cultural origins, movement logic, and training goals. The common point is that they both emphasize the coordinated adjustment of form, energy, and spirit. They are essentially exercise methods that "settle the mind through physical practice." In the contemporary rehabilitation field, there have long been attempts to integrate the two. Practitioners of different schools also have different views on the boundaries and rationality of the integration of the two.

Speaking of which, the first time I felt the obvious difference between the two was in the first month of learning Tai Chi. I was used to practicing flow yoga before, and it was common to sweat through two T-shirts after one class. Each posture requires a sense of muscle confrontation-Warrior pose requires legs to be supported on both sides and hands to be pulled at both ends. Downward dog pose requires heels to drop and sit bones to push up. Even breathing is Ujjayi breathing with a sense of power. When inhaling, the chest is opened, and when exhaling, the core is closed. As a result, I went to a Tai Chi class for the first time. I stood in the stance for 20 minutes. The teacher came up and relaxed my tense shoulders: "My shoulders are so stiff that my breath is blocked in my chest. It's useless no matter how long I stand." It was then that I realized that the logic of exerting force between the two is fundamentally different: most yoga posture training is active. Stretching and actively exerting force expand the boundaries of the body's activities through precise control of muscles and joints; while all movements in Tai Chi are performed in a spiral manner, with the force starting from the feet and moving from the belt. The whole process requires "looseness and unremitting", without deliberate muscle tightening, and the pursuit is to allow Qi and blood to flow smoothly throughout the body.

Of course, we cannot generalize, after all, there are too many schools of the two types of sports. If you have seen Ashtanga tandem jumps, you will not think that yoga is just soft stretching. The intensity of exercise in many power yoga classes is comparable to HIIT, and it is common for boys to have legs shaking during practice; if you have seen the cannon pounding of Chen Style Tai Chi, you will not think that Tai Chi is just slow motion for the elderly. After a set of vigorous exertions, the heart rate will rise to over 120, which is no easier than jogging. There are even schools of yoga that do not practice postures at all. The core of devotional yoga and jnana yoga is the awareness of cultivation, which has nothing to do with the "swinging movements" in everyone's impression. Tai Chi also has schools of gun, sword, and knife training that specialize in equipment. They pursue offensive and defensive skills, which is completely different from the goal of health-preserving Tai Chi.

What's interesting is that although the action logic is far different, the two have many collisions in terms of core requirements. I took a Tai Chi teacher to a class of Yin Yoga. After he finished the class, he said, "Isn't this just lying down and standing in a posture?" - Don't tell me, it actually makes sense: Yin yoga requires each posture to be held for 3-5 minutes without exerting force. You only need to focus on the stretched parts, breathe slowly and deeply, and the "mind does not flow out, and the energy sinks into the Dantian" required by the posture essentially brings the wandering attention back to the body to avoid random thoughts. In the sports rehabilitation studio I often go to, teachers will rehabilitate patients with lumbar disc herniation. They will first use yoga's cat-cow pose and baby pose to relax the tense back muscles, and then teach Tai Chi's high stance to practice deep core stability. The effect is much better than using one method alone. Neither of them is essentially a "body-only" exercise. When you practice downward dog, your mind wanders, and you either stand unsteadily or tilt to the side; when you do cloud hand, your mind wants to work, and the movements are definitely scattered. They all force you to return your attention to the present moment, and slowly develop the habit of not being led away by distracting thoughts.

Of course, there is still no unified opinion in the circle as to whether the two can be integrated and whether integration is necessary. When I participated in a traditional Tai Chi exchange event last year, an inheritor of the Chen Style Tai Chi clearly opposed the popular "Tai Chi Yoga". He said that changing the relaxation of Tai Chi to the force-generating logic of yoga essentially lost the core of yin and yang movement, and it would easily lead to muscle stiffness after practicing for a long time. The Ashtanga teacher at the yoga studio I often go to also tried practicing Tai Chi, but felt that the rhythm was too slow and could not meet the muscle strength training needs she wanted. She felt that there was no need to force the two together. But there are also friends who do mindfulness training, who combine Tai Chi footwork with yoga meditation to provide intervention for patients with anxiety disorders. The feedback is that the acceptance is much higher than meditation alone.

To be honest, for us ordinary practitioners, there is no need to worry about which one is more profound and which one is more "authentic". I had a colleague who had a back problem after sitting for a long time. He first practiced yoga for three months and the pain in his back was relieved, but he was still prone to panic and insomnia. Later, he did Tai Chi for two months with the man in the community, and he said that he could fall asleep recently by touching the pillow. Now I stand for 10 minutes in the morning to wake myself up, and do yin yoga for 15 minutes in the evening to relax my shoulders. I do both together, and I feel very comfortable. After all, whether it’s yoga or Tai Chi, the ultimate goal is to make you understand your body better and live more comfortably, right?