How many important differences are there between yoga and tai chi?

Differences in movement logic bred from root culture, as well as differences in the sequence of physical and mental training, and other differences in movement forms, rhythm speed, and audience groups are actually derived from these two core differences.

I have been practicing yoga for seven years and Chen-style Tai Chi for three years. In the past two years, when I held public welfare experience classes in the community, I encountered a very interesting example. An aunt who had practiced flow yoga for five years came to try Tai Chi class. After only ten minutes of standing on the Wuji post, she frowned and said she was not used to it. She said that the mountain pose in yoga is about pulling up the top of the head, and the whole person is stretched upwards like being lifted up by a thread. Why does the Tai Chi stance require loosening of the hips and sinking the waist, and the whole person "punching" into the ground?

This is actually the core cultural difference. Yoga originated from the practice system of ancient India. The underlying logic is "the unity of Brahman and self." The core of asana training is to control the body, break through the inherent boundaries of the physical body, and finally strip away the shackles of the senses. Therefore, whether it is Hatha stretching or Ashtanga's power connection, the essence is to talk to the "limitations" of the body. When you cannot reach your feet with forward bends, the teacher will guide you to extend another half inch. When your core cannot be stabilized, you will be asked to hold for three more breaths, all with a bit of "breakthrough" energy. Tai Chi was born out of the Chinese Taoist thought of health care. The bottom line is "the unity of nature and man". It emphasizes following the laws of the body and not competing with oneself. The movements should be loose and flexible, and follow the direction of the muscles and bones. If you reach for the bird's tail and your waist is tight when you are doing the bird's tail, the teacher will come up and loosen it for you, saying, "If you are stiff, you are wrong. You don't have to reach that far. Just follow it."

Both seem to be physical and mental exercises, but in fact the training points are completely different. My own feeling is that yoga first adjusts the body and then the mind. In the first half year of practicing, the first thing I felt was that the stiffness in the shoulders and neck disappeared, and the core strength improved. I could even climb stairs without gasping. It was only in the third year of practice that I slowly discovered the connection between breathing and emotions. When I was anxious, I could calm down by doing a few sets of sun salutations. Tai Chi works the other way around. For the first three months, the teacher didn’t let me figure out the details of the movements. They asked me to stand and adjust my breathing. First, I could clear my mind of distracting thoughts and loosen the stiffness in my shoulders and neck. Then the movements naturally became smooth. I was busy with projects at that time and often suffered from insomnia. After two weeks of standing, I was able to sleep for the most part. The effect was more obvious than the pre-sleep yoga I practiced before.

Of course, many practitioners now feel that there is no need to distinguish between the two. I also have friends who integrate the relaxation and relaxation logic of Tai Chi stances into yoga meditation, or add core yoga training to the basic skills of Tai Chi, and the results are very good. However, for newbies, they need to first understand the core differences between the two, so that it is not easy to practice wrongly. For example, people who are already prone to anxiety and tension will tend to become more anxious if they choose high-intensity power yoga at the beginning. It is more appropriate to try the relaxation and relaxation logic of Tai Chi. Last time, I adjusted the logic of the postures for the aunt who practices yoga, and asked her to try to combine the abdominal breathing of yoga with the relaxation of Tai Chi. Now she practices both sides alternately, and said that the old knee injuries have been relieved a lot. In fact, no matter what you practice, the rhythm that suits you is the most important.