Yoga and Tai Chi

Yoga and Tai Chi are neither homologous nor fundamentally different in core logic. There is no standard answer to which one is better or worse - you can choose anyone if you need relaxation. If you want to solve specific physical and mental problems or want to delve deeper into a certain cultural system, the two are suitable for very different people.

I practiced Ashtanga for five years, and when I was most obsessed with it, I was able to endure a sequence every morning without stopping. Later, my dad was diagnosed with a lumbar disc herniation, and the doctor asked him to do more gentle exercises. I accompanied him in the Tai Chi team in the park for half a year, and then I really understood the difference between the two.

If you have ever taken a basic yoga class, you will know that what the teacher always talks about is "feeling the stretch of the muscles" and "sinking the force into the muscle fibers." Even if it is mindfulness yoga that emphasizes meditation, the ultimate goal is to return to your own body feelings. To put it bluntly, the logic of yoga is to "look inward" and treat your own body as an independent system to disassemble and adjust. Last time I went to Iyengar's rehabilitation class, the teacher used an assistive device to pad my right shoulder blade for 20 minutes in order to adjust the height of my shoulders. The adjustment was accurate to the millimeter level. This kind of thinking is not seen at all in Tai Chi.

The first thing a Tai Chi master teaches you is always to "root your feet." When standing, you should think of a thread pulling up from the top of your head and stepping down into the ground. When doing the cloud hand, the energy does not come from the arms, but from the soles of the feet. It will never separate you from the surrounding environment. What you practice is the resonance between you, the heaven and earth, and the surroundings. When I first started doing zhanzhuang, I always wanted to find a "feeling of strength" like yoga. After standing for 10 minutes, my legs were shaking like a sieve. The master came over and patted me on the back and said, "Don't compete with yourself, relax and let the strength go by itself." It was then that I suddenly realized that these two are fundamentally different.

Oh, by the way, many gyms are now offering "Tai Chi Yoga" fusion classes, and the community is quite noisy. I know a sister who runs a yoga studio. She has studied Yang style Tai Chi for three years. She adds the silk-winding strength of Tai Chi to the flow movements of yoga, and specializes in giving classes to middle-aged members with bad knees. I went there once. Many aunts had knee pain after practicing lunges and squats. They adjusted the way of exerting force according to her method, but nothing happened. Her class is now scheduled two weeks in advance. Do you think it is useless? Definitely not. But when I went to Chenjiagou last year, I talked about this with a young boxer who had been practicing for 12 years. He shook his head directly and said that the core of Tai Chi is "leading the Qi with the mind." If you practice yoga with the idea of ​​"finding a sense of stretch", all you will get in the end is stiffness and no kung fu at all. He had met a yoga teacher before to learn boxing, and he always wanted to stretch his legs and stretch his muscles. His knees hurt from standing for half a month, but he just couldn't turn his mind. In fact, both sides are right. It depends on what you want - if you just want to find a gentle exercise to stretch your muscles and feel comfortable, go to the fusion class. If you really want to practice the strength of Tai Chi or touch the philosophical core of yoga, then you must practice separately. If you mix them together, you will just look different.

To be honest, I practice both now. I stand for 10 minutes in the morning and do 15 minutes of yin yoga to stretch my shoulders before going to bed. I used to practice yoga and always do asanas, and my wrists hurt for more than half a year. Later, I learned Tai Chi's "Shoulders and Elbows". When doing downward dog pose, I always thought about sinking my elbows and not putting all the weight on my wrists. The pain that had lasted for more than half a year was cured in less than two months. A while ago, my dad always felt that his waist was tight when he was standing. I taught him the abdominal breathing method in yoga and adjusted the tightening of the core. He didn't complain that his waist was tired after standing for 20 minutes.

Many people always like to ask me which one of the two is better. In fact, there is no good or bad thing. If you have been working overtime recently and your body is tight and you want to relax quickly, go to a class of yin yoga. You will get results much faster than standing still for half an hour. ； But if you have cold hands and feet all year round and a weak spleen and stomach, if you insist on standing for three months, the effect will be more effective than how many annual yoga passes you apply for. To put it bluntly, whether it is yoga or Tai Chi, it ultimately serves your own body. If you are comfortable practicing it and can solve your problems, then it is the most suitable for you.