What is the difference between yoga and Tai Chi

The core difference between the two is that the cultural soil and underlying logic of their birth are completely different - yoga originated from the religious practice system of ancient India. The original core was to achieve the spiritual transcendence of "the unity of Brahman and self" through the connection of postures, breathing and meditation, while Tai Chi was born out of Chinese Taoist philosophy and traditional martial arts.

If you have taken two introductory experience classes at the same time, the difference in intuitive feelings will be particularly obvious. In the yoga studio I used to go to, the teacher would repeatedly check the details of everyone's movements every class. Whether the heels of Downward Dog were pressed firmly and the core was engaged. A warrior might have to hold the three poses for forty seconds. Even if the students' legs were shaking badly, students would be encouraged to hold on for a few more seconds. Many advanced members worked hard to unlock difficult poses such as Handstand and King Pigeon Pose. Even Flow Yoga and Ashtanga, which are more fitness-oriented, have a bit of "breaking through the boundaries of the body" at their core.

The last time I accompanied my mother to the park, I had a trial class with the Tai Chi team. As soon as I stepped into the horse step, I couldn't help but tighten my thigh muscles to stand more firmly. The master came over and patted my knees gently and smiled: "Relax, don't compete with yourself, the energy is held in the legs, and the energy will not flow." When doing the whole set of 24 postures There is no pause in the whole process, and all movements are arc-shaped. It neither requires you to press the ligaments hard and does the splits, nor does it ask you to hold on to a certain movement. It doesn't matter if you do it slowly. The key is that the transition between virtual and real movements in each movement should be smooth. The force is transmitted from the feet to the waist and then to the fingertips, rather than relying on the arms to swing hard.

Going deeper, the breathing and consciousness guidance logic of the two are completely different. There are clear rules for breathing in yoga from the beginning, such as exhaling when bending forward and inhaling when bending back. When practicing Ujjayi breathing, you must deliberately control the slight friction sound of your vocal cords, and make your breathing match the rhythm of the posture throughout the process; Tai Chi is different. Novice masters will not ask you to adjust your breathing deliberately. First, make the movements smooth, and your breathing will naturally follow the opening and closing of the movements. They pay attention to "leading the breath with the mind, and controlling the shape with the breath."

There are a lot of controversies on the Internet now. Some people say that yoga is just a stretching class in the gym, and Tai Chi is just a pastime for retired uncles and aunts. This actually narrows the functionality of the two. I know a teacher who practices bhakti yoga. He does not practice difficult postures at all. He spends most of his time doing meditation and Vipassana, pursuing spiritual self-sufficiency and calmness. There is also a competitive Tai Chi successor born in the 2000s. He jumps and jumps after a set of punches. The difficulty of the movements is no less than that of rhythmic gymnastics. It is not at all the slow "old people's sport" that everyone thinks. There are also many people who say that when both are practiced to a high level, the body, mind and soul are unified. This is not wrong, but the core is still far from the truth: the ultimate pursuit of yoga is to break away from the shackles of the world and the body and achieve absolute spiritual freedom.

If you are looking for a slow exercise to relax recently, want to quickly stretch your shoulders and neck, and practice some core strength, choose yoga. If you want to calm down, adjust your work and rest, and get rid of the habit of competing when things happen, maybe Tai Chi is more to your liking. You don’t have to worry about which one is higher, just choose the one that suits you.