Comparison of the fitness effects of yoga and Tai Chi

There is no absolute superior or inferior fitness effect between the two. Yoga is more prominent in improving musculoskeletal flexibility and releasing emotional stress, while Tai Chi is more impressive in regulating neural balance and regulating chronic underlying diseases. Which one you choose depends entirely on your current physical condition and needs. If you can practice them together, you will get twice the result with half the effort.

Last month I held a charity fitness class in the community and met two very different students: one is a young Internet operator girl from 996. Her shoulders and neck are so stiff that it hurts to turn her head. She also suffers from insomnia every day. I tried Tai Chi for two weeks, but said it was too slow and I couldn’t sit still. So I signed up for Hatha yoga three times a week. After a month, I no longer have pain when turning my head, and it takes 20 seconds to fall asleep. minutes; the other is 62-year-old Aunt Zhang, who has a ten-year history of high blood pressure and old knee injuries. She used to follow short videos to practice yoga, and stretching the downward dog pose caused pain in her knees. She changed it to doing simplified twenty-four Tai Chi for half an hour every morning. After three months, she went for a review and found that the high pressure was stable at around 130. She stepped on the air last time and stood still. She must have fallen before.

Speaking of which, I also read a 2023 tracking study by the Department of Sports Rehabilitation of Beijing University of Physical Education a while ago. 120 subjects with no exercise habits were divided into three groups. One group practiced Tai Chi, one group practiced Hatha yoga, and one group did nothing. After 12 weeks, the test data: the Tai Chi group’s static balance ability increased by an average of 37%. , the resting heart rate dropped by an average of 5 beats/minute, and nearly 60% of the subjects with mild hypertension had a systolic blood pressure drop of 8-12mmHg; the yoga group's shoulder and neck forward and lateral flexion activities increased by an average of 42%, the anxiety self-rating scale score dropped by an average of 21%, and the effective rate of relieving chronic pain in the lower back reached 76%.

At this point, someone must mention the "dirty facts" of these two sports: Yoga hurts the waist, and Tai Chi hurts the knees, right? I specifically asked an Iyengar yoga teacher and a successor of Chen style Tai Chi that I am familiar with. The opinions from both sides are actually quite interesting. As for yoga, many people are injured now because they blindly pursue difficult postures and do not pay attention to the correct position. The serious Iyengar system uses assistive devices to adjust postures. Not to mention waist injuries, many patients with lumbar protrusion rely on yoga to repair them; Tai Chi masters Fu Ye said that many people's knee pain is caused by the wrong posture of buckling the knees in and over the toes when standing. The formal training method requires loosening the waist and sinking the hips, and placing the center of gravity on the soles of the feet. After practicing for a long time, the strength of the muscles around the knee joints will increase, which can protect the knees. Oh, by the way, there is an interesting debate now. Flow yoga enthusiasts say that one hour of practicing is more effective than Tai Chi in improving cardiopulmonary fitness. Tai Chi practitioners also say that the core stability achieved by practicing standing postures for half an hour is more durable than yoga planks and is more effective in daily life. The two sides have been arguing for almost half a year without coming to a conclusion. To put it bluntly, they still have different needs.

I have been practicing these two movements for almost eight years, and my most intuitive feeling is that the logic of exerting force in the two movements is completely different. Yoga is more like an adjustment from the outside in. When you do downward dog or cat-cow pose, you can clearly feel which muscles are being stretched and which ones are exerting force. It is like loosening screws one by one in a tight body. When you are stressed, practice flow yoga and sweat all over, and the panic in your heart will dissipate; Tai Chi is different. It's from the inside out. When you do the cloud hand or part the mane by walking the wild horse, you should focus on your breathing and the shift of the center of gravity. You won't sweat much after practicing, but your whole mind will be very clear. I sometimes stay up late to catch up on the plan, and do the twenty-four poses twice the next morning. It's more effective than drinking two glasses of iced American style. My head is not confused and my hands are not shaking.

In fact, there is really no need to worry about which one is better. If you are a young person and have shoulder and neck pain while sitting in the office every day, a lot of stress, and can't sit still, then yoga will definitely be more suitable for you; if you are middle-aged and elderly, have blood pressure and blood sugar problems, poor balance, and old joint injuries, Tai Chi will definitely be more suitable. There are many friends around me who spend two days in the middle of the week practicing yoga to loosen their muscles and muscles. On weekend mornings, I follow the grandparents in the park to do Tai Chi to adjust their condition. Their shoulders and neck are also comfortable, their balance is stable, and they have all the benefits. After all, when it comes to fitness, if you are comfortable and able to persevere, it is more useful than any data.