Tai Chi vs. Yoga

The ultimate showdown between two mystical disciplines both hailing from the East comes down to one thing…

Nothing. Don’t be so ridiculous. Sheesh. In reality both arts incorporate many of the same elements. What is known as the meridian system in Tai Chi is called Chakras in Yoga, and the central points of energy production are essentially the same. There are several other similarities between the two arts, spiritual practices, meditation systems or health maintainers depending on how you view the two.

Yoga focuses on certain stretching techniques and breathing patterns to illicit a healthy response. There are several different schools, and levels of difficulty among each school. Two of the more popular schools of yoga are Ashtanga and Hatha Yoga. The health benefits of practicing yoga are well known, and branch over into many different systems in the body. Some health benefits you can expect from practicing yoga include cardiovascular health, lowered stress and reduced risk of developing potentially life threatening illnesses.

Tai Chi is a practice of various movements with a focus on breathing, posture and balance. The slow movements of Tai Chi aid in maintaining muscular strength into old age, and the martial art has been deemed especially beneficial for senior citizens by multiple health organizations. There are several founding families that disseminated different forms of Tai Chi practice. Other benefits of practicing Tai Chi include reduced inflammation from arthritis, cardiovascular health, better balance (decreasing the chance of suffering a bad fall) and an improved immune system.

Both Tai Chi and Yoga will generally benefit practitioners, and it is mostly up to each person’s preference as to which to practice. It would be best to try both in order to find out which practice you prefer, but it wouldn’t hurt if you decided to do a little of each.

Editor’s Note:

For me personally, I will always choose Tai Chi over Yoga for a few reasons. First, I can incorporate it into my day more easily, and I can practice almost anywhere.  Yoga seems to be something that requires a mat (at least) among other nuisances such as candles, incense and spandex tights.

I once practiced in China with my classmates and incredible Lao Shi Wang in the middle of very active basketball, volleyball and street soccer courts at The University for Business and Economics in Beijing. There were loudspeakers piping out intensely loud music, balls whizzing past and people moving, shouting and playing all around us. We were like a sea of calm in a chaotic mess; the proverbial eye of the storm in a sense.

Second, Tai Chi was the art that I practiced with a dear friend who has since passed away, and my teachers such as Wang Lao Shi, Shifu Wei Lun Huang, Lin Lao Shi and still more have been dear to me, as well. I have never had that kind of connection with a Yogi. Third, it is a martial art, and as a martial artist I find it to be more accesible in both philosophy and practice.

Tai Chi can bring focus in those sorts of situations when I feel that Yoga cannot, but maybe I just haven’t practiced enough. I like them both, but I prefer Tai Chi in most circumstances.