Which one is healthier, yoga or tai chi?

There is no absolute distinction between the two. The core of health benefits is never the choice of projects, but whether you can practice correctly and persist for a long time.

When I was doing sports science popularization in the community two years ago, I met Aunt Zhang, who had suffered from lumbar disc herniation for three years. She had followed the trend and watched short videos to practice flow yoga, forcing herself to do downward dog and wheel poses. Within two weeks, her waist hurt so much that she couldn't get out of bed. Later, she listened to her neighbor's advice and learned the basics of Chen-style Tai Chi. She stood for 20 minutes every day and did half a set of slow movements. A review six months later showed that the protruding nucleus pulposus had shrunk by less than half. People she met at that time said that Tai Chi was much more reliable than yoga. There is also a friend who just gave birth to her second child. She has loose pelvic floor muscles and rounded shoulders from sitting for many years. When she first started practicing Tai Chi with the neighborhood elder, she could not find the feeling of core strength. She could not help but slump when standing, and there was no improvement after practicing for a month. Later, she signed up for a personal trainer of restorative yoga. She adjusted her breathing and muscle power patterns with the teacher. In less than three months, her posture was back to normal, and the problem of urinary leakage was alleviated a lot. In turn, she told me that yoga is really suitable for office workers.

I have read several core papers on sports medicine before and found that the underlying logic of the two projects is actually very similar. They are both "mental and physical exercises" that focus on breathing and movements, while exercising physical function and emotional stability. However, there are differences in the direction of their expertise and the people they are suitable for. The movement pattern of Tai Chi is more functional. The improvement of lower limb strength and balance has been confirmed by a large number of studies. Elderly people who insist on practicing for more than one year can reduce the risk of falling by more than 30%. There is almost no entry barrier. Even if your legs and feet are not good and you cannot stand, you can still benefit from practicing cloud hands and breathing while sitting. The advantage of yoga is that it is more targeted in adjusting muscle extensibility and spinal mobility. Nowadays, many rehabilitation schools of yoga are themselves common intervention methods for posture adjustment after sports injuries. The adjustment efficiency will be higher for problems such as forward head extension and waist straightening that are often caused by desk-bound people.

Of course, this does not mean that either one is absolutely safe. Many people’s misunderstandings about the two projects are the source of physical harm: they always think that yoga requires you to bend your body, bend down and touch your feet. Deadlifting can easily loosen ligaments and cause joint instability.； There are also people who blindly squat low and buckle their knees in while practicing Tai Chi. There are also a lot of people who wear out their meniscus after practicing for two months. If you really have to worry about which one to choose, it is better to experience one or two formal introductory classes each. Whichever one will stretch your whole body, not sore or hurt, and which one you are willing to take time to practice every day, is healthier for you - after all, the exercise that can follow you for a lifetime is a really good exercise.