Which one is more effective, yoga or tai chi?

In fact, there is no standard answer at all. The quality of the effect is never determined by the exercise itself. It depends on what problem you want to solve through exercise and what kind of exercise rhythm you are more adaptable to.

In the past two years, I worked on a project for a month. My shoulders and neck were so stiff that it was difficult to even raise my hands to tie my hair. I first followed an online blogger to practice introductory shoulder and neck yoga. I spent 15 minutes a day doing cat-cow pose and cow-face pose. I paid attention to keeping my posture straight and not stretching hard. After just one week, I felt that my shoulders were much looser. At that time, I really felt that yoga was the savior of sedentary people. Until last year, my mother was diagnosed with essential hypertension, and the doctor asked her to do more low-intensity soothing exercises. She started practicing yoga with me, but she always felt that her whole body hurt when she stretched a certain muscle alone. She gave up after half a month, and later joined the Tai Chi team in the community to play Yang's style. She practiced Tai Chi slowly and leisurely for 40 minutes every morning. She did not pursue perfection in her movements, but just kept up with her breathing. After three months of follow-up, her blood pressure had stabilized a lot, and even her old problem of neurasthenia and poor sleep had been alleviated. During that time, she told people that Tai Chi was much more useful than yoga.

In fact, both of them made the right choice, it’s just that their respective needs and physical conditions are adapted to the corresponding sports. If you are a young man in his twenties or thirties, who has accumulated a lot of minor problems such as rounded shoulders, hunched back, and tight muscles due to sitting for a long time. You want to quickly improve your posture and flexibility, or even want to practice some core shaping. Yoga will be more suitable. After all, its postures are very detailed. If you want to train your shoulders, you can find classes with shoulder and neck themes, and if you want to train your waist, you can find classes with core themes. Even if you only have 10 minutes a day, you can practice by following the video, and you don’t have to find a partner to make time. But if you have chronic underlying diseases, or your joints are not in good condition, and you cannot tolerate targeted stretching, and prefer slow movements that follow your breathing, Tai Chi will be more comfortable. Its movements are linked together as a whole, and you will not jerk a certain muscle alone. After practicing, you will feel relaxed and stretched all over the body, and there will be no muscle soreness for several days.

Don’t just blindly jump into what others say is better. I once had a friend who practiced difficult aerial yoga in order to keep up with the trend, but failed to find the right professional teacher. He blindly pursued the range of motion and stretched his ligaments. To put it bluntly, these two are like different flavors of breakfast. If you like to eat light and soft soy milk and fried dough sticks, choose Tai Chi. If you like to eat rich and targeted sandwiches and salads, choose yoga. As long as you stick to it for a long time, the effect of either one will not be bad.