Tai Chi vs Yoga – Which is Best?

By Irepkabl, via Wikimedia Commons

Having owned and run a Martial Arts and Fitness Centre for many years I have a confession to make. Although I believed implicitly in the value of exercise, and was acting from the best knowledge I had at the time, I realise now that most of the training advice I dished out was simply wrong.

It was wrong because it was based around short term thinking and a view of health and fitness that was way too shallow. The type of overtly physical training we focused on was simply not sustainable beyond middle age and only concentrated on developing external strength and musculature. It was only as I arrived at my mid-fifties, with joints that were destroyed through over-training and things starting to go wrong throughout my body, that I realised the error of my ways. It was definitely time for a re-think. My choice was to either resign myself to becoming a couch potato, or find an activity that I could practise comfortably for the next 25 years.

You may have arrived here today for similar reasons. Perhaps you are not as young as you once were and the thought of fitness classes of a gym membership is simply no longer appealing. Maybe that type of fitness was never your thing anyway, and you are looking for an alternative solution. Whatever your current thinking you may be researching the benefits of Tai Chi vs Yoga and wondering which of these two alternative practises would be the best one for you.

Similar, Yet Different

By PBS NewsHour from Arlington, [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Yoga and Tai Chi are actually very similar in many ways. They both share many of the same mental and physical benefits and come from what might be called the Eastern mind-body tradition. Tai Chi emerged in China while Yoga developed in India and both arts can trace their roots back some 5,000 years. They both integrate breath control, meditation, and set poses or positions to facilitate health and longevity. Finally, both practises acknowledge the existence and importance of a universal life force or energy that facilitates wellness throughout our total body system. Called ‘Chi’ in Tai Chi and ‘Prana’ in Yoga, it is the successful management of this energy that is seen as the real key to our health.

That said, Tai Chi and Yoga do differ in significant ways. Firstly, they differ in intent. Tai Chi is focused on managing the flow of the universal energy for complete health and well being. In its original form it is also a very potent martial art intended for use in actual combat, although it is now largely now taught solely as a form of slow meditative movement promoting health and wellness. It is probably the case that the vast majority of Tai Chi teachers operating today do not know the lethal combat applications of the movements they make in each lesson.

Tai Chi for Health

Tai Chi vs Yoga
By SONGMY [CC BY 2.5 cn], via Wikimedia Commons
Tai Chi is about balancing the flow of chi around the body. Practitioners are encouraged to breathe slowly, deeply and naturally as they work through the sequences of graceful movements. Most Tai Chi movements are performed slowly from a standing position and take the body through its natural range of motion. Each individual pose is choreographed to flow seamlessly into the next in an unbroken sequence of movement. One of the great things about Tai Chi is that it can be practised by any age group and by people of almost any fitness level. The most popular sequence of Tai Chi is the 24 Form, which, once learned, takes about 6 minutes to complete. It can be easily incorporated into a busy lifestyle or become part of a diverse fitness regime. Studies have also shown Tai Chi can support the functional capacity of women with breast cancer, prevent strokes in high-risk patients and ease post stroke symptoms. Tai Chi also been shown to help with the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Yoga – Spiritual Growth and Physical Well-being

In its original form,Yoga is very much a spiritual practise. It focuses on facilitating the union of body, mind and spirit, leading to eventual enlightenment. The word Yoga actually means ‘union’ or ‘connection’. Although Yoga also uses controlled breathing with each movement it applies this in a slightly different way. The poses are often held for a certain number of breaths rather than flowing from one to another on each breath.

While both practices improve physical strength and endurance, both are low impact forms of exercise. However, Yoga can be much more physically demanding than Tai Chi with many of the intermediate and advanced poses requiring significant levels of strength and flexibility to perform. Yoga encourages ever greater levels of flexibility and strength with preparatory stretches, poses and visualisations leading to even more advanced poses over time.

So, What are the Benefits of Tai Chi and Yoga?

People who practise Yoga or Tai Chi experience a very similar set of results:

  • Decreased stress
  • Improved cardiovascular and respiratory health
  • Gains in strength and flexibility
  • Decreased anxiety and depression
  • Gains in cognitive function.

By Mike H from Seattle, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
When deciding which art would be best for you there are some questions you should be asking. What are you looking to achieve? Do you want your mind-body practise to focus on physical and mental health and general wellness or would you like an activity that promotes more spiritual engagement? How physically fit are you? Yoga tends to be more physically demanding. The truth is that it doesn’t have to be a choice between Tai Chi or Yoga. They can complement one another beautifully, with Tai Chi boosting meditation progress and Yoga improving physical strength and flexibility more rapidly.

Watch a short video on Tai Chi and Yoga by CLICKING HERE.

Thanks for stopping by. Remember, whatever your eventual choice you will experience significant mental and physical benefits from either art as both practices provide an amazing integrated health care and healing system for their practitioners. Please, keep in touch. Share a comment or questions and I will get back to you. Click here to read The Big Idea – it may help you to understand more about our healing philosophy.

12 thoughts on “Tai Chi vs Yoga – Which is Best?”

  1. I love physical exercise and have done martial arts and yoga but never tai chi. I think as I am aging I would like to get involved with tai chi just to check it out.

    I love yoga and think doing both will just expand my horizons.

    Thanks for such an informative article!

    • Thank you for your comment Dinh – would definitely recommend you looking into Tai Chi. With your background it sounds as though it would be a perfect fit. Glad you enjoyed the article.

  2. Hi, I like the information presented. As a Christian, I believe in the art of breathing and mindfulness while meditating(Praying). Although, I would not attend classes there is much benefit to purposeful stretching and careful exercise.

    • Hi Linda – thank you for your comment and I certainly respect your personal faith. I do believe that Christian mystics, Buddhist monks and Spiritual healers from the past and present all talk about something very similar when they are in a state of ecstasy. Like the blind men feeling different parts of the elephant they are all essentially describing the same reality behind everything!

  3. Hi Steve,

    Thanks for sharing. I have to admit that I just figured both Tai Chi and Yoga were more or less the same thing. But your explanation was a great eye opener. I used to do a bit of yoga from time to time a few years ago. But never dabbled in Tai Chi. I always thought it was for old chinese men. But thanks for sharing.

  4. Hi Steve, very informative! As someone who is fast approaching my 50’s (2 weeks to go) I am sort of in a similar situation to yourself. My joints are not what they used to be. I played a lot of football and done a lot of running in my younger days and I think it’s beginning to take its toll.

    Tai Chi appeals more to me as it is less physically demanding. I have seen Yoga in action and there’s no way I can get into some of those positions! Do you think Tai Chi has less benefits than yoga?

    • Hi Craig – many thanks for your comment. It’s very much an individual decision as the benefits occur at many different levels. Personally, I was drawn to Tai Chi and that gives me everything I was looking for. Others would say the same about Yoga. I always encourage people to try several classes of both before deciding. There are also so many different styles of teaching that you may be more comfortable with a specific teacher rather than a particular art. I wish you well in your search though – please stay in touch. Steve

  5. Thanks for this post. I am familiar with Joga and knew very little about Tai Chi. I didn’t really know that they were so similar. Eating healthy and moving our body are things we should do during all ages.

  6. Hi Steve, this is an interesting post. I am from India and yoga is practiced by everyone here. My dad taught me yoga when I was young and u do practice it. But I would love to practice tai chi as well. I know tai chi helps to generate and balance chi and its practice just like yoga is benefits health. I liked your post. Thanks for sharing.

    • Many thanks for your comment Jed – I would certainly recommend that you look at Tai Chi as well – maybe find a class somewhere and trial a couple of lessons.

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