Yoga vs. Tai Chi: Which is Best?
Wise & Well Weekly: Advice from our experts, great reads, and your feedback
Welcome back to your weekly dose of wellness, helping you make tomorrow a little better than today. Let’s go…
Having taken up yoga about a year and a half ago, with great results, I’ve sometimes wondered how yoga and tai chi differ in terms of health benefits, since studies often conclude that either one can help with physical fitness, mental wellness, and specific issues like anxiety and chronic pain.
So I was intrigued by health journalist Kathleen Murphy’s story on Wise & Well.
Murphy was willing to try just about anything to ease her chronic pain, having tried exercise, stretching, physical therapy and anti-inflammatories. But tai chi? Hmm. The idea of healing via an unmeasurable force called qi seemed about as authentic as a $5 Rolex, she writes.
Still, she signed up for classes with a seasoned tai chi instructor and, once she got past some feelings of self-consciousness, well… if you have chronic pain, you’re going to want to read Murphy’s story, which explains the science behind tai chi’s effectiveness and its emphasis on the body, mind and spirit, plus what she thinks of it:
My own chronic pain, in my low back and hips, has been around for decades, usually at a pretty low level — I was often annoyed, though almost always functional. But the pain got worse with age and forced me to stop running many years ago—a sad, sad moment. Then as I neared age 60, I tried yoga, and the effect has been amazing, as I wrote last year, reducing my pain to inconsequential, occasional levels. I was frankly shocked when I realized that I could run again, as I do regularly now. My back and hips haven’t felt this good since my 20s.
So which is better, yoga or tai chi?
Both practices include physical effort that can be as easy or as hard as you like. Both include instruction on breathing. Both have mindfulness components, to varying degrees depending on the desires of instructor and participant. There are many other differences, but in the end, both get your blood flowing, improve strength and flexibility, and can promote better sleep, which by itself can help reduce anxiety and chronic pain, kickstarting a positive cycle of wellness that provides more energy for… yoga or tai chi or running or weightlifting or whatever physical activity you find enjoyable.
So which is better, yoga or tai chi?
My simple answer: whichever one you’re willing to try.
HEALTHY READING
A selection of this week’s informative and insightful articles:
What Are Blue Zones and Could They Help You Live to 100?
Blue Zones, where people supposedly live longer, are generating a lot of buzz among podcasters who interview each other in a wellness echo chamber. Fact is, the Blue Zone Project has morphed from #health guidance into a for-profit juggernaut owned by the largest U.S. digital health business. You don’t have to live anywhere special, nor pay up, to gain the health benefits of the basic principles behind this branded concept.
—By Amy Sterling Casil
Millions of People Do This Strange, Relaxing Thing You’ve Never Heard Of
People are oddly glued to videos in which women whisper, comb hair, crackle paper, and tap their manicured nails. A Wise & Well writer experiences the kinda creepy sensations induced by these Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) videos, which people say helps them relax, lower stress levels and even sleep. She also finds the science is only scratching the surface of the phenomenon’s causes and effects.
—By Annie Foley
Can AI Predict Your Death?
Imagine if artificial intelligence could predict when you’ll die, especially if you have a terminal disease and you’d really like to have an accurate estimation of the time you have left. This physician and writer looks into the potential for AI to predict end-of-life windows, and muses on the benefits to patients and doctors (who, btw, struggle to predict survival times).
—By Dr. Julian Barkan
Are Energy Drinks Unhealthy?
Energy drinks can contain boatloads of caffeine and other dubious ingredients. Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked the FDA to investigate the ingredients and marketing practices of Prime Energy, a relative newcomer in a market dominated by Red Bull. Schumer calls the drink with its heaping dose of caffeine “a recipe for disaster,” given that kids are chugging it down. The company defends its beverage as legal. What does science say? Kids should not drink energy drinks at all. Period.
—By Robert Roy Britt
Lifestyle Modifications Lead to Substantially Longer Healthspans
The writer is 81 years old and “in pretty good health.” He hopes to stay that way for many more years. How? He leans into moderate exercise, stress management, enhanced sleep, no tobacco and moderate alcohol consumption, intellectual challenges, and social engagement. Take a deep dive into the science of these seven keys to health and longevity.
— By Stephen Schimpff MD, MACP
How Metformin May Help You Live Longer and Healthier
Diabetes drugs like Wegovy, Mounjaro and Ozempic are in the news for their notable side effect: weight loss. But they’re super expensive. An older, more well-studied stand-by diabetes drug offers many of the same benefits at a fraction of the cost: metformin. This physician/writer analyzes and compares the options.
—By Dr. Julian Barkan
YOUR INSIGHTS
Thoughtful reader comments on recent Wise & Well stories:
“I was the victim of a sophisticated scam a couple of months ago. I ended up losing a few thousand dollars; thankfully, it was not more. My brilliant son did some detective work and discovered that it WAS a scam. I felt deeply embarrassed, ashamed. I’m a very intelligent person. I have even recognized some less sophisticated scams in the past and stopped them dead. But I was tricked by this one, even though there were very definite signs that something was awry. Bottom line? I didn’t trust my suspicions, largely because, as you said, they kept filling the space with details and things to keep my mind racing and my fear on high. It’s at least comforting to know that this happens to other smart people and that it is not (necessarily) a sign of impending senility. And sadly, I’ve learned that hard lesson: trust no one without verifying.”
—Wendy Belgard Hanawalt, re: Why We Fall for Increasingly Scary Phone Scams by Robert Roy Britt
“I’ve never taken BMI too seriously. Obviously, if you are carrying more muscle, you will have a higher BMI, but won’t necessarily be overweight, in the sense of carrying too much body fat, which is what is important.”
—David Welburn, re: BMI Alone No Longer the Go-To Measure for Weight Management by Scott Hagan
“The fact that these products are heavily marketed to young women, then this matter needs urgent action indeed. Many of these products contain chemicals that could have significant health implications.”
—Monicah Hinga, re: Cosmetics Threaten Young Women’s Reproductive Health by Leslie Hart
RANDOM BIT OF WISDOM
“Acts of generosity bring obvious benefit to the recipient, but they also bring benefit to ourselves, both in the moment and also when these wholesome karmic actions bear fruit.”
—Joseph Goldstein in Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening
If you like what you see, please follow Wise & Well and/or subscribe to this newsletter. Meanwhile, I hope we’ve helped you make tomorrow a little better than today. — Rob
