Yoga or TaiChi?

[JTT]

.....ok....ok....ok, you can stop laughing now. I am comfortable with my manhood enough to consider alternatives to weight training :eek:

Has anyone (or anyone who will admit it anyways ;) ) tried either of these programs? I am interested in improving my balance and flexability. I have and continue to do weight training and cardio, but was looking for something specific to these areas. Any advise?

...resume laughter now....

 

[jds22]

My wife just got a yoga book the other day and it has some pretty good stretch routines. I know Sting does yoga and he looks awfully fit. TaiChi has many different styles, from mild relaxation to strenght and fitness. If I were looking for the same results as you, I would look into TaiChi and possibly some other martial arts as well.:D

 

[jaguar]

I knew a woman of 23 years that never exercised and worked behind a desk. But she did yoga every day. She went on her once a year ski trip and said all her pals were getting tired and sore but she was just having a blast and was the fittest of the group.
I've done both, Yoga and Tai Chi. I stopped early on with Yoga because I didn't like the pain. I think I'm just generally too stiff so I just continued with very general stretching. The Tai Chi was great for balance and feeling connected to all my body parts. It's also great to calm down without going so far as sitting meditation.

 

[Harold in CA]

I've done Tai Chi and currently do Yoga a couple of times a week. I like Yoga a lot better. Tai Chi was a sequence of moves to be mastered more of a flow thing. Yoga (I mainly do Power Yoga) is a lot of specific exersizes like weight lifting. The instructor or yourself can choose what exersizes you want to do that day and in what order. I found that Yoga is a great supplement to weights and cardio because it really helps to be more flexible, especially as I get older. Just watch out for the hokey teachers that want to put a lot of philosophy in it. My current teacher is an ex-football player and its pretty much like going to the gym.

Harold

 

[stella]

i used to do yoga for school sport 'til i got kicked out for having random, uncontrollable laughing fits ;) so long as you have the patience, yoga can be one of he most benficial activities you'll ever take part in. the overall benefits far outweigh the effort involved!

 

[Kramer]

There's a 1/2 hour show on health network that takes you through Yoga routines.
I started following out of curiosity, but after the first week I could feel a big difference. The only part of fitness that yoga seems to leave out is aerobic exercise. Though, my endurance and breathing have improved too.

P.S.
There should be no pain involved.

 

[MACE]

I did Tai Chi three times a week for about a year and a half. My instructor was doing my lessons one-on-one for gratis just because he was a believer and wanted to help me. He said "white boys never stick with it" so I tried for 18 months to "get it".

Never "got it".

Glad I tried though...

 

[Payday2]

Try both! See which one you enjoy the most (this will help motivate you to stick with it), and which one best suits your goals (this will as well).

You may also want to check out Pilates class too.

J&K

 

[JTT]

Thanks for all the advise! I think I am going to go through with it. Going to try the TaiChi first, and if that isn't my thing, I'll try the yoga. Maybe I'll find Zen ;)