WHY and how to TAI CHI your FITNESS!

Tai Chi is more than a slow moving dance, it's a categorizing of things...

The Chinese have been saying for thousands of years that all things can be categorized by their polar opposite. These polar opposites are symbolized by the Tai Chi Tu, or in English the symbol of ultimate extremes. Here in the west commonly known as the Yin Yang symbol.

How does this idea of polar opposites relate to exercise?

This black and white circle symbolizes polar opposites and how all opposites can be trained to balance each other. Yin being the black side and Yang being the white. The simple answer to the question above is yin= resting and yang= activity. The more complex answer would be yin is the relaxed muscle and yang is the tense muscle. These answers, however true, still do not get to the root of the question- how does this theory relate to exercise. In exercise there are yang types and yin types; ultimately the type of exercise can be rated on a gradient by the primary muscles used (slow/fast twitch, gross movement/postural), for strength/relaxation, and how moderate or explosive.

​Why is this even important? The idea is that for all things to function to the best of their ability these two attributes must be balanced. In this way exercise truly benefits our physical, mental and emotional health. Categorizing these things is the first step to balancing them.

​Down below you will find a chart illustrating the correlating yin and yang attributes of exercise.

YIN

• Healing + rejuvinating
• Deep muscles
• Structural + postural holding muscles
• Muscles on the front and inside of the body
• Tendons and ligaments
• Internal/Bone focused
• Relaxing
• Flexed
• Low to no impact
• Slow
• Stabilizing
• Strength building
• Isometric
• Eccentric contraction
• Constant and steady strength
• Static, slow + gentle Stretching
• Focused on feeling
• Breath focused
• Endurance running

YANG

• Destructive + depleting
• Superficial muscles
• Muscles primarily used for movements
• Muscles on the back and outside of the body
• Muscles and fascia
• External/Skin + gross movement focused
• Invigorating
• Extended
• High impact
• Fast
• Moving
• Power building
• Isotonic
• Concentric contraction
• Explosive power
• Dynamic stretching
• Focused on results
• Body focused
• Sprinting

Practicing Tai Chi philosophy in exercise requires balancing yin and yang types of exercise. When looking at various sports, training programs, and martial arts if you want to achieve lasting progress with little to no injury you must balance yin and yang. In short this means a well rounded balanced form of cross training.

For your focus on yang based exercises you must have a yin based practice to support it, and vice versa. A simple example is weight lifting and Tai Chi, Chi Kung or Yoga. The reason many weight lifters add Yoga to their practice is for the stretching and postural basis it uses that heals and safeguards their joints from injury. The same with Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan the structural focus and slow gradual stretching of Tai Chi Chuan heals and relaxes the high intensity and explosive movements of Kung Fu. In various martial arts this balance is found, if not completely encompassed by the martial art, then by cross training it with other arts. A prime example of this is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s Rickson Gracie, he has achieved great results by merging Yoga and BJJ to better his art and health, as seen in the video below.

Regardless of the art trained, exercise//sport practiced Yin and Yang are both required for great lasting progress. This is the “Way of Great Polarity” the “Tai Chi Chuan” of training. Balance your methods and you will build enduring strength and control. I choose to do this by training in Tai Chi Chuan, Kung Fu, and Mixed Martial Arts. Weight lifting, calisthenics, running, and dynamic along with static stretching all hold important places in everything I train in as well.

​Find what you enjoy on both sides of Yin and Yang and be sure to balance one with the other.