What’s Ai Chi? Delete the initial T(ai Chi) and add water

I get a real kick out of portmanteau words. Spork, hangry, staycation, and maybe the best/silliest one I know– turducken– they all convey a humorous approach to efficiency and multitasking in meaning.

We smush words together all over the place, with food and technology terms especially (think cronut and webinar), but also with sports and physical activity. Here are some I found online, of which several the FIFI bloggers have written about or tried for ourselves:

• Yogalates (yoga plus Pilates)
• Broga (a combo of yoga and calisthenics exercises, with gender stereotype marketing– yuck)
• Yinki yoga (yin yoga plus reiki)
• Jazzercise (an oldie but a goodie)
• Hyrox (a newish one; Sam wrote about it here; it stands for “Hybrid Rockstar”)
• Acroyoga (acrobatic yoga, see pic below)
• Doga (according to Wikipedia, a variant of yoga done with dogs, or for people, or for dogs)

But how many of you have heard of/participated in Ai Chi? Not me, until now.

Ai Chi refers to Tai Chi– gentle but powerful low-impact martial arts exercises– done in the water, generally a pool. One site explains it this way, focusing on benefits for older people:

Ai Chi, a modified, water-based form of Tai Chi, integrates slow, deliberate movements with deep breathing in a physical activity performed in shoulder-deep heated water. Developed to promote relaxation, it builds full-body strength and challenges balance in ways that typical strength training does not.

Unlike lifting weights or other exercises on solid ground, Ai Chi harnesses the natural resistance of water while buoyancy reduces joint strain.

The practice begins with uncomplicated arm and breathing exercises that gradually progress to coordinated, full-body movements. As participants alternate between narrow and wide stances, they continuously test their stability.

When I did a deeper Google dive into Ai Chi classes, I found a variety of different types of Ai Chi-ish workouts. Some look like aquatic therapy classes (done at rehab places for people recovering from surgery or injuries or managing medical limitations). Others are aquatic personal training that combine gentle water exercise with massage. Then there are the regular Ai Chi classes at places like your local YMCA. Mine offers them.

The list of benefits that AI Chi-ing confers is very long. So is the list of conditions for which Ai-Chi is purportedly helpful. You can find them here.

One more thing about Ai Chi: according to one Ai Chi blogger, Tai Chi makes dogs more aggressive, but Ai Chi calms them. They cited one Ai Chi class that also soothed a nearby duck and blue heron. Imagine how it might chill us out…

Honestly, Ai Chi seems like a nice variant on Tai Chi movements and also a low-key alternative to water aerobics to make it tempting to try. I will report back if/when I take my Tai Chi to the pool, strip off the T, and add water.

Hey readers– have you tried Ai Chi? Do you like it? How does it compare to its dry land sibling? I’d love to hear from you.