[1] This aquatic technique is characterized by slow movement coordinated with deep breathing, based on elements of qigong and tai chi.
[4][2] Typically, Ai Chi is practiced standing in shoulder-depth water in group classes, one-on-one therapy sessions, or individually.
Movement is slow and continuous, with attention to body alignment, and accompanied by deep diaphragmatic breathing and a calm meditative state of mind.
Mental focus is on flowing movement, proper body alignment, and coordinated breathing, and can also involve attention to philosophical or aesthetic concepts.
The progression moves through a series of "regulatory conditions" of increasing difficulty, from static to dynamic, symmetrical to rotatory and asymmetrical movement, and visual to non-visual (vestibular) control.