Books and Videos about
Ai Chi

1. Ai Chi - Balance Harmony and Healing (1999)
2. Ai Chi - Flowing Aquatic Energy (1996)
3. Ai Chi - Flowing Aquatic Energy (VHS 1998)
4. Ai Chi III - The Visualization Journey (VHS 2001)
5. Ai Chi II - Cultivating the Chi (VHS 2001)
   See also
   Ruth Sova Books and Video VHS
6. Aquatics - The Complete Reference Guide for Aquatic Fitness Professionals (2000)
7. Essential Principles of Aquatic Therapy and Rehabilitation (1999)

Ai Chi - Balance Harmony and Healing
by Ruth Sova

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Book Description
This is a second book on Ai Chi. Ai Chi is a water exercise and relaxation program that has been created to help aquatic practitioners and students decrease stress and increase energy by using the water in a flowing yet powerful progression. This comprehensive, in-depth book takes experienced practitioners to a new level of Ai Chi practice, yet will be useful to the novice as well. Aquatic exercise instructors, personal trainers, and aquatic therapy and rehabilitation practitioners will find the Ai Chi workout versatile. For aquatic exercise instructors it is an efficient exercise program that increases oxygen and caloric consumption simply with correct form and positioning in the water. Personal trainers will find it a perfect relaxation technique for their highly stressed, over-challenged clients. Aquatic therapy and rehabilitation practitioners will see improved range of motion and mobility in their patients.
Ai Chi, created by combining Tai-Chi concepts with Shiatsu and Watsu techniques, is performed standing in shoulder depth water using a combination of deep breathing and slow, broad movements of the arms, legs, and torso.

The book compares the traditional Ai Chi program for an average healthy adult with modifications for special populations. Ai Chi Ne (partner stretching) and Cultivating the Chi (advanced Ai Chi positions) are defined and illustrated.

New offerings in this book include Ai Chi Ne (partner stretching), Ai Chi in-depth, Cultivating the Chi (new Ai Chi positions), practical teaching information, pool teaching scripts for a varied learning focus, Ai Chi for special populations, the autonomic nervous system, the para-sympathetic and sympathetic systems, breathing techniques and benefits, and physical positioning.

The program and progression was created by Jun Konno, president of Aqua Dynamics, Inc., Yokohama, JAPAN. Mr. Konno, a Japanese authority on aquatic fitness and swimming, is president and founder of Aqua Dynamics Institute, a consulting firm for fitness clubs and swimming schools in Japan. He graduated from the Economics Department of Tohoku Gakuin University, coached the Philippine Swimming Federation's National Junior Team, and taught in the Physical Education Department of University of the Philippine. He received the Distinguished Service Medal from the Philippine Olympic Committee in 1973. Konno served as the youngest ever director of the Japan Swimming Clubs Association, became one of Japan's foremost swimming coaches and coached Japan's Olympic swimming team. He is an advisor of the Aquatic Exercise Association and offers the AEA certification in Japan. Konno serves as a consultant and lecturer. Interviews with him appear regularly in magazines, newspapers, and on television. He has many published writings including the Japanese translation of Ruth Sova's Aqua-fit, and Swimming Concepts, which is virtually required reading for all Japanese swimming coaches.

The history, guidelines, research and descriptions were written by Ruth Sova, founder of AEA and president of the Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute. Ruth Sova, M.S., an internationally known speaker, author and consultant, is founder of six businesses including the Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute, the Aquatic Exercise Association, Living Right Magazine, ACT, Armchair Aerobics Inc., and the Fitness Firm. She is on the Wisconsin Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, received the Governor's Entrepreneurial Award, was the recipient of the IDEA Outstanding Business Award, worked on the ACE certification committee, was awarded the first Presidential Sports Award in aquatic exercise, and received AEA's 1994 Contribution to the Industry Award. She is the author of numerous articles and ten books on her specialties of wellness, aquatics, and business.

The blending of international authors and concepts makes Ai Chi - Balance, Harmony and Healing an unusual, elite book. It begins with an introduction to Ai Chi and the mind/body concept, and then moves to benefits involving the neurological, cardiorespiratory, metabolic, musculoskeletal, endocrine, and cognitive systems. Ai Chi modifications for over twenty different special populations is next. The physical techniques of Ai Chi are covered in Chapter Three and include positioning, balance, pelvic mechanics and movement technique. Chapter Four, deals with the psyche or mind and covers the concepts of relaxation, breathing, meditation and unity. The physical descriptions, illustrations and progression of Ai Chi, Ai Chi Ne and Cultivating the Chi are included to assist instruction. Ai Chi - Balance, Harmony, and Healing has a special focus on instructional techniques which include presentation ideas, music, cueing, and scripts to use while teaching.

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From the Publisher
If you're too tired to tackle the whole book, here's the most important thing learned from research on this book:
We have an autonomic nervous system in our body that controls all the things that happen automatically (stuff we don't have to think about to make happen) like breathing, heart beating, blood circulating, etc.

Within that system are two other systems that should be balanced ... the parasympathetic system and the sympathetic system.

The parasympathetic system prepares us for relaxation or rest. It slows down our breathing, slows our heart rate, lowers our blood pressure, decreases the brain's reticular activation system (RAS), and decreases our sensory alertness, etc.

(The RAS is our awareness. When the RAS is activated we're very aware of everything happening around us. Think about the guys in Vietnam in the jungle. Their systems were cranked up about as high as they can get. When the RAS isn't cranked up we're more focused. We're aware of things going on around us but they're background.)

The sympathetic system prepares us for activity. It increases our breathing, our heart rate, our blood pressure, our brain's RAS, and makes our tactile system more aware (our skin is more sensitive), and basically increases the alertness of all our senses. It's the flight or fight response. It creates stress in our bodies to allow us to respond to a crisis.

Again, these should be balanced. When a car swerves toward us, a deer runs in front of us, or someone starts to scream the sympathetic system kicks in to help us deal with it. When the crisis is over the parasympathetic takes over again and brings us down to normal.

Unfortunately, because of our lifestyles, these systems aren't balanced. We have too much stress and the sympathetic system stays activated throughout most of our day. Sometimes it doesn't even shut down at night … that's when your brain keeps working all night even though you're sleeping. You probably know the feeling! The imbalance lessens the ability of our immune systems. Balance makes us healthier physically because of the improved immune system function and because of the psychological "rest".

Western medicine recommends drugs to bring us down … or the doctor recommends rest or recreation. The problem is, we don't know how to rest and much of our recreation creates more stress.

Eastern medicine says we can control the balance of the sympathetic and parasympathetic through breathing. It's the one portion of the autonomic nervous system that is both voluntary and involuntary, so it's the key to teaching us to lower our blood pressure naturally, lower our heart rate naturally, decrease the brain's RAS, etc.

So, now we're at breathing, which is what this is about. There are three kinds of breathing: thoracic, clavicular, and diaphragmatic. When we're born we don't have the bony structure to breathe any way but diaphragmatic … then we develop bone strength and start to chest breath. The only time you use clavicular breathing is when you workout.

The first step to "balancing" is diaphragmatic breathing. There are several physiological reasons but let me just give you these examples. When a weight lifter (or a football player on the line just before the snap) gets ready to lift he takes a few big chest breaths to pump himself up. (That's activating the sympathetic system.) Just before a speaker goes on, or in birthing classes, the person takes deep diaphragmatic breaths … that's activating the parasympathetic system. Use your breathing to help your health.

Practice diaphragmatic breathing. The balance you create will strengthen your immune system.

The next step is called the "complete yogic breath" and involves breathing in three parts. The inhalation is two counts to fill the belly (diaphragmatic), two counts to widen the rib cage (chest), and two counts to lift the rib cage (clavicular). The exhalation is the reverse - two counts to lower the rib cage, two counts to squeeze the rib cage, and two counts to pull the belly in and up.

It sounds easy but it's very difficult to do for even a couple minutes. Try it whenever you can. If you can't stay with it go back to diaphragmatic breathing.

That should get you started on anything that is going on with you. Read the book if you want more!

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From Jun Konno (Creator of Ai Chi and president of Aqua Dynamics)
The inspiration for Ai Chi came from my observations of the Japanese taste for exercise. Oriental people are not into dynamic, forceful exercise - they prefer something with lower intensity and gentler movement.

Watsu, which is very popular in Japan, is done on a one-to-one basis and is more a therapy than a form of movement. It demands close contact between the therapist and the client and I found that many Japanese people didn't like that aspect of it: they liked the idea of moving slowly through the water, but weren't comfortable with the one-to-one setting.

Ai Chi was originally my way of creating a stepping stone to Watsu, but it now stands alone as a form of exercise. Thousands of Japanese practice Ai Chi.

Studies at the Universities of Tsukuba and Tokai in Japan looked at oxygen consumption during Ai Chi and found that it rose by 4 - 7 %. The breathing technique improves oxygen flow to the brain, which may help to reduce the onset of neural diseases such as Alzheimer's.

The physical benefits are excellent, but the power to survive another stress-filled day is incredible. Ai Chi offers that sigh we give when we're at peace. The slow, contemplative movements are beneficial for stress sufferers, helping to lower blood pressure and induce a feeling of calm.


From the Inside Flap
From Ruth Sova

Ai Chi entered my life at a perfect time. I've always been busy "moving" and couldn't take time for stillness. Had Ai Chi been a "stillness" program I wouldn't have become involved with it. I learned Ai Chi from Mr. Jun Konno, the originator, and worked hard using the program as a physical (more "moving"!) way to relaxation.

As Ai Chi worked its wonders and taught me to relax I realized I was getting more from each session rather than less as I did in my fitness programs. If I ran a mile each day my body would adapt and I would gradually get fewer and fewer benefits from that workout. The opposite proved true with Ai Chi. Instead of getting fewer relaxation benefits as my body adapted to Ai Chi, I got more! I started to notice the way my body was moving, my breathing technique, my mind wandering, and I found books to read about what was happening.

There are times now when I realize that my body is doing one thing, my mind is somewhere else, and my spirit is stuck on a challenge I encountered years ago. As I try to bring my being together I find I'm more focused, happier, and my "moving" workouts are more effective. There's something happening that I don't understand but I'm enjoying the learning process so much that I want to share it with you - my family and friends.

This book is a compilation of what I've learned in my Ai Chi journey. I'm still not ready for total "stillness" but now I wish I were!


About the Author
Ruth Sova, M.S., an internationally known speaker, author and consultant, is founder of six different businesses including the Aquatic Therapy and Rehab Institute, the Aquatic Exercise Association, Living Right Magazine, America's Certification Trainers, Armchair Aerobics Inc, and the Fitness Firm. A leader in the health and wellness industry, she also draws on her vast experience as an entrepreneur to teach others what it takes to assume the risk of business and enterprise. Ruth is on the Wisconsin Governor's Council on Physical Fitness and the author of numerous articles and eleven books on her specialties of wellness and business.


Editorial Reviews
John K. Williams, Jr., Chairman Adaptive Aquatic Committee International Swimming Hall of Fame
Ai Chi is an instant vacation, this get-a-way can be so important to the mind and body in coping with the days of the 21st century.

Paula Briggs, Exercise Physiologist Mountain View Regional Rehabilitation Hospital, Morgantown, WV
Ai Chi allows time, space and air for freedom from concentrated chaos.

Angie Nelson, Executive Director, Aquatic Exercise Association
Ai Chi is an excellent resource for all!

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Ai Chi - Flowing Aquatic Energy
by Ruth Sova, Jun Konno

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Book Description
Ai Chi is a water exercise and relaxation program that has been created to help aquatic practitioners and students enjoy the water in a flowing yet powerful progression. Aquatic exercise instructors, personal trainers, and aquatic therapy and rehabilitation practitioners will find the Ai Chi workshop beneficial for them and their clients. It is an efficient exercise program that increases oxygen and caloric consumption simply with correct form and positioning in the water, it is a perfect relaxation technique for highly stressed, over-challenged clients, and it is ideal for creating improved range of motion and mobility. Ai Chi, created by combining Tai-Chi concepts with Qigong and Watsu techniques, is performed standing in shoulder depth water using a combination of deep breathing and slow, broad movements of the arms, legs, and torso.

This beginning level Ai Chi book contains descriptions and illustrations of the basic Ai Chi movements. Aquatic exercise instructors, personal trainers, and aquatic therapy and rehabilitation practitioners will find the Ai Chi workout versatile. For aquatic exercise instructors it is an efficient exercise program that increases oxygen and caloric consumption simply with correct form and positioning in the water. Personal trainers will find it a perfect relaxation technique for their highly stressed, over-challenged clients. Aquatic therapy and rehabilitation practitioners will see improved range of motion and mobility in their patients.

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