On a desolate beach in Thailand under the moonlit skies; I was gently immersed into the phosphorescent sea. As I was cradled and held I fell into a trance like state. My breath became still and my body melted into a dancing dolphin. My tears streamed from my eyes with deep appreciation of this true, unconditional love that I was receiving. I was pulled onto the moonlit sand, awakening out the most profound experience I had ever had.
This is an exhilarating extract from Tara Anstensen's diary after receiving her first waterdance in the ocean, an experience that initiated her aquatic healing path. She describes her practice simply as consisting 'of integrating manual techniques such as Watsu in a physical therapy environment'.
Tara Anstensen is a physical therapy assistant at Martin Memorial Hospital, Rehabilitation Department in Florida, and also offers private sessions at home. Her training in aquatic therapy has ranged from a spiritual esoteric place to the more clinical approach of physical therapy.
It's a combination that is admirable, and fortunately increasingly possible. Tara says this integration has been the most challenging part of her practice but it is something she made a conscious decision to pursue when she experienced the other extreme of 'no boundaries'.
It's likely that bringing this personal depth to a practice that is also strongly grounded in clinical training gives Tara's work good deal of gentle power. In addition to being a licensed massage therapist and certified Watsu practitioner, she has a background in jazz dance.
Aquatic bodywork has definite dance qualities to it, enabling someone with a feel for that to share an easy sense of fluidity and rhythm with their clients. My favorite derivative of Watsu, Healing Dance (one of Tara's modalities), was developed by dancer Alexander Georgeokopolous.
Tara emphasizes the balance in her training by saying that the most useful thing she has learned is to use the principles of the water to create the effect, while the most valuable thing she has learned is to be present with the individual receiving as well as present within herself.
When Tara first started to study Watsu, she had great intentions for self development. At the time, through the initial training, she says that her 'open and trusting nature felt at home with such closeness and intimacy'. Many of us have been there, especially if starting at Harbin Hot Springs.
Tara continues, 'The gates of self-discovery truly opened through those [first] two weeks of training. I experienced deep and emotional outbreaks, crying in stranger’s arms and embracing newfound friends. I remembered past traumas that I had hidden away for years.'
'The transformation that occurred was a permanent change, a beginning to the discovery of who Tara really is. Physical pain and emotional baggage came to the surface, revealing inner caves of past abuse. My life changed ….My spirit was open and eager to share this incredible experience.'
The ability to facilitate this kind of opening for another, can only come I believe with the courage to have gone there oneself. And some such healers have had to experience the downside of that opening too, which only makes them all the more effective if they are able to learn from that.
'What I didn’t realize,' admits Tara, 'was that Los Angeles was not Harbin Hot Springs and I experienced some challenging issues regarding boundaries. This was an integral part of defining myself, learning how to speak up and be in my truth.'
The issues of boundaries and transference, well-known in psychotherapy and somatic psychotherapy seem to have an even more profound and, for the unprepared, potentially difficult quality when bodywork is done in water. This is something I will be exploring further in this blog.
I agree completely with Tara when she says that 'the most important factor in the effectiveness of a session is allowing the water and the moment to guide the flow and to leave any agenda outside of the pool of what I feel the recipient needs'. This is not traditional clinical practice.
In physical therapy, the 'patient' may be receiving land-based therapy as well as aquatic therapy depending on a variety of factors. Tara's preference is for a one-on-one approach where the therapist is in the water with the patient during physical therapy treatment.
She feels it is important to have eye contact with the patient during the exercise portion of treatment and to manually cue when needed to assist them in self awareness. During Watsu (even at the clinic) quiet or soft music creates a safe place for profound healing to take place.
For Tara, the limitations on one-on-one time and the system for documentation and productivity are challenging and sometimes restricting in the physical therapy setting. Her style is clearly individually-oriented and personal, which is not easy to cultivate in formal clinics.
Regards self-care, some techniques that help Tara to stay balanced are Tai Chi for grounding, yoga, and simple acts of breathing. She notes that she has reduced the amount of time that she is in the indoor pool each week so as to not overexpose herself to the chemical environment.
Like Kim, in the previous posting for this section, Tara says she will be forever a student.
She recently took Watsu 3 adapted for special needs, and would like to study Bad Ragaz (to bring the patient from passive to active assist and active exercises while supine in the water), also more Healing Dance and Waterdance (underwater work).
Tara concluded by saying: 'I believe that a trusting touch can have profound effects and produce long lasting change for everyone ... I share with you the truest feelings within my heart regarding my path to this point and recognize the lessons as the greatest gifts to happiness.'
Tara lives by the ocean in Florida with her husband and has two beautiful water babies. I met Tara at my first training, which was also hers, and am thrilled to have rediscovered her recently and to see how far she has taken her love of the water.
You can contact her by email at tarawatsu@gmail.com and/or visit her profile on the Aquatic Therapists network.
If you have thoughts about the above or wish to extend the discussion with your own experience, please do comment below or email me here.
For submissions, please refer to the initial blog posting here for Aquatic Healers.
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