Just as we forget that our lives depend upon breathing invisible but ever-present air, the importance of water to life is easily overlooked.
Aquatic bodywork depends upon the medium in which it takes place, and the reasons for this are often taken for granted or perhaps not fully appreciated.
This is the first entry in the blog category 'Water and healing' where I will be exploring in depth the key ingredient of aquatic therapy, water.
There are many aspects to consider: qualitative and quantitative, subjective and objective, practical and imaginal. My associated blogs also reference these from their different focuses on water consciousness in the context of creating healing environments or spa-retreats (Vision Spa Retreat), and on water in art and personal journeywork (Diving Deeper). Here, I'll focus more directly on water as healer or in therapy.
And because these are blogs, enabling a more interactive and exploratory way of communicating, I hope that you will comment with your own experiences and questions. As much as possible I'll be drawing directly on the experiences of others. For example, the responses to the question 'What do you think when you think water?', which I posed to all my aquatic bodywork clients over several years, will be reviewed here soon.
Medical hydrotherapy and the modern spa business have made good use of water's more obvious therapeutic benefits. Buoyancy and hydrostatic pressure relieve the effects of gravity and allow for more supported movements, encouraging the neuromuscular system to respond in new ways. Water also offers a degree of resistance to movement that can be used to build strength or create gentle traction.
Applied at different temperatures, water is used to change the tone of tissues and to stimulate the circulatory, immune, and hormonal systems. Immersion, showers, and steam are employed for a variety of beneficial effects. Waters of different mineral content have also been found to have health applications. Much of our understanding of these effects comes from well-established physical and biochemical studies.
However, relatively little research has been done on the more subtle energetic processes that take place in and through water. In aquatic bodywork, the person is suspended freely in a warm liquid medium with the support provided by the practitioner. As the practitioner of Watsu-type aquatic bodywork becomes more adept, they will inevitably witness some profound and mysterious effects of the work.
These are subtle effects that arise out of the ways in which touch and movement are translated through water, a medium with sensitivities that are rarely acknowledged and even less understood. Human bodies are over 70% water themselves and it is not uncommon to experience a sense of blending or merging of the medium and the receiver and practitioner.
The nature and effects of that blending have captured my interest, and become the central focus of my own aquatic work, Aquapoetics.
So, 'What do you think when you think water?' ... please add your comment below.
For a fascinating short course on water and its crucial role in life, please follow this link.
For an outline article on the effects of water in aquatic bodywork, click here.
For more on the mysterious qualities of water, click here.
