Aquapoetics

Aquatic bodywork as healing art

"The portal of healing and creativity always takes us into the realm of the spirit."
Angeles Arrien, author of The Nine Muses: A Mythological Path to Creativity

This statement has become true for me in my practice of aquatic bodywork, where creativity, healing, and spirituality merge as inseparably as three rivers meeting at a confluence. The three linked weblogs I created during the latter part of 2008 are no different. 

For this reason, it is not always easy to decide where a particular post fits best and there are many cross-links between the websites.  So, although the posts summarized below are about aquatic bodywork, I have placed them on Diving Deeper where more of my creative writings appear.

I have worked with artists and writers in the water, and many of them have found that the sessions provided both breathing space and renewed inspiration when the creative process felt blocked or just not as free-flowing as they'd have liked. 

This is an area that especially interests me and I'd be glad to hear from artists who have been inspired by Watsu-style aquatic bodywork sessions, or feel drawn to the descriptions here, or to water in general.  Meanwhile, please enjoy the full articles by clicking on the links below.

A creative journey in water

An account of the creative potential of aquatic bodywork for inspiring the artist in each of us.

As a practitioner of aquatic bodywork, I seek out the creative in myself and the responsive in others so as to participate in  natural or spontaneous form.  Describing my work as art rather  than therapy  reminds me that we are involved in a dance of life and can neither control nor anticipate outcome.  

Often the experiences a person has during water sessions are preverbal and  must be elaborated in much the same manner as dreams.  The best way to reflect such images and fantasies  is through artistic expression and my hope is that this work will be recognized as a valuable tool for creativity.

Experiencing aquatic bodywork

 In the early days of my training in aquatic bodywork (Watsu and more), much of my learning came from receiving.  Since I find writing a valuable way of uncovering and expressing experiences, I often recorded those sessions.  Later, I encouraged clients to do this, whether in writing or artwork (whatever right-brain method was best for them).

Here are two accounts illustrating contrasting experiences for the same receiver, in this case myself.  I hope they will provide insight into the power of this work and into the creative potential there is in recording the process and following up in whatever ways seem appropriate and helpful.

The shadow side of aquatic bodywork (Watsu-based)

I wonder what most of us would say when asked what our responsibilities are to our clients and to ourselves as aquatic bodyworkers? 

One of the questions I pose in the aquatic healer profiles on this site is: What were your most challenging lessons in training and practice. 

It's a question that requires a great deal of self-honesty.  It is also one that if asked of ourselves on an ongoing basis is very valuable.

When I first started training in massage, I had the fortune to come across a book called The Way of the Physician (or wounded healer) by Jacob Needleman.  I read it on the train as I traveled to my training. and I believe it kept me humble. Perhaps many people who choose to study the healing arts do so because they are in need of healing themselves.  It's a good choice but only if conducted with consciousness.

As experienced practitioners, we do well always to evaluate our own wounds and how they might interface with those of our clients in ways that interfere with, or even harm, the therapeutic relationships we are engaged in.  For this reason, it is helpful to continue to be a receiver of the work you are offering and to put yourself in the role of client on a regular basis.  Whether giver or receiver, we are in the same river of life.

A journey into the unconscious

In my experience, aquatic bodywork enables a journey into the unconscious.  It has a risk attached to it that very few seem to acknowledge.  I've noticed that when people struggling with our modern society first experience this therapeutic modality, some wonder if they have touched a forgotten paradise.  They may have a deep recollection of that paradise, but they also access the common grief of humanity. 

For some the experience is too disturbing to handle and they never again risk surrendering to the water.   Others set out to share the work as practitioners but do not dare dive into their own woundedness (also called shadow).  Either way, something that temporarily surfaced is submerged again in our everyday efforts to live and prosper in consensual reality.

Season's Greetings 2008-2009

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language and
next year’s words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot

In the writing of Missouri-born poet, T. S. Eliot, Water often appears. 

From a warm haven in a silent and water-bound forest in the Missouri Ozarks,  I want to mark the end of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 with two quotes from T.S. Eliot's work. 

I hope they will inspire you too.

I'd like to thank all those who have supported my quest for soul this year and in previous years. 

I am posting this on a new website - one of three rivers of words with which I'm endeavoring to celebrate and support Water.

Please take a moment to view the trailer for a forthcoming film about Water from the Healing Water Institute, New Zealand.

 As I cannot thank all of you adequately and individually this year, I will be making a donation to this project as a gesture of gratitude to you and to Water.

Divine Water is an inspiring film intended to 'show the world what water really is ... how water is really like a human being.....or really how human beings are like water'. 

I support these concepts wholeheartedly! 

Whether  you came to this post via a notice from me, or have found it serendipitously, please consider yourself welcome to the Water. 

I invite you to sign my Guest Book by leaving a short comment below. 

If you'd like to follow my writing on water, please do subscribe (see below).

Here is a familiar final stanza from Little Gidding by T.S. Eliot:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
Through the unknown, unremembered gate
When the last of earth left to discover
Is that which was the beginning;
At the source of the longest river
The voice of the hidden waterfall
And the children in the apple-tree
Not known, because not looked for
But heard, half-heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea.
Quick now, here, now, always--
A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)
And all shall be well and
All manner of thing shall be well
When the tongues of flames are in-folded
Into the crowned knot of fire
And the fire and the rose are one.

T. S. Eliot, Little Gidding, ... final stanza

Wishing us all and our blue planet a hopeful and happy future. 

Sulis

My other water-related blogs (find subscription boxes on each of them):

Vision Spa Retreat

Diving Deeper

Don't forget to leave your message below - Thank you!

Compassion in action through Watsu

 

'There was a synergistic series of events that led to my studies of Water based therapies,' says spa owner and therapist Susun, 'Living in a town that boasts the largest Hot Springs Pool in the world and swimming in it daily I would float my husband and friends untrained.  A massage therapist I worked with gave me Elaine Marie’s instructional video at the same time that another friend came back from a vacation and was gushing about a Watsu session she had received.  Within two weeks I was at Harbin attending my first class, before even receiving a session.'

And just two years after that introduction and many training classes later, Susun opened her own venue,  Splendor Mountain Spa in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. That was ten years ago (1998) - a testament to her strong desire to share her love of water with others.  Susun notes that she's been drawn to water since birth.  For her, 'Water is the ultimate medium for movement, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.'  Having followed Susun's lead for a winter plunge into a cold Ozark stream and shared my own warm pool with her when she came as a guest to my previous spa-retreat, I know she lives this to the full.

I also know from my own experience in creating and running a spa, just what it takes to do what she has done and not be deterred by personal challenges.  In fact, Susun has turned these challenges into solutions.  Following her own divorce, she brought in her sister Ruth and daughter Rebekah to help run the home-base business.  And despite physical injury that led to a recent need for knee surgery, Susun has turned her space into a personal rehabilitation opportunity, benefiting from the same benefits she provides others.

Susun's aquatic training comes on top of a background in massage and movement therapies. She has studied  Watsu 100 with Elaine Marie, Healing Dance with Alexander Georgeakopoulos and Waterdance 1,2, and 3 with Shantam & Richard Bock. The most useful thing she learned in her training, says Susun was 'To trust and respect the water as an integral part of the "triad" and to work with the flow, letting the water do its marvelous share of the work.' She adds that at first, 'The flow of Watsu eluded me.  It was so hard for me to get it!'

After training, the actual practice brings more lessons and the most valuable of these for Susun was, 'Compassion for all of us regardless of our size, shape, health condition, color, creed and even political stance.'  I know what she means, for the water seems to facilitate comfort and connection and to bring us all back to our beginnings.  It's quite childlike, an experience of innocence, that people seem to respond to spontaneously.  This is why, as Susun notes, the most important factor is, 'The safe, sacred, and healing space along with warm, gorgeously clean moving water.'

Splendor Mountain Spa is an inspired conversion of what was once a garage into a studio for the healing arts.  It’s a lovely and loving space that is home to a 12 foot diameter, 3000 gallon above-ground KD pool, along with space for massage, an infra-red sauna, and Ashiatsu. Susun says that: 'Massage Therapy supports me, Watsu supports my spirit!'  Her favorite sessions to give are with her regular clients for WaterDance (a form of aquatic bodywork that involves complete immersion using nose clips).  'I love the dance, spontaneity, and sheer joy of creative expression unfolding through movement and breath.'

The addition of Ashiatsu Oriental Bar Therapy makes clear her sense of adventure and play - just last year she took a class in this unusual form of massage. 'I balance myself with bars hanging from the ceiling and I perform massage with my feet.  It has been a delightful and affective way to practice massage therapy, deep and luxurious.'  Still, Susun admits that 'doing lots of bodywork can wreck havoc on our bodies and spirits.'  To restore herself she takes long walks with her dog.  'While walking I practice conscious breathing, with my exhales I let go of anything I don’t need to carry, and with my in breath I breath in love, light, wit & wisdom.'

Susun considers herself very fortunate to have her own small business and the support of her sister and daughter. 'In these times of economic and social shaking up and melting down,' she says, 'we are solidly committed to practicing compassion in action.'  And adds 'I attempt to allow my days to unfold as they may in a spirit of service and gratitude with a little fun and attitude thrown in.'  Here's a final water quote from Susan to give us all courage as we pursue our passion for aquatic therapy in whatever setting and with whatever means we have available recession or not. 

They say ask and you shall receive, my persona might not resemble these characteristics, but somewhere deep inside of me this well springs. 

Follow these links for more on:

Watsu, Healing Dance and WaterDance training classes

Elaine Marie's classes

Previous Aquatic Healer profiles

Quotes: Craniosacral therapy in water

'For better client outcomes, just add water,'   wrote John Upledger, grand master of craniosacral therapy in Massage Today April, 2006 (Vol. 06, Issue 04). 

This powerful yet subtle method is designed to balance fluidic pulsations occuring along the brain-spine axis.  It's usually done on land but it has great applications in the water.  I became aware of this simply through floating hundreds of people in the water.  During periods of apparent stillness, the body's own wave movements are most noticeable.

Below are some quotes from the above article that I can certainly corroborate:

Because the client is floating, the body can move in an uninhibited manner that expresses the changes in tissue mobility and tensions. Simply follow and support this movement with your hands. As the tissues release restrictions, they will lengthen or soften, or come into greater functional alignment. More movement of tissues, fluids and structures will then be available for the client to use in a more functional way, facilitating the body's own self-corrective mechanisms.

John Upledger, president of the Upledger Institute.

What the ocean water adds to light-touch, subtle-energy techniques is multifaceted. Water in itself is a healing medium that reduces gravity and friction, making three-dimensional movement almost effortless. As joint range of motion increases, the nervous system is able to move into a parasympathetic response (relaxed state). Muscles lengthen, tensions release, and internal natural healing processes begin to work more effectively.

David Dolan, Ocean Therapy Upledger Institute workshop.

Everything we do in the treatment room is multiplied when working in the water. For clients who have hit a plateau in their progress or have particular body issues hampered by the confines of the massage table, the water adds that extra element that can gently urge them to their next stage of healing.

 Upledger Institute staff clinician Sheryl McGavin.

Omnipresent blue energy (aquatic healing)

Following on from the last posts* about aquatic bodywaves, I want to explore how Wilhelm Reich's work may be relevant to this body phenomenon and it's possible implications for some specific, though apparently unconscious need of the body/ mind for healing. 

I welcome input from anyone who has experienced an aquatic bodywave or something similar. 

The field of body psychotherapy evolved primarily from the work of Reich, an early twentieth century psychoanalyst who developed character analysis correlating certain psychological and physical patterns. Existential, humanistic and gestalt psychology, along with dance and movement therapy, family therapy, systems theory, biology, and Far Eastern philosophy, have since contributed to body psychotherapy.

These approaches take into account when problems began, and how they affect a person's development over the years, to help that person regain the healthy self-regulating function that has been disturbed. They are based on the underlying assumption that we are embodied beings and there is an essential unity between spiritual, psychological, and bodily aspects of being, that affects our health on an ongoing basis.  It would follow that considering any one of these in isolation may not be as effective as considering the whole - that's the basis of holistic health.

All experiences, including distortions and denials of reality and other defensive actions, are reflected in how we move and breathe, and how our bodies and health change over the years as we age. Bodywork, with or without psychotherapy, can help us to become more conscious of these responses by connecting us with body sensations and the messages they convey about self-integration and health.  Sometimes, just that connection is all it takes for the body to make a spontaneous shift.

Reich thought that the body and all of nature were subject to a 'primordial cosmic energy' he called orgone, perhaps rather like the prana, chi, and subtle energy of other alternative healing modalities.  He believed orgone was blue in color, and responsible for everything from weather, the color of the sky, gravity, and the formation of galaxies, to the biological expressions of emotion and sexuality.

Reich's theory was that illness was primarily caused by depletion or blockages of the orgone energy within the body, which if adjusted might restore someone to health.  He built structures called orgone accumulators to concentrate atmospheric orgone energy, and conducted experiments with laboratory animals and human subjects suffering from a variety of illnesses.

The effects observed were claimed to boost the immune system, even to the point of destroying certain types of tumors, though Reich was hesitant to suggest that this constituted cure. The orgone accumulator was also tested on mice with cancer, and on plant-growth, and the results convinced him that the benefits could not be attributed to a placebo effect.

What is experienced as a bodywave might simply be a heightened awareness in someone of the life force flowing through everything, including parts of the manifest world we consider inanimate (such as water).  This life force has been transmuted by yogis to initiate the arousal of kundalini, channeled intentionally by healers of many persuasions, and harnessed in tantric practices to clear psychological issues. 

Reich believed he had developed a grand unified theory of physical and mental health but he was severely persecuted for his views, which perhaps speaks to the cautious silence regards aquatic bodywaves.  Maybe it is better after all not to try to investigate phenomena like these, which do not so much benefit from human interference but rather from a willingness not to interfere at all.  They just are, and they heal without fanfare.

*Related posts by Sulis

An aquatic kriya: the bodywave

Trance, dreaming and aquatic bodywork

The water web: a blog carnival

For the last couple of months I have been exploring the internet for blogs* about or including aquatic therapy (especially Watsu and it's relatives) written by practitioners, receivers, or others with an interest in the topic  (whether health- or culture-related).  I've discovered that, at least in terms of easy visibility in English, only a handful aquatic practitioners regularly blog about their work. If there are any more of you, please do get in touch to be included in the next carnival.  You can also request to host it on your own blog.

For this first 'aqua carnival', I've decided to let the story overflow in length in order to illustrate a range of reports that includes the sensible and the silly, the exotic and the natural.  This should also demonstrate the broad interest I have in the ways in which water is celebrated and used by humans.  If only this would lead us to safeguard it's quality and availability also!  You can read more about water's many reflections on this blog and my others:  Vision Spa Retreat (eco-spa-retreat consultancy plus) and Diving Deeper (a personal journey).

Read on for more about:

• integrating clinical and alternative approaches to aquatic bodywork

• sociocultural implications/opportunities including aquatic bodywork

• aquatic bodywork in the luxury spa and travel sector

• water therapy in it's most natural state

• writing your own aquatic blog

Aquatherapy: integrating alternative and clinical

The AquaticNing (the first social networking site for those whose passion or business is aquatic therapy) was created by Andrea Salzman in August 2007.  I have been enjoying acting as moderator, helping to triple it's international membership to 230 (12.1.08) in the last 3 months.  Among the new members are many non-clinical practitioners (Watsu and related modalities) to complement it's previously mostly clinical therapists.  Every member has a profile page (in most cases these are public) which includes a blog.  If you work in the field please join us.

Few people in this network add to their blogs consistently as yet (no doubt they are busy doing their water work!) but there have been some valuable and interesting discussions.  For example, this one about the potential for healing birth trauma through warm water therapy: 'Being in the water', posted by Bridget Thompson (29 Oct. 2008) with some interesting comments added.  What if we had all been born into the water?  What a perfect way to begin!  Bridget wrote:

... water work is not just calming, peaceful and relaxing. Much more than that: my clients enter the emptiness of being, separate from thoughts and emotions. They experience a precognitive, prenatal, embryonic connection to mother, a return to the womb. They are suspended in an environment where the barriers between the self and the outside world are so tenuous that they sense themselves as part of the world. The ecological self thrives. Once we experience this connection, we are nourished, inspired, and full of life. And ready to move out onto dry land, in gravity, to meet the world.

Another post by Laura Srygley on 'Healing Dance for Cerebral Palsy' (21 Sept. 2008) described beautifully how rewarding working in water with those who are disabled can be.  The discussion that followed showed how many other therapists could relate and had similar experiences. (Healing Dance is an aquatic modality developed by A. Georgeokopoulos.)  Here is an extract from Laura's post:

I have been working with a 28 year old woman with cerebral palsy. She is also blind. She has limited cognitive functioning, but is very warm and funny, a delight to be around....A very special moment was at the very end of a session, after hearing her usual repeated phrase (although much less often and usually in a whisper): "I want to get out now" she was lying very still and peaceful in my arms, and said, 'I want to stay here". Everyone in the pool smiled, it was a magical moment!

The above social network and the Aquatic Therapist weekly blog for the aquatic industry compiled by Salzman (see next) are part of the 'Team Aquatic Therapy' she founded over 10 years ago as the Aquatic Resources Network, and is now about 10 000 members strong.  This web resource aims to be a comprehensive online clearinghouse of aquatic therapy and fitness information for therapists, instructors, managers, and all in the aquatic industry, as well as linking clients with practitioners and pools (water being an essential ingredient).

To enliven the blog, every Friday (starting 5 Dec. 2008) they will be introducing a new topic, concern or problem - and then encouraging members and other visitors to share their insights and expertise with the rest of the 'aquatic sociosphere' by letting them comment on the post.  The first 'meme' session was titled 'How are you getting the word out to your community?'  which compliments my own effort to do the same here in hosting a 'carnival'.

A recent posting on the Aquatic Therapist blog 'Watsu for CVA patients: water shiatsu comes into it's own in the world of aquatic therapy research' notes that 28 years after Watsu began in the warm pools at Harbin Hot Springs, therapists worldwide can now read about using Watsu for their most disabled clientele.   Once thought of as an experimental technique practiced by alternative therapists, Watsu and it's relatives are  now gaining the interest of medically trained people for use as effective components of their treatment plans.

This is a good step in the direction of credibility for Watsu, though I sincerely hope it does not lead to practice regulations that cut off the water supply to the 'alternative' (usually non-clinical) innovators like Harold Dull, creator of Watsu, and many others.  This is where the spa world with it's passion for variety and novelty may help keep the pools open, though that too is increasingly subject to standards regulations.  As for water, there must be a flow of creativity for health to be maintained; while damming or bottling leads to stagnation.  But back to blogs ...

The only independent blogger on aquatic therapy that I have been able to discover, apart from myself, is Hanna from Israel.  Her blog 'Aquatic therapy - healing water' used to be more personal, featuring her biography and photograph.  It was recently revised (no Hanna!) and is also available in Hebrew.  It is now a very informative collection of about 50 clearly written articles (with excellent photos) on Watsu, Jahara, hydrotherapy, and aquatic rehabilitation.  A good resource for information but without a personal touch - comments might be added to extend this.

Water therapy occasionally turns up in the personal blogs of 'receivers', people whose sharing can be useful to practitioners and others facing similar issues. 

On their family blog, 'The Green Piece: Proud sponsors of the Samantha and Callie fan club', Jenny and Marcus from Provo, Utah, celebrate their children and their life together.  Their first child Samantha was born with microcephaly and this blog is a moving tribute to the way in which they have accommodated that.  Recently, she started water therapy and below is an extract from the account Jenny wrote about this ('Water therapy', 19 Nov. 2008) - the accompanying photos are beautiful!

Yesterday Samantha started water therapy. For 10 weeks, she'll be in the pool every Tuesday at noon. She loved it. Samantha loves water, so I wasn't too concerned about that. Unfortunately, the little boy she has therapy with wasn't so thrilled about the water at first. But he warmed up to it and started smiling before long....One thing that Samantha is in constant need of is bodily input....  So the wrestling, the chewing on everything - not only is that fun for her, but it's what she needs.... Water gives her that constant input on her body - and all over her body, which is possibly one reason she loves it.

Sociocultural implications of getting into hot water

Watsu's links with it's home place, Harbin Hot Springs, have fascinating expression in the following three blogs.  None is specifically focused on aquatic therapy but this doesn't make the commentary any less interesting and enlightening.  What is clear is that water affects us profoundly , not only physically but also emotionally and beyond.  Scott hints at how this might be used to create a new culture, something that struck me when I first encountered Watsu at Harbin also.

The first example is from Rafe of San Diego, CA, who calls his blog (started in March 2008) 'Transforming the Self'.  Rafe is a courageous man, who became quadriplegic after he fell from a building while on a spiritual retreat in India in 2004. A psychologist, writer, and filmmaker, he notes that he is passionate about telling stories that transform lives.  Unfortunately, Rafe hasn't posted anything else since he described his experience of 'The Healing Waters of Harbin Hot Springs' last summer (July 22, 2008).  I hope he is well.  Here is an extract:

One of the main draws of coming to Harbin is experiencing the amazing healing waters.  Because of my limited mobility the only way I am able to get into the pools is with the help of my friends.  So I am forever grateful for their friendship and the ability I have to still benefit from this incredible place!

...Being paralyzed from a spinal cord injury Watsu offers me an amazing experience to release the low back pressure of sitting vertical and unwind the tension accumulated by my injury.  Being in the warm water allow my body to surrender completely to gravity and move with grace and ease under the skilled hands of a Watsu practitioner.  Through sound and breath I could feel the trauma of my injury begin to leave my body and my nervous system begin to reorganize to a higher state of function.

...I was fortunate enough to work with Sunheart, a senior Watsu practitioner ... During our two hour long sessions together I experienced a powerful release of bodily tension and trauma and began to feel energy steaming down my legs and hands and back up through my legs into my spine.  I felt like we were engaging in an ancient healing ritual and was learning how to heal my body by moving energy through my spine and nervous system through movement, breath and sound.  The experience was deeply shamanic and transformative.  I am excited to continue exploring this healing modality at a local watsu center here in Southern California.  

I too have received from Sunheart whose style is actually quite unique to him (he began his practice around the same time as Harold Dull): his hands seemed to penetrate my body and he disappeared in a way I have never experienced before or since.  The Watsu center Rafe mentions is the Carlsbad Center for Awareness founded by James Knight whose beautiful website is a showcase for his interests in art and ecopsychology as well as his credentials in Watsu and other somatic therapies.

Scott MacLeod's blog 'Anthropology of Information Technology & Counterculture' is an exploration hard to do justice to, so I invite you to explore it.  Scott lives in the Harbin community and is interested in the potential of a 'virtual world-cum-bath-tub' or perhaps 'a global, virtual, free, open, degree-granting, multilingual University for the developing world and everyone, as well as loving bliss'.  Among Scott's many musings are 11 postings on Watsu and 77 on Harbin - delving into the sociocultural implications of both and how they intermingle.

Lissa Rankin's 'Owning Pink Blog: A Girl's Guide to Living Authentically and Embracing Being Female' is  exactly that in an utterly delightful, honest way.  Lissa is an obstetric gynecologist, an artist, a writer, and a teacher from Monterey, CA.  She says that owning pink describes a 'perpetual state of being in which women embrace their femaleness, open themselves to creative expression, optimize their health and well-being' ... and then she goes on to blog about how she does it. 

Her posting 'Blissed Out' is about a visit to Harbin during the time of the wildfires this past summer, when I had planned to visit also but was put off by the smoky skies.  Lissa describes in humorous and vulnerable detail the first (unfortunately nausea-inducing) aquatic bodywork experience she had with 'Mama Watsu' at a resort on Coronado Island, not long after she had delivered her daughter and lost her father; she struggled over whether to try it again at Harbin with 'Daddy Watsu'.  Her inner process has lessons in it for practitioners who have forgotten what it can take to receive this work.

Travel and spa industry

Watsu-type treatments increasingly appears in travelogs and spalogs, though most references are superficial or brief (nothing like Lissa's expressive account).  Here are some recent examples of Watsu's inclusion in spa treatments at luxury venues: Chiang Mai's five-star Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi in Thailand, and Canyon Ranch at Lenox, MA.  In the early days, spas were reluctant to create pools suitable for Watsu, let alone exclusive for this.  Slowly that seems to be changing.  You can read more about some of the associated issues on the group forum I host on AquaticNing called Spas Plus.

In 'Chic for chakras' (24 Nov. 2008), Vipasai Niyambha says this about Mandarin Oriental: 'The spa also offers yoga and pranayama (breathing) sessions, run by Kirsten Chong, as well as something called Inner Flow Therapy, which combines Watsu (Water Shiatsu), cradling, yoga and "water dance" techniques' and adds 'Raphael Sadowski is your man for this'.  The hotel's website has a page with headshots and descriptions of the 'health specialists' who look appropriately superhealthy.  Raphael is their  Brazilian Watsu specialist, also Yoga Master, Therapist, Professional Dancer, and Meditation Teacher.

Canyon Ranch's blog  'A New Voice' was launched in November to announce that Nicole Zuckerman (granddaughter of the founders) and her husband Ken Morris are the new generation there (they author the blog).  Nicole (26 Nov. 2008) wrote enthusiastically about her 'week in the Life Enhancement Program' at the Ranch.  She liked the Watsu.

Our week in LEP was packed with activities, including lectures on nutrition and heart health, stride and strength classes in the LEC gym, and of course, services of our choice (I think my favorite was Watsu – you have to try it). Pretty much everyone participated in all of the sessions together, so you really got to know everyone in the program. It truly was like summer camp for adults! ... by Friday evening. We were transformed. We were rejuvenated and at ease. And I felt like we were a family.

As with the Mandarin Oriental, Canyon Ranch has a webpage about their staff.  It's interesting to note that many are described as Aquatic Therapists, and also to read their differing backgrounds for this.  Canyon Ranch's Health Resort in Tucson, AZ, also gets a good profile in a new Vox blog on health (mostly advisory articles) by Anishpankajan.  In 'Aquatic fitness the move to water exercise'(15 Nov. 2008) this blogger reports that the resort's  11,000-square-foot Aquatic Center features 3 Watsu pools, a cross-training pool, 2 aquatic therapy pools and a whirlpool plus complete Water Workout Station.  Here's an upbeat quote:

"Water is the wave of the future," said Karma Kientzler, an aquatic therapy expert and outside consultant for Canyon Ranch in Tucson.

Not too far from Thailand in south Bali some 'green' travelers were enjoying (24 Nov. 2008) 'A Paradise Recycled' (unfortunately the website for the resort described does not give any information on the spa or the Watsu offered):

In our wildest imaginings, Indonesia of our forefathers was never like this, but are we complaining? Certainly not. We are instead humming contentedly on the veranda of Rumah Mandau, a solid teak, handcrafted antique dwelling home in traditional rumah tinggal style that once stood in western Java. Now it sits prettily ... in south Bali, and preserved for our pleasure at Desa Seni, a “village resort.” .... Nearby is the large open-air yoga pavillion—classes are free to guests (and to locals on Sundays, one of the ways the resort connects to the Balinese who live nearby). A big saltwater pool is perfect for a cool-off or exercise swim. Spa treatments include watsu (water massage).

But aquatic bodywork does not need exotic locations or luxury appointment to thrive.  Next carnival, I hope smaller operations will join me in blogging about their lilypond (water version of grassroots?) venues and ventures.  If you are one, please follow this link to join.

On the water's edge

'Tea with Lemon: Pointless drivel updated daily!' a blog by T. Collins turned up on my Google alerts for Watsu and illustrates how this work is sometimes subject to mild and not so mild ridicule. In a November post called 'Brother James does Hawaii', this blogger is writing about the therapist we met earlier in Rafe's blog.  He does actually give James Knight a good reference (and a link to his website) but a gentle warning is there for those of us brave enough to share our passion for this work on the worldwide web.  The photos are very good.

Beefy-Jon's heart-breaking big brother, Brother-James, went to Hawaii to do Yoga and other holistic and mystic stuff. He sent out these photos in his newsletter and I thought I'd share. For more of Brother-James in action, check out his web-site, Energy Flowing here. He does it ALL. Massage, watsu, core energetics, hanna somatics (whatever that is) and all that touchy-feely stuff. But I'll tell you the truth, he is in tune with people.... In photos you would never have seen if Beefy-Jon wasn't away on a secret mission; Brother James performs a healing Watsu on his little brother. B.J. said it was amazing. Others who have received the Watsu include Stavvy, Mik and Judge Judy.

Radar Online (Pop.Politics.Scandal.Style) reported in November on celebrity John Mayer who was apparently taking a little time off from working on his next CD, to offer some reassuring words for fans worried about his dark moods: 'just to show how relaxed he really and truly is, John added, "I'm dictating this to my assistant Rolando while I enjoy an invigorating Watsu massage."  Which of course is an unlikely scenario for anyone who knows how Watsu goes.  But that is what John said on his own blog.

Water in the wild

And for something a bit different to end, here is a post by Robert Folzenlogen, a physician, who gets his aquatic healing from Missouri's natural environs - something I relate to closely since I live in the Missouri Ozarks and love it especially for it's wild and clear waters. On 'Nature's blog: A log of natural events, natural history and nature-based philosophy', 16 posts currently reference health.  Here is his post on 'Water therapy' (24 Oct. 2008) in full because it seems a fitting ending to the carnival:

Water has a calming effect on most people. Waterscapes, from pounding surf to placid lakes to whitewater streams, are popular destinations for recreation and humans have long established settlements along shores and rivers. While the latter served a number of practical needs (water, food, transportation), man has undoubtedly received a great deal of comfort and inspiration from nearby waterways.

After all, life evolved in the sea some 3.6 billion years ago and did not emerge onto land until 400 million years ago. We, like other life forms, are composed primarily of water and humans spend the first nine months of their life floating in a uterine pool. We can't survive more than a few days without this precious substance and its presence or absence has governed man's colonization of the planet.

Even those of us who prefer dry climates relish an escape to the beach or mountains now and then. Water is entrenched in our souls and the sight, sound and feel of it calm our troubled minds.

I hope you have enjoyed this journey through the aquatic blogosphere.  Please feel welcome to comment and to submit your own aquatic writings (see definitions of blogs below) to the next carnival which is scheduled for Monday 9 March 2009 (submissions by 1 March please).  Here is the next aquatic blog carnival link; alternatively you may contact me directly using the email link on this site.

What is a blog?

The definition of blog is evolving into something as diverse as it's users.  It's a new adventure to me but I can thoroughly recommend it as a way to share your interests and your knowledge - especially if you are willing to be yourself.  Why not start your own? For more information on my services in this respect email me using the link on this site.  Here are some definitions of 'blog':

Wikipedia: A Blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in chronological order.

Typepad: A blog is a content platform that allows you to fashion a consistent message over time to demonstrate thought leadership in a particular field. This is tremendously valuable for independent professionals and businesses that are focusing on a particular market. A blog sends an implicit message of transparency and accountability, and builds trust in customers, partners, and potential clients.

Quote: Judicious use of natural forces (kundalini yoga)

I've been practicing Iyengar yoga (with diversions to explore other body practices) for just over 25 years and I've never lost my passion for it.  I'm still finding opportunities to deepening my understanding and experience, especially whenever I teach as I do now once a week in a beautiful forest studio. 

I feel very fortunate to have gone to Pune, India, where B.K.S. Iygengar has his school (Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute), back in 1990.  He was still teaching and just about to celebrate his 80th birthday.  I remember him being tough on someone and thinking I'd have to step in to defend her - until he winked at me (!) and disarmed my protective zeal.

This month (14 December 2008) this inspiring man turns 90.  He was the first person I ever heard talk of 'body intelligence' (with reference to shins!) and I had no idea what he meant at the time.  His life of commitment to practice (from very inauspicious beginnings as a child) and service to others are surely a testament to yoga.

Here is a quote from his work, where water provides a good metaphor regards wise use of life energy:   Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali,   BKS Iyengar,The Aquarian Press, 1993, p. 36.

The yogi's judicious use of natural forces [kundalini] can be compared to the farmer who floods his fields one by one within their earthen banks, letting the water thoroughly drench the soil before breaking open a new channel into another.  For safety's sake, the yogi employs method and restraint so as to use nature's energy intelligently to gain wisdom. 

For a recent article referencing kundalini energy and it's possible connection with aquatic bodywaves see 'An aquatic kriya' on this blog.

Trance, dreaming and aquatic bodywork

I am being drawn by a series of occurrences in my life to attempt an integration of the concept of retreats that bear some resemblance to Asclepian sanctuaries, with the power of dreams, especially in association with aquatic bodywork which can provide a portal to a depth of experience that enables what I'll call soul healing.

Deep trance

Robert E. L. Masters, who died in July of this year (1927-2008), was a brilliant explorer of human consciousness and the mind/ body realm. He wrote many books on human behavior including one with the wonderful and watery title Swimming where Madmen Drown: Travellers' Tales from Inner Space.

It was in this book that I found the following intriguing speculation about what went on in the Asclepian sanctuaries. Masters' text preceding this extract describes the work of a late nineteenth century physician named Otto Wetterstrand who experimented with 'prolonged sleep' or deep trance of days or weeks.

Wetterstrand reported successful treatment of physical and nervous disorders where all previous treatments had failed, including epilepsy, hysteria, insomnia, severe headaches, and other pain. From the quote below, I have made some connections regards my own thoughts on dreaming in water and the aquatic bodywave.

In order to follow this discussion more closely, you may want to review my blog posts an An aquatic Kriya: the bodywave, The age of dreaming has come, and Asclepius: the god of spas. I hope you will feel encouraged to contribute your own thoughts on what you read here by commenting below or emailing me directly.

From 'Far Out Healings' in Swimming Where Madmen Drown by Robert Masters, 2002, pp. 70-71. [My italics.]

In the ancient world, there was the practice of temple sleep. The patient, in trance, or possibly drugged, might while sleeping have been visited by the Gods who did the healing. There were variations, but a long sleep in a powerful place where the cure was strongly expected to happen: those were the essentials. Temple sleep might also have included something like mesmerism, teams of healers passing their hands directly over the surface of the body of the afflicted one, or a little above the surface of the body, stroking for many hours or even days a presumed aura or energy field extending beyond the person's body. This would induce a state of trance or serve to deepen the already altered state. When such methods were used, the cure was likely a 'crisis,' a kind of profound and dramatic seizure, after which the symptoms were gone and the person declared cured. The person would have journeyed far into Inner Space where, at some point, the body discharged the illness and, when the mind returned to it's normal reality, the illness no longer existed. There is no doubt that such healings did and do occur, presently in New Age variants, with about as many explanations to account of the results as there are varieties of healers.