Jars of spring water are not enough any more. Take us down to the river! Rumi
Each one of us benefits by taking an active and creative part in our personal quest for healing. Our needs are unique and changing and are most effectively considered in the context of our culture. If someone is 'drawn to' water and aquatic bodywork in particular, as part of that quest, then this site and the various modalities described may by just what they are seeking.
A recurring discussion in clinical aquatics circles is that of when practitioners who offer exercise or bodywork in water can use the word therapy, as in aquatic therapy, and when they should not. How we answer this will influence our attitude towards alternative aquatic practices, their therapeutic models, and their beneficial effects.
I have found it useful to make a differentiation between aquatic healing (non-medical) and aquatic therapy (medical), where healing refers to the restoration of health or overall well-being, which may or may not make use of medical modalities. Aquatic healing may go beyond the physical (concerning itself with emotional and spiritual dimensions too) while clinical aquatic therapy usually does not.
Still, whatever we call what we do, therapy or healing (or even leisure), the impulse behind it is both to bring relief to those who are suffering and to enhance our mutual enjoyment of life. In the end, it is not possible nor universally effective to reduce our sense of what it is to be fully human - in sickness or in health - to any kind of model. (Read more on this topic here.)
My own practice is grounded in Watsu® (water shiatsu), the brilliant inspiration of Harold Dull who took his Zen shiatsu practice 'down to the hot springs' at Harbin in California. Since that beginning, a wide variety of methods and approaches have developed.
Some of them are referenced in my article What is Watsu?
See also links under Further Resources.
Aquapoetics is the name I have used for my own practice since 2007*: an aquatic art form designed to encourage creative inspiration and individual transformation. It draws on Watsu® (water shiatsu) and its derivatives, and focuses on encouraging each person to dance the body poetic, to listen to their own body's poetry.
Aquapoetics is not so much about technique (there are many wonderful moves to learn from the various modalities, such as Watsu) but rather an approach to practice that can be used with any technique. Each person brings their own poetry to a practice, an indefinable quality that can nevertheless be developed. A freeform choreography of massage and mobilization is my preference, sometimes with the support of music.
Find out more about Aquapoetics sessions and training here.
Please see my Gratitudes to people who have influenced and inspired me here.
For more on other practitioners see Aquatic healers.
* From 2000 to 2007 I was in creative partnership with Ralph Pitt developing the practice we called WaterJourneys. This name is now used for two practices, neither of which am I associated with.
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