Watsu® is a truly contemporary spa therapy, inspired by an ancient oriental practice and creatively meeting modern needs.
It was developed by San Francisco Renaissance poet, Harold Dull, at Harbin Hot Springs in northern California’s wine country around 1980.
Harold (shown above) experimented with taking the open themes and techniques of Zen shiatsu into the natural warm waters. He discovered ways of floating and massaging another, using the powerful properties of water, that feel like poetry in motion.
Water is in our every cell, it comprises over 70% of our bodies and before birth we were afloat in it. No wonder then, if we find comfort and cleansing in it. Water yields and flows; it is shape-changing. It offers both resistance and support. It dissolves boundaries and transmits vibrations.
Both physically and metaphorically we resonate with these qualities, and aquatic modalities like Watsu give us access to their benefits. Practitioners learn to support receivers in stillness and movement so that deeper relaxation and self-awareness are achieved.
With eyes closed, ears immersed, skin lapped in warmth and body buoyed up supportively, the tensions and concerns of life slowly dissolve. Movements are passive or sometimes arise spontaneously as the body unwinds itself. Ideally, the practitioner seems almost to disappear, offering only support and guidance.
Since its inception, Watsu has developed in several directions. It can be practiced and received as primarily physical therapy or used to explore emotional and spiritual experience. Certainly, it is an aquatic art form, celebrating the beauty and grace of the human body.
Watsu (and its offshoots) fit well into the spa environment but have also been adapted by clinical aquatic practitioners. Requiring the sanctuary of a warm-water pool (at least 10’ in diameter and 4’ deep at 94-98 degrees F), it is visually pleasing and almost as relaxing to watch as to receive.
The original Watsu (water shiatsu) makes use of stretches and point-work that relate to the body’s meridians or energy lines, as defined in Chinese medicine. In body-temperature water, superficial circulation increases reducing pain and making soft tissues more pliable.
The buoyancy of water unloads joints and fully supports the body, especially the spine, so that range of motion is gently enhanced. Watsu movements are synchronized with the breath, which soon deepens having a positive effect on the body’s physiology.
The freedom and grace of movement in water has been captured in a form called Healing Dance®, developed in 1993 by former ballet dancer Alexander Georgeokopoulous. This work is my favorite with it's expansive, free-flowing style.
Brazilian, Mario Jahara, brought the heart and rhythm of his culture to the work with Jahara® method in 1996, making special use of a flotation device he calls the ‘third arm’. This method has been adapted to great effect by physical therapists and also therapists whose own movement potential is limited.
Both the previous forms have been inspired to include underwater dimensions by Waterdance® or Wassertanzen (the original German name), developed independently of Watsu in 1987 by Arjana Brunschwiler and Aman Schroter.
Using noseclips, you are taken into at three-dimensional underwater realm recalling our aquatic origins. Accessing the natural diving reflex, receivers stay under with ease, moving with the joy and liberation of dolphins.
Like many forms of bodywork, learning basic Watsu can be valuable in personal development, as you learn to connect with others in unconditional ways that reflect the strong yet yielding qualities of water. Classes are offered to couples and to parents and children that facilitate bonding and healing in relationship.
Professional training takes a minimum of 500 hours and includes anatomical, biomechanical and psychological aspects. There are many options for advanced education through the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association, set up in 1993.
After a good grounding in technique and a lot of water time, practitioners bring to this work their own special qualities. For example, psychotherapist, David Sawyer, has contributed his profound knowledge of prenatal and birth trauma to recreating the security and nurturing experience of life in the womb or as an infant.
Oceanic Aqua Balancing was founded in 1990 by Nirvano Martina Schulz and Kaya Femerling. It is now called AquaWellness and based in Bad Sulza, Germany. Musia Heike Bus head the institute there and pioneers the combination of aquatic bodywork and Liquid Sound.
Agua Alma® is the creation of Zia Parker (based in Colorado). She describes it as a fusion of in-depth aquatic bodywork, Aston-Patterning's® fluid biomechanics, and shamanism (using the four directions and elements to focus the work).
In my own work (Aquapoetics) I am exploring the potential for facilitating creative and insightful personal discovery in the water. For me, this water work is the ultimate movement meditation. You can read more about my approach here.
For information on the different styles and training associated with Watsu click here.
* The photo shows Harold Dull floating Cathy Formusa (a watsu practitioner).
This work by Sara Firman is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
