Water is as much a part of our language as it is a part of our bodies and our planet.
In the ancient Sumerian language, the first letter of alphabet, A, was the word for water and also signified regeneration.
Water provides us the means to communicate with each other, with ourselves, with our planet and with the cosmos - and to inspire change.
I hope that you have found the information on this site clear and informative as well as inspiring and motivating.
Avoiding spiritual hyperbole and green washing, yet capturing the imagination as well as providing information are my writing goals.
If you are interested in commissioning writing or collaborating with me on writing projects (magazine articles, books, blog posts, or publicity materials), please Email.
I am an experienced writer and copy-editor, having spent over fifteen years after graduating working in publishing both, inhouse and freelance. For more on my background Go here.
For more on sharing content with other bloggers on related topics Click here.
I am also available for speaking at conferences or meetings, healing centers or training schools on topics related to aquatic healing and spa culture. Email here. Sample MP3s to come.
Some aquatics articles, with sample extracts, are listed below. I have written many more for online newsletters. My creative writing can be seen on Diving Deeper: An Adventure Inspired by Water.
Sara is a brilliant and artistic writer. A synthesizer of the empirical, intellectual and the creative aspects of Watsu and other forms of aquatic physical therapy and bodywork, she uses clear, precise analysis. She is able to translate the controversial (and perhaps even immeasurable !?) results of the modalities aquatic physical therapists and aquatic bodyworkers utilize into a cohesive understanding. While questioning and incorporating new paradigms of thinking about what it is we do, she also validates and discusses standard current ways of measuring. Yet she asks us to stretch our minds into envisioning other systems and pathways to 'measuring' the changes and healing we so readily observe-- and so often are unable to categorize in our patients and clients. She has helped me to become more clear in the conceptualization of my work while supporting me as colleague. She is a knowledgeable and caring guide with sharp and excellent tools. I highly recommend her! Kathryne E. 'Keo" Opton-Fox, MEd., LMT, NASM-CPT, Watsu Practitioner. 2.11.2010
Watsu - Modern Water Therapy (2000)
Article published in UK magazine, Spa Plus, 2000 - general piece about origins of this form of aquatic bodywork.
Extract:
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 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 in Motion (2000)
Article published in Tai Chi International, UK, 2000 - aimed at Tai Chi/Taoist readers.
Extract:
In Taoist philosophy, the yielding quality of water is frequently used as a metaphor for human experience. Since our bodies are made in large part of water, we can speculate that they still hold within them memories of all aspects of water experienced in our personal development and even in the evolution of life. Perhaps we can then draw on this to restore a profound sense of flowing balance to our lives, both physically and psychologically. Immersion and movement in warm water allow us to explore these possibilities and to bring our findings and healings back to the land.
Journeys in the Water (2001)
Article published in AKWA (journal of the Aquatic Exercise Association) introducing my approach to aquatic bodywork to the fitness/hydrotherapy community.
Extract:
Currently my preference is to view my work as a creative art form, the inevitable consequence of which is self-awareness and enhanced potential for self-healing. In other words, I have moved away from viewing it solely as a form of hydrotherapy with physical/physiological benefits. I see myself as a facilitator of creative empowerment rather than a therapist or healer and find that this keeps the practice vibrant with new discovery. However, it has certainly also been my experience that the benefits of exercise and psychotherapy can be amplified and made more profound in warm water.
Dancing in Healing Water (2002)
In-depth article published in Shamans Drum, No. 62, 2002 describing the aquatic bodywork practice developed with my then-partner Ralph Pitt, from the perspective of creativity and altered states of consciousness.
Extract:
Increasingly widespread in our modern culture is the realization that there is more to life than we can comprehend intellectually. There has been an intriguing proliferation of methods for grasping and grappling with this realization. Some of these methods draw and elaborate on ancient beliefs and practices gathered under the heading of shamanism. Often and inevitably, the traditional methods are gradually adapted (and some would say corrupted) to modern ends. Aside from the methods, however, there is the concept of shamanism which has its own resonance and appeal. It is a concept that has inspired me in my explorations of a non-ordinary state of consciousness achieved through the practice of aquatic bodywork.
To Water ... add Time (2003)
Short piece written for AMTA-Florida (American Massage Therapy Association) on the current trend - the medical spa.
Extract:
Placing medical and non-medical spa establishments side-by-side is an option that I have personally experienced at Toscana Therme in Bad Sulza, Germany, and at the new Thermae Bath Spa in Bath, UK. Aquatic bodywork is an offering at both these places. These and other such ventures face the challenge of defining roles, who is a therapist, and identifying needs, who needs medical services; they also have opportunity for a healthy exchange of ideas and experiences.
Aquatic Resources Network (ARN) magazine - series of three articles by Sara Firman:
1. Dissolving boundaries - a question of definition (2002)
Extract:
I propose a differentiation between what I will call 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. Both aquatic healing and aquatic therapy can be described as aquatic bodywork, since the body is the initial focus of their attentions. However, aquatic healing may go beyond the physical (concerning itself also with emotional and spiritual dimensions) while aquatic therapy usually does not. As scientific understanding of water expands, so will appreciation of the influence this element has on many aspects of our existence.
2. Another Stream of Thought (2003)
Extract:
In this column I want to explore the medium of water itself and the less tangible effects it has on people, in particular on the receivers and givers of aquatic programs. I'll be taking a largely non-clinical perspective and sometimes one that extends beyond conventional science. Because credibility is an important issue, I also want to look at the challenges of recording and researching these often overlooked or at least unacknowledged effects. Inevitably, we'll uncover some differences between non-clinical and clinical practitioners, clientele and settings that will help us to decide whether the boundaries can or cannot be dissolved by the common medium, water.
3. Another Stream of Thought, II (2004)
Continues the discussion of the challenges of working with, recording and researching the subtle energy effects of water in physical, emotional, and spiritual responses to aquatic bodywork.
Extract:
In my last column I noted that non-clinical aquatic practices often overlook the significance of records in determining whether and why the practice is of real value to their clients. However, many will have noticed that aquatic bodywork such as Watsu and it's derivatives does have subtle effects that are dependent on how touch and movement are translated through water. As the practitioner of aquatic bodywork becomes more adept with their techniques and more sensitive in their awareness of the receiver, they will inevitably witness some of the profound effects I am talking about.
