beyond bodywork - dave towe - watsu - aquatic bodywork - water massage

WATSU®

WATSU® (Aquatic Shiatsu) began at the Northern California School of Shiatsu and Massage. Harold Dull developed this Aquatic Bodywork form by applying the stretches and principles of the Zen Shiatsu he had studied in Japan, while floating students in warm water. Zen Shiatsu incorporates stretches that release blockages along our meridians, the channels through which our 'Chi' or life force flows. In the Orient stretching is an even older therapy than acupuncture, which focuses on points along these meridians.

WATSU is based on stretching, which strengthens muscles and increases flexibility and range of motion. Warm water, and the continuous support it provides, is ideal for freeing the spine. It takes the weight off the vertebrae and relaxes the muscles. The support of water allows the spine to be moved in ways impossible on land. Gentle, gradual twists and pulls relieve the pressure a rigid spine places on nerves and can help undo dysfunction this pressure can cause to the organs serviced by those nerves. The WATSU® receiver experiences this greater flexibility and freedom. WATSU® is used around the world by professional body workers, physical therapists, and psychologists, as well as the general public.

Finding yourself in warm water: the spiritual possibilities of Watsu.
by Andrew Yavelow (©1999)
From the receiver's point of view.

For someone receiving Watsu, a session can seem deceptively simple. You put on a bathing suit and get into the warm water; you receive a few instructions from your therapist, and are gently lifted off your feet and supported floating on your back. You don't see anything but the interplay of light and shadow, because your eyes are closed. You don't hear anything but the water, because your ears are submerged. And what you feel is the water's warmth, and the weightless movements of your body as it gently waves and sways through the currents. Occasionally you might be aware of some deep massage in a tight muscle, or a big stretch. But very quickly all the touch and movements blend together into one harmonious, timeless, flowing dance. And what you notice is not the work being done on your body, but the results of it: a profound physical release, letting go, and relief from tensions and pain.

At the same time as your body is letting go, so too is your mind. There is a theory among bodywork researchers that every physical pain carries with it an analogous mental thought pattern. If you're holding onto soreness in your toe, for example, you're also holding onto the emotional story about the circumstances surrounding the injury or accident. In Watsu, as your body thoroughly lets go of its physical discomforts, the corresponding mental stories are released as well. Not that you'll necessarily notice your mind letting go; in fact, it's more like the absence of noticing. You might not have any thoughts – just a mental quiet and peace that accompanies the physical freedom of your body.

And once your body is free and your mind is at peace, there is nothing left to keep your spirit from shining through.

What exactly do we mean here by "spirit"? For many people, it's a sense of seeing themselves with a new, clearer perspective. It's as if they forget about the daily stuff that they deal with – duties, obligations, busywork – and instead are freed to focus on who they are inside, and what they truly want. Watsu receivers feel comfortable and safe and protected. They feel understood and appreciated, beautiful and strong. They feel forgiveness, compassion, and love for themselves and others. And many feel connected to a clearer purpose in their lives.

Maybe that purpose has just occurred to them consciously for the first time during their Watsu sessions; maybe it's something that they've always known. But somehow, the Watsu experience brings many people's awareness back to that central knowing. It brings them back to themselves. It brings them back to spirit.

Virtually everyone who receives a Watsu opens their eyes at the end of a session and describes it as "The most relaxing experience of my life." Most are moved by the remarkable depth of the work. It's extraordinary and something you have to experience personally to truly appreciate: therapeutic bodywork and spiritual opening, all in one extremely pleasurable hour.

WATSU and Pregnancy
Watsu is used frequently, often weekly, during pregnancy, especially during the last trimester. No other therapy offers the profound relaxing weightlessness and comfort for both mother and child. The 96 degree water is safe and perfect for the unborn child. Both mother and child experience a new freedom and expansion benefiting both. Ask about the 33% off Pregnancy Package of six sessions.

Waterdance
Waterdance is a form of aquatic bodywork developed by Arjana Brunschwiler and Aman Schroter in 1987. Like Watsu, it begins with the client being cradled, stretched, and relaxed above the water surface. Given a nose clip, you are gently and gradually taken underwater after a period of gentle movements and stretches above the water. Light is dimmed, sounds are muffled, time stops and gravity becomes a slow-motion dance of submergence and emergence, waves, rolls, twists, inversion and quiet stillness. Waterdance offers a physical, mental, and spiritual freedom beyond what you can experience on land.

Healing Dance
Healing Dance is a synthesis of WATSU, Trager Work, Waterdance, and pure movement. The approach is based on the healing power of movement and how the body naturally moves in the water. The movements are hydrodynamic and spacious, featuring different undulating wave motions that integrate the body and release blocked energies. Quiet embraces, releases, tractions, smooth transitions and bodywork are woven together in an unending flow. Life and movement re-enter the body.