“If there’s magic on this planet,
it is contained in water.”

Aquatic Bodywork & Therapy in Ventura County

I have trained with Diane Feingold, who is the creator of Water Release Therapy®, both in this aquatic modality, and the original Watsu®, in Santa Barbara, and am a certified practitioner of aquatic healing arts.

Watsu® and Water Release Therapy® WRT are modalities of aquatic bodywork. At the same time, they can be seen as a form of passive Aquatic Physical Therapy for rehabilitation. That’s why I sometimes refer to my work as Aquatic Therapy, or Aquatic Bodywork & Therapy.

I find great joy in sharing the gift of warm water healing, and seeing the profound effect that the nurturing touch and gentle, yet deep stretching, can have on a human body and soul. In my practice, I seamlessly incorporate and blend these modalities with ‘land based’ holistic and bodywork techniques – such as Myofascial Release, and Trigger Point Therapy – to offer a most beneficial and customized treatment.

I offer Aquatic Bodywork & Therapy sessions in a beautiful warm pool in Ventura, and am also available for outcall to your private residence, if your pool can meet the requirements for providing aquatic healing work.

aquatic bodywork and therapy

The Origins of Aquatic Bodywork

Aquatic Bodywork  was created about 30 years ago, as Watsu, by Harold Dull, a massage therapist and poet, at Harbin Hot Springs, California. He brought into the water the stretches and principles of the Zen Shiatsu that he had studied with its creator, Shizuto Masunaga, in Japan. As Alexander Georgeakopoulos, the creator of Healing Dance, put it, “Watsu evolved from Zen Shiatsu, rather like how dolphins evolved from an earlier land dwelling species, taking to the water to become freer…”

Today there are many other branches of aquatic modalities, such as Water Release Therapy, Water Dance, Healing Dance, Aquatic Integration, Jahara Technique, to name a few of them.

Watsu literally means Water + Shiatsu, but it is more than that. Aquatic bodywork is recognized as one of the most profound aquatic physical therapy methods available today, as increasing numbers of therapists have incorporated Watsu into their treatment programs. It is now practiced a spas, medical clinics, health centers, and hospitals in over 90 countries, by massage and physical therapists, psychologists, and even in professional sports!

“The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness”.

~ Sakyong Mipham

What’s involved in an Aquatic Bodywork Therapy Session?

An aquatic bodywork session consists of a sequence of graceful and subtle, yet fluid and dynamic movements, guided by a trained practitioner, in chest-deep water heated to body temperature (98°F). Traditional Shiatsu techniques and Thai stretches are applied while floating in warm water.

Oriental stretching is an even older form of therapy than acupuncture. The Eastern philosophy has it that stretches release blockages along the meridians, the channels through which our Qi, or life force, flows. From a Western perspective, stretching increases flexibility and range of motion, and these effects can be amplified by doing it in warm water.

Add to it elements of trigger point work, joint mobilizations, dance, yoga, inversions, quiet stillness and nurturing presence, and one can see how this becomes a profound mind and body healing practice.

Water therapy is more than a simple warm water massage. From floating above the water, if and when ready, after tuning in with your breathing rhythm, you are gently submerged with nose clips. It enables effortless breathing between air and water, while the buoyancy of warm water creates a nurturing womb-like experience. External sounds are diminished, light is dimmed, internal noise is quieted. It does more than relax and stretch. The healing properties of water with the practitioner’s support cultivate an atmosphere where you can access positive resources within, reconnect with your own energy, and connect to others.

Therapeutic Properties of Warm Water

Hydrostatic properties of the water, or the pressure that the aquatic medium exerts on a body, helps increase superficial circulation and lymphatic function, and reduce swelling and sensation of pain.

The buoyant aquatic medium provides even support for the body, and takes the weight off the vertebrae so they can be manipulated more easily. It relaxes the postural muscles so that the practitioner can move the spine in ways that would be impossible on land. In contrast, when lying on a mat, or massage table, there are always body parts that don’t receive equal support, requiring uneven effort. While the person is floating, the body can move and unwind to relieve tension as it suits itself. This is especially helpful for those areas that seldom have the load of gravity removed. The effect is greater mobility: all parts of the body, especially the spine, can relax and be mobilized.

Therapeutic Properties of Warm Water

The water is approximately 50 times denser than air, and coupled with the hydrostatic pressure, the viscosity of water creates a massage like effect on the body, promoting improved circulation and relaxation, to say the least. It also causes a drag effect as the therapist moves or stabilizes one segment of the body, facilitating a deep stretch of another.

The underwater work creates an even greater physiological response called the dive reflex which slows the metabolism, heart rate and breath rate. In traditional yoga, the breath retention practice is referred to as ‘Kumbakha’, an advanced form of pranayama – for deep relaxation, rejuvenation and health. It can bring about an immersion into a profoundly healing space. The pre-natal consciousness becomes available in the reality of the present, and can generate an experience of rebirth that can be nurturing and integrative of past traumas. Read about Healing trauma with aquatic bodywork in my blog.

Is Aquatic Bodywork Right For You?

You do not have to be a swimmer to participate in or benefit from Watsu and Water Release Therapy. No previous experience is required. In fact, aquatic bodywork helps overcome deeply rooted fear of water. If you are uncomfortable going underwater, this is a great opportunity to release this anxiety, as the gradual immersions are facilitated and carefully guided in a safe environment. It is suitable for all ages and abilities.

Health Benefits of Aquatic Bodywork

Watsu and its aquatic cousins have more than just novelty relaxation technique value: clinical research over the past two decades has shown a host of benefits.

But yes to tension alleviation! Water treatment promotes a deep state of relaxation with dramatic changes in the autonomic nervous system which regulates the function of our internal organs. Many people find that it helps insomnia and anxiety, and relieves stress. It can release trauma and old patterns stored on the cellular level. And I have been privileged to witness and share the experience of some amazing emotional transformations in the warm water!

Watsu and Water Release Therapy are used to assist with psycho-emotional therapy for depression, grief, fears, abuse, PTSD, autism, substance abuse, to name a few. Read More

Aquatic bodywork physical benefits stretch beyond improved posture and more freedom of movement – it is successfully used in complex therapy of diverse orthopedic and neuromuscular conditions, such as cerebral palsy, fibromyalgia, arthritis, chronic pain states, and to promote stroke recovery.

Being weightlessly and safely supported and floated in warm water, while being stretched and having acupressure points worked on – aquatic bodywork offers relaxation and relief from possible discomforts that accompany pregnancy, and elicits bonding with baby.

Watsu has found its application in therapy of children and adults with special needs. The aquatic environment provides a feeling of freedom and confidence for people impeded in their movement on land, and the therapist can accomplish stretches and mobilizations otherwise impossible. And above all, they don’t see it as going to therapy – it is warm water fun!

Did You Know? – Historic Facts

Water therapy has been used for thousands of years throughout the world. Consider the following examples:

  • Hippocrates prescribed bathing in spring water as a way to treat illness.
  • The Roman, Greek, Turkish, Egyptian and Chinese empires believed that water could improve circulation, relieve muscular aches, and promote relaxation.
  • Swiss monks were known to use thermal waters to treat sick or disabled people in their community.
  • In modern times, water was first used for medical purposes in the early 19th century in Austria, when Vincent Priessnitz opened a spa.
Did You Know? – Historic Facts

The interest in aquatic spa and clinic treatment in the USA was sparked in the 1930’s, when physicians from Europe brought the current teaching of aquatic therapy to this country.

Following the inclusion of an entire chapter on aquatic therapy into the book “Therapeutic Exercise” in the 1970’s, the aquatic treatment was becoming a more mainstream prescription for rehabilitation. The 1980’s and 1990’s saw the foundation of the Aquatic Physical Therapy section of the American Physical Therapy Association, and the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA).

Did You Know? – Historic Facts

Water therapy has been used for thousands of years throughout the world. Consider the following examples:

  • Hippocrates prescribed bathing in spring water as a way to treat illness.
  • The Roman, Greek, Turkish, Egyptian and Chinese empires believed that water could improve circulation, relieve muscular aches, and promote relaxation.
  • Swiss monks were known to use thermal waters to treat sick or disabled people in their community.
  • In modern times, water was first used for medical purposes in the early 19th century in Austria, when Vincent Priessnitz opened a spa.
Did You Know? – Historic Facts

The interest in aquatic spa and clinic treatment in the USA was sparked in the 1930’s, when physicians from Europe brought the current teaching of aquatic therapy to this country.

Following the inclusion of an entire chapter on aquatic therapy into the book “Therapeutic Exercise” in the 1970’s, the aquatic treatment was becoming a more mainstream prescription for rehabilitation. The 1980’s and 1990’s saw the foundation of the Aquatic Physical Therapy section of the American Physical Therapy Association, and the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA).

aquatic bodywork and therapy
aquatic bodywork and therapy

How Aquatic Bodywork
Recipients Describe Their Therapy

  • Nurturing, healing, and safe
  • Like free flowing in space
  • Thai massage performed in the water
  • Like swimming with the dolphins
  • All muscles loose and liberated
  • Reborn and reconnected to self
  • Inspirational and transformational

How Aquatic Bodywork
Recipients Describe Their Therapy

  • Nurturing, healing, and safe
  • Like free flowing in space
  • Thai massage performed in the water
  • Like swimming with the dolphins
  • All muscles loose and liberated
  • Reborn and reconnected to self
  • Inspirational and transformational

How Aquatic Bodywork
Recipients Describe Their Therapy

  • Nurturing, healing, and safe
  • Like free flowing in space
  • Thai massage performed in the water
  • Like swimming with the dolphins
  • All muscles loose and liberated
  • Reborn and reconnected to self
  • Inspirational and transformational

Amazing Facts About Water

  • Water dominates the chemical composition of all organisms. You are 60 to 70% water.
  • Water is the only natural substance found in all three physical states at temperatures normally found on Earth.
  • Water reacts to cosmic phenomena: its structure is influenced by the shifts in the Earth’s magnetic field and by explosions on the Sun.
  • Water is a strong vibrational energy transmitter: it intensifies as it conducts beneficial healing frequencies – from nature, sound, intention and consciousness.
  • Water as an energy substance was researched by Dr. Masaru Emoto, for 2 decades, and his extraordinary findings are documented in his books.
  • Water has memory, and it can be a perfect medium for cellular memory healing – limiting beliefs, projections, and emotional wounds.
  • Memory of water was first brought into the light and studied by the French biochemist and immunologist Jacques Benveniste, but that was 2 centuries after the emergence of the branch of unconventional medicine called Homeopathy that has this water property at its core.
  • Indigenous cultures have all along honored the water spirit, and it is a common theme in mythology and legends.

“The sacred water element teaches us that we can have great strength to transform even the tallest mountain while being soft, pliable, and flexible.”

~ Assembly of First Nations

Learn More About The Magic Of Water

Water: The Great Mystery
– Documentary
The Power Of Your Intentions:
The Rice Experiment
Waters Of Life – documentary about the origins, history, and philosophy of Aquatic Bodywork
The Hidden Messages in Water –
a book by Masaru Emoto

Reconnect, Revitalize, Renew!

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