Watsu & Aquatic Bodywork in Ventura County

Experience the transformative power of aquatic healing in warm water therapy sessions designed to restore your body and mind. I offer Aquatic Bodywork, including Watsu® and Water Release Therapy® (WRT), at a serene pool in Ventura or at your private pool if suitable. With years of training under Diane Feingold, the creator of Water Release Therapy®, and certification in aquatic healing arts, I bring a customized approach to every session, blending water-based techniques with holistic land-based therapies like Myofascial Release and Trigger Point Therapy.

“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

What is Aquatic Bodywork?

watsu aquatic bodywork and therapy

Aquatic Bodywork combines the principles of Zen Shiatsu, Thai stretches, and therapeutic movement in warm, chest-deep water heated to body temperature (98°F). During a session, you are supported and gently guided through a sequence of flowing, dynamic movements that stretch and relax the body while providing deep physical and emotional healing. Techniques include:

1. Floating and gentle submersion for a womb-like experience.

2. Joint mobilizations and stretching to unblock energy flow, improve flexibility, and enhance movement.

3. Trigger point therapy to release muscle tension and reduce pain.

4. Inversions, quiet stillness and nurturing presence.

This unique therapy uses the buoyancy and hydrostatic properties of water to relieve stress on the body, allowing for deeper relaxation and more effective stretching than land-based methods.

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 range of motion, and these effects can be amplified by doing it in warm water.

Aquatic Bodywork is recognized worldwide as one of the most effective forms of aquatic physical therapy, practiced in spas, health centers, and medical clinics in over 90 countries.

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. Aquatic Bodywork offers transformative physical, emotional, and mental benefits. Physically, it improves posture, flexibility, and range of motion while easing chronic pain caused by conditions such as arthritis, fibromyalgia, and other neuromuscular disorders. It accelerates recovery from orthopedic injuries, surgeries, and stroke, and reduces pregnancy-related discomfort.

Emotionally, aquatic therapy relieves stress, anxiety, and insomnia while promoting emotional release and helping with trauma recovery, including conditions like PTSD, depression, phobias, and grief. Water treatment promotes a deep state of relaxation with dramatic changes in the autonomic nervous system which regulates the function of our internal organs. 

Mentally, it creates a calming, womb-like environment that encourages mindfulness and self-connection. And I have been privileged to witness and share the experience of some amazing emotional transformations in the warm water!

Watsu has found its application in complex therapy of children and adults with special needs, such as cerebral palsy and autism. 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. 

Whether you’re looking to heal, recover, or simply relax, aquatic bodywork is a powerful way to restore balance and vitality to your body and mind.

Is Aquatic Bodywork Right for You?

You do not have to be a swimmer to enjoy and 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.

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.

“You are not a drop in the ocean, you are the entire ocean in a drop”

~-Rumi

Blogs

“The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness”
- Sakyong Mipham

Learn More About the Magic of Water

Water: The Great Mystery
– Documentary

Waters Of Life – Documentary on Aquatic Bodywork

The Power Of Your Intentions:
The Rice Experiment

The Hidden Messages in Water –
a book by Masaru Emoto