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Since
its discovery 15 years ago, the form of aquatic bodywork
created by Harold Dull known as WatsuTM, water
Shiatsu,
has been adopted and practiced widely, not only in this country but
worldwide. The technique's growing popularity is largely due to the
fact that each Watsu session is not only a massage, but also a
profound experience that causes many healing "shifts" on the
physical, emotional and spiritual levels. Healing can occur not only
for the receiver of Watsu, but also for the giver.
Each Watsu session takes place in chest-high warm water, and
involves both massage an a series of flowing, dance-like movements.
While beginning Watsu givers usually rely on a learned sequence of
moves, more advanced practitioners often use the "free flow" method.
This spontaneous approach allows the giver to become increasingly
open and free to intuit whatever movements emerge in response to the
client's needs at the moment.
Today's teachers and practitioners of Watsu, certified by the
Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association, can be found in many cities,
both in this country and in Europe, Latin American and Japan.
Although there is a growing number of certified Watsu teachers,
perhaps the technique's best known instructor is Harold Dull, the
poet and linguist who created Watsu in 1980. Dull coined the name of
his invention from "water" and "Shiatsu," its two major
components.
Harold Dull's inspiration for inventing Watsu began when he
traveled to Japan in the late 1970s to study Zen Shiatsu, a form of
massage than emphasizes stretches and point work to help release
blockages along the body's meridians. When he returned home to Harbin
Hot Springs, California, he began perfecting his Shiatsu technique
while floating his clients in the hot spring's warm water. Gradually
a completely new kind of bodywork emerged. Dull included his
invention, under the name WatsuTM in the curriculum of
workshops at his School of Shiatsu and Massage at Harbin. Soon he had
several hundred Watsu students each year.
He found that in aquatic massage the receiver's body would glide
easily and naturally into many relaxing positions impossible on land.
Floating horizontally, supported by the therapist's arms and the soft
water, the spine was freed from its gravitational prison. This
freeing of the spine is essential to each Watsu session, for it
allows deeply healing energy movement that can lead to release of
long-held physical and emotional tensions.
Although Harold Dull is a tall, strong person, he found that when
he began teaching Watsu to others that the natural buoyancy of the
human body in water makes it possible for even a smaller person to
give a much larger one a Watsu session. He encouraged his students to
develop their own creative Watsu styles, according to their
individual body types and personal preferences.
Watsu is currently popular not only at Harbin Hot Springs, but in
many other settings in this country and abroad. It is offered by
massage therapists at several spas, including Ten Thousand Waves in
Santa Fe and Two Bunch Palms near Palm Springs. Watsu is also used by
many physical therapists, such as those at the internationally known
rehabilitation institute, Timpany Center in San Jose. In fact, Watsu
seems to blend well with almost any other healing modality. It is a
healing technique whose time has come.
Watsu classes are available at the School of Shiatsu &
Massage at
Harbin Hot
Springs
in Middletown, CA. The World Wide Aquatic
Bodywork Association offers certification at the 100 hour,
500 hour and 1,000 hour levels to Watsu practitioners. For more
information, call (707)987-3801.
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