watsu

lorna davies


“By creating a warm, emotionally enriching environment in utero, a woman can make a decisive difference in everything her child feels, hopes, dreams, thinks, and accomplishes throughout life.”
Verny and Kelly 1998

Have you ever thought what it must feel like to be a fetus? Can you imagine what it must be like to be cradled within the uterus, suspended in warm amniotic fluid, sheltered from the world by your mother? To not have to worry about consciously moving your body> To be protected from harsh light and sound?

At the time of writing, I have just completed a Watsu Foundation Workshop which has left me, I believe, with a far greater understanding of what the world of the unborn may be like.

Watsu is a form of therapy that was developed in the early 1980's by Shiatsu master Harold Dull, in Harbin Springs, California. The name watsu is derived from the words 'water and shiatsu'. At its simplest level it is a water based massage. As you float in a pool heated to body temperature, a watsu practitioner gently massages your muscles, mobilises your joints, stretches tissues and opens energy channels within the body.

Watsu is the most amazingly relaxing experience that you could possibly imagine. You totally relinquish control by placing your trust in your therapist guide, who becomes your eyes, ears and limbs. Its physical benefits are said to be manifold. The WABA website boasts that it is used by physical therapists, massage therapists and other bodywork practitioners around the world to treat stress, chronic back pain, orthopaedic problems, arthritis, sleep disorders, fibromyalgia and a host of other conditions.

Proponents of the therapy claim however, that the value of watsu goes beyond the physical. The body is able to relax to such an extent in the weightlessness of water that the mind can truly surrender and achieve a level of unprecedented stillness. Once the body and mind are quiet, then you are left with the fundamental essence of your being.

I was introduced to the therapy last year in the US with a brief one-hour introductory session that left me hungry for more. On returning to the UK I contacted the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA) to find out about UK based courses. I discovered that there is only one watsu teacher in the UK, Hilary Austin, an Alexander technique teacher who became fascinated by watsu and its healing potential in the mid 1990's and has trained extensively to become a teacher of watsu. I was fortunate enough to track Hilary down and was delighted to discover that she was holding a weekend workshop within an hour and a half drive from my home. I attended the workshop at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath with five other people, who were all from the world of physiotherapy and hydrotherapy. During the two days together we worked through the graceful sequences of watsu and learned quite a lot about hydrodynamics.

The major discovery for me was the recognition of a relationship that exists between the experience of watsu and midwifery. The more I experienced the practice, the more aware I became, both as giver and receiver. For example, being suspended in water, with ears submerged and eyes gently closed, means that sight and sound become senses that are secondary to the tactile experience of feeling the waters unique sensory quality. This to a degree gives one some insight into what the watery abode of the unborn baby must be like. The receiver does not have to worry about where they are floating to because the practitioner takes over that basic need and frees the receiver to fully indulge in the tranquil experience on offer.

The sounds around are audible yet muffled; making it difficult to fully comprehend all that is being heard. Even so, the differences between voices and sounds are fully perceived and the most important sound to the receiver becomes that of the voice of the practitioner. At one point during water-breath-dance, a part of the sequence where both parties are still and the practitioner attunes to the breathing of the receiver, I could actually hear the heart beat of my fellow student, which was quite an awesome experience.


Howard Dull, the founder of Watsu therapy, states that:-

“Listening in on the heart, and tracking its effects, researchers confirm what traditional cultures take for granted. The heart has a mind. Its forty thousand neurons store information and make decisions. Through nerves, pulse, hormones and an electromagnetic field five thousand times stronger, the heart communicates with the brain, and every part of the body.” http://www.waba.edu/

We know that the fetus is sensitive to and responds to the heartbeat of its mother before it can even hear. It may be that likewise the nurturing holding and gentle movement of Watsu coordinates “heart coherence”, that leads to us feeling safe and protected.

It is not only the similarity of the experience to that of the fetal state that holds in my opinion, great value for midwives and students of midwifery. As the watsu guide one leads the recipient through a series of sequenced moves that lasts about 45 minutes. During that time the focus is on the experience for the person receiving the therapy. In order for the beneficiary to achieve a truly relaxed mind and body, the guide has to fall into an almost synchronised state of being. The breathing begins almost spontaneously to coordinate with the person receiving watsu and you find yourself to be truly 'with' them. I found that whilst I was practising the movements with my fellow watsu students, I felt the sense of calm and loss of time that I have felt at times when with labouring women.

I am a great promoter of the healing power of the aesthetic. I teach student midwives about the value of using music and dance within practice. Some years ago, I began to study music and dance therapy to see how it could feed into my own sphere of practice. I wanted to know if at a theoretical level, the use of music and dance could enhance the experience of pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period for a woman, her baby, her family, and of course the midwife. I was very excited to discover that it was an area from which we could learn a great deal indeed.

The body of the speaker dances in time with his/her speech. Further the body of the listener dances in rhythms with that of the speaker”.
Condon & Ogston 1966

In watsu, the language is non-verbal, but the synchrony is essential. In watsu, the “speaker” would usually be the practitioner, but a skilled guide will listen to the unspoken language of the receiver and respond accordingly. Likewise in labour, the roles of woman and midwife may reverse and evolve in the symphony of birth, but the harmony is a necessary feature. When dysfunction occurs, the synchrony is lost. For whatever reason, the midwife is no longer 'with woman'.


Music therapist Gary Andsell suggests that:-

“We should begin to think of ourselves as symphonic beings rather than the mechanical ones that reductionist scientific medicine would often have us.”
Andsell 1995

The grace of the water dance that is watsu allows us to become symphonic beings and to literally 'go with the flow'.

I sometimes use birth videos to explain the harmony achievable during labour and birth. I use a variety of birth scenarios and ask the students to identify which they felt to be most satisfying for them. Invariably they will opt for one or two specific examples. These births are always the ones where the midwife moves with the woman and adopts her breathing patterns. Furthermore, she is usually doing this without any conscious effort. I would ask however, is this an intuitive response, or can it be learned? I certainly do not feel that it does any harm to explore this question further, and watsu may offer that opportunity.

The experience of mother hood may be raised as a result of the watsu experience. I was involved in a discussion about feeling totally supported during the sequence with one of my fellow students. I had realized that I could not remember ever having being held in safe and loving arms without feeling body conscious. Yet, that sense was embracingly familiar and I have no doubts that what I was experiencing was a memory of infanthood. My mother died when I was quite young and, consequently, I never had the opportunity to address the emotions of motherhood with her once I had reached adulthood. I recognised that I felt a degree of comfort in this therapy that transcended the physical pleasure of being a relaxed state.

Moreover, when we were asked to feedback before entering the pool on the second day, two of the group members both disclosed that the previous evening they had felt an instinctive desire to go home and be hugged by their mothers.

This led me consider the value of the practice for women who were pregnant. The opportunity for a mother to connect with her baby could be awe-inspiring, and may help in some cases to establish a relationship. At a more basic level, the relaxation would almost certainly benefits for most pregnant women and the physical relief of being weightless in water could bring immense relief for others.

I am convinced that watsu has a great deal to offer generally but also has special qualities that would offer unique insights in the world of childbirth. I intend to pursue further preparation in order to become an accredited watsu practitioner. Unfortunately the only available training programme available in the UK is the foundation programme offered by Hilary Austin, which means that I will have to travel to Europe or the US to achieve my goal. I would like to introduce the experience into the midwifery curriculum, although the practical issue of finding a pool that is maintained at 34 degrees may prove to be problematic. The course in Sussex was held in a physiotherapy department with a hydrotherapy pool, which was ideal for the six participants and the facilitator, but could only be utilized at weekends. However, I am a believer in where there is a will there is a way. I would also like to be able to offer watsu to pregnant women.


If you feel that you would like to know more about watsu, I suggest that you contact the WABA website http://www.waba.edu/ or Hilary Austin's website at http://www.soulutions.co.uk/workshops_watsu.htm

Click here to see the pictures from this workshop

Here, under my heart
you'll keep
till it's time
for us to meet,
& we come apart
that we may come
together,
& you are born
remembering
the wavesound
of my blood,
the thunder of my heart,
& like your mother
always dreaming
of the sea.

Erica Mann Jong


Gary Andsell (1995) Music for Life: aspects of creative music therapy with adult clients. Jessica Kingsley

Condon, W and Ogston, W (1966) ‘Sound film analysis of normal and pathological behavior patterns’. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders 14, 338-47.

Harold Dull - At the Heart of Watsu.
http://www.waba.edu/watsu/At%20the%20Heart%20of%20Watsu.htm

Erica Jong (1983) Birth of the Water Baby in Ordinary Miracles. New American Library.

Thomas Verny & John Kelly (1988) Secret Life of the Unborn Child. Time Warner Paperbacks.