Watsu And Water Dance

9 Choirs recently wrote a great piece on Watsu which has had me dreaming about it ever since. I want some.

For a history of Watsu and Water Dance, you can go here. Basically it's a form of body experience like no other. It's done in pools. You totally surrender your body to the practitioner, who pushes and stretches the body into healing postitions that articulate the joints, open the heart and put me in another world. In Watsu, the head stays above water at all times. In WaterDance the practitioner puts you under water. Generally, you get Watsu a number of times before you progress to the WaterDance as it's the more advanced form and requires a great deal of trust and letting go to stay with someone dunking you under water and you being able to maintain that level of trance state without fear.

I live about two hours away from Harbin Hot Springs, the mecca for training Watsu practitioners. Unlike most people interested in the healing arts in this area, I've only been to Harbin twice, once as a weeklong Tantra workshop assistant. It was at this workshop that I got my first WaterDance session.

I decided I wanted to have the experience from both from a man and a woman. I was fortunate to have a sessions with both Richard Bock and Shantam, mentioned in the article linked to above.

Shantam has amazing energy. So calm and peaceful and full of love. She hardly touches the ground as she walks. I felt immediate trust and peace the minute we hugged and began the session. There is no talking during a session, every communication was done with touch. She told me before the session what each thing would mean when she did it. Everything was gentle in the pool as she swept my body this way and that. Everything was conducive to total release of any resistence in my body. And I had none.

She twirled me this way and that, held me close then pushed me so I could move independently. Then I felt her touch my nose, which was the signal that she was going to put me under water. Wow...the feelings in my body....remembering it now, make me weep with their beauty. I remember just letting go more and more with each submersion, until finally she did this thing where she literally put me between her legs, rebirthing me. It was a totally amazing transformative experience to be held in the water, going back to the womb and being held by the Mother. When the session was done, I felt total peace, total union with all of me. I floated for hours.

A few days later, I had my session with Richard. Shantam had told him of my letting go, so he was prepared to do the WaterDancing with me, too. I've heard it said by more than four bodyworkers that they love doing Tantra workshops because the people are so open from the work that they can go deeper than usual. I was so excited to be with Richard as I loved his energy.

But...it wasn't the same as with Shantam. I felt uncomfortable, couldn't let to emotionally...this wan't done right, that didn't feel good, nothing was flow. I stayed with my feelings, letting them flow into the water, while staying present to my body so as not to have it tense with the inner gunk happening...body was totally relaxed letting MonkeyMind take its course but not agreeing to participate. As body had no resistence, the emotional pain was had no blocks so went its course.

The session was powerfully healing. He felt me in my deepness. I cannot remember all that went on because so much of it was so deep that I've blocked it out. But with each submersion, I remember getting flashes of ancient female and male pain, the stuff that stays in the backs of our minds in the subconscious, but that we carry as cell history (???) Not sure what it is or if that even exists. But my feelings and flashes were powerfully there.

What I do remember very clearly is the end, when we were together at the side of the pool and he was being present to all I said as I integrated the experience. He cried for and with me as I reported how I had let go and was continuing to let go of unrecognized intense anger and mistrust of men from all that had been done "to" women at men's hands. He cried with me as I cried for men's pain. It was profound for me. Whew...I want more.

This bodywork stuff takes us places that people are not aware are available to us. So much healing can happen when Body is allowed to let go of its past. All it takes is presence to heal decades of holding onto pain. A WaterDance/Watsu pratitioner is so present that the unconditional love of the universe flows through them unimpeded. I think this is what's felt...that total holding of the soul in pure love.

For a list of practioners and to learn more, please visit The Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association . You really do owe it to yourself to get a number of these sessions.

Photos in order are taken from:

Top Center with blue swimming suit from here
Woman in red swimming suit on left from here
Woman with knee over shoulder on right from here
Two women with knee on shoulder, brown suit on left from here
Hand on heart on right from here
Embrace on left from here
Two women at bottom on left from here

This post was featured in the Carnival of Healing #92. Thanks!!!