Business Fit Magazine November 2018 Issue 2 | Page 10

Body
Healing Stress with
Watsu
Breathwork
Fusion
The first step towards healing the physical
and mental disruption caused by continuous
exposure to stress will always be the
individual's recognition of stress as the source
of the imbalance.
Listing some of those damages, we can include
disturbance of sleep patterns, lack of clarity
and vision in decision-making, weakening of
immune system defences, suffering of panic
attacks, diminishing of sexual vitality, disruption
of relationship harmony and recourse to
substance addictions.
A second step is accepting that stress and
relaxation cannot exist in the same place and
the same time in our bodies, so developing
the practice of a personal access process to
deep relaxation has long been recognised as
an effective counteraction to stress.
Once an individual begins to recognise
the symptoms of prolonged exposure to
stress, the necessary motivation can grow to
assemble the therapeutic resources effective
in diminishing that exposure, and follow up
with a habit of regular practice.
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Michael de Glanville
The introduction of Conscious Connected
Breathwork into the gentle dynamics of a Watsu
warm water flotation session brings together
two powerful physical practices, both of which
are renowned for their stress dissolving
capabilities. The following invitation may give
some form to the charmed environment
created by this fusion.
"Come, spoil yourself in fluid bliss, your
body beauty surrounded in liquid warmth,
surrendered, vulnerable, mind and spirit
abandoned to the gentle strokes of water’s
touch. The undulating motions, rippled by
the caress of the breeze, supple as seaweed
in a rolling ocean swell. The calm, contented
heartbeat of your being dancing with
movements tuned to the rhythm of the breath.
Stretch out in the heat of sun-kissed water,
floating, balanced, breathing and centred in the
circle of the pool. Water’s soft embracing flow
will do its work, soothing away body aches and
mind stress. Whilst you, buoyant, immersed,
trusting as an embryo in-utero, you simply
let go, releasing your faithful pulsing spirit to
drift and be hushed in the familiar embrace of
the love and silent emptiness of the bringer of
inner peace."
So let us take a look at why warm water
therapies are often so effective increating deep
relaxation. If we consider the experience of the
embryo in the latter months of pregnancy, the
main sensations registered, as the unborn
baby gradually evolves into consciousness,
are immersion in fluid of constant warmth and
the containing, comforting contact of the silky
touch of the inner walls of the womb as the
mother goes about her day, connecting with
the baby through caring thoughts of love.
To the baby in the womb, sounds are muffled,
as the ears are filled with fluid, but the
familiar tone of the mother's voice, the steady
reassuring 'thu-thump' of her heartbeat and
the sound of her continuous breathing cycle of
inhale and exhale are probably at the origins
of human love of rhythm and music. The
surrounding deeply relaxing energy of love,
comfort, movement and care, communicated
to the unborn baby in her womb, will be
strongly associated later on, in adult life, with
rhythms of breathing, tactile sensations and
immersion in warm water.
The healing energy of the Watsu session when
practiced in this way, together with conscious
breathing can be developed towards
accessing and helping to bring to the surface
of our consciousness this deeply embedded
connection between physical environment
and the associated generated feelings.
The visible wave motion of Watsu's "water
breath dance" is taken up by the receiver's
body as its flotation balance is swelled by the
breath inhale and deflated during the exhale.
This rhythmic dance, powered by the breath
muscles during the breathing, provides a
natural synchronising beat-base to the timing
of the pattern of movements initiated by the
practitioner. The energy of this feeling of
harmony of motion between the giver and
the receiver, deepens the presence of mutual
trust and encourages a gradual progressive
abandonment by the receiver into deep
relaxation, not only of their body but also in
the mind state.
My own experience, while receiving Watsu, has
led me to notice that when the temperature
of the water surrounding my body coincides
closely with own body temperature, the internal
sensations of just where my body boundaries
are located during the session become less
distinct, creating delicious feelings of immense
lightness and lack of dimensional awareness
of my body, feelings of one-ness and melting
incorporation with my surroundings.
Therapists and clients who are familiar with
the practice of Breathwork will be used
to the altered mind states often accessed
during breathing sessions, but it has been an
interesting experience for me to witness the
appearance of similar mind states in receivers
towards the end of Watsu sessions, when
gentle conscious connected breathing has
been present during the session. What has
surprised me is the ease of access to these
mind states by some of my Watsu clients
who have relatively little, if any, experience of
breathwork in the dry.
The Watsu session seeks to create a floating,
fluid surrounding, blended with supple
body movements in the weightlessness of
immersion. Together with the softness and the
trusted warmth of gentle caring containment,
these conditions can activate a release, into the
conscious memory, of the profound relaxation
experienced by the baby in utero. Allowing
the body and the mind to drift deep into this
profound physical relaxation state is certainly
a powerful stress healing process.
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