To free the body from the vital element par excellence, water. Let it go and take the fluid breath back. To say that watsu is shiatsu in water is rather reductive, so we look into aspects and potential benefits.
Water + shiatsu = watsu
Combine the water element in English with the oriental treatment called shiatsu and here you get the watsu . This is a massage technique designed in the United States in the late 1970s by Harold Dull, which combines the beneficial effect of motion in water with shiatsu-type manipulations (stretching, finger pressure, etc.).
Who is Harold Dull for short? President of WABA (Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association), creator of other disciplines, in addition to watsu, which all have eastern massage techniques as their common denominator. At first Dull thought of limiting himself to adapting shiatsu methods to water, but he soon developed watsu as an autonomous discipline, rich in work techniques intrinsic to the element that also becomes a work environment: water.
Benefits of watsu
The fact that this discipline has been integrated into the athletic training of Japanese swimming teams says a lot about the state of well-being that can be achieved through this therapy.
Among the positive aspects inherited from shiatsu, even watsu restores the correct circulation of vital energy and along the meridians, balances the state of psychophysical well - being, relaxes the entire musculoskeletal system or improves the postural attitude .
The body, then, immersed in hot water ( 34-35 ° C ), which is often spring-like, thermal, rich in mineral salts, is supported by the watseur, which alternates acupressure maneuvers with slow and circular movements. An important detail: the aquatic environment reminds our cells of amniotic fluid. The archetypal sensation is a bit like being received in the mother's womb and this is amplified by the gentle movements, the warmth of the water and the way in which the sound is perceived .
The fact that the massage takes place in water also affects the ease with which the person receiving it is able to relax. In the absence of partial gravity, the discomfort of the contact with the therapist disappears more quickly, the anxious states are more easily attenuated, the respiration and blood circulation is strengthened.
You can learn more about the benefits, contraindications and Watsu techniques
Watsu for pregnant women
Watsu is one of the best therapies that women who choose a baby can choose. Watsu was first proposed in Italy as a method during pregnancy in 1990 thanks to the intervention of the Study Center for a Natural Birth of Mestre (Venice) by Dr. Roberto Fraioli .
With watsu, future mothers can rest the overloaded spine, release the lower back muscles, remove anxieties and fears. Often then the technique can foresee the presence of the partner and this turns out to be important for the purpose of the harmony of the couple that will soon go to lead a "puppy of human" in the world. Finally, it is pointless to say that this technique is particularly suitable for those women who think of giving birth in water .
