“Freed From Gravity”
In 1980, Harold Dull, freshly returned from studying shiatsu in Japan, applied the ancient Asian pressure-point therapy to massage clients wafting in the waters at Harbin Hot Springs, Calif. Dull and the practitioners he has since trained — thousands, spanning six continents; each logging 300 of hours of water classes, 100 hours of shiatsu and another 100 of anatomy and physiology — continue to find that a body freed from gravitational constraints glides easily into positions impossible on a massage table, often leading to the release of long-held physical and emotional tensions.
Gary Jaeger trained with Dull in 1995. Beyond the obvious — warm water is relaxing, softens the tissues — Jaeger cites the womblike environment which facilitates “a deeper, more penetrating massage with far less pressure and discomfort. The weightlessness and freedom of movement allow an individual to experience other joyful, often blissful states.”
Seattle Times Article by Allie Hall
Occasionally, not so blissful. Both Jaeger and Srygley, also Harbin-trained, report that some clients have cathartic reactions in session. Jaeger works with survivors of physical, sexual, mental and emotional abuse. His goal is to support rather than control an individual’s subtle or gross movements as they literally unwind their emotional and/or physical blockages. “For some, it means giving them a lot more space. For others, it is holding them much closer. It is very different than talk therapies.”
Moving beyond the physical and into the emotional/spiritual is the goal of many bodywork modalities. Watsu is not unique in aiming for healing catharsis while providing plenty to love on a strictly corporal level. In his practice, Jaeger sees “women who consider themselves 5 to 15 pounds overweight” — you know, most of us — re-visioning themselves as sleek and beautiful. “Their bodies do the best in the water. They leave with a whole new sense of self”.”