Origins of Watsu^®

Watsu® (Water Shiatsu) began in 1980 when Harold Dull started floating people while applying the stretches and principles of the Zen Shiatsu he had studied in Japan. In the Orient, stretching as a way to open channels through which our Chi energy flows is even older than acupuncture. Stretching strengthens muscle and increases flexibility. Warm water, which many associate with the body's deepest states of waking relaxation, is the ideal medium. The support of water takes weight off the vertebrae and allows the spine to be moved in ways impossible on land. Gentle, gradual twists and pulls relieve the pressure a rigid spine places on nerves and helps undo any dysfunctioning this pressure can cause to the organs serviced by those nerves. The Watsu receiver experiences greater flexibility and freedom. During Watsu a range of emotions can come up and be released into the process of continuous flow. This reprograms receivers to face life out of the water with greater equanimity and flexibility.

Today, in more than 40 countries, Watsu is proving its effectiveness with chronic pain and a widening range of conditions. It has been welcomed as a primary modality in Rehabilitation by Aquatic Therapists and is taught in universities around the world. In addition to the physical benefits derived from the movements and stretches warm water facilitates, Watsu's power to reduce stress underlies both its effectiveness with those conditions in which stress is implicated and its growing popularity among the general public.