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18.08.2013 Text: andreas simon // Pix: watsu ibiza


WATSU IBIZA – FLOAT INTO BLISS

Not knowing much about Water Therapy might be the best way to experience what i had the pleasure to find out about this fascinating treatment.

Meeting Sophie, Yanina and Roger was a first great impression, all three are specialized in a certain technique which the terminus Water Therapy includes, and all three work together very well. Yanina is specialized in Reiki combining different techniques for healing and intuition. Roger is the founder of WatsuGoa, practitioner of Watsu® and WaterDance®, he is trained as a Doula, giving pregnancy sessions in water and pregnancy bonding for mother, partner and baby. Later i met Roger’s wife Noam as well, specialized in Theta technique for potential healing and trained as a Doula as well.

My therapist this day was Sophie Costes, practitioner of WaterDance® and Watsu®, specialized in CranioSacral Therapy and Waterness Journey Contact Dance. Sounds good but is even greater, i can tell you.

The pool is gigantic and round, covered by a beautiful dome giving it the feel like being home, in a safe place. The water has body temperature, 37 degrees, and is crystal clear and 100% Chlorine free, that is why everybody has to take a shower before entering it. All is very comfortable and inviting.

By entering the water Sophie tells me to relax as much as i can but i am already on my way as it feels like zero gravity instantly. As this is a therapy including close body contact she gently asks me to show her in any moment if this is too close for me but as i said, i am already floating in this unique experience. To avoid the water entering my nose i wear rubber pincers and am ready to be moved by her wise hands. As soon as she starts moving me around i got this sensation of returning into my mother’s belly just before my birth, pictures of my very first moments in life  appear in my mind and i let go completely, knowing i am in good hands.

When i was born i had  the umbilical cord around my neck and did not really want to leave in that particular moment but finally made it. This released vertigo and claustrophobia in me from which i suffer until today. Sophie says it is possible to relieve such traumas with a few sessions, only by experiencing a sensation close to birth in a safe environment as is this pool it seems that the mind is entering a state of curation.

The harmonic movements in the body-tempered water are so intense that i completely forget where i am or how long i was in the water, so by the time the session ended i could not tell what happened, i was deeply relaxed and time and space were very relative for quite a time after.

To leave the pool was like returning to planet earth, knowing that there is a quite easy way to escape the daily routine for a while, that is why i am sure i will definitely return to it sooner or later.

Sitting together with all four afterwards having some tea is another important part of the whole treatment, they give you the feeling of belonging to a greater spirit, the phrase ‘we are all one’ becomes obvious.

In the following you can read an interview with the four Watsu© therapists to get almost all questions answered:

First of all let’s start with the name, what does Watsu mean?

Wat(er) (Shiat)su, Watsu© is the name given to a warm water therapy developed by Harold Dull over 30 years ago in Harbin Hotsprings California. It is the most widely known name for a number of warm water modalities. What qualifies Watsu is that it’s only practiced at the surface of the water.. At about the same time Watsu© were created other forms of warm water therapies, most notably Waterdance© where with the aid of a noseclip, receivers can be taken below the surface into another realm of experience.

Roger, you started Watsu Goa, is the name your idea?

Yes, I set up a training pool in Goa, for many water therapy types but I got permission and used Watsu© as it was the most well known name. I had already done some training in Auroville at the ‘Quiet’ Healing centre, but there were no other pools in India at that time, so it was a great adventure to build one.

How did you four get to know each other?

I am not very good at the ‘timeline’ but Yanina came to Goa and trained with me on one of our early courses about 8 years ago. Sophie and I met in Barcelona in 2006, she then came to Goa trained and become a key practitioner in my centre.Noam, my wife, I met more recently in the Dolphin Reef Eilat, where Yanina was working. Noam and I decided to create a new pool together and Ibiza was the obvious choice for us to live and work.

Did you all work in Water Therapy before or did one thing lead to the other?

Roger: I was an Interior Designer for 30 years in the UK before ‘retiring’ to India where I at first became an Ayurvedic deep tissue masseur, for the Yoga Centres.

Yanina: I was working in the water for nearly 6 years before watsuibiza was created – i have met roger noam and sophie along the way, and the way brought us all here.

Sophie: I was trained in the ayurvedic system first, but since 2006 I have been sharing my time between on land and in water treatments and teaching.

How can one become a Water Therapist?

To become a practitioner in the various modalities takes a few years, some courses, lots of practice. Other knowledge is required, anatomy, and self development, our job is to look after clients who are often having a profound experience. At a basic level anyone can learn how to float another in warm water, but it takes time to be able to confidently care for another, it’s not just about the moves!

Please present yourself, one by one :)

ROGER

I think you have got enough about me.

NOAM

Dedicated and experienced therapist from the Dolphin Reef Israel, a water centre which bases its work on intuitive sessions. Noam’s water path started as an infant and her passion for water led her to evolve from being a professional swimmer, a swimming instructor, a lifeguard and a waterpolo player to a fully dedicated water therapist. Trained as a Doula (support for pregnancy and post labour) Noam gives pregnancy sessions in water and pregnancy bonding for mother partner and baby.

YANINA

I was born in Russia, moved to Israel with my family when i was 11. In Israel i have discovered the water – it started with the sea and the love affair goes on still. In fact, I started working in the water as a diving instructor and a snorkeling guide with the dolphins. From there I entered the world of water treatments – I have trained in courses of Shiatsu, Waterdance© and Reiki, being surrounded by many specialists of different techniques of water work in pools; I was lucky to learn and gather more and more tools which I use in my water work today.

SOPHIE

I am a certified Ayurvedic therapist. All my therapy work happened on land until I met the water work. In fact, I started my relationship with water very late (I was suffering of big anxiety in the water element.) My good luck was to give on land Ayurvedic massage at the Quiet Healing center in India, which walls are built-in glass walls giving on a Watsu pool. I felt strong attraction to Waterdance© by looking through those windows – the fluid & the softness of the people being floated, looking like liquid dancers. I tried a first session and sensed a radical shift in me, a new place of inner trust while my relationship to the water finally could begin…  a profound yet un-descriptional healing process had started. I guess destiny was calling me to learn this amazing technique.

Why did you bring Watsu to Ibiza?

We thought long and hard about where we wanted to live and work. Noam is from Israel and loves the heat, the UK is just too cold for her. India is a wonderful country but doing business there is just getting more difficult. I wanted to be in Europe, where I don’t feel such a foreigner, we actually decided on IBIZA before setting foot on the island, it was the right choice, we love it and the amazing mix of people.

Will everybody have the same experience within the different Therapies?

Being floated in warm water is an amazing and can be life changing experience. For us the client and their needs is what we concentrate on, and we mix and use our knowledge and training to offer the best possible experience. You will never experience the same with the different therapies, neither would you experience the same with the same therapist. Each session is a unique Journey.

Who should come and see you?

As one client said recently as she emerged from her session, if all the people in the world could have just one session, it would become a better place. But to be more specific, everybody, from 6 to 96 (and beyond…) are welcome.

You just started on this piece of land, what is the plan for the future?

Well we hope to be here for many years, our garden has just been created and we already feel that we are a haven for people to come and rest relax and experience.

How was your Ibiza experience so far?

We just love Ibiza, coming from our homelands UK and  Israel and Goa, where we had set up WatsuGoa traning pool in 2006. The Ibiza/Spain experience is challenging in different ways, but such fun. Ibiza feels like home.

Yanina : So far – I’m feeling so blessed to be here for the second season . Experiencing the very strong energy of this island that allows u to be  and do anything your heart really wants.

Sophie: I have found my home here. I recognize in the life style of the island, all the possibilities to tune in between living more relaxed & connected to nature while living/working from my passion (the water). There is an amazing local community with a genuine supportive spirit and plenty interesting tourists that brings fresh movements and ideas through.

Watsu Ibiza in 20 years?

Well, I think the island energy is changing, less party party and more interest in personal health and wellbeing. Water Therapy is going to become a major part of this change. Ibiza is the perfect place for lifestyle changes for many people.

Yanina: Watsuibiza in 20 years? – wow!!! a collection of amazing possibilities that we are not even aware off yet.

Sophie: I want to believe water therapy will become more & more accessible to people, WatsuIbiza being a good reference and a pioneer on the Island.

So if all this sounds interesting then you should definitely get in contact with them for your very own experience, they do not only offer one-to-one sessions but couple sessions as well.

Here are the contact details:

Open every day from 10 am – 10 pm

watsuibiza.com // facebook/WatsuIbiza // 971.197 533 // 642.925 726 // 697.914 007 // 722.166 177

You find a map on where to find them on their website.

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hofer66

you better be good.

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