Training Course
Healing Dance® Underwater Basics
HDUB invites you to dive into the silence of water, where breath becomes movement and movement becomes dance.
Healing Dance is a rhythmic aquatic journey where movement restores balance, awakens the soul, and liberates the body.
Immerse yourself in the healing embrace of water and discover movement in an entirely new dimension. Developed by Alexander George in 1993, Healing Dance is far more than a technique — it is an invitation to let go, to trust, and to be carried by the natural intelligence of water.
Through flowing waves, spirals, and expansive stretches, the body experiences profound lightness and release, while the mind softens into deep relaxation and presence.
Healing Dance Underwater Basics introduces the foundational principles of working safely and fluidly beneath the surface.
Participants learn breath awareness, mindful submersion techniques, and how to support effortless underwater transitions.
The course develops comfort with nose clips, underwater communication, and three-dimensional movement.
Healing Dance® Underwater Basics
Healing Dance® Underwater Basics (HDUB) is designed as a first underwater training for students who have already completed surface-level courses such as Healing Dance® I or WATSU® I.
This 5-day, 42-hour course specifically prepares you for Shape & Space and Above & Below, the two major underwater trainings within the Healing Dance® pathway. Transitioning from supporting a receiver at the surface to safely submerging them requires the development of precise technical and relational skills.
The course covers essential underwater fundamentals, including how to: read the breath accurately; signal clearly; offer and remove the nose clip; unweight the head during submersion; allow freedom of the head underwater; gauge appropriate underwater timing; maintain absolute space; soften the hands within supportive grips; use body weight and breath to generate depth; travel fluidly in the pool; and pre-support the head when resurfacing.
Participants learn a structured surface warm-up followed by a progressive sequence of thirteen submersions arranged in a session-ready order. A detailed written and photographic manual is provided, along with an MP4 video of the sequence for continued study.
HDUB is a core course within the Underwater Practitioner Certification track.
Prerequisite: Healing Dance® I or WATSU® I.
28 SEPTEMBER- 02 OCTOBRE
Intensive full-day training
POLYNESIA WATSU CENTER
Moorea – French Polynesia
Course Fee: 80,000 XPF
(including pool entry)
5-Day Course
42-Hour International WABA Certification
————————————————
Retreat Package: 58,000 XPF
This package includes :
● Lodging
● Lunch
● Snacks and water
Note: The retreat package is optional and not included in the course fee.
Inika Spence-Whaley
Senior instructor, teaching all the classes of Healing Dance
I am a senior instructor of Healing Dance® and teach all its core classes, as well as Watsu® I & II and Aquatic Contact Dance. I’ve been practicing aquatic bodywork since 1996, primarily at Harbin Hot Springs, where I worked as a Watsu, WaterDance, and Healing Dance practitioner. Since 1999, I’ve taught both Watsu and Healing Dance, accumulating over 2,800 hours of training and more than 4,500 hours of teaching.
In 2007, I studied Somatic Experiencing, a body-based trauma therapy that now informs my approach to aquatic work, creating a safe space for trauma to surface and gently release. Alongside Diane Tegtmeier, I co-teach Aqua Presence for Trauma, where Healing Dance plays a central role.
During my 20 years at Harbin, I served as Director of the Harbin School of Healing Arts, a massage school specializing in aquatic bodywork. After Harbin’s destruction in 2015, I relocated with my husband to the Big Island of Hawaii, where I continue to teach and offer sessions locally and internationally.
Water has been my element since childhood in Florida, building sandcastles, playing in waves, and later studying Marine Biology. I became a scuba diver in 1971 and worked as a dolphin communication researcher. My journey into aquatic bodywork began after a life-changing Watsu session at Harbin, and I’ve been immersed in it ever since.
Healing Dance became my modality after my first class with Alexander George in 1996. Its fluidity, grace, and therapeutic presence resonated deeply. Over the years, I’ve helped evolve the work, emphasizing relational presence and the healing power of movement and stillness.
My teaching blends experience as a therapist with practices in yoga, dance, tai chi, and meditation, offering students both grounded technique and fluid grace. I currently teach on the Big Island, throughout the Western U.S., and internationally in places like New Zealand, Australia, and Europe. When not in the pool, I love freediving, hiking, birdwatching, and exploring my creativity through abstract art.
POLYNESIA WATSU CENTER
Moorea Island (French Polynesia)
Located on the mystical island of Moorea, the Polynesian Watsu Center is nestled by the serene natural lake of Temae, within a nationally protected area rich in unique flora and fauna.
In 2022, we completed the construction of a 10-meter by 3.5-meter infinity pool, seamlessly integrated into the natural environment. This saltwater therapeutic pool serves as a dedicated space for various aquatic therapy practices, including educational programs and private sessions. The water temperature is maintained at approximately 33°C, creating the perfect setting for water-based therapies.
Our center is situated in the Temae area of Moorea, just five minutes from the iconic Temae Beach, near the golf club and the airport.
We also offer a spacious terrace of over 100 square meters, designed for land-based therapeutic activities and courses. Surrounding our center, you will find more than 100 different plant species, which we nurture with love and passion, ensuring harmony with the natural environment.
Healing Dance® Underwater Basics:
Program course
Healing Dance® Underwater Basics – 42-Hour International Certification Course
A Core Course on the Underwater Practitioner Path and Prerequisite for Shape & Space and Above & Below
5-Day Immersive Underwater Training in Healing Dance®
Join us for a transformative 5-day program that introduces you to the foundations of underwater work within Healing Dance®. This course bridges the transition from surface support to safe and fluid submersion, blending technical precision with embodied presence. In this immersive setting, you’ll develop confidence, clarity, and three-dimensional awareness beneath the surface.
Healing Dance® Underwater Basics provides 42 hours of credit toward the international Underwater Practitioner certification path and serves as a prerequisite for Shape & Space and Above & Below.
Program Highlights
Each day deepens your capacity to work safely and gracefully underwater, refining your sensitivity to breath, timing, and spatial orientation. You’ll practice in a focused learning environment where safety, trust, and progressive skill-building are prioritized.
During this training, participants will learn to:
Precise breath reading and appropriate signaling for safe submersion
Skillful offering and removal of the nose clip
Techniques for unweighting and pre-supporting the head during submerging and resurfacing
Maintaining absolute space and giving freedom to the head underwater
Softening the hands within supportive grips
Using body weight and breath to create depth and effortless underwater movement
Traveling fluidly through the pool in three-dimensional space
A structured surface warm-up followed by a progressive sequence of thirteen submergings arranged for session integration
SCHEDULE
● Day 1: 14:00 – 18:00
● Days 2 to 5: 09:00 – 18:00
(including a 1.5-hour break)
● Day 6: 07:30 – 12:00
(external activity optional)
● Recreational Activities: Lagoon Tour & More
Benefits and
How a session works
A Healing Dance session offers deep relaxation, emotional release, and a profound connection with the body. The warm water supports fluid movement, relieving physical tension while calming the mind. Through gentle spirals, stretches, and still moments, the practitioner guides the body into a state of weightlessness and ease. The experience fosters a deep sense of release, allowing both physical and emotional renewal as movement and water blend harmoniously.
Before the session, the participant consults with the practitioner and takes a cleansing shower. In the pool, leg floats are fitted for support, and a short meditation helps transition into relaxation. As the session begins, the practitioner lifts the participant into the water, cradling their head and sacrum while guiding rhythmic movements in sync with their breath. The water acts as a partner, creating a sense of expansion and freedom. If an underwater session is chosen, a nose clip is provided, and careful breath signaling ensures a smooth and safe experience.
The session concludes with a gradual return to an upright position, allowing time to integrate the experience. The participant may share reflections or simply absorb the stillness. Each session is a unique and deeply personal journey, offering healing, release, and a moment of profound peace.
Psychological, Emotional, and Mental Effects
- Induces profound relaxation
- Cultivates joy, restoring your inner source of health, energy, and vitality
- Promotes deep states of gratitude and an ecstatic connection with life
- Strengthens relationships with yourself, your partner, family, and community
- Helps resolve past traumas related to water, birth, and near-drowning experiences
- Enhances mental clarity and focus, improving overall efficiency and inner calm
Physical Effects on the whole body
- Instills deep relaxation and stress relief
- Supports post-traumatic rehabilitation, aiding recovery from fractures and injuries
- Releases physical tension, promoting overall well-being
- Enhances body awareness, fostering a deeper connection with oneself
- Improves flexibility and range of motion
- Stimulates circulation and boosts the lymphatic system
- Relieves chronic pain and muscular stiffnes
Testimonials
What people say about our courses
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who is this course for?
This course is for practitioners who have completed Healing Dance® I or WATSU® I and are ready to begin working underwater. It is designed for those who wish to expand their aquatic practice beyond the surface and develop the technical skills, breath awareness, and confidence required for safe and fluid submersions.
HDUB is ideal for students committed to continuing on the Underwater Practitioner certification path and for practitioners who feel called to explore the depth, spaciousness, and three-dimensional freedom of underwater Healing Dance®.
Do I need any previous experience to participate?
Yes. Prerequisite: Healing Dance® I, WATSU® I, Aquaternatives, or other relevant foundational aquatic bodywork training.
How are the activities structured during the course?
Attending a Healing Dance class may be unlike anything you have ever experienced. It combines experiential learning in the water with cognitive learning on land. In the water you will learn by giving and receiving movements that form a sequence. On land you will review the material you practiced in the water, going over the details and asking any questions you have. Time is also devoted to sharing and exchanging grounding bodywork to balance the hours spent in the water. So, water time alternates with land time throughout the course.
What can I take home after the seminar?
After completing Healing Dance® Underwater Basics (HDUB), you will be able to safely guide a structured underwater sequence that includes thirteen progressive submersions integrated into a session format. You will gain confidence in breath reading, signaling, nose clip handling, underwater timing, and three-dimensional movement beneath the surface.
You will develop greater ease in supporting and freeing the head underwater, maintaining absolute space, and transitioning smoothly between surface and submersion. Your touch will become softer, more precise, and grounded in breath and weight awareness.
You will receive a detailed written and photographic manual to support your continued practice. The course provides 42 hours of credit toward the Underwater Practitioner certification path and serves as a prerequisite for Shape & Space and Above & Below.
Can I work professionally after this course?
Healing Dance® Underwater Basics (HDUB) is a core step within the Underwater Practitioner certification pathway, but it does not by itself grant professional certification.
This training provides essential underwater skills, including safe submersion techniques, breath reading, spatial awareness, and structured underwater sequencing. It establishes the technical and relational foundation required before advancing to Shape & Space and Above & Below, which are necessary components of the full underwater training track.
To become a certified professional practitioner, you must complete all required courses within the chosen certification pathway and fulfill additional requirements such as documented practice hours and formal assessment. Healing Dance offers two professional certification tracks:
Surface Practitioner Certification
Underwater Practitioner Certification
These certifications are awarded by the Healing Dance Institute and recognized by the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA).
HDUB is therefore a significant milestone on the professional path, equipping you with fundamental underwater competencies and deeper presence in the water — while full professional recognition requires completion of the entire certification process and official validation.