Watsu® Aquatic Therapy
Watsu® – Water Shiatsu
Float. Breathe. Let go.
Watsu® is a deeply relaxing form of aquatic bodywork that takes place in warm water. Combining elements of massage, stretching, acupressure, and gentle movement, Watsu® supports your body in a state of weightlessness – helping you release tension, reduce stress, and reconnect with your inner calm.
What is Watsu®?
Watsu (short for Water Shiatsu) was developed in the 1980s by Harold Dull.
Performed in a warm pool (around 35°C / 95°F), the therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages your body while you float effortlessly on the water’s surface.
This nurturing practice can feel like a blend of a massage, a dance, and deep meditation – all in one.
Each session is tailored to your body’s needs, supporting physical healing and emotional balance.
Benefits of Watsu®:
Watsu offers a wide range of benefits, supporting both physical recovery and emotional well-being:
Reduces muscle tension and chronic pain through gentle, passive stretching and warm water support.
Improves joint mobility and range of motion—ideal for injury recovery, arthritis, or post-surgical rehab.
Relieves stress, anxiety, and burnout, allowing the nervous system to reset in a deeply calming environment.
Improves circulation and lymphatic flow, aiding detoxification and energy levels.
Promotes better sleep by soothing the body into a parasympathetic state.
Encourages emotional release in a safe, supportive space, helping process trauma, grief, or overwhelm.
Enhances body awareness and breath connection, supporting mindfulness and inner presence.
Supports prenatal comfort and bonding – Watsu is gentle and safe for expectant mothers seeking relief and relaxation.
Many people find Watsu especially beneficial for conditions like fibromyalgia, arthritis, PTSD, and post-surgery recovery – or simply as a way to unwind and feel held in a safe, supported space.
What to expect from a Watsu® session?
When you arrive for your Watsu session, your practitioner will take time to connect with you, discussing your physical and emotional needs to tailor the experience personally.
You’ll change into a swimsuit and step into a warm pool, heated to body temperature, where your muscles naturally relax.
Supported by gentle floats if needed, you are invited to surrender to the water’s embrace.
The practitioner will guide your body through flowing movements, gentle stretches, and stillness, using the water as an extension of their hands. You may feel yourself cradled, rocked, rotated, or softly extended, opening your joints, releasing deep-seated tension, and allowing new space in your body.
Breathing becomes a vital part of the session, synching with the movements to deepen relaxation and connect you to a meditative state.
Emotionally, Watsu can unlock feelings of safety, joy, vulnerability, or even profound release. Floating in warm water without the usual pull of gravity creates a deep sense of surrender and trust. Many people describe it as returning to a primal sense of being, where mind, body, and spirit feel harmonized.
As the session gently concludes, you are brought back to standing slowly and mindfully. Afterwards, it’s recommended to move quietly, stay hydrated, and give yourself time to absorb the experience. The effects of Watsu often continue unfolding over the hours and days that follow, offering deeper connection, clarity, and peace.
In essence, Watsu is an experience of receiving rather than doing – a return to your natural state of fluidity, ease, and inner balance.
Discover
Other Therapies you can Receive
Our therapeutic pool is home to a variety of specialized aquatic therapies, each designed to support your journey toward greater well-being. Our highly trained professionals offer different categories of treatments, carefully adapted to meet the unique needs of each individual.
We believe deeply in the healing power of water.
In this supportive environment, the benefits of aquatic therapy extend to everyone, regardless of age, physical condition, or life situation. Whether you seek physical rehabilitation, emotional release, stress relief, or simply a space to reconnect with yourself, our therapies offer a safe, nurturing path toward renewal.
Explore the many ways water can support your wellness, and discover how floating, moving, and being held in warm water can transform your body, mind, and spirit.
WATSU® ROUND
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Interested in our Therapies?
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