Beginner / Pool
Workshop
Chicago, IL /
Saturday, November 21 – 2:00-5:30 pm – 3.5 credit hours equal to 3.5 CECs/.35
CEUs
(Classroom: 2:00-4:10 pm / Pool:
4:10-5:30 pm)
Faculty: Sara Firman, BSc, MPhil
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Intuitive aquatic bodywork
acknowledges the subtle healing effects that arise when touch and movement are
translated through warm water, a medium of extraordinary inherent sensitivity.
This workshop introduces the skills, benefits, challenges, and applications of
this alternative approach.
As the practitioner of
Watsu®-type aquatic bodywork becomes more adept with their techniques and more
sensitive in their awareness of the receiver, they will inevitably witness some
profound and mysterious effects of this work. These are subtle effects that
arise out of the ways in which touch and movement are translated through water,
a medium with sensitivities that are rarely acknowledged.
On the other hand, those who practice in a more methodical and results-orientated
way are unlikely to create a setting that allows for this deeper experience. To
a certain extent this can act as a kind of safeguard. This is because such work
needs a well-developed sense of safety in guiding a person who will often be
experiencing something akin to an altered state that is difficult to
articulate.
There are great differences between this type of approach to aquatic
bodywork, which is highly intuitive and not easily quantified, the kind of
practice appropriate to the spa leisure industry which is intended for
relaxation and pleasure, and the carefully regulated ways of working in the
disease/disorder-defined clinical practice.
In the relatively unexplored and, by definition, fluid area of intuitive
aquatic bodywork, it is especially important to record and research its
effects. It is also important that we value and respect the skills required to
practice in this way, and that we begin to define benefits and applications.
This workshop will touch on some of the challenges presented in this kind of
practice.
Such work can be an effective adjunct to
psychotherapy and to the care of those facing life transitions that have
a non-medical aspect to them - such as pregnancy, bereavement, old age, and
terminal illness. The expanded awareness and enhanced well-being engendered by
aquatic healing, also has the potential to promote creativity and an attitude
of optimism in the receiver as well as the giver.
Over
several years in both spa settings and private aquatic bodywork practice, Sara
Firman has documented her experiences of a non-clinical but nevertheless
therapeutic approach. In this workshop, she will be discussing some of the
insights gained from this and encouraging input from participants in regard to
their own experiences.
The pool session will include an introduction to
some simple practices for developing intuitive skills to be applied in aquatic
bodywork, but that can also be used to enhance other aquatic modalities.
COURSE
OBJECTIVES:
1) Determine the skills,
applications, benefits, and challenges of intuitive aquatic bodywork.
2) Examine
ways to develop intuitive skills to be applied in aquatic bodywork.
3) Explore insights gained from
documented experiences in aquatic bodywork.
FACULTY: Sara
Firman, BSc, MPhil,
has a background in medical science and alternative health, and spent over 10
years in medical and freelance publishing. She trained in various massage and
movement disciplines, and expressive arts for mind-body integration. She
combines all these skills in her aquatic bodywork practice, and has worked in
clinical, spa and private settings.