Watsu (Water Shiatsu)

There are many different techniques that are utilized by a massage therapist; perhaps one of the most popular in recent years is Watsu or Water Shiatsu. This form of aquatic therapy has grown to be very much in demand by the public for its proven health benefits and ability to cure medical conditions. For those of you that are interested in learning more about aquatic therapy and specifically Watsu, the following guide should help you to do that. If you are a massage therapist or a massage therapy student, you will also benefit from the information that we have put together below.

Watsu has not been around for a very a long time, in fact its origins date back only a little over twenty years ago. The technique was actually stumbled upon when a man applied Shiatsu techniques that he had learned while in a hot spring. The basic concept behind Watsu is that stretching increases the flexibility and strength of our muscles and in warm water happens to be the ideal place for this process. There are many different techniques that are utilized when it comes to Watsu. Someone that is skilled or trained in Shiatsu is not necessarily prepared or experienced enough to treat clients with Watsu techniques. This is the reason that it is crucial for massage therapists interested in Watsu to have the proper training before using these techniques on clients. The good news is that there a ton of schools that have been offering Watsu courses lately, making it a little bit easier for massage therapists to find proper Watsu training. If you are a massage therapist or massage therapy student and are interested in taking Watsu courses, this is what you will need to know.

The first thing that you will have to do before taking a Watsu course is find a school that is offering these types of courses. From there you will be able to inquire about the exact things that the course covers. The reason that this is important is because most of these courses will require you to have already been trained in traditional Shiatsu techniques. However, there are rare occasions where these courses include the full training including both Shiatsu and Watsu techniques as well as how they relate to each other. If you are already trained in Shiatsu, you will have no problems with acceptance to a Watsu course or learning the Watsu techniques for that matter. Once you have enrolled in the course, which is usually around 4 weeks in length, you can expect to have to learn many of the techniques in the classroom. However there are some schools that provide on site training where you can get hands on experience with Watsu techniques. If hands-on training is something that you are looking for, you should inquire with the school you are thinking of attending to see if this is something that they provide.

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