PRE & PERINATAL AQUATICS

“There is no Life without Water and a Container through which Life can be Born”

When I came to the water to learn to float, hold and move people through warm water in a form of aquatic bodywork called WATSU©, I wasn’t expecting my own birth imprints to show up. Even after years of therapeutic experiences, processes and training on land these had not shown up. When I managed to overcome the initial shock of it all, awe set in. Awe, at the depth, the subtlety, the impact of water’s capacity to hold complex human processes at the core of our foundational structures during our formation in utero. I knew that to this path I would devote myself to and to this date I have integrated a fair amount of my own story, still regenerating some of my own patterns into new behaviours, experienced somatic pre and perinatal processes on land and ‘given birth’ to a way called Aquagenesis, meaning ‘to be born from water’.

“There is no Life without Water and a Container through which Life can be Born” describes the two essential ingredients for life to be born: water and a container to hold it. Without water life cannot be conceived, nourished and sustained and without a container to hold it, it cannot take form, be held and supported into its becoming. The prenatal experience of birthing into form is the awareness and understanding with which we learn how to contain ourselves and support others in their own becoming during pre and perinatal aquatic experiences. Water awakens the recall of inner resources available to us in living life fully, while embodying spirit into form, grounding and containing our unique essence within our human body.

It would appear that even if we are healthy living adults, there continues to be a process of becoming that is unfolding from within long after we are born. A lifelong ripple effect created by the impact of birth, which carries reoccurring patterns in our fluids, so to speak, that repeat themselves like clockwork in ways that continue to serve us or not. As we deepen the understanding of ourselves we are realizing that we can indeed choose to reorganize the patterns in our systems by coming to terms with the fact that we chose to be born. As much as vulnerability might describe the formation of life in utero it is empowering to recognize that we are not the victims of our story but the conscious choosers of it.

Formation imprinting has a powerful impact because it builds into the flesh of our becoming, which means verbal or cognitive processes are not enough to malleabilize the reformation of form, structure and its wiring. Warm water, however, as well as providing access to the environment in which the imprinting was first recorded, also deeply softens the physical container into a state that allows profound and long-lasting change in a way that is often described as life-changing whilst rooted in pleasure rather than pain. While intentionally focusing on this area of aquatic-based practices, I've been trying to capture some of the essence of what could be defined as pre and perinatal aquatics in an attempt to give structure and form to that which is essentially primal, nonverbal and organic.

In trying to make sense of it all for myself first and foremost, I have found that finding words to describe what remains mostly in the realm of the invisible or the human unconscious can find completion in its own process of integration. Traversing from the limbic to my neocortex and back again seems to have been building neural pathways which allow more capacity for presence and choice rather than living life from habit and reaction to external events. Water offers 'the space in-between', more time, softness and depth which is where we are given access to our capacity for intergenerational change and the transformation of human behaviour, which ultimately, is what this work is in service to. To remember the essence of who we are, embodied in human form so that we can give birth to the gifts and dreams we chose to bring into this world.

Pre and perinatal aquatics is a unique form of aquatic therapy with distinct characteristics in the way it is applied, performed and delivered in the water as well as before and after the experience itself. 'Pre' refers to that which comes before birth whereas 'peri' refers to that which refers to the actual birth experience. To be even more precise, this form of aquatic bodywork also refers to the unique period which comes 'post' birth and the delicate first months of life on Earth. This requires another set of skills and capacities from a therapist’s perspective, even if they have trained in existing forms of aquatic bodywork.

Pre and perinatal aquatics can support the entire birth journey, which includes those who are preparing themselves for fertility and conception as well as those who are preparing themselves for birth. In addition to aquatics, there are also skills involved here that come from being a doula or a midwife with an appreciation and understanding of the health and safety parameters involved. There is a considerable difference between a session that is aimed towards giving birth to one who's main intention is to dive deeper into one's self.

Pre and perinatal aquatics also refers to those processes and experiences that support the integration of the impact of birth at any age. We've all been born, so birth impacts all of us in a way that continues to inform our engagement with life at any age or gender. Psychologists, somatic therapists and early year educators find this aspect of the work fascinating and powerful because water adds a whole new layer of depth and understanding to the field of pre and perinatal psychology and health.

Very briefly, some important considerations to reflect on are the following:

-        Rhythm and tempo of sessions tend to be much slower and 36C are of more benefit

-        Shape, size and place of the container have a big impact on the impressions perceived

-        Each birth experience is unique and so there cannot be a prescribed way of moving in a sequence of form

-        Understanding fluid mechanics and how the body unfolds prenatally

-        An understanding of the birthing process from a biological perspective

-        Processing one’s own birth story as a therapist in water is essential

-        Moving from an allowing to unfold rather than a doing to perform

-        One’s capacity to hold deeply significant processes safely and effectively

Currently, there are two modules being offered for those who wish to embark on this journey within themselves. Whether you become a pre and perinatal aquatic therapist or not, THE WISDOM OF WATER and THE WISDOM OF BIRTH are fascinating learning experiences that will bring you to a new understanding and awareness within yourself. There are another 3 modules to the AQUAGENESIS Foundation Training that are still being written into teachable form. Each module has a DRY online part of 5 two hour live classes in weekly sequence and a WET component taught in person approximately 4 months later.

THE WISDOM OF WATER will start on Wednesday 29^th of October at 12:13 UK/14:30 GR/19:30 Hong Kong time

THE WISDOM OF BIRTH will start on Thursday 30^th of October at 18:00 UK/ 19:00 DE/ 20:00 GR

THE WOMB POOL portable jacuzzi container is an additional option for pre and perinatal aquatics with its own protocol and capacity.

If you would like to enroll or find out more about any of the above, feel free to contact Sophia at connect@aquagenesis.gr