Presenting Watsu to hotel spas

[Sulis (Sara Firman)]

This posting is a response to Ertan's comment on 13 June in Spas Plus.

Here are some specific suggestions I have regarding providing or offering Watsu in spa-type settings:

First, I think Watsu is a quintessential spa treatment in that it makes full use of the therapeutic qualities of water and provides a profoundly relaxing and pleasurable experience.

For places that have natural thermal mineral waters (such as many in Turkey), it is a great offering.

However, it is still not widely known or practiced, partly because it requires a dedicated warm pool of the right size and depth and temperature that is ideally not used for swimming or other activities.

It's important to make sure that the pools available or those that are to be constructed will be suitable for Watsu. Not all are.

The setting and environment are very important if the work is to be received well.

For example, noise from pool filters or the sounds of other activities in the spa, fluctuating pool temperatures, poor ventilation, etc. can spoil the experience.

For most clients in hotel/ leisure settings this is their first experience of aquatic bodywork/Watsu and many have no idea what to expect.

The staff must be very clear in conveying what it involves and who it will suit.

Return clients, and those specifically seeking aquatic bodywork, are not yet common in the hotel/ leisure setting.

For anyone, the first experience is likely to be a strong deciding factor in choosing to repeat or recommend aquatic bodywork.

It's important to market and present it correctly to serve customers who will really benefit from it.

I advise compiling special guidelines for spa reservations staff so that they know who to offer aquatic bodywork to. It isn't right for everyone.

Another important factor is that good qualified and experienced practitioners be employed. Mini-training courses for existing massage staff are not enough.

An inexperienced practitioner would find the first-time clients you often get in spas especially difficult - they must be able to convey the safety and confidence a nervous or uncertain receiver needs.

It is important to note that there are contradictions for Watsu that differ from those for other spa treatments, and reservations staff need to be really clear about this.

The range of clients coming for sessions in spas can be very wide - both men and women of all ages and body types. This again requires an experienced practitioner.

The ability to move with ease and stability while supporting the client, creative adaptation of techniques to suit different body types, and skilled use of flotation devices (leg floats and noodles) are all essential.

I would advise a practitioner working in a leisure setting to focus on the pleasure and relaxation aspects of warm-water aquatic bodywork. People are not usually expecting physical or psycho therapy.

However, this work can sometimes trigger strong emotional reactions in those whose life-situations make them vulnerable to this (grief, abuse, profound sadness, etc.).

Practitioners should be prepared to handle this while remaining aware of the limitations of the setting and doing all they can to avoid leaving someone in an 'opened-up' state after such a session.

If you are currently working offering Watsu in a spa setting, please do add your thoughts and comments here ....

PS For spa consultancy services with a special focus on water/aquatic bodywork. See Vision Spa Retreat and Aquapoetics

[Sulis (Sara Firman)]

Here is an example of a newly proposed Watsu pool in a spa. There isn't much information on pool details but my first thought was that I wouldn't want people swimming in and out of an area where I was working! Waves in the water, the sounds of others in the immediate vicinity, and so on, are not great for Watsu. A private but safe/monitored (for client and practitioner) pool is best.

[Basia Szpak-Borst]

Sulis, I have had success presenting the Watsu Spa Provider Training in The UK. However I had more requirements added than WABA. That means I required the Provider complete 10 received sessions before working with the public. This proved to be very effective. Watsu is now the signature treatment at the Spa.

[Sulis (Sara Firman)]

Hi Basia

That's a good idea, though when I trained WABA required 20 received sessions before certification. Have they changed this?

Mentoring or ongoing association with an experienced practitioner in the area is helpful too. Bath has at least 2 in the area who do not work at the new spa but have had practices for 10 years+.

(They are Jem Tayle and Hilary Austin who are members here. The Bath Spa pay rates and employment system were not attractive enough to tempt them from their other venues though.)

The Bath Spa's association with Watsu actually started when they used photos of my existing practice at another hotel in the city to launch their pre-opening campaign.

I didn't know about that until I saw me in a British Airways magazine and then all over the city walls. So it was quite fun to work there for a few months in 2008.

(Ten years after I introduced it there in 1998 I'm proud to say.)

Jan Bird actually launched it as the spa's signature treatment and did a fantastic job, especially regards getting it good press but the pool and working situation was not ideal then.

She left (to travel and to devote herself more deeply to her practice than she felt able to there) just as I arrived that summer.

Based on my experience I compiled some guidelines to help them market it better at the front desk.

It's a great spa service but it needs special presentation. I'm planning to present those ideas as part of a spa package I'm creating right now. Let me know if you're interested in that.

I know that the two staff who first trained with you in Poland and are hopefully still working there, along with further trainees are very keen and love the practice.

(I've invited them to join us here but no luck so far ... perhaps you can contact them?)

Great that you were able to go there to continue their training. Perhaps you'll be able to collaborate with Hilary who is also a trainer and has lots to draw on from Alexander Principle too.

I do believe that experience comes on the job not really in the training. That's where good mentoring comes in. Perhaps you can suggest the spa consider Jem and Hilary for that!

And perhaps one summer we can have a water gathering in Bath - my home town in the UK actually.

[Sulis (Sara Firman)]

Have just updated myself on WABA requirements and they can be seen in the Forum here.

Spas can offer Watsu given by staff who have basic Professional Watsu Provider status. They are then expected to go on and do further training within a certain time-frame.

It would be ideal of course if spas were to distinguish between newly trained staff and those with a great deal more experience.

However, this distinction is not often made (in my experience, let me know of any exceptions).

[Sulis (Sara Firman)]

Basia has just written about her presentation of Watsu Spa Provider here.

[Adam Ulacha]

Sulis, as far as these two staff from Poland - did you mean Tomasz Zagorski and Paulina Orzel-Zagorska? If yes - I have a contact with them - I can tell them about this forum.