A Watsu session for me!

Over the holiday weekend, I treated myself to a Watsu session with Gary Jaeger, LMP. I heard about him from my favorite chiropractor, Catherine Mastroianni, and was excited to hear that there was another Watsu practitioner in the Seattle area. Actually, quite close by. Gary does some of his sessions at M'illumino, which is on the corner of Roosevelt and 70th, so I chose that venue. (The Longhouse in Redmond is the other venue where Gary holds his Watsu sessions.)

The pool is outdoors, in a sparse, but pretty, bamboo garden. It was a bit cold until I got in the water, and then I was pretty toasty. Gary did a great job of keeping me submerged and it was wonderful to float and swoosh around in the round pool. I have to admit, just being in the round was quite different than in my square spa. In a square, you just can't swooshed around in lazy circles at the same speed as you do in a circle. I found that to be one of the biggest differences from Watsu sessions I have gotten at the Little Red Day Spa. I really want a round spa, now. More than before.

The session gave me a chance to reflect on my own style and that of my teachers. I went to Gary specifically to have my neck worked on, and he has a tendency to work from only one side of the body. Now, that doesn't mean he only worked on my left side, it's just that he worked both sides, limbs, etc..., from the right side. This unfortunately left my neck in the same position for over an hour. I kept waiting for him to cradle my head in his other arm, and it never happened. So, while I was relaxed, and my muscles were looser, I still had a bit of a crick in my neck.

I now truly understand why Dwight and Richard were so adamant about moving from one side of the body to the other throughout a Watsu session. I had always looked at it as something I needed to do to keep my body in balance. Receiving bodywork is one of the best ways to increase one's knowledge and awareness. Thank goodness it's so enjoyable, too! What better way to brush up on techniques than relaxing in a warm pool while being cradled by a caring practitioner?