"The main catalyst for effective work is surrender. Surrendering to being vulnerable, and letting go of mental control; allowing oneself to feel what the body wishes to communicate."
Touch and physical contact form part of the earliest elements of any human being’s emotional and energetic development. Every body recognises this primal stimulus.
Being constantly immersed in the internal sounds of the water and one’s own body, in a steady rhythm, causes the mind to shift its brainwave patterns, achieving such deep relaxation that it creates space for the release of repressed emotions and unconscious memories.
By dissolving these physical, energetic and emotional blockages, the body can reconnect with its essence. Once the barriers of the unconscious relax, this trance allows access to primordial information stored within our being, which contributes to our journey.
A conversation to understand each person’s current situation, any physical limitations, and to explain the session process.
We synchronise our breathing with the bodies present: Water, yours and mine. We align our purpose so that the session unfolds, empowered by the purest intention.
We flow for 30 to 40 minutes in a dance-activation with gentle, cyclical and rhythmic movements. Whether on the surface or underwater, always adapted to what each body communicates.
The ‘return’ from the personal dive is a slow and unique moment. Different kinds of emotions may emerge, and they are given space, time and privacy to be embraced and integrated.
Aquatic Therapy can take place in swimming pools or natural bodies of water, such as rivers or the sea, as long as the water is warm and pleasant temperature
As this is a practice carried out in water, the body is freed from the force of gravity. Certain tensions dissolve in ways that would be difficult to achieve on a solid surface. We find ourselves under the influence of hydrostatic pressure, surface tension and viscosity.
Floating reduces the weight on the vertebrae, freeing the spine from gravity and allowing it to stretch and move more freely.
When this connective tissue becomes relaxed, everything it surrounds is also released. There is a release and relaxation of cumulative somatic tension.
As the mind is challenged to step back from the limelight, and muscle-fascial tension is released, repressed emotions find a way to flow.
The parasympathetic nervous system is gradually activated. Anxiety and stress naturally subside.
This dance-activation generates endorphins and a sense of enjoyment, through the feeling of being embraced by one’s own body and united with the water’s surface. The body naturally enters a deep state of regenerative and pleasurable relaxation.
The constant movement throughout the session creates an electromagnetic field, which naturally promotes a harmonious reorganisation of the body’s energy flows.
By dissolving physical, energetic and emotional blockages, the body can reconnect with its essence, inhabiting a state of deep presence.
Aquatic therapy is also an excellent resource to incorporate into group retreats and immersion programmes.
Introducing this tool for inner exploration enables participants to have a deeper experience, firmly rooted in their own subjective experience.
Individual aquatic therapy sessions can serve as a guiding thread, linking the collective experiences of the retreat to the tangible reality of the individual’s subjective experience.
The Full Moon Retreat, conceived by Tantric Therapist Manuela Carvalho, consists of a 4-day immersion, with the aim of experiencing the principles of Matrifocal Tantra in settings of lush natural beauty, allowing participants to practise this ancient cosmology with a focus on expanding consciousness and self-improvement.
Aquatic therapy serves as a tool for tailoring the work to each individual’s unique experience. The experience of the individual session enables participants to expand their understanding of tantra in practice. And the experience of the rebirth tunnel, at the end, seals this expanded and revitalised collective body, preparing it for a new cycle that each participant begins in their own life.
