Have you ever experienced the feeling of floating in water? It can be a peaceful experience where we feel weightless.
The water element is often associated with emotions. Plus, we all come from water – in our mother’s womb. Could floating in water evoke sensations of being in the womb?
Pre-birth trauma
We often think of trauma as experiences during our childhood or adult life. But trauma can also be imprinted into our subconscious before birth, when we were carried in the womb. A mother and her unborn baby are deeply connected and literally share the same physical vessel, so it’s easy to see how the trauma and stress that the mother experiences during pregnancy are passed onto the child.
Some therapies, like rebirthing breathwork, intend to simulate a similar state of mind as when we were born. Being born is often the first trauma we experience – taking the first breath can be a painful experience for a baby. That’s why rebirthing breathwork aims to take us back to that painful moment to heal the trauma imprinted on us.
If our mother had a traumatic birth experience, the feelings of stress and trauma are carried onto the child, further adding to the birth trauma. If we don’t work on healing this, it can block us from living fully as adults.
Add to that past-life trauma – but that’s a story for another time.
Wataflow simulates conditions in the womb
That’s one of the reasons why Wataflow can be so therapeutic. Wataflow is a relatively new therapy founded by Oceano Salvatore. It is a type of bodywork where participants are equipped with floating devices on their legs and held underwater for part of the treatment. The facilitator holds the participant and swirls them in specific movements, giving the impression of being weightless and floating. A session can also include breathwork and massage before and after entering the water.
During the session, participants can feel that their mind switches off, and they enter a place beyond time and space – a place where they can relax and let go of control. In this state of surrender, the usual mind chatter and judgment are naturally released.
Since the facilitator holds the participant throughout the experience, and no active participation is required, it adds to the feeling of being taken care of and able to let go fully. This state creates optimal conditions for healing, since the body can only heal when switched on our parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). The body perceives we are out of danger and can allocate all resources to healing.
Participants report having almost psychedelic-like experiences with visions and colors. Emotional releases are common, as is healing past traumatic experiences – maybe as far back as pre-birth due to the environment during Wataflow mimicking the feeling of safety and being held in the womb. The similarity in conditions suggests that Wataflow can partly act as exposure therapy, simulating the environment where the trauma took place so that we can relive and rewrite what it means to us. Thanks to the healing and release, many people feel energized and more harmonious after a session.
Wataflow and the noetic
Since Wataflow is a new healing modality, little to no research has been done yet on its healing effects, but it’s believed to have similarities to meditation and energy healing. The water connecting to our emotions and feminine side, and replicating conditions in the womb, adds a layer that can be hard to explain in words but is perceived as deeply healing.
It is remarkable that many people report feeling they are in a “timeless space” or a “place where neither time nor space exist”, and that these states are associated with deep healing. Wataflow suggests that the noetic realms are conducive to healing. It’s intriguing to explore these connections further, and to investigate the link between pre-birth or birth trauma and the potential of Wataflow to heal.
