Aqua Therapy and Wellness

Water is essential for all life on the Earth.

Water is important for all of us because we are made up mostly of water. Water is of major importance to all living things, as up to 60% of the human adult body is made of water.

Biological life is born in water and since immemorial time into water human beings have always found a source of physical and mental well-being.

From Ancient Greek and Roman times to present days, there has always been a strong relationship between water, especially hot spring water, health and wellness. Ancient Greeks for example have always attributed a special power to hot waters, considering thermal baths as a mean of restoration of health indicated by gods themselves. The Corpus Hippocraticum of the 5th century BC can be considered the first treatise in history which announced the healing effects of Thermal water to human body and consequently to mental system. Also in ancient Egypt water was compensation for the freedom that the soul loses in its bodily form.

Nowadays, Spas and thermal hot spring waters are still places where we can still found this linkage between water and wellness. Aquatic therapy involves special exercises that anyone do in a warm-water pool. The water temperature is usually around 35-36ºC; in this environment aquatic therapy focuses on slow, controlled movements and relaxation.

Aquatic therapy is scientifically dimonstrated that can be very helpful to many pathologies, such as joint or back pain, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis and osteoarthritis and many kind of skin diseases.

Aquatic therapy can help in a number of different ways:

• The warmth of the water allows muscles to relax and eases the pain in joints, helping to exercise;
• The water supports our weight, which helps to relieve pain and increase the range of movement in our joints.
• The water can be used to provide resistance to moving our joints.

In the last century many new techniques have been developped in the water as to releive tension in the body and to reach a sense of natural well being. Watsu therapy is done in a pool or hot tub. The water is heated to (35°C), which is close to the same temperature as our skin. During Watsu, a therapist gently moves your body in water. This is known as passive hydrotherapy, because we don’t need to actively perform the movements.

Watsu and other aquatic therapies can be more effective if performed in thermal waters and if combined with other traditional therapies such as Ayurveda or acupressure etc.

We have selected the best wellness centers in Asia where you can experience these acquatic therapies:

1. In North India, near Shimla in the state of Himachal Pradesh, for Thermal water combined with Ayurvedic treatments;
2. In South india in Auroville, in the state of Tamil Nadu, for watsu and other aquatic therapies;
3. In Thailand near Krabi, you can combine thermal water with other spa treatments in a Thai award-winning destination.