Introduction to Healing Dance® is a 25 hour weekend course designed for entry level students of aquatic bodywork. The history, principles and applications of Healing Dance are covered on land, as well as terminology, communication, and the anatomy related to support of the head and pelvis. In the water, you will be given a direct experience of Healing Dance through receiving a mini-session. The fundamentals of aquatic technique are taught, including how to sense the weight and breath of the receiver, knowing where to support, how to traction, how to be grounded in the stances that we stand in and how to bring our partner into flow with weight shifts and traveling steps. A simple practice sequence is learned with a clear beginning and finish that is the perfect preparation for taking Healing Dance I. You will discover how natural it is to share aquatic bodywork and how it can open a new dimension in relating. A written and photo manual are provided and an MP4 of the sequence is made available.

This is a core course in the Practitioner Certification. It is 25 hours in length ​over three days and serves as a prerequisite to Healing Dance I.

Flowtation

Flowtation is an entry level course designed to give participants the tools to work with first-time water clients. It is also taught in combination with the Introduction to Healing Dance as the first half of the Aquatic Basics training. Floating on a head pillow and pool noodle is ideal when the receiver needs more space as the session begins. It allows her to relax and open without the giver being too close. It also allows the giver to massage with both hands, gaining the receiver’s trust and preparing the way for the next, more intimate phase of the session when the giver will remove the pillow and noodle and hold the receiver in his arms.
‍
Flowtation introduces students to many Healing Dance body mechanics such as figure eights in Horse Stance, walking in figure eights, Geisha Steps and Baby Godzilla Steps. Healing Dance principles are also applied, including creative imbalance, flow, waves, allowing the body to complete movements, countertraction, C-curving the head and invisible transitions.
‍
On land the foundations of aquatic bodywork will be learned, encompassing self-care, mirroring the breath, presence, relating to receivers through appropriate language and quality of touch, as well as ethics.
‍
This is a 25hour course taught over 3 days and as soon as approved, will count toward the 50hour WABA Elective requirement in the Healing Dance Practitioner Certification. A written manual is provided and an MP4 video of the sequence is made available.

Prerequisite: none

Aquatic Basics

Aquatic Basics is the first 50 hour module of a 100 hour program taught over two weeks designed for spa environments and clinics, as well as for beginners in the world of aquatic bodywork. It leads to certification as a Healing Dance Provider. Aquatic Basics addresses the needs of spa clienteles and special populations, enabling Providers to accommodate first-time water clients as well as those ready to receive Healing Dance in its fullness. It begins with the Flotation sequence of "noodle work" (also taught separately) for receivers who initially require more space and time to accustom themselves to the water, who are not quite ready to be held in the arms of the practitioner. The Introduction to Healing Danceis taught next, educating Providers in the basics of aquatic technique and is suitable for clients ready to be held and moved through simpler figures that do not require so much flexibility and surrender. The Healing Dance material introduced in Aquatic Basics consists of hydrodynamic waves, flowing transitions, releases and nurturing holds. The course land work covers such important topics as body mechanics, the use of floats and weights, quality of touch, presence, breath, Healing Dance principles and ethics, so that Providers are thoroughly prepared to treat their clients. A written and photo manual are provided and an MP4 of the sequence is made available.

This is a core course in the Provider Certification. It is 50hours in length ​over 6 days and serves as aprerequisite to Healing Dance I.

Prerequisite: none

Healing Dance is an holistic, aquatic technique developed by Alexander George in 1993. It consists today of eleven trainings. In eight of these, techniques are taught in which the receiver remains on the surface of the water. The three remaining trainings are subaquatic, featuring a variety of submergings with the receiver wearing a nose clip. The guiding philosophy of the work is that movement is the "medicine" and in the experience of "received dance" the healing process in the body is activated. Students learn to create the sensation of lightness and weightlessness, to generate a rhythmic field and to find the various "rhythms of awareness" for clients. Physical and emotional blockages are resolved in the polarity between freedom and security. Advanced body mechanics are taught to create movements of greater subtlety and sensitivity. As the vocabulary of movements expands students become more confident to accompany the self-generated movements of the client.