Harold Dull (1935-2019) was an American aquatic bodyworker and poet best known as the creator of

Watsu Watsu is a form of aquatic bodywork used for deep relaxation and passive aquatic therapy. Watsu is characterized by one-on-one sessions in which a practitioner or therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a receiver in chest-deep ...

, originally developed in the early 1980s at

Harbin Hot Springs, California Harbin Hot Springs is a non-profit hot spring retreat and workshop center at Harbin Springs in Lake County, Northern California. Named after Matthew Harbin, a pioneer who settled in the Lake County area. It is located about two hours northeast of ...

. He is also known for his poetry, as founder of the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA), and as creator of Tantsu and Tantsuyoga. Watsu is a form of aquatic bodywork in which a practitioner or therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a receiver in chest-deep warm water for deep relaxation and

aquatic therapy Aquatic therapy refers to treatments and exercises performed in water for relaxation, fitness, physical rehabilitation, and other therapeutic benefit. Typically a qualified aquatic therapist gives constant attendance to a person receiving treat ...

Life

Harold Dull was born in 1935 in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

.Dull H. 2010. Watsu: basic and explorer paths. Watsu Publishing. IBN 978-0984451500.

Education

Harold Dull received his BA and MA degrees at the University of Washington. Dull also gained proficiency in several languages. Dull began writing poetry in 1955, while a student of

Stanley Kunitz Stanley Jasspon Kunitz (; July 29, 1905May 14, 2006) was an American poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress twice, first in 1974 and then again in 2000. Biography Kunitz was born in Worcester, Massac ...

and

Theodore Roethke Theodore Huebner Roethke ( ; May 25, 1908 – August 1, 1963) was an American poet. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, having won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book ''The Wa ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. After graduation in 1957 he participated in regular meetings of poets with

Jack Spicer Jack Spicer (January 30, 1925 – August 17, 1965) was an American poet often identified with the San Francisco Renaissance. In 2009, ''My Vocabulary Did This to Me: The Collected Poetry of Jack Spicer'' won the American Book Award for poetry. H ...

and Robert Duncan in San Francisco, and published several small books of poetry with the

San Francisco Renaissance The term San Francisco Renaissance is used as a global designation for a range of poetic activity centered on San Francisco, which brought it to prominence as a hub of the American poetry avant-garde in the 1950s. However, others (e.g., Alan Watts ...

presses Open Space and White Rabbit Press. Starting in 1976, Dull studied in Zen Shiatsu in America and in Japan, where he studied with Shizuto Masunaga, the original creator of Shiatsu. He also studied with Reuho Yamada and Wataru Ohashi, the teachers who first introduced Shiatsu to the United States.Schoedinger, P. 2011. Watsu in aquatic rehabilitation. pp 137-153, Chapter 5 In: Becker, BE and Cole, AJ (eds). Comprehensive aquatic therapy, 3rd edition. Washington State University Press. .Jamison, L. 2009. Watsu. pp 117-128, Chapter 8 In: Brody, LT and Geigle, PR (eds). Aquatic exercise for rehabilitation and training. Human Kinetics. .Dull, H. 2008. Watsu: freeing the body in water, 4th edition. Watsu Publishing. .

Development of Watsu

In the early 1980s, while teaching at the School of Shiatsu and Massage at

, Harold Dull began adapting Zen Shiatsu for water. He experimented with floating people in the warm water natural springs, incorporating breathing patterns, meditative presence, and meridian stretches in sessions. He called this new form of aquatic bodywork Watsu, a contraction of Water Shiatsu. Dull discovered that Watsu induced deep relaxation, with profound physical and emotional effects. Dull, with his background in creative arts, poetry, and English teaching, originally focused on Watsu as a meditative and nurturing practice, and emphasized "heart connection". In the 1980s, Dull practiced and developed the techniques with various volunteers from the Harbin community, primarily massage therapists and yoga practitioners. Originally Watsu was developed for everybody – adolescents, young and old adults, pregnant women, athletes, and those suffering from stress. A wide variety of providers now offer Watsu, including psychologists, psychiatrists, physical therapists, massage therapists, and lay people. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, physical therapists and other healthcare providers began to use Watsu with their patients for diverse orthopedic and neurologic conditions. In those early years, there was some resistance to Watsu among those trained in conventional healthcare, primarily because of the roots in Shiatsu and the close physical contact. As increasing numbers of therapists have incorporated Watsu into their treatment programs, Watsu gained increasing acceptance as a form of

, and Watsu is now practiced a spa, clinics, health centers, and hospitals worldwide.

Contributions

Watsu

Dull is most notable for his work creating and developing

. Watsu is a form of aquatic bodywork used for relaxation and passive

, characterized by one-on-one sessions in which a practitioner or therapist gently cradles, moves, stretches, and massages a receiver in chest-deep warm water.

Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA)

Dull founded the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA), and served as president for various years. The Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Registry (WABR) stores records for students and professional aquatic bodyworkers.

Harbin Hot Springs massage school and Watsu facilities

Harold Dull has had a long-term association with

Harbin Hot Springs Harbin Hot Springs is a non-profit hot spring retreat and workshop center at Harbin Springs in Lake County, Northern California. Named after Matthew Harbin, a pioneer who settled in the Lake County area. It is located about two hours northeast of ...

, widely known as the birthplace of Watsu. He lived there beginning in 1980 as a teacher and resident, owned and ran the massage school from 1985 to 2008, and helped design and build the extensive Watsu aquatic facilities. In 1979, the Niyama School of Healing Arts was established at Harbin Hot Springs. In 1985, the school was purchased by Harold Dull and renamed the School of Shiatsu and Massage, which was later bought and operated by the Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association (WABA). In 2008, the school was purchased and operated by the Bodywork Career Institute, LLC. In 2013, the school was purchased by Harbin Hot Springs and began operating under the nam
Harbin School of Healing Arts
HSHA. 2014. About us. Harbin School of Healing Arts website. http://www.harbinschoolofhealingarts.org/0110_About_Us.html, Accessed 3-April-2014.

Teaching

Dull taught Watsu and Tantsu courses worldwide. He has taught in 27 countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand, India, Israel, and almost every country in Europe.

Poetry

Harold Dull's poetry was published in a collected volume in 2007.Dull H. 2007. Finding Ways to Water: Collected Poems 1955-2007. Watsu Publishing. .

Tantsu and Tantsuyoga

Harold Dull developed Tantsu in order to "bring back onto land Watsu's nurturing holding, and the joy of the movement freed when floating someone level with the heart". The Tantsu form "gradually builds trust through unconditional holding". Tantsuyoga is a related form that "celebrates union".Dull H. 2008. Tantsu: Yoga of the Heart. Watsu Publishing. .

Publications

Dull's publications concern Watsu, Tantsu, and poetry: * Dull, Harold. 1958. ''Bird Poems. White Rabbit Press''. ASIN: B001VELDPA. * Dull, Harold. 1963. ''The Wood Climbed Down Out Of''. White Rabbit Press. ASIN: B0067ANA9K. * Dull, Harold. 1964. ''The Door''. Open Space Publishing. ASIN B003QA28SI. * Dull, Harold. 1967. ''The Star Year''. White Rabbit Press. ASIN B002SGQ8F0. * Dull, Harold. 1987. ''Bodywork Tantra on Land and in the Water, Loose Pages Edition''. Harbin Springs. ASIN: B003DWUFUC. * Dull, Harold. 1991. ''Bodywork Tantra on Land and in the Water''. Worldwide Aquatic Bodywork Association. . * Dull, Harold. 1993. ''Watsu: Freeing the Body in Water, 1st edition''. Harbin Springs Publishing. * Dull, Harold. 1997. ''Watsu: Freeing the Body in Water, 2nd edition''. Harbin Springs Publishing. . * Dull, Harold. 2004. ''Watsu: Freeing the Body in Water, 3rd edition''. Watsu Publishing. . * Dull, Harold. 2007. ''Finding Ways to Water: Collected Poems 1955-2007''. Watsu Publishing. . * Dull, Harold. 2008. ''Watsu: Freeing the Body in Water, 4th edition''. Watsu Publishing. . * Dull, Harold. 2008. ''Tantsu: Yoga of the Heart''. Watsu Publishing. . * Dull, Harold. 2010. ''Watsu Basic and Explorer Paths''. Watsu Publishing. .

Honors and awards

Dull has received various awards for his contribution in creating Watsu:Watsu Europe. 2014. Harold Dull biography. WatsuEurope Website, http://www.watsueurope.com/harolddull/harold-en.htm. Accessed 1-April-2014 * International Aquatics Award from th
United States Water Fitness Association
* Honored at the National Aquatic Exercise Conference in Japan * Tsunami Spirit Award, 1998, from th

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dull, Harold American health and wellness writers American male poets 1935 births Aquatic therapy Hydrotherapy Massage therapy American physiotherapists 2019 deaths Writers from Seattle American male non-fiction writers