Sophie's development for Waterbody 2007

This year has been a significant one in the development of Waterbody. After teaching for seven years and completing my website this spring I have decided to take a sabbatical for the next six months. This is to enable me to step back, reflect and consider how I wish to take Waterbody forward in the future. In many ways it has been a difficult decision to make but I believe, to remain true to the heart of Waterbody, it is a necessary part of the process in it's evolvement. 

Fluid in it's form, often I have found it difficult in conversation over the years to define exactly what Waterbody is within a few short sentences. Most people associate being in the water with swimming and use this as one way to enjoy the benefits of water. Waterbody however encompasses much more than this and it is often through the experience of Waterbody that it’s full depth and breadth can be appreciated and understood. 

Whilst on holiday in a volcanic, thermal part of Italy early this summer I was offered a timely gift in relation to this; a gift that exemplifies to me all that Waterbody has become so far within it's infancy and one that I feel describes it's essential power. 

Staying in a villa with two shared pools, as usual I spent as much time as possible playing in the water in the sunshine. The outdoor pool was fresh and invigorating, the thermal indoor pool relaxing and restorative. The neighbours next to our villa were a lovely family from Germany. They had travelled to Italy by train because their teenage daughter had a condition that restricted her from flying. We were unsure the specific nature of the condition and wondered if it was possibly similar to Downs' Syndrome. 

They, like us, made the most out of the pools, spending time relaxing in the thermal pool followed by quick dips in the cooler one. Their daughter enjoyed sitting in the soothing thermal waters but seemed less comfortable and confident swimming outdoors. One afternoon, whilst we were filming for the website, she sat by the poolside and watched me play and swim. She sat mesmerised, completely absorbed and fascinated by this person in front of her, moving like a fish. I continued to play after we finished filming and, as she watched, I was aware of a level of connection she made with the flow and gentleness of the movement. 

The following day the family spent the morning around the pools before leaving to take the train back home to Germany. With little understanding of German myself, and the girl with basic English, she gestured to me, asking if I was going to go for a swim. When I indicated not yet she appeared sad. Then, later as we said our goodbyes, her mother commended me on my teaching. She told me that from watching me the previous day her daughter had swum two confident lengths of the pool, which previously she had never been able to do. 

Writing this now brings tears to my eyes. Her mother’s comments speak volumes of the power of the language of water. Within it’s silence it conveys to us so much. There is something innate within its qualities that we are able to connect to on a deep, deep level; beyond words and thought, beyond the physical body, beyond perceptions of time and boundaries. It offers us an awakening to our own infinity. This, for me, is the essence of Waterbody.