To become friend with the water
Aquabalancing group relaxation is a form of teaching where you learn that to know the water is more than just daring to wet your face or the skill to immerse. It is the melting into the element itself. We consist mostly of water, which makes immersion into the water appeal straight to the peace, relaxation, trust and the pure pleasure in our beeing. These natural states are easily covered by tension and fear. Some level of fear of water is surprisingly common in most people.

The Voice
The most important tool to get rid of fear or tension is the VOICE. When getting into the water the attention of the breath is replaced with the attention of the voice. The voice is an expansion of the expiration, which is the relaxation phase of the diaphragm. Using the voice creates a conscious link to the relaxation of the diaphragm. A simple sigh is one of the most naturally relaxing sounds; "a sigh of relief".

To start with you let the face approach the water during the sigh or any other sound. Everybody does it in their own tempo, respecting their own limits without pushing. It doesn’t matter how it sounds to the neighbour. The main thing is that s/he connects to her/his own expiration through the voice. All kinds of sounds are used in every pitch and level of volume.

For some people it takes a while before they are ready to put their mouth in the water and for others it doesn’t take long before the sink all the way. The first level to achieve is to get the ears under the water in order to be able to listen to your own voice under the water. At this stage the person takes charge of her/his own process. S/he is now capable of telling how relaxed her/his voice is without anybody else telling it. This gives a sense of freedom and power to overcome any tension or fear of water. The voice is always flowing as you go under the surface. Tension and fear gives way to a sense of freedom and relaxation.

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