Water Rebozo an Interview with Marjorie Sá

We interviewed Marjorie about the Water Rebozo technique that gives women comfort during pregnancy. Water Rebozo uses fabrics to wrap the bodies on land and in water. It is an ancient art that we practice at the LiquidZome and without a doubt, Marjorie is the best person to explain exactly what it is and what benefits it brings.

What is the art of Water Rebozo ?

It's lapping. This practice comes to us through the inspiration of the mother carrying her child, in the womb and in amniotic fluids, wrapped in muscular, facial and epidermal tissues, and outside the womb, in the lap, breast, arms and by bands, slings and tissues, as universally traditional, reproducing perhaps and somehow the sense of belonging, wet and pervasive as water embraces us, within a involution that calls for safety, senses, and affection.

Is it inspired by the rebozo on land? Is it usually practiced on land and in water during the same session?

Certainly inspired by the traditional Rebozo of the midwives and birthkeepers, we have maintained this name even in their honor. Rebozo is the central American name, but there are ethnographic records of similar cloths used on all continents to facilitate pelvic and body mobility during childbirth, to shelter the bones and bodies of mothers and babies after birth.

We don't usually do both dynamics in the same session, only in the courses, in a more didactic way. As an experience I think it is good to give the body time to perceive and digest the experience in each environment, land and water, with its due time and distinct nuances.

Does Water Rebozo have any similarities with other styles of water therapy, like Aguahara, water dance, or liquid flow?

Water Rebozo complements other therapies. In our Water Doulas school we develop the practice in group dynamics, sessions for couples or pairs, and in individual therapy. Each one promotes a different interaction. Collectively we support the floating body, stimulating its autonomy of movement and relationship with the water, with the rebozo serving as support, stage, and delimitation. 

During pair practices, we play with symmetries; there is both this space of individual support and the feeling of nesting while embraced, when we treat couples or related ones. In the individual sessions we have already managed to include massage, working the body in parts and integrally, on the surface and with immersions and the of creation of a cocoon to rest.

I would say it bridges the gap between aquatic therapies of movement and deep relaxation and re-birthing practices, since it is very common for our body to awaken uterine memories with this kind of environment and stimulus. The fabrics becomes an extension of the therapist's arms, a large womb, an encompassing lap that both contours and shelters and allows to expand and perceive the texture and ritual time of the water session. 

What do pregnant women usually report after these sessions?

For pregnancy, usually, we explore a lot of pelvic and lumbar support, which provides great comfort when floating, for example. The report is deep of relaxation, restoration, intimate connection with their own movements, and heightened perception of the baby´s presence.

Is the Water Rebozo also practiced in childbirth?

Yes, even in the regular bathtub or birthing pool we can carry the water rebozo for support. Of course, the most important thing is to stimulate throughout gestation, with this and other subtle body dynamics, how water can become an ally of the parturient.   

And in the postnatal period?

In the postpartum we bring it more in the form of containment. Since the body after childbirth is a body that has expanded to its limit, in the postpartum the therapeutic approach is softness, with supported movements, enveloping, which help the mother to delimit her new body. The rebozo in a collective way also allows us to create a large bed that can hold the mother and baby together, or even just her, since these small moments of relaxation in the water, being supported and feeling safe, are equivalent to a good night's sleep. We also do the practice of bone closure in the water version, and ceremonies after miscarried.

In terms of benefits for the pregnancy process, what are they?

As I said above, when it comes as a preparation for labor and childbirth, the most important thing is, perhaps, to realise how water is a powerful ally, that it inspires a more relaxed and fluid states, that it warms the tissues, that it allows gravity-free movement, and this all helps labor, acting as a non-pharmacological pain relief resource. As in labor we often need points of support and security, the fabrics interface may helps in this situation of contraction, and welcomes the body relaxation in between waves.

For the pregnancy itself we always focus on wellbeing and relaxation, the therapeutic processes tend to unfold naturally from there, be it about connection, fears, relationships, memories, plots, unusual situations. Each one goes where they can, and also each therapist leads from their spectrum of action.

As aquatic therapy we could be more emphatic on physical wellbeing, joint mobility, touch and stretching, the lightness and body awareness that water provides. As a doula, I will naturally include more issues related to the gravidico-puerperal process within our aquatic meeting. But they are different dynamics and we stimulate both as trainers, that is, those who work in aquatic therapy deepen the themes of the pregnant body and its special needs, and those who work with pregnant women in other contexts, include aquatic dynamics in their services.

Is it a therapy that is also recommended for situations other than pregnancy? 

Of course it is. For any person. On a physical level it is welcoming for those with physical restrictions or fear of being in water, pelvic and lumbar pain, birth traumas, mourning situations, changes in life in general. We also work with water rebozo in family dynamics, with babies, children, the elderly and with disabled people and their caregivers.

For you personally, what does water bring to our body, our mind, our life? 

Water brings life and enables our communication. It is a facilitator in connection, in clarity with the self, the inner waters and the world.  But for me water is not just and always a peaceful agent, it also brings agitation, storms, a lot of emotional mobilization, beyond the differentiation of good or bad. 

Do you feel there is still much to explore in the world of Water Rebozo?

It's happening and it's beautiful to see. With Water Doulas we are ´full steam` ahead, we have been developing this research since 2017 and we finally managed to launch the first in-person courses along with an online module. We always receive very positive and creative feedback from those who are inspired by our practice. The use of the fabrics in the water create multiplicity of use through various therapeutic and playful aspects, we also report growing interest by the reactions that it causes. I believe it is an element, an important accessory, and a tool that is here to stay.

On this path, we feel immense joy for pioneering the presentation of this practice in an organized way. We are making this collage between baby-wearing, massage with fabrics, aerial yoga, circus, etc. while in total reverence to those who inspired us the most in this exploration – The traditional midwives, it is for this reason we hold the Rebozo in its name.

Translated from: https://liquidzome.com/marjorie-sa-e-a-arte-de-rebozo/