Harold Dull

Harold Dull (19352019) was an American aquatic bodyworker and poet best known as the creator of Watsu, originally developed in the early 1980s at Harbin Hot Springs, California. 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.

Early life and education

Harold Dull was born in December 18, 1935 in Seattle, Washington.

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 and Theodore Roethke at the University of Washington. After graduation in 1957 he participated in regular meetings of poets with Jack Spicer and Robert Duncan in San Francisco, and published several small books of poetry with the San Francisco Renaissance 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.

Development of Watsu In the early 1980s, while teaching at the School of Shiatsu and Massage at Harbin Hot Springs, California, 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.

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.

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".

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: International Aquatics Award from the United States Water Fitness Association Honored at the National Aquatic Exercise Conference in Japan Tsunami Spirit Award, 1998, from the Aquatic Therapy and Rehabilitation Institute.