Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/992435
It was 1980 when Harold Dull discovered the synergy of putting Zen shiatsu into the water. Now, at 82, this poet-turned-water- whisperer shares his memories from those early years of discovery when he created the healing artistry we know today as Watsu. A RENAISSANCE MAN Soft-spoken and calming in his tone, this tall, now white-haired man has lived a bouquet of lifetimes. Navigating through three college majors—physics, pre-law, and philosophy—at the University of Washington, Dull wound up finding his home in the Creative Writing department. He was hooked. After graduation in 1957, he made his way to San Francisco where he quickly found home in the poet community, enjoying a time he remembers as "magical" with fellow writers exploring their craft. It was the start of the beatnik movement, and in this bay city, it was what became known as the "San Francisco Renaissance." His mother, though never fully understanding this child of hers, supported Dull's desire to write and let him follow his heart to San Francisco. "That's where all the poets were going, and I wanted to join the poets. It was a very exciting place and I was very fortunate to partake of that scene," Dull remembers of his time spent with fellow poets like Jack Spicer and Robert Duncan. "It was before the flower children and at the beginning of the beatniks. It was incredible. We were a pack—we read our poetry to each other, met in bars every night, and went to the beach during the days. It was an exciting scene." Life took many turns for Dull: he moved up the coast to drive a school bus one year and teach in a one-room Pomo Indian school the next. He saved enough with his partner to spend two years in Europe immersing in art and languages and having twins, a family that ultimately did not hold together. He pursued a master's degree so he could teach English as a second language. But, tired of hearing the cacophony of jets overhead as they departed for the Vietnam War, Dull pulled up stakes and taught a year in Canada and three in Mexico City before eventually settling back in San Francisco in 1969. "It felt so good to be back home," he says of his return, but the poets had left, the vibe was gone, and the scene that had inspired his poetry had completely changed. But then he discovered the hot springs. Almost as if he found a new conduit for his creative energy, Dull admittedly became addicted to the soak and loved meeting people in the warm pools as he drove around the state. "Hot springs spoke to me," he says. His favorite spot was Skaggs Hot Springs outside of Cloverdale, California, before it was turned into a reservoir. The resort there had long been condemned and torn down, but the springs still ran and formed pools where people of all paths in life had access day and night. Dull says it was the beautiful valley and the creative mix of people who came to Skaggs that made it his favorite spot to soak. It was during his time discovering hot springs that Dull was exposed to Zen shiatsu. And a lightbulb went off. ZEN SHIATSU LIGHTS THE WAY Having taught academics for years in Mexico and Northern California, Dull knew immediately this "new" bodywork was something he wanted to learn and share. "I enjoyed teaching, but I found something else in Zen shiatsu." Having practiced energy work on his own over the years, he was immediately drawn to this work. "I had learned to feel the energy in a partner and get locked into it. I found that happening when I held clients in shiatsu. I locked into it. I loved that feeling, connecting that way. That's what really drew me to shiatsu." First studying with the two students of Shizuto Masunaga (the founder of Zen shiatsu) who brought his work to America— Reuho Yamada, who had the laid-back style of the California he brought the work to, and Wataru Ohashi, who developed a much more active Zen shiatsu—Dull was later able to study with the master himself in San Francisco, and then again in Japan. "In Tokyo, I attended all the levels Masunaga offered during those last three months he taught. I loved the creative, eclectic quality of his work." Dull began practicing Zen shiatsu and used all the people he would meet at the hot springs as his practice models. He even set up a heated pool in his backyard, complete with a makeshift massage table in it, to work with people in the water. He called it Wassage, not yet knowing how close he was. Although the Watsu path was laid out in front of him, Dull had yet to fully put all the pieces together. Then he found Harbin Hot Springs. 60 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j u l y / a u g u s t 2 0 1 8