Jahara Therapy (video)

The Jahara Technical Development History

Jahara® development begun in 1995, when Mario Jahara was hired as an aquatic specialist by an upscale resort in Southern California.

Mario was then a successful author, with 2 body-therapy books released in Portuguese, and an advanced Shiatsu and aquatic-bodywork teacher. He had extensive training in body-structure related methods, including the work of Françoise Mézières and Frederick Matthias Alexander.

His aquatic training at the time, although extensive, proved inadequate to his professional day-to-day needs. After injuring his back while treating a heavier client, Mario started to experimentally use a Styrofoam flotation device in his sessions. This flotation device was to became Jahara's characteristic Third Arm.

Mario also developed a series of moves using his legs to support the client. This technique avoided lifting the client out of the water while doing many maneuvers. He called this class of movements Saddles.

At the time he also developed the TCS (Triangular Cervical Support) — one of the signature methods of Jahara® — as a way to protect the neck of his clients while floating them.
Jahara® was first demonstrated to a group of aquatic therapists in May 1996, in Berkeley, California, USA. The original, anatomically-sound techniques presented instantly captured the interest of the students.

That first introductory class quickly became a fully-fledged program — initially offered in several states in the USA, and then internationally.

Today, Jahara® is considered a most influential method. Many of its original ideas and techniques, like the Saddles, Aquatic Footwork™, TCS™ and ActivExercises™ were adopted, to some extent, by other aquatic bodywork methods.

Jahara® was born based in clear principles, and the soundness of its methodology has been attested by the countless well-known aquatic teachers and professionals who have honored us as students.

The Jahara

Jahara® is an aquatic therapy method founded in body awareness, healthy body mechanics and the gentle power of water. It consists of micro-adjustments of the structural alignment of the body.

These adjustments are done through the ActivExercises™ and Aligned Floating™ — when the Jahara® Specialist floats the client utilizing a number of slow, continuous circular movements.

Jahara's gradual, purposeful movements, together with the warm water, bring about relaxation and a feeling of well-being to the client.

Jahara® brings about an overall sense of expansion. Aided by a flexible flotation device, called the Third Arm™, the Jahara® Specialist provides precise support to the body structure. This support, combined with gentle traction, elongates the spine and decompresses the neuro-musculoskeletal system.

Jahara® is rooted on the understanding of two fundamental elements: the body structure and the unique physical properties of water.

This understanding is basic to healthier body mechanics. It means sound, safe treatments for clients, and is the key that enables the aquatic specialist to work regularly for many years feeling better and better in their own body.

The Jahara® Program is designed to help students develop their kinesthetic sense and learn to work in the water without effort by relying on practical knowledge rather than physical strength. Ultimately, this effortlessness makes the Jahara® Specialist "invisible" in their practice, allowing the gentle power of water to become the foreground.