As a lifelong surfer, born to pioneering surfing parents and named after a wave, the ocean has shaped my . The movement and touch of ocean waves ignites a whole cascade of changes in emotions in me and affects how I sense the world around me. is now evidencing what I have intuitively known and felt my whole life – the .
Author
Easkey Britton
Associate research scientist in Oceans and Human Health, University of Galway
Ocean therapy or involves ocean programmes and water-based activities designed to help people cope with mental, emotional and physical illness by accessing the ocean. Engaging with – from marine and coastal environments to inland lakes and rivers – can have restorative health and wellbeing outcomes. As a marine social scientist, I firmly believe that this so-called “blue attunenement”, the ability to create a connection with these blue spaces, is at the core of improving efforts to restore ocean health.
In my book, , I investigate how restoring our connection with water through therapeutic settings can help recovery from trauma. Ocean therapy can help the body feel emotions that get lost in highly traumatic situations. “We live the world through our body,” explains environment and health researcher , who researches how who have experienced severe trauma.
Immersion in water, and surfing in particular, requires a form of mindful embodiment, or that supports the repair of the mind-body connection. This rewires the brain and rebalances hormones, reducing fears and anxieties.
As an of experiencing the natural world, is emerging as one of the most rapidly growing blue care activities. There is to support the restorative benefits of , especially for our .
The mechanisms for how ocean therapy are not yet well understood, but that benefits are linked to its fluid and dynamic nature – surfing demands a focus on the present, offering respite from everyday anxieties. Feelings of presence, flow, joy and a connection to nature were often reported by participants across various , in some cases reducing dependency on conventional treatments for such as antidepressant medication.
Swimming, sailing, even just building a sandcastle – the ocean benefits our physical and mental wellbeing. Curious about how a strong coastal connection helps drive marine conservation, scientists are diving in to investigate the power of blue health.
This article is part of a series, , exploring how the ocean can be enhanced by our interaction with it.
The multisensory nature of being immersed in the ocean activates the entire sensory system at a cellular level. This is believed to enhance , the ability of to modify their connections, helping the brain become more agile and adaptive. Physically responding to the movement of waves and learning to balance on a surfboard can help improve functional mobility for those with and other physical injuries. This can lead to a reduction in the for pain management.
can help people . According to surf therapy expert , the dynamic learning environment associated with surfing builds resilience and helps people cope with stress. Learning to surf in a group can enhance a sense of belonging and identity through too.
Attune to the blue
Despite these positive findings, there is growing tension between the desire to engage with blue space for the restoration of human health and the fact that many of our local blue spaces are , considered or .
This stems partly from the growing disconnect in modern society between humans and nature. The dominant narrative within , including blue health, has tended to emphasise what . Terms like “back to nature” and emphasise our separation from nature.
Nature therapy is largely aligned with western values to the and interpretations of nature with a tendency to from these studies.
As interest in blue health grows, it’s important to of how we interact with the ocean beyond controlling and extracting resources from it for our own benefit. By embracing the value of bringing play, love and intention into that relationship, our encounters can incorporate a sense of stewardship and .
, a leading Indigenous scientist and author calls this renewal of relationship with the living world “reciprocal restoration”. She argues that the restoration of our relationships with land and water are as essential as the work to clean up pollution.
Ocean therapy provides a lens to see, understand and experience the ocean as restorative and . Even when coastal blue spaces are considered places of exclusion, danger or risk, the ocean can be transformed into a place of healing and connection through initiatives like in Sri Lanka, a social enterprise that empowers local girls and women using swimming and surfing as tools for social change. another project in Iran, , with triathlete Shirin Gerami to make surfing more accessible to minority groups of women and girls while strengthening their connection to nature.
Ocean therapy opens up possibilities for new health care interventions and time spent immersed in the sea can awaken a deeper understanding of the vulnerable .
This – becoming aware and responsive we interact with – enables a deeper form of listening and can encourage more , collectively demonstrating . To realise the potential of blue care, the ocean must be restored as a . My hope is that we will understand our interdependence with watery places, and sense the . To feel that we too are water.
