I've been traveling a lot lately and am truly grateful for all my experiences; it’s been food for my soul. Recently, upon one of my trips to Mexico City, I was gifted a water massage. Until then, I knew nothing about this type of massage. To my surprise, it was quite the magical experience and thus inspired this journal entry.

Leti Lotico, is a practicing Buddhist from Guadalajara who now lives in Mexico City. She started off her career as a architect, but one day after dealing with a negative boss she quit her job. That very same day she got coffee with a good friend and learned that her friend was opening up a retreat center near her hometown of Guadalajara. Leti followed her intuition and felt that she could help her friend open up the space and began working there. Her friend couldn’t pay her at the time so she offered her compensation with thai and water massage courses.

Leti spent the next 4 years working at the Chalananda retreat center deepening her knowledge on thai and water massage. She also has spent a lot of time traveling around the globe learning more. She traveled to Israel and learned water therapy from the true masters in the Dead Sea and went to Greece to learn more about Thai massage. After working at the retreat center, she went to Asia in search for deepening her roots. It was there, along with her journeywork of therapy that Leti decided to expand her reach by doing her own therapy for individuals, to make them feel good.

Leti practices Watsu water massage. Watsu was founded by Harold Dull in the 80’s. Harold was practicing shiatsu and found that water was the perfect medium for stretching and healing the body. Through this movement, the body can help release physical and mental pain.

A water massage makes you feel like you are in a womb, with no gravity. You’re senses are altered since all you hear are water sounds while your eyes and nose are closed. Through this immersion of lost senses, you lose track of space and time. In this environment, you are able to let go of judgments of yourself and your surroundings. With the help of Leti’s healing energy, this therapy helps quiet one’s mind. It promotes relaxation, enhances your parasympathetic system and may help people who have experienced physical and/or emotional trauma. Also this is a beautiful experience for pregnant women to connect with their babies in the womb.

For me this experience allowed me to completely let go (after 15 minutes or so) and just be. With a feeling of detachment from my senses, it was easier for me to dive deep into myself and just be in the moment. Free of thoughts, experiences, the past or the future. And with Leti guiding and holding me throughout the hour I felt comfort, love and safety. It was a truly beautiful experience!

After a water massage, Leti offers a thai massage. This massage mixes stretching with rocking and pressing the body. This movement helps release static energy and gets your energetic channels flowing. She feels that the combination helps one get into a deeper meditative state allowing for a deeper healing process. One begins to melt into time and space. Through this deep relaxation one begins to let go and simply trust the universe. This is the healing one can experience.

Through Leti’s water and thai massage therapy she incorporates her knowledge of ancient practices from eastern cultures. From the Buddhist knowledge of meta, unconditional love from the four immeasurables. From China, qigong, learning how to create energetic coherence while moving. Finally, she takes from yoga, the importance of the breath and how it connects you to your body.

Healing comes in all forms. Through communication, movement and good food, one can hopefully live a fuller, better life. It can help one feel good. :)

To book a session with Leti you can email her leticialoto.qi@gmail.com or join her community on instagram at @leticia.loto. She holds her therapy sessions currently in Mexico City and Guadalajara but is always on the road as well!

On a side note a few questions I am always curious about:

What is your current favorite natural remedy?

As of late Leti has been traveling a lot - her shadow yoga classes taught her how to clean her senses. She starts the morning with coconut oil pulling, followed by a shot of coconut kefir, followed by a ginger shot.

What is (one of) your favorite quotes?

Ours is: “Find the freedom within your limitations.” ~Robert Svoboda