Birth, water & memory symposium 2.0
Saturday 9th of May 2026 - 10u - 17u (online)
Theme of this symposium we will explore, will be
CREATING SAVE CONTAINERS FOR PRE- AND PERINATAL AQUATICS (WATERTHERAPY)
Last year we had the first Birth, memory and water symposium, In Arillas - Corfu Greece.
In this years symposium we will listen, connect and evolve our understanding in the importance of creating save containers in aquatic therapy.
The online container will be held by
Sophia Michalopoulou (aquatic therapist and doula)
Leen Heudens (holistic midwife)
Patricia Wichman (haptotherapist in water - fysiotherapist)
Are you an aquatic or land therapist, midwife, doula or birth worker, pregnant person, or future parent who feels you might benefit from this conversation?
Our enquiry so far has shown that every single participant adds value to the space being created, to the wisdom unfolding and to the lessons learnt.
Program
Opening circle (10-11h)
This Opening Circle creates Continuum from the first Birth, Memory & Water Symposium which was held in Corfu Greece in 2025.
Together we create precedent for the practices, ethical containers and value systems that allow pre- and perinatal aquatics to become a safe and valuable method to support the experience of being born with.
We will also take a moment to honour Place, those who came before us and those who are yet to come. We will introduce our space holders, outline how the day will unfold and how we would like participants to be involved.
Patricia Wichman (11-12h)
School of Haptonomie
Patricia Wichman (1973) works as a haptotherapist, an holistic and integrated form of embodied psychotherapy, for more than 20 years. She guides people to become aware of their own innate ability to open up to affirmative contact. Feelings of individuality and originality are restored and promoted as a result.
This innate ability can already be opened and used pre-conceptionally, during pregnancy (from the parents to the child), during and after birth as well as during the rest of life. This guidance can be done on land as well as in warm water. She sees how the purity, with which the warm water invites you to make contact with the very first movement of feeling, is permanent.
From her background as a physiotherapist specializing in ante- and postnatal physiotherapy, pelvic therapy and her knowledge and skills as a stand up paddle instructor & coach, she has a great affinity with water and the relationship between water and humans.
"During this Symposium Patricia will tell you more about haptonomy, haptotherapy and haptotherapy in water. She will explain the importance of creating a safe container for pre- and perinatal aquatics from the point of view of haptonomy, and how to create this, in yourself, in the pool as well as in contact with the water."
Leen Heusdens (12-13h)
Holistic Midwife & Integral Therapist
Leen Hesudens (1977) lives and breathes the belief that there is a profound, untamed nature within and around every human being. As a holistic midwife and integral therapist, her work is a bridge between physiology and the sacred lived experience—a space where the body is finally invited to speak its truth.
Through her practice in body psychotherapy, Leen creates a sanctuary for the body to remember its own wisdom. She specializes in guiding individuals to meet and support their younger, more vulnerable parts—the layers of ourselves that still carry the echoes of our earliest beginnings. By offering these parts the safety and recognition they once missed, she allows the nervous system to finally exhale, making room for a deep, authentic relaxation.
Her approach is shaped by her 2018 certification in Integral Aquatic Therapy with David Sawyer and her Sexual Dignity, Sexual grounding with Maya Kerstan. Whether she is supporting a newborn entering the world or an adult navigating their inner landscape, Leen’s mission remains the same: to foster an environment where transformation happens at its own pace.
"Leen will lead the inquiry into how we can support birth with water—honoring the waters-way, the environment and the presence of the partner as the essential pillars that allow a mother to reclaim her innate nature and welcome new life in full support."
Sophia Michalopoulou (14-15h)
Pre and Perinatal Aquatics
Sophia Michalopoulou (1974) is the founder of AQUAGENESIS and THE WOMB POOL Practices. Sophia is an Integrative Aquatic Therapist and educator who specializes in pre and perinatal trauma release. She is also a newborn and baby swimming educator as well as a pregnancy and birth doula.
As a Birth Doula, Sophia supports the entire birth experience from conception, pregnancy and birth with water, to create a more gentle and conscious fluid continuum for future babies and children to remember more of who they are and why they chose to be born.
After experiencing a number of aquatic bodywork modalities, open water practices, therapeutic and teaching methods on land and in water, she dedicated herself to the path she found the most depth and capacity to hold herself in.
Immersed in warm water, Sophia began to remember her own birth journey and to see birth from a baby’s perspective. Sophia’s thesis “MY BIRTH STORY” outlining her exploration and embodiment of Vanishing Twin Syndrome, became a podcast on Spotify.
"Sophia will outline her experience and understanding of creating safe containers for pre and perinatal process to unfold".
Live Panel (15-16h)
The Live Panel discussion will focus on Questions that arise during the course of the day and involve guest speakers in order to give time and space to that which cannot be foreseen and predetermined as so much of the natural birth experience is.
Closing Circle (16-17h)
This Closing Circle will helps us integrate and embody all that we have birthed together in the previous discussions. To give voice and clarity to the practices and behaviours that could create a protocol for exploring pre and perinatal aquatics safely and with accountability.
The importance and impact of place on pre and perinatal explorations will be highlighted in this closing circle as a choice arises as to where the next Symposium will take place in person.
In order to create a safe and enjoyable container for all present online, we are asking all participants to fill in a registration form, which you can find here.
**Entry into each online discussion will be possible ON THE HOUR. All sessions are recorded. Information via email once Registration is Complete.
Price: 70 euro.
More information about the program you can also find on Sophia's page.
Theme of this symposium we will explore, will be
CREATING SAVE CONTAINERS FOR PRE- AND PERINATAL AQUATICS (WATERTHERAPY)
Last year we had the first Birth, memory and water symposium, In Arillas - Corfu Greece.
In this years symposium we will listen, connect and evolve our understanding in the importance of creating save containers in aquatic therapy.
The online container will be held by
Sophia Michalopoulou (aquatic therapist and doula)
Leen Heudens (holistic midwife)
Patricia Wichman (haptotherapist in water - fysiotherapist)
Are you an aquatic or land therapist, midwife, doula or birth worker, pregnant person, or future parent who feels you might benefit from this conversation?
Our enquiry so far has shown that every single participant adds value to the space being created, to the wisdom unfolding and to the lessons learnt.
Program
Opening circle (10-11h)
This Opening Circle creates Continuum from the first Birth, Memory & Water Symposium which was held in Corfu Greece in 2025.
Together we create precedent for the practices, ethical containers and value systems that allow pre- and perinatal aquatics to become a safe and valuable method to support the experience of being born with.
We will also take a moment to honour Place, those who came before us and those who are yet to come. We will introduce our space holders, outline how the day will unfold and how we would like participants to be involved.
Patricia Wichman (11-12h)
School of Haptonomie
Patricia Wichman (1973) works as a haptotherapist, an holistic and integrated form of embodied psychotherapy, for more than 20 years. She guides people to become aware of their own innate ability to open up to affirmative contact. Feelings of individuality and originality are restored and promoted as a result.
This innate ability can already be opened and used pre-conceptionally, during pregnancy (from the parents to the child), during and after birth as well as during the rest of life. This guidance can be done on land as well as in warm water. She sees how the purity, with which the warm water invites you to make contact with the very first movement of feeling, is permanent.
From her background as a physiotherapist specializing in ante- and postnatal physiotherapy, pelvic therapy and her knowledge and skills as a stand up paddle instructor & coach, she has a great affinity with water and the relationship between water and humans.
"During this Symposium Patricia will tell you more about haptonomy, haptotherapy and haptotherapy in water. She will explain the importance of creating a safe container for pre- and perinatal aquatics from the point of view of haptonomy, and how to create this, in yourself, in the pool as well as in contact with the water."
Leen Heusdens (12-13h)
Holistic Midwife & Integral Therapist
Leen Hesudens (1977) lives and breathes the belief that there is a profound, untamed nature within and around every human being. As a holistic midwife and integral therapist, her work is a bridge between physiology and the sacred lived experience—a space where the body is finally invited to speak its truth.
Through her practice in body psychotherapy, Leen creates a sanctuary for the body to remember its own wisdom. She specializes in guiding individuals to meet and support their younger, more vulnerable parts—the layers of ourselves that still carry the echoes of our earliest beginnings. By offering these parts the safety and recognition they once missed, she allows the nervous system to finally exhale, making room for a deep, authentic relaxation.
Her approach is shaped by her 2018 certification in Integral Aquatic Therapy with David Sawyer and her Sexual Dignity, Sexual grounding with Maya Kerstan. Whether she is supporting a newborn entering the world or an adult navigating their inner landscape, Leen’s mission remains the same: to foster an environment where transformation happens at its own pace.
"Leen will lead the inquiry into how we can support birth with water—honoring the waters-way, the environment and the presence of the partner as the essential pillars that allow a mother to reclaim her innate nature and welcome new life in full support."
Sophia Michalopoulou (14-15h)
Pre and Perinatal Aquatics
Sophia Michalopoulou (1974) is the founder of AQUAGENESIS and THE WOMB POOL Practices. Sophia is an Integrative Aquatic Therapist and educator who specializes in pre and perinatal trauma release. She is also a newborn and baby swimming educator as well as a pregnancy and birth doula.
As a Birth Doula, Sophia supports the entire birth experience from conception, pregnancy and birth with water, to create a more gentle and conscious fluid continuum for future babies and children to remember more of who they are and why they chose to be born.
After experiencing a number of aquatic bodywork modalities, open water practices, therapeutic and teaching methods on land and in water, she dedicated herself to the path she found the most depth and capacity to hold herself in.
Immersed in warm water, Sophia began to remember her own birth journey and to see birth from a baby’s perspective. Sophia’s thesis “MY BIRTH STORY” outlining her exploration and embodiment of Vanishing Twin Syndrome, became a podcast on Spotify.
"Sophia will outline her experience and understanding of creating safe containers for pre and perinatal process to unfold".
Live Panel (15-16h)
The Live Panel discussion will focus on Questions that arise during the course of the day and involve guest speakers in order to give time and space to that which cannot be foreseen and predetermined as so much of the natural birth experience is.
Closing Circle (16-17h)
This Closing Circle will helps us integrate and embody all that we have birthed together in the previous discussions. To give voice and clarity to the practices and behaviours that could create a protocol for exploring pre and perinatal aquatics safely and with accountability.
The importance and impact of place on pre and perinatal explorations will be highlighted in this closing circle as a choice arises as to where the next Symposium will take place in person.
In order to create a safe and enjoyable container for all present online, we are asking all participants to fill in a registration form, which you can find here.
**Entry into each online discussion will be possible ON THE HOUR. All sessions are recorded. Information via email once Registration is Complete.
Price: 70 euro.
More information about the program you can also find on Sophia's page.
