Why Time on the Water Heals: The Science of Therapeutic Boating

Over the last few months, the Freedom Waters Foundation crew spent a great deal of time thinking about what we do and what happens when our participants go on a therapeutic boat outing. Granted, we know exactly what we do. We provide therapeutic boating experiences for children and adults with life threatening illnesses and disabilities, veterans, and youth at risk.

But this time we asked a different question: What happens because we do the work we do?

When we began looking at our work through that lens, four words rose to the surface repeatedly:

Healing. Connection. Freedom. Empowerment.

Once we realized this, everything became crystal clear. We realized these are the values we live by every single day. These are the values we deliver to every participant on every boat ride, but we had never expressed in this way before.

I feel compelled to share these with you, because together these four core values tell a much bigger story about why time on the water matters than just telling you what we do.

Over the next several newsletters, I will take you a little deeper into each of these values, not as words we place on a website or our letterhead, but as experiences we see unfolding on the water every day. Because ultimately, Freedom Waters Foundation isn’t simply about getting people on boats. It is about what becomes possible once we leave the dock.

And I can’t think of a better place to begin than with HEALING!

There is something about being on the water that changes us. All of us who have been on the water have felt it in one way or another. The moment the boat pulls away from the dock, the noise of the day seems to become a little quieter. Our breathing slows. Our shoulders relax. Our attention shifts from whatever we were carrying to the water.

At Freedom Waters Foundation, we see this happen every time. But what we have learned is that this feeling isn’t simply because being on a boat is enjoyable.

There is science behind what happens to us on the water. Read more about the science, by clicking here.

The gentle, rhythmic rocking of a boat stimulates the vestibular system; the balance center located in the inner ear. That system connects directly to areas of the brain involved in emotion and stress regulation. Research shows that this rhythmic movement can help calm the body’s stress response and move the nervous system toward relaxation and a greater sense of safety.

Think about what that can mean for the people we serve.

For a veteran living with the effects of PTSD or traumatic brain injury, it can mean a few hours when the body begins to let go of its heightened state of alert.

For a child or adult with a life-threatening illness or disability, particularly someone who experiences sensory overload, the rhythm of the water can create a sense of calm and regulation.

And sometimes healing happens in ways science can’t quite capture.

• It happens when a child who was hesitant to step onto the boat begins laughing as the boat picks up speed.
• It happens when a veteran sits quietly with another veteran and realizes there is no need to explain.
• It happens when a parent watches their child do something they weren’t sure was possible.
• It happens in the laughter, the conversations, the fishing, the quiet moments, and sometimes simply in feeling the sun on your face and the wind coming across the water.

Healing doesn’t always look like we expect it to look.

Sometimes it is physical. Sometimes it is emotional. Sometimes it is simply having a few hours when life feels lighter. And perhaps that is what I find so powerful about what happens at Freedom Waters Foundation.

Our incredible volunteer captains provide their time and their vessels. Freedom Waters Foundation Crew brings the boat, the captains and those we serve together.

Our donors and sponsors make these experiences possible.

But then the water does something all its own. For a few hours, it creates a place where people can breathe a little deeper, feel a little lighter, and perhaps leave carrying something different than what they brought aboard.

That is healing on the water.

To learn more about the Freedom Waters Foundation, and our therapeutic boating programs for children and adults with disabilities, life-threatening illnesses, veterans, and youth at-risk, visit freedomwatersfoundation.org.