Water activities play a big role for many expats living in Qatar. For some, joining a dragon boat club is as much about being a part of a community as it is improving their overall health. Others look to water as a healing tool.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00When you are in the boat, we are different minds, we are different people, but we paddle
00:07as one.
00:08Watsu has great benefits.
00:09It is wonderful for pain relief.
00:12It is great for sleep enhancement, reducing stress.
00:18Hello, welcome to Qatar 365.
00:22I'm Adil Halim, and on this episode, we take a deep dive into water activities and see
00:27how water sports play an essential role in Qatar.
00:30And Laila Homaira explores the different ways water is used as a healing tool.
00:35But first, I went to Katara Beach to find out why so many dragon boaters find a sense
00:39of community and belonging on the water.
00:46Am I sweating or crying?
00:48I don't know which one it is.
00:50Considering the weather and the subject matter, it's likely a bit of both.
00:55But despite her tears, Lucy Akungu is feeling good.
00:59What's not to love?
01:00Paddling with friends who've become family.
01:02A welcome change for the fitness instructor who was diagnosed with cancer in 2017.
01:08I think the first thing that comes into your mind when you're told you have cancer is,
01:12am I going to die?
01:14I think that was my first question.
01:16Lucy has lived in Qatar for more than a decade, but at the time of diagnosis, was here alone.
01:22So she joined the Doha Wireless Warriors Dragon Boat Team, paddling with fellow survivors.
01:27One, two, three, Wireless Warriors!
01:31Rule number one, have fun!
01:33It's a safe place.
01:35It feels home because, you know, when you're going through cancer, you feel like you are
01:41alone and all that.
01:42But then you come here and realize there are people that are going through worse than you
01:46do.
01:47The team is the brainchild of Canadian Sandy Thompson.
01:50She used to paddle with a survivor's team back home and wanted to create a similar support
01:54group here.
01:55The sport of dragon boat originated in China nearly 2,000 years ago, but today, its popularity
02:02has spread across the globe as a fun, team-building exercise.
02:06Go!
02:07One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.
02:13Our objective is to get strong, to build cancer awareness that there is life after cancer,
02:20and to build a community.
02:21You can do this.
02:22You did chemo, you did radiation, you did surgery.
02:23You can do this.
02:32Whether on a competitive team or just for fun, dragon boaters say like any other sport,
02:36there's a learning curve for first-timers, but paddling skills do develop over time.
02:41Age, weight, and skill are not barriers to join.
02:44Being a team player propels the boat forward, and rowing in sync makes all the difference.
02:50Indy Dichos never considered joining a dragon boat team before moving to Qatar from the
02:54Philippines.
02:55But in just a few years, she's become a team captain.
02:58The team is made up of mainly Filipino expats and regularly participates in international
03:03competitions.
03:04Like, it's an extended family here, so when I come here, I have a family that's, like,
03:10I belong to something nice.
03:13For me, because I miss my family, I'm an overseas worker, so I find ways so that I
03:20will not be emotionally stressed.
03:23Cindy says paddling has done wonders for her physical, mental, and emotional health.
03:28Her teammate, Dale Villanueva, agrees.
03:31His day job is in construction, and says being on the water is a major stress reliever.
03:36Initially, I pursued dragon boat paddling as a form of, like, recreation.
03:42In time, I have developed a deep sense of involvement, wherein, right now, I'm doing
03:49a competitive paddling with my team, engaging in races both locally and internationally.
03:56Meanwhile, the Wireless Warriors take a break from training to stop at sea for a moment
04:01of gratefulness.
04:02It's kind of like meditation, I guess, but it's to honor those who have passed, so anybody
04:08who has died, we name them.
04:10Anybody who is sick, we name them.
04:12Those who are believers, they pray.
04:15Those who are not, then they keep them in their thoughts.
04:18We just take a moment to honor them.
04:26Now staying in the water, Qatari swimmer Abdullah Al Khaldi hopes to one day represent his country
04:32at the Summer Olympics.
04:33The 17-year-old has already brought back several medals from regional tourneys.
04:38I recently caught up with Abdullah here at the Hamid Aquatic Center, where he trained
04:42during his formative years.
04:46Abdullah, your first competition at nine years old was in this pool.
04:56What kind of memories does it bring back when you look over here?
04:58A lot of memories.
04:59It takes back 10.
05:00You remember, like, what you did when you were nine, 10, 11.
05:04And then look at yourself now, it's like a big change, like, oh, some have changed
05:09a lot, got faster, improved, better mentality.
05:13In 2021, we went to camp in Bulgaria.
05:17Then we swam in Qatar, this pool also.
05:20I swam the 1,500-200m breaststroke, got gold and two silvers.
05:24Then actually after that competition, in two months, we went to our first Arab competition,
05:30which was like a big highlight in our career.
05:33It was something new for us.
05:35We swam in Abu Dhabi.
05:36Alhamdulillah, I got, I swam also the 1,500-200m breaststroke.
05:40I got silver and bronzes, and also swam some relays, which also got silvers.
05:45Is it nerve-wracking competing against the best in the region?
05:48Yes, even with many years of experience, going up the start block, it's still a bit, you
05:55get a bit nervous, a bit scared.
05:57But that's the fun in it.
06:01When you go to big competitions, Asian Games, World Cup, World Championships, you learn
06:06from the best.
06:07Speaking of the best, 14 Qatari athletes are competing at the Paris Olympics, but only
06:13one swimmer.
06:14Do you hope one day that you can represent your country on the biggest stage?
06:18Yes, I hope that I can represent my country in the Olympics.
06:23And inshallah, our also young swimmers in the future, they also will compete and try
06:28to do the best.
06:29You're only 17, but many younger Qatari swimmers might look up to you as a role model.
06:33So do you talk to younger swimmers, and what do you tell them?
06:37We just try to help them, teach them.
06:42We never put pressure on kids, because maybe he can grow up and hate the sport.
06:47We don't want this.
06:48So we usually just always tell them, have fun.
06:52And what's the feeling like when you're wearing Qatar across your chest at an international
06:56competition?
06:57It feels good.
06:59I would never imagine that in my life that I would be representing Qatar.
07:03So once you wear the shirt, you start to go to competition representing your country.
07:10It's something fantastic.
07:15You can never imagine this, because you have a lot of citizens here.
07:20So maybe once you do it, it's something that you can say proudly.
07:29While some water activities are known for making a splash or racing for a cause, water
07:34is also known for its healing properties.
07:37Whether it's immersing yourself in an ice bath or aqua physiotherapy, the buoyancy and
07:41temperature of water helps alleviate joint pain and improve mobility.
07:45Laila Humaira got a chance to learn more about a traditional form of Japanese water therapy
07:50here at the Zulal Wellness Resort by Chivasam.
07:57If there's any place that personifies the tranquility and cleansing properties of water,
08:02it's Zulal Wellness Resort.
08:05Zulal means pure water in Arabic, and purifying the mind, body and soul is what the resort
08:12seeks to bring to its guests through its wellness-focused programs.
08:17We are basing our wellness therapies, treatments, programs and retreats off the six pillars
08:23of wellness.
08:24And those six pillars of wellness are spa, fitness, holistic, physio, nutrition and aesthetics.
08:32Among many of Zulal's treatments is watsu, a combination of Japan's zenshiatsu massage
08:38and modern techniques of hydrotherapy founded in the 1980s.
08:42It was important to include watsu as a treatment and as a therapy at Zulal.
08:47Watsu has great benefits.
08:49It is wonderful for pain relief.
08:51It is great for sleep enhancement, reducing stress.
08:58Once we go to the water, we will receive the therapy by the water, aqua therapy.
09:05The water, they have their own energy to purify the negativity for us.
09:17Participants are immersed in warm water no deeper than 1.2 meters and are encouraged
09:22to be as relaxed as possible while the therapist cradles, moves, stretches and massages them.
09:30Watsu is among dozens of treatments offered here at the resort.
09:34Nestled in the northernmost point of Qatar, Zulal encourages its guests to fully immerse
09:40themselves in detoxing physically, mentally and digitally.
09:46I leave the serenity of Zulal and make my way back to the city, only to be met with
09:51what can be described as an extreme approach.
09:54By that, I mean taking a plunge in an ice bath.
09:58Valeria Kochneva founded AWAKEN to offer alternative wellness programs in Qatar.
10:04Held at the St. Regis Hotel, the ice bath sessions are quickly becoming their most popular
10:09class.
10:12It's definitely a shock.
10:13It's a shock for your body.
10:15It does not expect when we experience any kind of shock, it goes to flight and fight
10:19mode.
10:20Don't react to that, just observe your body and breathe, breathe, breathe.
10:25Today, Valeria incorporates yoga and breathing techniques to facilitate AWAKEN's ice baths.
10:31We are calming your nervous system.
10:33When we fully relax your meditation and sound therapy, that's when you are fully prepared
10:38for the ice bath.
10:40Several studies have shown that cold water immersion may help reduce inflammation, increase
10:46blood circulation and regulate the body's nervous system.
10:50And while there are also scientific reports of differing results, those who feel the benefits
10:56of it generally come back.
10:58I always keep coming back just because of the recovery benefits that you find from it.
11:02When you're in there, you hate it, but then afterwards you feel alive again.
11:05And for those still hesitant to try, Valeria says the limits of the human body itself can
11:11be seen as uncharted waters.
11:13And the only way to find out is to explore.
11:17Don't be afraid to try different techniques, different practices.
11:20There's so many things we don't know about our bodies.
11:23We are 80% consist of water and we don't know, I think, anything about our bodies.
11:33With only one shared land border with Saudi Arabia, much of Qatar is surrounded by the
11:38Persian Gulf.
11:39On this episode, we explored how water is used as a crucial element from healing therapies
11:44having fun in the sun.
11:45We hope you enjoyed getting in the water with us.
11:48That's all the time we have for now.
11:49For more, check out euronews.com and connect with us through a hashtag.
11:52Thanks for watching.
11:53I will see you next time on Qatar 365.