From dragon boats to ice baths: Water activities play a big role for many expats in Qatar

euronews (in English)

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.

Transcript

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.

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