I dissolve into weightlessness in the arms of therapist Daniel Acatl, founder of Meyaj Wellness, as he floats my body above the translucent waters of the Bacalar Lagoon in southern Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. With my eyes closed and a clip secured around my nose, he guides me through a series of slow, spiraling motions in the freshwater sanctuary, gently submerging and lifting me in rhythmic waves. Acatl never takes his hands off me, always gripping either my wrists, ankles, knees, or back, allowing me to feel held and secure enough to completely let go. At times, he softly cradles me into his arms like a child; at others, he takes my hands in his and flies me through the water in expansive swirls. But the tenderest moments come when he places one hand beneath my head and the other at the small of my back, slowly guiding my upper body beneath the water—this is when I truly melt into the experience.

It’s only minutes into the ceremony, and I feel completely safe with him, as he always knows when to bring me back to air at the perfect moment. Though I’m aware of reality and in my body (and completely sober, may I add), what unfolds truly feels like a psychedelic journey: light fractals of the blazing sun dance above my eyelids, tension melts from my limbs, and my body feels limitless. It’s a practice of complete and total surrender and one that sends ripples of pleasure and bliss and euphoria through my body. Though many describe Janzu as a rebirth experience, for me it feels like a step beyond that—a return to my truest form, an aquatic liberation dance into the innate essence of who I am.

I’m fortunate to be guided by Acatl, one of the leading practitioners in southern Mexico who specializes in Janzu ceremonies. The water-based practice is native to the region and was first developed in the 1990s by Mexican healer Juan Villatoro. As a participant in my friend Amalia Moscoso’s inner child transformation retreat at Kokoro Mio, a boutique hotel tucked into the jungle just outside Xul-Ha, the southernmost point of the lagoon, I was privy to a session with Acatl as part of the programming. (He leads the hotel’s wellness offerings, guiding guests not only through Janzu, but also temezcal sweat lodge ceremonies and fire circle rituals.) Given Janzu’s profound effect on me, I delved deeper into the therapeutic form with Acatl to understand why exactly it’s so powerful.

“Water therapy has the power to restructure cellular memory through constant friction and ion exchange, providing improved blood flow and deep lymphatic drainage,” says Acatl. “It helps reduce inflammation in the body and muscles and relieves pain. But what makes Janzu a particularly powerful form of water therapy is its profound emotional and subconscious release of trauma and fear, and why it’s considered a rebirth therapy.”