“Healing,” “Wholeness,” and “Holy” are words of identical origin. To heal doesn’t always mean fixing disease or a problem but overcoming separation and restoring the integrity of life.
Water is the most simple and abundant chemical compound on earth, having a reversible equal rate of conversion between its liquid and gaseous state. It makes up 70% of the planet as well as up to 65-78% of our body, depending on age. Drinking water is always hydrating and detoxifying for your body and sometimes mind.
What is Healing Water?
Water is a flow. It is the most stable and robust healing element on our planet. That has been accepted by a large section of humanity with open arms. Once Dr. Emoto has described in his book “The Hidden Messages in Water”, a clear understanding of water enables us to understand the human body better and even unlock the mystery of why we were born.
The acronym ‘SPA’ is an abbreviation for the term “solus par aqua,” which means health or healing through water. At the same time, water can heal the human mind, body, and attitude through its physiological and psychological therapeutic potential.
There is a similarity between water and our natural human state, which is flowing, changing, self-aware, and resilient.
We are often habituated to the music of water uploaded on YouTube that tranquillizes our souls. Water music is due to the sound of moving water or falling rainwater, which can also be meditative and valuable for compelling study.
There are plenty of ways to use water to improve your health or reduce your stress. These include showering, steam baths, and in-water exercise or localized water pressure treatments.
We can enlist a variety of treatment options with natural healing waters like balneotherapy, hydrotherapy, caldarium, tepidarium, cold plunges, showers, flotation therapy, frigidarium, Turkish bath, colonic hydrotherapy, hydro-massage baths, spa with mineral springs, thalassotherapy, Vichy showers, or watsu massages.
Healing Effects of Mineral Water
Studies state that regularly soaking within mineral water can relieve pain and improve motor function in elderly adults. It leads to a significant reduction in the suffering of chronic lower back pain1, arthritis2 and hospitalizations, sick days, and synthesized or computer-designed drug use (Annette Foglino).
Mineral water or natural spring is primarily flowing underground water that comes out of any crack in land enriched with many earthy materials.
Apart from that, a wide range of health benefits is recognized, such as normal appetite, strength in bones, low risk of cardiovascular diseases, stable mood, proper blood circulation3, healthy muscles4, smooth and regular bowel movement, etc.
Water is necessary not only for essential physiological functioning but as a source of some vital nutrients in our body. Certain type of water provides high quantities of minerals, especially magnesium, calcium, and sodium. According to FDA, the minimum TDS level of mineral water must be at least 250 ppm. Mineral water and its dried components have been studied several times as medical therapy. Information regarding those studies was published frequently in the scientific literature during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Therapeutic Value of Hot Spring
Historically, Egyptians and Israelites used to plunge themselves in the holy water of Niles and Jordan, Hindus in their divine Ganges river for healing their soul and body.
Thermal treatments and their pharmacological, as well as therapeutic actions, were discovered since ancient times when people recognized water as an essential element of human life. Bathing with steam or saunas has been a common culture for centuries in Greece, Turkey, Rome.
At the same time, saunas are popular with Korean bathhouse culture or Jjimjilbang.
Gifts of healing waters were observed near natural hot springs or sulphurous springs as their beneficial effects in skin diseases and relieving muscular and joint pain.
Natural hot spring waters are enriched with sulfur, a building block for collagen5, which leaves the skin soft and smooth.
Science Behind Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy6 is an empirical application of healing waters. Greece’s famous philosopher Hippocrates dedicated a large section to thermal water in his work “De is, a quiz at loci,” where he described water’s physio-chemical and organoleptic properties and the impact of hot and cold baths on the human body.
In general, heat treatment to an inflamed area will dilate the blood vessels, which enhances the blood flow and helps sore and stiff muscles relax. Dilation of a blood vessel clears toxins and impurities from any inflamed place in your body. Muscle relaxation comes from improved circulation, which helps eliminate accumulated lactic acid waste after some type of exercise. Heated healing water is also psychologically relieving, which can enhance its analgesic properties.
In contrast, cold treatment reduces blood flow to an injured area. That slows the rate of inflammation and reduces the risk of swelling and tissue damage. It also numbs sore tissues by interfering with blood supply and nerve impulses, thus slowing down the pain messages transmitted to the CNS.
Ice packs can help treat a swollen and inflamed joint or muscle. This one is most effective within 48 hours of an injury. There is a very special standard treatment for sports injuries, popular as RICE or Rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
Floatation Therapy
Stress has been the fundamental reason for several modern-day diseases. Many literature reviews have explained the relationship between higher cortisol levels and stress.
In 1991, one study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology reported that consistent floating helps lower cortisol levels by over 20% (Turner & Fine). That lower level of cortisol or stress hormone will improve your immune system and reduce anxiety. Such research also provides the scientific mechanism behind floating therapy in relaxing the nervous system, mitigating pain, and reducing the harmful effects of stress in your body.
One should remember that the flotation center isn’t always mandatory for working out this cool health exercise. You can fill your tub with handy ingredients like Epsom salts, baking soda, and a few drops of Peppermint or Lavender oil. Sometimes, an isolation tank could be more helpful for REST or restricted environmental stimulation therapy.
After turning off the light, you can enjoy a wonderful time by releasing all the tightness in your mind or body with any healing mantra or chant kept in your ears. Allow your thoughts to float by without acknowledging them, as you would in meditation.
Floating in healing waters helps improve the quality of your sleep. It is due to the substantial magnesium absorption during the float therapy session, which stabilizes our sleep-wake cycles. Magnesium is better absorbed through the skin than the normal digestive tract, making it more effective in countering migraines and lubricating muscles and joints.
Floating assists in vasodilation, enabling better oxygenation cum better blood flow to the brain and other vital organs and limbs. It also helps to minimize pain caused by tension, stress, jet lag, and even arthritis.
According to some scientific studies, every hour spent floating can help reduce anxiety and depression by lowering blood pressure and heart rate. It can simultaneously eliminate fatigue and stimulate the release of dopamine as a natural mood enhancer.
Research is learning how human emotions are linked to disease and that healing is promoted by surroundings that reduce stress and engage the senses in therapeutic ways.
The Best Places to Go To for Healing Waters
Baden-Baden
The Romans discovered the healing power of the twelve thermal springs and built the first thermal baths in Baden-Baden 2,000 years ago.
Baden means “bath” in Germany, and the old joke is that the town is so charming, unique, and lovely that they named it twice.
In the heart of Baden-Baden, the Caracalla Spa is the modern response to a traditional bathing culture. Apart from walls designed with modern glass, you will get alternating temperatures of water, which are believed to improve circulation and strengthen the immune system.
Salt Springs in Austria
In Austria, some salt springs can cure goitre or enlarged thyroid disease. Traditionally, they have been known as “goitre waters” for hundreds of years. After modern analytical chemistry has shown that these springs contain some common salts and are also enriched with therapeutically active iodine, the years of “magic cures” remarks were wiped out.
Thalassotherapy: France
The word “Thalasso” literally means sea or ocean water. France is the birthplace of thalassotherapy, where they practice using seawater for healing purposes. Today, it is pretty popular in many resorts in France, such as thalasso retreats, even if they have a jacuzzi filled with saltwater. Hence, it’s a good time to research if you want to plan for a thalasso experience.
You can go through this article for detailed information or to know some fun facts about Korean saunas, which replace water with a moist mass of material.
Online Health and Wellness Tourism Agencies
Health and wellness tourism includes travelling both nationally and internationally to places and facilities such as hospitals, clinics, thermae thalasso wellness SPAs, and fitness centres and wellness resorts.
Many popular online health and wellness tourism companies are available to help you arrange your destiny near any hot springs or natural mineral healing water source.
At travelaz, you can get many more exciting travel options and reading resources to decide where your spending will remain worthwhile.
Pagosa means “healing waters” in the Ute dialect. This geothermal water contains 13 minerals scientifically proven to promote healthy skin, maintain blood pressure, strengthen bones and muscles, increase energy, and much more.
Whether it could be your vacation on beaches or relaxation in a mineral healing waters outdoor pool surrounded by beautiful mountains everything is possible to book luxurious me time in advance from your home at this link.
Its life-giving mineral water contains naturally added minerals in a precise concentration, as given below.
Sodium 790 mg/L
Chloride 180 mg/L
Lithium 2.9 mg/L
Potassium 90 mg/L
Arsenic .12 mg/L
Silica 54 mg/L
Sodium and chloride are well recognized for their musculoskeletal benefits, whereas lithium provides mental balance to a disturbed person. Potassium and fluoride are both important for healthy skin, whereas the latter can also save the surface of your bones and teeth. Arsenic is quite toxic, but studies report benefits for plasma and tissue growth.
Finally, we should show some gratitude for this whole water system. Until now, we have been discussing the benefit or healing effect of water on human life; however, it’s time to think about healing natural water itself or restoring the broken water cycle.
We must remember that the water problem comes when humans treat it as doing their own business without understanding. It also should be remembered that deserts don’t arise because of a lack of rain but because of mismanagement on a global scale by the entire humanity’s water.
Explore more articles like this to unveil more exciting and comprehensive facts about healing waters.
- Andersson, Gunnar BJ. “Epidemiological features of chronic low-back pain.” The lancet 354.9178 (1999): 581-585. ↩︎
- Meenan, Robert F., Paul M. Gertman, and John H. Mason. “Measuring health status in arthritis.” Arthritis & Rheumatism 23.2 (1980): 146-152. ↩︎
- Chae, Soo-Wan. “Good Blood Circulation Is Vital to Your Health.” Korean Food Systems. CRC Press, 2022. 171-196. ↩︎
- Shrier, Ian, and Kav Gossal. “Myths and truths of stretching: individualized recommendations for healthy muscles.” The physician and sportsmedicine 28.8 (2000): 57-63. ↩︎
- Shoulders, Matthew D., and Ronald T. Raines. “Collagen structure and stability.” Annual review of biochemistry 78 (2009): 929-958. ↩︎
- Geytenbeek, Jenny. “Evidence for effective hydrotherapy.” Physiotherapy 88.9 (2002): 514-529. ↩︎
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