Hot Bath With Ginger

When I, Leisa, think of hot baths, I think of the traditional, fire stoked baths in northern Japan. The smell of the wood and smoke, the picturesque snow covered surroundings and the intense heat of the bath soothes both the body and the soul. Others may conjure images of Turkish Baths. Hot bath therapy has been around for centuries... and rightly so. Luxuriating in a long, hot bath actually has many medicinal benefits.

Hot baths can:

  • Calm your nervous system and elevate your mood.
  • Reduce inflammation - relieving muscle, joint and bone pain.
  • Reduce blood pressure and improve your heart health.
  • Improve your sleep.
  • Burn calories.
  • Relieve cold and flu symptoms.
  • Soothe irritated skin.

Hot baths can be a superb way to stimulate sweating before starting sauna therapy. Sometimes your body can 'forget' how to sweat. A hot bath with ginger can be a great way to 'wake-up' this process and start you sweating again.

Benefits of sweating:

  • Increases circulation - boosting the oxygen supply to your organs, muscles, and tissues.
  • Helps your body detoxify heavy metals and endocrine disruptors (like BPA).
  • Promotes healthier skin and improves skin cell turn over.
  • Helps defeat harmful microbes

* Adding ginger to a hot bath can turn up the heat and induce a seriously good sweat!

THE MANY MEDICINAL BENEFITS OF GINGER

  • Calms digestive discomfort.
  • Stimulates proper digestion.
  • Increases blood circulation.
  • Facilitates the release of toxins.
  • Reduces inflammation.
  • Soothes aches and pain.
  • Helps improve metabolism.
  • Clears the respiratory tract.
  • Reduces feelings of stress, anxiety and sadness.
  • Eliminates bacteria.
  • Inhibits the signs of skin damage and restores radiance to a dull complexion.

HOW TO HAVE A HOT BATH WITH GINGER

  1. Create a relaxing atmosphere for your bath. You might like to dim the lights, light a candle or play some soothing music.
  2. Run yourself a hot bath. Make the water temperature as hot as you can handle, but without discomfort. Keep in mind that the ginger will raise your body temperature too.
  3. Add 1/2 cup freshly chopped ginger and 1 tsp ginger powder to the water while the bath is running. Optional: you can also add 2 - 5 drops of ginger essential oil... but be careful... it's hot! Ginger essential oil can irritate the skin. We recommend starting off with 2 drops at first. You can always add more depending on how you feel.
  4. As your bath is running, indulge in some dry skin brushing to activate your lymphatic system.
  5. Soak for 30 - 40 minutes.
  6. Drink plenty of filtered water before, during and after your bath.
  7. After your bath, spend some time lounging around in your bathrobe, or wrap yourself in a soft, thick, fluffy towel, as your body may continue sweating for about an hour after your bath.
  8. Once you have stopped sweating, rinse yourself off in a warm shower.
  9. Continue to relax and create some time to curl up with a good book for a while, or simply go to sleep if it's your bed time.

*Want to ramp it up even more, sip some ginger and lemon tea while you soak!

**If you haven't already, get a good water filter for your bathroom. Soaking in chlorine and fluoride is not the best. But don't 'sweat it' (ha, ha) if this is not an option for you right now.

***Always rinse off in fresh clean water after sweating. You don't want to reabsorb everything you just sweated out. This phase of the program is all about deeper detoxing, not retoxing! ;-)

CAUTION

Don't force yourself to stay in the bath if you feel unwell. Please get out of the bath if you experience a rapid or irregular heart rate or feel breathless, light headed, faint, dizzy or if your skin feels like it's burning. Some people with sensitive skin may not tolerate ginger. In the future, you can try a lower temperature, with less ginger (1/4 cup freshly sliced ginger only) or no ginger and soaking for a shorter period of time (like 15 minutes)... and then gradually build up your tolerance over time. If you experience dizziness and/or headaches after your bath, taking electrolytes before your bath can help to reduce these symptoms.

We love Optimal Electrolytes by Seeking Health, which you can get here in Australia or here in the USA.

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