It is said that water is the basis of life and it’s also true that we grow into this substance as babies. It is no coincidence that even later water has such a deep, relaxing effect on the body and soul of most people. Water can calm us down and it relieves anxiety.
This simple healing power is at particularly good service today, when stress is such a natural and obvious part in most people's life. All we have to do is to sink into the pool and we can feel the tension soaking out of our bodies.
Most of us are well aware of stress reactions: upset stomach, fierce heart palpitations and muscle tension, which are triggered by certain risky and difficult situations of life. This reaction alone is not harmful if it only last for a short amount of time. It improves concentration, increases the ability to act, and after we have resolved the difficulty, we calm back down and the symptoms disappear automatically.
Nowadays, however, it is a common problem that the stress reaction does not go away by itself, but instead it becomes a constant partner of our everyday lives. Our body simply gets used to tension, exhausts and constant anxiety and that can cause various unpleasant symptoms later. We will always get uneasy, we constantly wake up with stomach cramps until finally we can’t sleep and we complete this vicious cycle.
Therefore, it is worth taking the stress reactions seriously and stop this process before it becomes serious. The question of how to do this might best be answered by looking into baths.
The therapeutic effects of bathing were already known in ancient times and today's bath therapy has been developed from that through several stages, with two branches these days. One of them is called hydrotherapy or water therapy and it uses the physical properties of the water to heal: the lifting force relieves muscles, joints and bones, helps relaxation and the hydrostatic pressure eases the tension.
Water temperature also plays an important role in the therapies: hot water balances the nervous system and has beneficial effects on the vegetative functioning. After a long relaxing bath, we get exhausted and have a greater chance of having a better sleep.
The other branch of bath therapy is balneotherapy, where the therapeutic effect of water is supplemented with the healing powers of minerals in the water. There are several minerals in thermal water that are absorbed through the skin, thus filling the mineral needs of our bodies, which also helps to relieve stress. Relaxing minerals include magnesium and calcium which are also used as a muscle relaxants, as well as manganese, which has a good effect on the nervous system and the mood.
If you want to have a full-proof effect, you can complete your bath with a whirlpool bath, giving your back a nice massage by the water jet, and you may want to have a nice sauna session too.
