body and health
The Healing Power of Earth's Tears:
Therapeutic Salt Baths
by Funda Gulmen, N.D., M.S.
June 20, 2011
For many hundreds of years in various cultures people have soaked their bodies in salt water for healing purposes. The rejuvenative properties of salt water have been noted on various levels of the human experience – from relieving bodily pain to the deepest aspects of grief. Offered here are some ideas about using this modality to improve and optimize your own health.
The first point to consider with any kind of bath are the conditions of the water, such as what temperature to use. The maximum temperature considered safe for the human body is about 110F degrees and the minimum temperature is about 55F degrees. Cooler water below body temperature is stimulating for the body and is often used if someone needs to improve nerve function or increase total energy. Cooler water is also the best treatment for new injuries (incurred in the previous 24 hours) and first degree burns as it tends to decrease inflammation and reduce pain. Warmer water is often used to decrease pain and increase range of motion of older injuries where joints and muscles have stiffened up a bit. Warm water is also used to induce sleep by vasodilating the blood vessels in the periphery of the body. Neutral water temperature (approximately 94-100F degrees – the point at which water feels neither cool nor warm to the touch) is ideal for situations in which a person needs to be stabilized on the mental/emotional level such as when someone is feeling anxious. This is also a great temperature to use with children who tend to be rambunctious. Another aspect of soaking to consider is the amount of time. Typically, shorter periods of time (less than five minutes) are more stimulating. Longer periods of time can work on deeper levels of the body. One example is soaking in a warm bath for twenty minutes to relieve abdominal cramping.
Secondly, it is important to consider what kind of salts to use in the bath. Very commonly people will use Epsom salts, the primary therapeutic component of which is magnesium. As it absorbs through the skin it has the useful property of relaxing muscles so, especially for tight muscles and nervous tension, this is a great addition. Other salts, such as sea salts, are often used. Salts from the sea tend to have additional minerals in them from the remnants of plant and other organic matter. Sitting in a sea salt bath can be an additional boost for internal mineralization such as bone building. Please note, however, that the use of salt baths is not sufficient on its own to provide all the minerals a body needs. Salt in general, regardless of its origin, is a natural antibiotic and so can be used to cleanse wounds and help with certain skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Be careful to note that an open wound can sting quite a bit with the addition of salt to the area. Salt can also be used as a scrub on the body to remove dead skin cells and to increase circulation and detoxification. This is accomplished by taking a salt mixed with a bit of water or oil and scrubbing in circular or long strokes from the tips of the fingers and toes following along the limbs towards the heart. Doing a scrub in this way can help with conditions that are exacerbated by toxins in the body such as acne or arthritis.
Beyond the physical effects of salt baths there are clearly psychological and energetic effects as well. One very common homeopathic remedy that is used in natural medicine is Natrum muriaticum – the Latin name for sodium chloride. It is a medicine typically used to help people work through chronic grief – it is especially symbolic as tears of sadness often contain salt. Creating a salt bath is on some level another way of using salt homeopathically. Part of the intention one may use while taking a salt bath may be, “to allow the release of any sadness or negative emotions that may be preventing my health and well-being” or to “simply experience more joy in life.” As an element from the earth, you might consider the source of the salt you use in your bath. Perhaps it comes from Eastern Europe or the Middle East or a nearby locale…each of these places from, a Native American perspective, has a certain energy or spirit associated with it. Bathing in these elements helps to imbue the qualities of spirit of the land within yourself. Asking the Earth for permission to use its salt and accepting the healing it can give you brings you closer to the land of that area, its plants, animals and people – it creates a deeper relationship with the elements there. As one who utilizes the salt and water of our planet in this manner, giving back to the Earth through conservation efforts (both personal and public) is one means by which you can give thanks and gratitude for that which you have received.
There are safety concerns with any therapeutic program so you should check with your physician to determine what is appropriate for you. Make sure that the individual can safely enter and exit the bath area without the possibility of slipping. Water that is either very cold or hot can be too stimulating for people with conditions of the heart, lungs or nerves. If someone is unable to feel temperatures easily such as with severe diabetes, take precautions. If someone is too weak or fragile, a bath may simply be too much for them. Also be careful of using shared facilities as they can transmit communicable disease.
FUNDA M. GULMEN, N.D., M.S. is a licensed naturopathic physician in private practice in Connecticut. She has formerly taught therapeutic hydrotherapy to medical students and uses it extensively in her practice. She can be reached at 203.895.5534 or www.naturesourcecare.com.
The first point to consider with any kind of bath are the conditions of the water, such as what temperature to use. The maximum temperature considered safe for the human body is about 110F degrees and the minimum temperature is about 55F degrees. Cooler water below body temperature is stimulating for the body and is often used if someone needs to improve nerve function or increase total energy. Cooler water is also the best treatment for new injuries (incurred in the previous 24 hours) and first degree burns as it tends to decrease inflammation and reduce pain. Warmer water is often used to decrease pain and increase range of motion of older injuries where joints and muscles have stiffened up a bit. Warm water is also used to induce sleep by vasodilating the blood vessels in the periphery of the body. Neutral water temperature (approximately 94-100F degrees – the point at which water feels neither cool nor warm to the touch) is ideal for situations in which a person needs to be stabilized on the mental/emotional level such as when someone is feeling anxious. This is also a great temperature to use with children who tend to be rambunctious. Another aspect of soaking to consider is the amount of time. Typically, shorter periods of time (less than five minutes) are more stimulating. Longer periods of time can work on deeper levels of the body. One example is soaking in a warm bath for twenty minutes to relieve abdominal cramping.
Secondly, it is important to consider what kind of salts to use in the bath. Very commonly people will use Epsom salts, the primary therapeutic component of which is magnesium. As it absorbs through the skin it has the useful property of relaxing muscles so, especially for tight muscles and nervous tension, this is a great addition. Other salts, such as sea salts, are often used. Salts from the sea tend to have additional minerals in them from the remnants of plant and other organic matter. Sitting in a sea salt bath can be an additional boost for internal mineralization such as bone building. Please note, however, that the use of salt baths is not sufficient on its own to provide all the minerals a body needs. Salt in general, regardless of its origin, is a natural antibiotic and so can be used to cleanse wounds and help with certain skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Be careful to note that an open wound can sting quite a bit with the addition of salt to the area. Salt can also be used as a scrub on the body to remove dead skin cells and to increase circulation and detoxification. This is accomplished by taking a salt mixed with a bit of water or oil and scrubbing in circular or long strokes from the tips of the fingers and toes following along the limbs towards the heart. Doing a scrub in this way can help with conditions that are exacerbated by toxins in the body such as acne or arthritis.
Beyond the physical effects of salt baths there are clearly psychological and energetic effects as well. One very common homeopathic remedy that is used in natural medicine is Natrum muriaticum – the Latin name for sodium chloride. It is a medicine typically used to help people work through chronic grief – it is especially symbolic as tears of sadness often contain salt. Creating a salt bath is on some level another way of using salt homeopathically. Part of the intention one may use while taking a salt bath may be, “to allow the release of any sadness or negative emotions that may be preventing my health and well-being” or to “simply experience more joy in life.” As an element from the earth, you might consider the source of the salt you use in your bath. Perhaps it comes from Eastern Europe or the Middle East or a nearby locale…each of these places from, a Native American perspective, has a certain energy or spirit associated with it. Bathing in these elements helps to imbue the qualities of spirit of the land within yourself. Asking the Earth for permission to use its salt and accepting the healing it can give you brings you closer to the land of that area, its plants, animals and people – it creates a deeper relationship with the elements there. As one who utilizes the salt and water of our planet in this manner, giving back to the Earth through conservation efforts (both personal and public) is one means by which you can give thanks and gratitude for that which you have received.
There are safety concerns with any therapeutic program so you should check with your physician to determine what is appropriate for you. Make sure that the individual can safely enter and exit the bath area without the possibility of slipping. Water that is either very cold or hot can be too stimulating for people with conditions of the heart, lungs or nerves. If someone is unable to feel temperatures easily such as with severe diabetes, take precautions. If someone is too weak or fragile, a bath may simply be too much for them. Also be careful of using shared facilities as they can transmit communicable disease.
FUNDA M. GULMEN, N.D., M.S. is a licensed naturopathic physician in private practice in Connecticut. She has formerly taught therapeutic hydrotherapy to medical students and uses it extensively in her practice. She can be reached at 203.895.5534 or www.naturesourcecare.com.
What's Your Pigeon?
by Maeve Ryan
June 10, 2011
photo credit: Wholeliving.com
During yoga class one night, I guided two of my students (both women in their late forties) into a one-legged pigeon pose. One of the women struggled and even winced a little as she settled into the pose. “Tight hips,” she explained. The other woman looked at me and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t get this pose. What’s the point?” When I asked her to elaborate, she explained that the pose was not challenging for her at all. “It’s boring. And it makes me feel fat.” (Side note: this student is –not by any stretch of the imagination– what you would call “fat.”)Any yogi will tell you that there’s an emotional side to pigeon pose…the explanation being that this pose opens up our hips, a place in our body where we naturally store our emotions. Our hips and pelvis also make up the sacral chakra so that when these areas are stretched, emotions related to sexuality and intimacy can rise to the surface. Settling into a one-legged pigeon pose for any period of time often triggers the release of these emotions, whether they be sadness, anger, or insecurity. Most yogis will also attest to the fact that the longer you stay in the pose, the more you release.
In trying to help my student think more deeply about her reaction to the pose, I asked her if any other yoga pose made her feel “fat.” She shook her head. She understood that pigeon pose was helping her to bring to the surface her insecurities regarding her body image. She didn’t like the pose not because of how it made her feel physically (she admitted that it was not challenging/boring) but rather because of how it made her feel emotionally.
I then asked my students: “What is your pigeon pose in life? In other words, what is that thing or situation in your life that makes you feel bored, angry, sad, insecure?”
As they thought about their answer, I thought about my own. The act of staying in, not fleeing from, a situation that makes us feel “less-than” or uncomfortable is often the most direct way to learn how to release, let go, and abandon judgment. And the longer we are forced to stay in the discomfort, the more we will be forced to acknowledge our emotional baggage and climb out from underneath it.
Visit MAEVE RYAN'S blog at http://gracekellyyoga.wordpress.com.
In trying to help my student think more deeply about her reaction to the pose, I asked her if any other yoga pose made her feel “fat.” She shook her head. She understood that pigeon pose was helping her to bring to the surface her insecurities regarding her body image. She didn’t like the pose not because of how it made her feel physically (she admitted that it was not challenging/boring) but rather because of how it made her feel emotionally.
I then asked my students: “What is your pigeon pose in life? In other words, what is that thing or situation in your life that makes you feel bored, angry, sad, insecure?”
As they thought about their answer, I thought about my own. The act of staying in, not fleeing from, a situation that makes us feel “less-than” or uncomfortable is often the most direct way to learn how to release, let go, and abandon judgment. And the longer we are forced to stay in the discomfort, the more we will be forced to acknowledge our emotional baggage and climb out from underneath it.
Visit MAEVE RYAN'S blog at http://gracekellyyoga.wordpress.com.
