Salt of the Earth

I have never been a fan of taking baths, I much much much prefer a shower. Taking a bath is a claustrophobic nightmare for me, mostly because bath tubs these days are sooooo small. You can't actually get your entire body underwater. And if you try you end up smooshing yourself into a not comfortable position. I love really hot showers, but to take a hot bath and have all that steam just sitting there adds to my nightmare. I get hot and I am in a cramped space. Not fun for me at all. If I stay in a nice hotel room with a huge jacuzzi tub though, I will indulge quite happily. It is much more relaxing when you can actually get comfortable and be hot.

But a doctor has suggested I start taking warm baths with Epsom or Sea Salt and Lavender each night to relieve the tension in my body and help me to sleep more peacefully so my body can heal and re-charge at night. I told the doctor I don't like baths, but I will make an effort. So I have started nightly taking a bath with a nice Sea Salt and Epsom Salt mixture and good hot water and Lavender oil. I put on some very soft relaxing earthy music and actually relax! I breathe very deeply and close my eyes and let my body soak in the water and minerals. And you know what, that stuff actually works! I was shocked when I actually dozed off last night. But what really got me was the research I have been doing.

Epsom salt and Sea Salt are different but both have many many positive attributes for the body. When you take a bath your body uses osmosis to soak in the minerals and the water. The minerals in the salt are usually needed in your body and so you start to repair tissues by absorbing these through your skin. One of the properties of this is that your Nervous System calms down (partially from the heat and partially from the minerals and lavender)so that your body can work internally to repair and heal. Deep breathing helps because it acts as a pump for your circulation system to get more oxygen through your body, which also helps you move tension and junk in your body out of your body so it can be expelled. The minerals help with this as well, as the osmosis takes place your are pulling in good things and bad things are being pushed out into your bath water.

Not only is it helping me greatly to learn to relax, but it is healing my body. My nightly aches and pains are diminished and I even noticed bruises healing quite quickly (it normally takes me a few weeks to get a bruise to go away). So I am urging you to buy some cheap Epsom salts at the store, any place that has a pharmacy has it, and add a cup or two to your warm bath and reap the benefits that pure salt can have for your body!