According to the Oxford Dictionary, Hydropathy (a noun) is “the treatment of illness through the use of water, either internally or through external means such as steam bath”.
Hydropathy is a therapeutic system that professes to cure all disease with water, either by bathing in it or by drinking it.
The therapeutic use of water has been known since the times of the Egyptians, the Romans and the Greeks. The Egyptian royalty bathed with essential oils and flowers, The Romans had communal baths for their citizens. The Greeks, bathed both in fresh and salt water. For them bathing was an extremely important chore of the day.
Hydrotherapy, as it is now popularly known today, takes advantage of the physical properties of water such as temperature and pressure for therapy purposes.
- Temperature: In recent times, alternating the temperature of water either through shower or complementary tanks combines the use of hot and cold in the same session. It is said to improve blood circulation and help in lymphatic drainage. It also helps in stimulating blood flow and reducing swelling in the case of injury.
- Pressure: Water pressure is used in Hydro massage. The pressurized jets of water strategically aimed at pressure points of the body massage away muscle tension and chronic body pain.
- Drinking water: Sixty to seventy percent of our body is made of water. Keeping our body well hydrated has many benefits. Drinking warm water on an empty stomach in the morning is regarded very highly in Ayurveda and Japanese culture. It is like bathing on the inside. It helps digest and eliminate food from the body. Since each cell gets hydrated, and our skin throws out the toxins, it begins to glow. Hydrotherapy magically burns stubborn fat as well.
Leave a Reply